Inclusionary Housing Ordinance That Did Not Include Findings of a Nexus Between a Development Project and The Need for Additional Affordable Housing Upheld by California Supreme Court
I. Summary Relying on a city’s broad power to regulate land use, the California Supreme Court recently upheld the City of San Jose’s inclusionary housing ordinance that requires new developments to set aside 15% of for-purchase units at affordable housing. In California Building Industry Assn. v. City of San Jose, 61 Cal. 4th 435 (Cal. […]
Sign Ordinance Based on Categories of Signs is an Invalid Content-Based Restriction
I. Summary On June 18, 2015[1] the United States Supreme Court held that an Arizona city’s sign ordinance that categorized signs into types with different sets of applicable regulations amounted to a content based restriction on speech that was not justified by the city’s interest in aesthetics and traffic safety. The ordinance included various restrictions […]
Updated CEQA Procedures to Consider Native American Cultural Resources
I. Summary Designed to protect Native American tribal cultural resources, Assembly Bill 52 (“AB 52”) amends California Environmental Quality Act (‘CEQA”) procedures to require lead agencies to consult with a Native American tribe before releasing a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report if the tribe requests both notification of proposed projects and […]
Vol. 30 No.18 County Jail Facilities May Be Required To Provide Attorney Contact Visits With Inmates
COUNTY JAIL FACILITIES MAY BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ATTORNEY CONTACT VISITS WITH INMATES On July 8, 2015, the California Supreme Court denied review of the Third District Court of Appeal decision entitled County of Nevada v. Superior Court (Siegfried), 236 Cal.App.4th 1001. The Court of Appeal held that the superior court did not abuse its discretion […]
Vol. 30 No. 17 The District Attorney Must Serve A Pitchess Motion Before Accessing A Peace Officer’s Personnel File
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY MUST SERVE A PITCHESS MOTION BEFORE ACCESSING A PEACE OFFICER’S PERSONNEL FILE On July 6, 2015, the California Supreme Court unanimously overturned the case of People v. Superior Court (Johnson). The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal decision, issued last fall, which held that when a peace officer was a material witness in […]
Vol. 30 No. 16 Objective Reasonableness Is The Standard Of Review For Uses Of Force On Pretrial Detainees
OBJECTIVE REASONABLENESS IS THE STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR USES OF FORCE ON PRETRIAL DETAINEES In a June 22, 2015, decision, the United States Supreme Court acted inKingsley v. Hendrickson, holding that uses of force on pretrial detainees will be evaluated on the standard of objective reasonableness, and not on the subjective knowledge or intent of an […]
Gregory Palmer presents Public Records Request Act training in Anaheim, CA
Oakland’s suit against Wells Fargo for predatory lending practices based on race can seek lost property-tax revenue
Summary In City of Oakland v. Wells Fargo & Co., 972 F.3d 1112 (9th Cir. Cal. 2020), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that cities can seek injunctive relief and recovery of lost property-tax revenue from banks that violate the Fair Housing Act by using predatory lending practices against minorities. The Ninth Circuit held […]
How California Cities Can Craft Better Office Space Deals
As cities grow, so do their governments. Since the population boom following the Second World War, cities in the American west have grappled with challenges associated with providing adequate space for their employees to work. Optimizing public resources over the long timeframes involved in real estate requires careful planning and sophisticated deal structures. The logic […]
State law addresses Brown Act implications of social media use by members of a legislative body
AB 992 In a world that communicates with posting, reposting, texting, screenshotting, tweeting, liking, disliking, happy or sad emojis and commenting on posts, it was inevitable that public officials would enter onto that internet “platform” and communicate their thoughts and ideas to anyone who had access to a computer. Instead of stepping into the local […]