The 4th District Court of Appeals has resolved an ambiguity in the intent and enforceability of Civil Code Section 4740, a statute within the Davis-Stirling Act (“Act”) placing limitations on rental prohibitions within common interest developments (“CID”) in California. The court’s ruling is a victory for owners of residential condominiums currently renting units in a […]
SB 9 Makes it Through the Assembly but AB 1401 Dies in the Senate Two bills that would limit local control over housing issues met very different fates this past Thursday in the California Legislature. Both were vehemently opposed by cities and groups that favor local control over land use decision making. One was opposed […]
To conserve water in the midst of another extreme drought, Supervisors Rafael Mandelman (District 8), Gordon Mar (District 4), and Myrna Melgar (District 7) proposed legislation (“Legislation”) to strengthen the 2012 Non-potable Water Ordinance (Article 12C of the San Francisco Health Code). The Legislation’s goal is to preserve the City’s water supply by requiring the […]
Electronic Plan Review The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has reinstated Electronic Plan Review (EPR) for any new in-house review projects. This process saves applicants time and money on their project. Saves Money – No need to print multiple large rolls of paper plans and coordinate multiple design professional wet signatures. Digital signature over […]
Mayor London Breed recently signed legislation that will make the Shared Spaces Program a permanent feature in San Francisco. The temporary Shared Spaces Program allowed more flexible use of sidewalks, streets, and other public spaces for neighborhood businesses and was implemented through a mayoral proclamation tied to the declaration of a state of emergency due […]
The Planning Commission considered two pieces of proposed legislation at its regular meeting last week. One was the elimination of the Life Science and Medical Special Use District (to which staff added a proposal to eliminate the Industrial Protection Zone (IPZ) Special Use District), and the second was Supervisor Mandelman’s so-called “Large Residence” legislation (which […]
On the heels of the Berkeley Shellmound SB 35 decision in favor of streamlined housing, another recent Court of Appeal decision rejected a public agency’s attempts to delay a housing project under the Permit Streamlining Act (“PSA”), and clarified that a jurisdiction with permitting authority must take action within the PSA’s time limits even if […]
A homeowners association (“HOA”) is required to hold elections for its board of directors (“Board”) when a seat becomes available. The Davis-Stirling Act specifies that HOA elections must conform to certain rules and procedures. A Board can set qualifications for nominees running for the Board, but there are only a narrow set of reasons why […]
A case recently discussed a property owner’s duty to a third party visitor, more specifically a possible duty to a third party who incurs an off-property injury due to an alleged deficiency at the owner’s property itself. In Issakhani v. Shadow Glen Homeowners Association, Inc. (“HOA”), the plaintiff tried to park at the property (owned by […]
Titled the “Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021,” SB 7 reenacts and revises expedited CEQA administrative and judicial review procedures for certain Environmental Leadership Development Projects (“Leadership Projects”) established by AB 900. The bill was introduced by Senator Atkins as an urgency measure and went into effect on May 20, 2021. […]
