In April 2021, a developer applied to the City of King City, California (City), for a proposed 18,000-square-foot Grocery Outlet store (Project). The Project site was a former 1.6-acre car sales lot adjacent to Highway 101...more
As in previous years, California saw a significant volume of new housing legislation emerge from Sacramento in 2024. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the final section below.) This...more
11/7/2024
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
Building Permits ,
CEQA ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Governor Newsom ,
Historic Preservation ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
New Legislation ,
Public Transit ,
Real Estate Development ,
Roads ,
Urban Planning & Development
The 2023 California Legislative session, like the last several, saw the enactment of a large number of significant new housing production laws. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the...more
11/6/2023
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Density Bonus ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
New Legislation ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule to update regulations for the development of offshore wind energy resources, found at 30 C.F.R. Part 585.1 The...more
2/2/2023
/ BOEM ,
Comment Period ,
Energy Projects ,
Leases ,
Offshore Wind ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
As in previous years, the California Legislature enacted a large volume of housing production laws in the 2022 session, some of which may have a significant effect on housing production in 2023. ...more
10/11/2022
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Colleges ,
Density Bonus ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
LEED Certified ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Parking Lots ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Student Housing ,
Universities ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland announced in October that the Biden Administration would be opening up the U.S. coastline to large-scale, offshore wind farming. Speaking at a wind industry...more
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Sept. 16, 2021, signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 9, a landmark law that would allow for the ministerial approval of certain housing development projects containing up to two dwelling units...more
The California Legislature on Sept. 9, 2021, approved landmark state legislation to facilitate California's offshore wind energy potential. Assembly Bill (AB) 525 requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to prepare a...more
9/15/2021
/ BOEM ,
California Energy Commission ,
CEQA ,
Clean Energy ,
CPUC ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
NEPA ,
New Legislation ,
Offshore Lease ,
Offshore Wind ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Renewable Energy ,
Strategic Planning ,
Wind Power
The California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District has struck down a state law that limited judicial review of California Energy Commission (CEC) thermal power plants siting approvals to the California Supreme...more
Citing the urgency of climate change, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20 on Sept. 23, 2020, to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "more quickly move toward our low-carbon, sustainable...more
As California's housing supply and homelessness crisis continues to worsen, the state Legislature has for the past several years passed numerous pieces of housing legislation in each legislative session. ...more
9/23/2020
/ Affordable Housing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mortgages ,
Real Estate Development ,
Residential Leases ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020, updating its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The amended regulations – the...more
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has taken the first major step towards implementing the recent Executive Order (EO) from the Trump Administration that seeks to protect the national bulk-power system (BPS) from foreign...more
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, issued a published decision (North Murrieta Community, LLC v. City of Murrieta, Case No. E072663) on June 8, 2020, that addressed how inconsistencies can arise...more
As the current health crisis from COVID-19 grows, electricity market participants may benefit from developing strategies to assess their risks and protect from potential disputes.
All parties may benefit from a deal that...more
The state of California is calling for more investments in microgrids for electric power resiliency. Spurred by a 2018 legislative effort that recognized the multitude of benefits microgrid technologies can offer (e.g., grid...more
As California's housing supply and homelessness crisis continues, the State Legislature has for the past several years passed numerous pieces of housing legislation in each legislative session. This year was no exception,...more
10/21/2019
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Building Permits ,
CEQA ,
Common-Interest Communities ,
Community Development ,
Governor Newsom ,
Homeowners Association (HOA) ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Land Trusts ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Rent Control ,
Residential Real Estate Contracts ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wildfires ,
Zoning Laws
On July 30, 2019, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal panel unanimously held that the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) preempts two components of California's Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT)...more
8/6/2019
/ Appeals ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Preemption ,
Public Utility ,
PURPA ,
Qualifying Facility ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
State Procurement Contracts ,
Summary Judgment ,
Utilities Sector
On June 27, 2019 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or the Commission) filed two Orders Instituting Investigations (OII) to investigate (i) the safety culture of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and...more