Publications
The 2016 Goldfarb & Lipman Legislative Update
The 2016 Goldfarb & Lipman Annual Legislative Update provides a summary of recently enacted legislation that will impact areas of concern to our clients, including: real estate transactions,...
LAW ALERT – Likely Major Changes in CEQA Practice in Response to Supreme Court’s ‘CEQA in Reverse’ Decision
In California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the California Supreme Court unanimously held that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not...
LAW ALERT – Five Year Extension of the New Markets Tax Credit Program
On December 18, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2029, a $1.1 trillion spending bill which contained a $680 billion tax package. Click here to read more.
LAW ALERT – Supreme Court Issues CBIA V. Bay Area Air Quality Management District Opinion – 12-17-15
Today the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion holding that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not require a public agency to consider the impact of existing...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
LAW ALERT – HUD Updates RAD Program Rules
On June 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development updated and clarified the rules governing the Rental Assistance Demonstration ("RAD") program. Click here for more information.
LAW ALERT – California Supreme Court Gives The Green Light to Affordable Housing Ordinances
The California Supreme Court on June 15, 2015, in California Building Industry Ass’n (“BIA”) v. City of San Jose, held that local ordinances requiring a proportion of new housing to be affordable...