CEQA
Coastal Commission 
Community Property
Easements
Landlord and Tenant
Redevelopment Law
Subdivision

  -CEQA-
Public Resources Code Sec. 21167.4 requires dismissal of a CEQA petition on motion of the court or an interested party where plaintiffs do not file a request for hearing within 90 days of filing their petition even if the petition is filed prior to motion to dismiss. Denial of motion for relief from dismissal of CEQA petition based on Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 473 was not an abuse of discretion where evidence showed that while plaintiffs’ attorney miscalendared filing deadline, error was discovered in time to place petition in court deposit box or file it by fax before 5 p.m. on last day, which would have made filing timely, and where attorney’s alleged error in believing that filing after 90-day limit but before filing of motion to dismiss would be sufficient was not the cause of missing deadline since attorney would have filed on time but for erroneous belief that documents could not be filed after 4 p.m., an error that trial court reasonably found to be inexcusable given professional standard of care.
     Fiorentino v. City of Fresno - filed April 5, 2007, publication ordered May 4, 2007, Fifth District
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2275
       Full text 

- Coastal Commission-
Gates and signs are "development" within the meaning of Public Resources Code Sec. 30106. Coastal Commission erred in denying private landowner’s permit for gates and no trespassing signs based on the theory that "potential exists to establish prescriptive rights for public use."
     LT-WR, L.L.C. v. California Coastal Commission - filed May 25, 2007, Second District, Div. Three
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2764
       Full text

-  Community Property-
Presumption contained in Family Code Sec. 760 that property acquired by either spouse during marriage is community property may be rebutted by establishing by preponderance of the evidence that contested property was a gift.
     In re Marriage of Ettefagh - filed May 22, 2007, First District, Div. Five
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2601
       Full text 

-  Easements-
Deed granting easement "for parking and garage purposes" entitled the holder of the easement to construct a garage on a portion of the easement. Subdivision Map Act does not require that property owner, in order to grant an easement that permits the construction of a permanent structure such as a garage, obtain local approval for the easement or record a map.
     Blackmore v. Powell - filed May 22, 2007, Second District, Div. Four
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2628
       Full text 

-  Landlord and Tenant-
Damages for emotional distress are available under former Civil Code Sec. 1942.4(b)(1) where landlord violates warranty of habitability.
     McNairy v. C. K. Realty - filed May 22, 2007, Second District, Div. Eight
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2624
       Full text 

  -Redevelopment Law-
Redevelopment agency's execution of municipal services agreement with Indian tribe did not violate Health and Safety Code Sec. 33426.5, which generally prohibits redevelopment agencies from assisting businesses in the development of gaming facilities, where agency agreed only to provide police, fire, water and sewer services to proposed gaming development and not to subsidize or otherwise participate in the gaming operations. Community Redevelopment Law does not require that agency insist on provisions benefiting general public, such as a requirement that developers practice non-discrimination or that a portion of the development be reserved for low-income housing, as a condition of a municipal services agreement, nor does the CRL require that every site within development area be blighted. Adoption of MSA for land which Indian tribe intends to have put in trust for tribe, thus exempting the property from state law and local ordinances, does not constitute an unlawful relinquishment of sovereign authority by redevelopment agency.
     Hesperia Citizens for Responsible Development v. City of Hesperia - filed May 30, 2007, Fourth District, Div. One
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2858
      Full text

-  Subdivisions-
Deed granting easement "for parking and garage purposes" entitled the holder of the easement to construct a garage on a portion of the easement. Subdivision Map Act does not require that property owner, in order to grant an easement that permits the construction of a permanent structure such as a garage, obtain local approval for the easement or record a map.
     Blackmore v. Powell - filed May 22, 2007, Second District, Div. Four
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2628
       Full text 

-Subdivisions-
For purposes of determining whether contiguous parcels are held by different owners and thus exempt from merger under Subdivision Map Act, "ownership" is not determined solely by who holds the title of record as of the date a notice of intention to determine status is filed--which would allow property owners to avoid merger by the simple expedient of transferring paper title to someone else, including some other family member, irrespective of any intent to change possession of or control over the affected property--but is also indicated by such things as possession of or control over the affected property, whether a transfer occurred shortly before the planned merger, whether it occurred between family members, and the purpose of any recent transfer in title. Where landowner deeded parcel to his wife for no consideration after learning informally of city’s intentions to merge parcel with another contiguous parcel owned by him, the parcels were in substance under common ownership at the time the city recorded notice of intent to determine status.
     Kalway v. City of Berkeley - filed May 31, 2007, First District, Div. One
     Cite as 2007 SOS 2931
       Full text