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In Hines v. California Coastal Commission, No. A125254 (decided June 17, 2010, ordered published July 13, 2010), the California Court of Appeal (First District) held that the California Coastal Commission properly refused to hear the appeal of a neighbor who opposed the grant of a use permit because the appeal did not present a “substantial issue” under the Coastal Act.

There is a lot of detail in the lengthy opinion, and we won’t cover it all here, but here’s the short version. The county board of supervisors granted a coastal development permit to build a home and garage, which reduced the 100-foot riparian setback to 50 feet. A neighbor objected, asserting that the county’s coastal policy “absolutely forbids construction of permanent structures within 100 feet from the lowest line of riparian vegetation,” and sought appellate review by the California Coastal Commission. The Commission declined to exercise jurisdiction. The…

Continue Reading Cal App: No “Substantial Issue” Meriting Appeal To Coastal Commission

Heads up on a new article of interest to those of us who deal with exactions and Nollan/Dolan: Matthew Baker, Much Ado About Nollan/Dolan: The Comparative Nature of the Legislative Adjudication Distinctions in Exactions, 42 Urban Lawyer 171 (2010). Here’s a summary: 

Much has been made, by both commentators and courts, of the distinction between legislative and adjudicative land use exactions used to determine whether an exaction must meet the “essential nexus” requirement of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and the “rough proportionality” test of Dolan v. City of Tigard. But practical application of the distinction has been anything but simple, only adding to the “mess” and “muddle” of Takings Clause jurisprudence. While exactions jurisprudence is admittedly messy, the apparent analytical incoherence results primarily from the confused and inconsistent application of the Nollan/Dolan test by lower courts, which would no doubt prefer…

Continue Reading New Article On Legislative-Adjudicative Distinction In Nollan/Dolan Analysis