Articles

Decision in Sterling “forced farming” case : agricultural easement “flat out unconstitutional”

June 25, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: J. David Breemer On June 18, the San Mateo Superior Court issued its Statement of Decision in Sterling v. California Coastal Commission. The case involves the CCC’s attempt to require the Sterlings to actively farm or graze 140 acres of their land forever, and to deed an easement to this effect to the State, in … ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : the enduring impact of the HEAL decision

May 15, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

One way that PLF can assure that its property rights victories have a long-lasting impact is to “connect the dots” between past cases and current controversies.  A good example is the Washington Court of Appeals’ 1999 decision in Honesty In Environmental Analysis and Legislation v. Seattle, which stands out as the first Washingto ...

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PLF is defending property rights from the California Coastal Commission … again

February 08, 2013 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Today, PLF filed a lawsuit in Marin County Superior Court asking that the court invalidate three burdensome and unreasonable permit conditions that the California Coastal Commission imposed on property owners in violation of the Constitution. In this case, Daniel Altman and Avi Atid want to restore an important historic structure on Tomales Bay, an ...

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VICTORY! California Coastal Commission "checks out," scales back its demands on the Marshall Tavern renovation

May 10, 2013 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Yesterday, the California Coastal Commission voted to amend the permit to renovate the Marshall Tavern, reducing project-killing conditions that had no connection to the renovation plan.  PLF is representing the owners of Marshall Tavern, Daniel Altman and Avi Atid, in their constitutional challenge to the conditions imposed on their original perm ...

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Appellate court ruling blesses extortionate land-use practices

January 17, 2014 | By JENNIFER THOMPSON

Yesterday, the California First District Court of Appeal ruled against us in Powell v. County of Humboldt.  This is the case challenging the County of Humboldt’s requirement that our clients, Scott and Lynn Powell, dedicate a public airspace easement above their property in exchange for a building permit.  The County insists they obtain thi ...

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Los Angeles responds to our General Plan 2035 letter

May 07, 2014 | By JONATHAN WILLIAMS

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission is currently in the process of adopting General Plan 2035. Like Obamacare, General Plan 2035 checks in at a whopping 900 pages. It seeks to reshape the county through mandates including: expanded transit districts, expanded mixed use development, mandatory farming districts, and “Employment ...

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Washington trial court fumbles the ball in a post-Koontz case

June 24, 2014 | By BRIAN HODGES

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District last year, I have been on a speaking tour with a prominent government attorney, discussing the case’s impact on Washington law. One important point on which we both agreed was that Koontz clarified that an unlawful exactions case falls within the … ...

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Fighting to protect San Juan property owners from land grab

March 06, 2015 | By BRIAN HODGES

Yesterday, PLF attorneys filed an amicus brief in support of San Juan County’s shoreline property owners in the case, Common Sense Alliance v. Growth Management Hearings Board. At issue is San Juan County’s update to its critical areas ordinance, which, in part, conditions approval of any new development of a shoreline property upon the ...

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Fighting to protect San Juan property owners from land grab

May 14, 2015 | By BRIAN HODGES

On June 2, 2015, Division I of the Washington State Court of Appeals is set to hear oral argument in the first state case seeking to limit government’s ability to coerce property from land use applicants since PLF’s landmark victory in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Mgmt. Dist. (2013). The case, Common Sense Alliance … ...