Articles

Court allows PLF case against Coastal Commission to go forward

September 30, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Paul J. Beard II Earlier this month, the San Luis Obispo Superior Court delivered a nice win to PLF client, SDS Family Trust, in its fight against the California Coastal Commission. The Family is suing the Commission for extorting a mile-long public access easement across its coastal property as a condition of obtaining a … ...

Articles

Skewed statistics and the California Coastal Commission

May 02, 2012 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

The California Coastal Commission is known as being exceptionally antagonistic toward private property rights, an attitude embodied in the Commission’s late executive director Peter Douglas.  Charles Lester, Douglas’s successor, recently spoke in Humboldt County before a large audience of government officials and environmental activist ...

Articles

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 ...

Articles

Fighting for freedom in Humboldt County

February 28, 2013 | By JENNIFER THOMPSON

Can the government force you to give up an interest in your real property in exchange for a building permit?  That is the question PLF is litigating on behalf of property owners Scott and Lynn Powell in the California First District Court of Appeal.  We recently filed our Opening Brief, in which we explain that … ...

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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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Continuing the fight in Humboldt County

May 16, 2013 | By JENNIFER THOMPSON

  As reported, PLF represents Humboldt County residents Scott and Lynn Powell in their fight against government extortion.  The County of Humboldt demands that the Powells obtain a building permit to bring some covered porches on their mobile home up to code.  (The prior owner never bothered to get a permit).  But the County won’t &# ...

Articles

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 ...

Articles

Heard through the grapevine : Ninth Circuit holds Koontz allows government price controls

May 12, 2014 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Last week, the Ninth Circuit decided the remand of Horne v. USDA, the raisin case that the Supreme Court overturned last term. The case previously drew attention for what it had to say about Williamson County — the case that keeps essentially all takings cases from federal court. The most recent round in this litigation addresses … ...