Yesterday, the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee (by a vote of 4-3) and Land Use Committee (by a vote of 8-2 and one abstention) approved the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment (COYHO), with modifications. COYHO is the final piece of Mayor Eric Adams’s City of Yes vision, a trio of legislative packages that seek
Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog
Up-to-date Information on Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law
Latest from Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog
DC Circuit Rejection of CEQ Authority Leaves NEPA Review in Limbo
By Gail Suchman & James Rusk
Last week’s unexpected opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“DC Circuit”) holding that the Council for Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) lacks authority to promulgate regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) leaves federal agencies and private projects facing tremendous uncertainty and likely delays in completing environmental reviews. In Marin Audubon Society v.…
EPA Designation of PFAS as Chemicals of Special Concern Expands TRI Reporting Requirements for Nearly 200 PFAS
Long-term changes to Toxics Release Inventory (“TRI”) reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”) will require thousands of facilities to submit reports on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) for the first time in 2025. More than 196 PFAS chemicals are listed on the TRI list for the 2024 reporting year, and…
California Aims to Revolutionize Packaging and Food Ware: Answers to Key Questions about Recycling, Composting and Source Reduction Requirements
By Louise Dyble
Plastic packaging and food ware are some of the first targets of California’s ambitious and far-reaching program to achieve a “Circular Economy” that reduces waste and pollution. The California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) is constructing a complex structure of procedures and requirements to reduce the total amount of plastic used in the…
California Adds New Options to Growing Menu of Prop 65 Warning Labels for Foods Containing Acrylamide, Citing “Additional Guidance” from the Ninth Circuit
California recently amended its Proposition 65 regulations[1] to add several additional alternative “safe harbor” warning labels for foods containing acrylamide, a naturally-occurring byproduct that can result during high-heat cooking. By adding insights from a recent Ninth Circuit opinion into the legislative mix, California hopes it has crafted the recipe for success in its…
Sustainability Reporting Obligations for EU and Non-EU Companies: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (CSRD) is part of the European Union’s efforts to enhance the scope and quality of sustainability reporting among companies. It imposes sustainability reporting obligations on an increased number of EU and non-EU companies. While some companies will have to file their reports as early 2025, most companies…
A New Hope for the Future of Mitigated Negative Declarations: The Logistics of Warehouse Storage Greenhouse Gas Analysis
In its decision in Upland Community First v. City of Upland, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the development of a warehouse and parcel delivery service building against a challenge primarily to its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thresholds. In doing so, the Court provided a rare victory for…
State of Conversion: Update on Adaptive Reuse and Conversion Legislation
Earlier this year, our article in the Spring 2024 issue of NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Magazine touched on some of the challenges of and tools for adapting underutilized commercial spaces and property for residential redevelopment, including California state laws such as Senate Bill (SB) 6, the “Middle Class Housing Act of 2022” and…
A Deep Dive into AB 98’s Restrictions on the Logistics Industry: What the Bill Does and Does Not Do
Despite strenuous opposition from both the state’s real estate and business communities,1 near the end of the 2024 Legislative cycle, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 98 (“AB 98”) – a bill that, among other things, creates buffer zones and imposes other statewide design and build standards around new warehouse development.2 The…
Westside Mobility Plan Clears the Road of CEQA Challenges
In Westside Los Angeles Neighbors Network v. City of Los Angeles, the Second District Court of Appeals considered and upheld the City of Los Angeles’s (“City”) actions associated with the approval of the Westside Mobility Plan. Specifically, the court upheld: (i) the Los Angeles City Planning Commission’s (“CPC”) certification of the Westside Mobility Plan Environmental…