Zoning & Planning

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The appellate courts in California haven’t been too friendly to the medical marijuana dispensaries when it comes to land use and zoning. See here, here for example (the latter case is being considered by the California Supreme Court, so we may see some major pronouncement this year).

Here’s the latest decision, City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective, No. G043909 (Feb. 29, 2012), in which the Fourth District (six SoCal counties, including San Diego, Orange, and the Inland Empire) concluded that the city could not adopt an outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries under the local zoning code, because state law authorizes “collective[] and cooperative[]” medicial marijiana acitvities.

The city instituted a nuisance abatement proceeding against the Collective, arguing that because the zoning code prohibits dispensaries, the it was was a “nuisance per se.” The trial court sided with the city and entered an injunction. The court…

Continue Reading Smoke Em If You Got Em – Cal Ct App: Med Marijuana Dispensary Is Not A Per Se Nuisance

In Town of Bozrah v. Chmurynski, No. SC 18424 (Feb. 14, 2012), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that in order for the town’s zoning enforcement officer to inspect private property, he must obtain an injunction (similar to a warrant in the criminal context) that is based on probable cause:

In conclusion, we hold that a zoning official may inspect a single property—not part of a routine or area wide search—pursuant to § 8-12 if the zoning official first obtains an injunction issued upon probable cause by a judicial officer as articulated in this opinion. Because the trial court failed to make a preliminary determination of probable cause to believe that a zoning violation existed on the property, its order permitting a search of the defendants’ property violates the fourth amendment.

Slip op. at 13. The opinion also set out the criteria that a court must consider when it determines…

Continue Reading Connecticut: Zoning Officials Need Probable Cause To Search Private Property

Regulatingparadise Professor Patricia E. Salkin (of the Law of the Land blog) has written this review of Professor David Callies’ Regulating Paradise: Land Use Controls in Hawaii (2d ed. 2010). The review is in the latest edition of the Urban Lawyer (43 Urb. Lawyer 1107 (2011)), the law review published by the ABA’s Section of State & Local Government Law.

Professor Salkin writes:

Unlike mainland states, the history of land ownership and regulation in Hawai’i—dating back to the mid 1800s—is unique and deeply rooted in centralized control both before and after the State became a territory. Callies explains how the State’s oft-studied 1961 land use law continued this trend, with zoning accomplished at the state level. He points out that from this strong tradition of centralized control, however, a new system of land use regulation has emerged with layers of county laws and the influence of myriad federal statutes and…

Continue Reading Book Review: Callies, Regulating Paradise (2d ed. 2010)

Check this out: the Hawaii Legislature is considering two bills (HB1707 and SB2089) that will require “nonresident” property owners who rent their property for thirty days or less (transient vacation rentals) to use a licensed real estate broker to rent the property, and to employ a property manager to operate it. “Nonresident owner” is defined as an out-of-state owner or someone who lives “on a different island” from their rental property.

Not surprisingly, much of the testimony in favor of these measures has been submitted by the counties (these bills purportedly would make it easier to collect TVR taxes), and by property managers and real estate agents. 

Putting aside any questions of whether this is good policy or not, think there might be any problems with this? Continue Reading “Nonresident” Property Owners Must Employ Property Managers For TVRs?