The big news this week is the signing of the California budget, which includes an important reform of CEQA as it applies to infill housing projects. In recent years, the California legislature has been slowly chipping away at CEQA by creating a variety of streamlining programs that make certain types of housing approvals ministerial and therefore exempt from environmental review (ex: SB 423 / SB 2243 / AB 2162 / SB 684). While these new laws were a great starting point in removing the CEQA barriers that have stymied housing production for decades (and provide useful project streamlining and other
If you own an electric vehicle, one main concern is finding a public charging station. While California has lead the nation with the number of electric vehicles sold (25.1% of all vehicle sales as of January 2025), and also leads with the number of chargers in the state (178,549 public & shared chargers as of March 2025), getting an electric vehicle (“EV”) charging station approved has proven to be a challenge. The biggest roadblock EV charging station companies face are local jurisdictions and their Planning-Zoning codes. As a refresher, the state legislature passed laws that mandated local jurisdictions create a
California Senate Bill 900 (SB 900), effective January 1, 2025, introduces significant changes to the responsibilities of homeowners associations (HOAs) in common interest developments, particularly condominiums. The legislation mandates that HOAs take immediate action to repair utility service interruptions originating in the project’s common area, such as gas, heat, water or electrical service, even if the issue extends into individual units. Repairs must commence within 14 days of the disruption. Key Provisions Impacting Condo Owners and HOAs Expanded Repair Responsibilities. SB 900 amends Civil Code Section 4775, part of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, to require HOAs to repair
The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (California Civil Code Section 4000 et seq.) (“Act”) is the primary body of law governing residential common interest developments (“CIDs”) and homeowners associations (“HOAs”) in California. Several bills – such as those relating to HOA elections, the permissibility of electronic voting, maintenance responsibilities for public utilities serving CIDs, and dispute resolution procedures for construction defect claims – were recently enacted by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom. These modifications to the Act have since been codified in the California Civil Code and became effective January 1, 2025. The following is
In a litigation result that will have a number of positive consequences for developers and housing advocates, the City of La Canada Flintridge (“City”) last week moved to dismiss its appeal of a closely-watched “Builder’s Remedy” case. After the appeals court ordered the City to post a $14 million bond on appeal, the City chose not to do so and will now comply with the trial court decision and process a housing application to build an 80-unit apartment project (“Project”). Readers may recall us reporting on this litigation previously. (California Housing Defense Fund v. City of La Cañada Flintridge (L.A.
Most sophisticated real estate professionals understand that before real property is acquired, a review of the condition of title is an essential part of the due diligence process. But the nuances of title insurance coverage are often not understood. In most cases, a prospective buyer of real estate will receive a preliminary title report or title commitment from a title insurer affiliated with the escrow agent for the transaction. That document typically includes the legal description for the property, a statement about the proposed form of title insurance policy, the exceptions to the title insurance coverage that the title insurer
