News & Analysis as of

Real Estate Development Judicial Review

Hinckley Allen

Massachusetts Appeals Court Curbs Zoning Board Discretion in Special Permit Denial

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The various approvals, permits, orders of conditions, and the like that may be required to proceed with work on a given project can seem daunting at times.  And when a project’s proposed use is not automatically authorized...more

Downey Brand LLP

Wait, What? Major Changes to CEQA Slip into Law via Deft Maneuvering

Downey Brand LLP on

Much is discussed every year in the Legislature about how the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) needs reform. But the calls for change nearly always fail, aside from a few tinkering changes. This year is...more

K&L Gates LLP

Understanding the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Decision in Attorney General v. Town of Milton

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Signed into law in January 2021, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Communities Act (the Communities Act) requires all 177 cities and towns with access to MBTA public transportation (e.g., commuter rail,...more

Nossaman LLP

Legislatively Enacted Fees Have Another Day in Court

Nossaman LLP on

On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the California Court of Appeal heard argument in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado. You may recall that the California Court of Appeal previously held that legislatively enacted development impact fees...more

Miller Starr Regalia

Fourth District Invalidates San Diego County’s “Infill” And “Small Project” VMT Screening Thresholds As Lacking Substantial...

Miller Starr Regalia on

In a published opinion filed March 27, 2025, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) reversed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition, and held that two screening thresholds of significance for vehicle miles...more

BCLP

NSIP Planning: What’s Changed in 2024 and On the Horizon for 2025?

BCLP on

2024 has been a year with a continued focus on the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Planning (‘NSIP’) planning regime by both the predecessor and current government. Reforms to make the regime faster and more effective...more

BCLP

DCO Judicial Reviews: Lessons learned from recent judgments

BCLP on

The process of securing development consent (a DCO) for a major scheme can take many years. The decision of the Government on whether to grant the DCO is made at the end of that process and is subject to ‘judicial review’ by...more

Downey Brand LLP

Good News for California Housing: SB 7 Extends Expedited CEQA Review to Small-Scale Infill Housing Projects

Downey Brand LLP on

On May 20, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 7, known as the Housing and Jobs Expansion and Extensions Act, which extends expedited California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) judicial review...more

Hogan Lovells

Challenging times – the Use Classes Order and Permitted Development Rights

Hogan Lovells on

Aside from the long-awaited “Planning for the Future” White Paper, the big planning and development talking points of the summer have been the radical reforms to the Use Classes Order and the Permitted Development Rights...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Court of Appeal Rejects Challenge to LA’s Business Improvement Districts on Procedural Ground

At the end of June, in Hill RHF Housing Partners, L.P. v. City of Los Angeles, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s denial of a challenge to the City of Los Angeles’s June 2017 establishment of the Downtown Center...more

BCLP

Disclosure of financial information in viability assessments: Considerations for developers

BCLP on

The recent judicial review in R (Holborn Studios) v London Borough of Hackney raises important considerations for developers and planning authorities in terms of  financial details to be disclosed in viability assessments...more

Pierce Atwood LLP

In Rare Move, SJC Enters Immediate Order Reversing Decision That Broadened Density-Based Standing in Zoning Appeals

Pierce Atwood LLP on

In what passes for high drama in the world of Massachusetts land use law, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), after hearing oral argument last Thursday in an important case involving standing in zoning appeals, entered an order...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Third Department Decides Novel Question of Law Relating to Zone Change Protest Petitions Under Town Law § 265

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

When landowners oppose a project that involves the rezoning of a neighboring property, they almost always have the opportunity to air their grievances through a public hearing process. If the rezoning is approved over their...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Standards for Judicial Review and Air Quality Analyses

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The Sierra Club decision affects both the preparation of EIRs and judicial review of agency decisions certifying EIRs. Key Points: ..An environmental impact report’s (EIR) discussion of potential environmental impacts...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Watch Out for WA LUPA Legislation

LUPA was enacted to provide a uniform, expedited appeal procedure to provide a consistent, predictable, and timely judicial review. To this end, Washington case law has established that LUPA procedural requirements are...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for EIRs and Requirements for Air Quality Impact Analyses

Latham & Watkins LLP on

CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - In a published opinion issued December 24, 2018, Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, Case No. S219783, the California Supreme Court determined that an...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Supreme Court Requires De Novo Review for EIR Adequacy Challenges and Imposes Heightened EIR Requirements Connecting...

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In a long-awaited decision, on December 24, 2018 the California Supreme Court in Sierra Club v. County of Fresno (S219783) affirmed, in part, and reversed, in part, the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s decision concerning a...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia: The Duty to Consult and Protecting Religious Freedom Rights

Bennett Jones LLP on

On November 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations), 2017 SCC 54. This case dealt with a novel argument related to the...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

N.C. Court of Appeals Affirms Local Government Board's Recusal of One of Its Own Members In Quasi-Judicial Proceeding

Womble Bond Dickinson on

A quasi-judicial land use proceeding requires an impartial decisionmaker, like any courtroom proceeding. State law does its best to spell out what constitutes an "impermissible violation[] of due process"...more

Snell & Wilmer

Developer Awarded Cost of Preparing Administrative Record in CEQA Lawsuit

Snell & Wilmer on

Lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) typically proceed as petitions for administrative mandamus. This means the petitioner is asking the court to review an agency’s decision and ultimately issue a...more

Perkins Coie

California Supreme Court Poised To Decide Key CEQA Questions: The Court’s Lineup For 2015

Perkins Coie on

The California Supreme Court’s involvement in CEQA cases has been relatively limited since he statute’s enactment in 1970, with the court taking  review of at most one or two appellate court decisions a year.  The last two...more

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