Latest News
LAW ALERT – Not Easy Being Green: California Supreme Court Weighs in on Analyzing GHG Emissions Under CEQA
In Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife ("DFW"), the California Supreme Court found that a 2010 environmental impact report (“EIR”) prepared by DFW for a...
A RAD Rejuvenation of San Francisco Public Housing
November 23rd marked an historic day for the affordable housing community in San Francisco as 15 public housing sites were turned over to private developer teams to begin work on a monumental...
Court of Appeal Enforces Clear Terms of Exclusive Negotiating Agreement
Goldfarb & Lipman recently represented a California city in defense of an action for breach of contract and related claims brought by a developer after the city elected not to proceed with...
LAW ALERT – Summary of SB 107: Redevelopment Dissolution-Take 3
SB 107, once more, requires Successor Agency staff and others involved in the unwind of dissolved redevelopment agencies to learn and implement significant changes to the dissolution process. The...
“Gifts From Clients? Is it Okay? Maybe” by Dianne Jackson McLean
"Gift from Clients? Is it okay? Maybe" by Dianne Jackson McLean was published in Legal by the Bay, the blog of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Click here to read the article.
LAW ALERT – State Slashes Parking Requirements For Housing Near Transit
As of January 1, 2016, developments containing affordable housing and located near transit will be entitled to greatly reduced parking requirements in most communities. Click here to read more.
LAW ALERT – Homebuyer Lending Reform: Local Governments and Non-Profits Must Abide By The New Trid Rule
Public agencies and non-profits making affordable homeownership loans may be subject to the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule, often referred to as the "TRID Rule". Click here to read more.
LAW ALERT – AB 2: The Rising Community Revitalization Phoenix
Simply put, AB 2 reintroduces tax increment financing to the economic development toolkit of California's communities, by a different name. This law alert provides a brief summary of AB 2 and the...
Juliet Cox to Become Administrative Law Judge
It is with a mixture of sadness and delight (sadness for us, delight for her) that we announce the departure of our friend and colleague Juliet Cox from the firm. Juliet has accepted a position as...
LAW ALERT – You Can’t Always Get (Or Keep) What You Want: Court Upholds Massive Mitigation Fee Refund
In Walker v. City of San Clemente, a California court of appeal upheld a judgment against San Clemente requiring it to refund more than $10 million in unspent mitigation fees to homeowners because...
A Brief Summary of an Important Summary Judgment
Goldfarb and Lipman successfully represented two San Francisco affordable housing nonprofit corporations and the seven individual members of the Boards of Directors of the nonprofits in defense of a...
LAW ALERT – The (Sometimes) Sleeping Giant Stirs… HUD Publishes Final Rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
HUD released its final rule last month for the implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) provisions. Click here to read more.
LAW ALERT – Fair is Fair: State Agencies Must Consider Fair Share Mitigation Payments Apart From Legislative Earmarks
In City of San Diego v. Board of Trustees of the California State University (San Diego v. CSU), the California Supreme Court rejected CSU's contention that the University could not pay off-site...
LAW ALERT – Federal Fair Housing Disparate Impact Claims Survive Scotus
In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that disparate impact claims are a valid basis for lawsuits under the Federal...
SCOTUS Keeps the “Fair” in the Fair Housing Act
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a local housing policy that has a “disparate impact” on minorities is actionable under the federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), even if the impact was...
