Due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“L.A. Public Health”) announced that all outdoor and indoor dining at restaurants, breweries and wineries will be restricted, effective November 25, 2020 at 10:00 p.m., while take-out, drive thru, and delivery services may continue (“Order”).
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Significant Changes to State CEQA Filing and Noticing Requirements and Procedures
Two significant changes to California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) noticing and filing requirements and procedures recently took effect. First, on September 23, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-80-20 (“Order“), which conditionally suspends certain requirements for filing, noticing, and posting of CEQA documents with county clerk offices. The Order provides an alternate
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SB 288: Sustainable Transportation and the “Road to Recovery” for Post-COVID Air Pollution and Unemployment Concerns
By Sara Atsbaha
At the end of the 2020 legislative session, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 288 (Wiener)[1] (SB 288) into law. SB 288, which amends the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), streamlines the environmental review process for: (i) specific transportation-related projects, including bus rapid transit projects, light rail service projects, construction or maintenance of charging or
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Residential Eviction Protections and California Consumer Financial Protections Pass Muster During 2020 Legislative Session
During the eleventh hour of the 2020 legislative session, the State legislature approved 2 significant bills in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the potential to have far-reaching ramifications for mortgage servicers.
Assembly Bill 3088
The first of the bills this article discusses is Assembly Bill (AB) 3088,[1] which temporarily prevents evictions due
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California Housing Legislation 2020
Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a number of housing bills into law that were passed by the Legislature this session ending on August 31, 2020. Due to the severe scheduling constraints placed on lawmakers by the COVID-19 pandemic among other challenges, the Legislature was only able to pass a small number of bills related to
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The Pandemic’s Impacts on Developers and Contractors May Call for Seldom-Used Relief: An Overview of the Principles of Force Majeure, Impracticability, and Frustration of Purpose
This article originally appeared in the California Lawyers Association’s Real Property, Environmental and Public Law Journals Joint Issue.
As society responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, states and local governments across the United States, including the State of California, issued shelter-in place (“SIP”) orders[i] to prevent its spread. While intended to benefit Americans in the…
Splitting The Roll – Commercial And Industrial Property Owners May Face Significant California Property Tax Increases Starting As Early As The 2022-2023 Fiscal Year
California’s Proposition 13 prevents the assessed value of California real property from increasing by more than 2% per year, unless there is a change of ownership or completion of new construction. On November 3, 2020, California voters will decide whether most commercial and industrial property should be removed from the protections of Proposition 13, with
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COVID-19 Alert: California’s Housing Bills to Boost Production
By Alfred Fraijo Jr. & Yue Shi
The California legislature is gearing up to adopt major real estate development incentives intended to boost the economy in the wake of COVID-19. The recent outbreaks and general constraints on travel have compressed the state’s legislative Fall calendar. Thus, leaders from both chambers have directed their members to prioritize policy proposals. Finding ways to increase
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A Streamlined Process: Expedited Temporary Outdoor Dining Permits For NYC Restaurants
On March 22, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order that closed all non-essential businesses in New York State (the “Order”). In connection with the Order, New York City restaurants were forced to reduce their operations to pick-up and delivery only. On June 8, 2020, New York City entered into Phase I of
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Judicial Council Amends Tolling Period for Statutes Limitations Impacted by COVID-19
By David Hymer
On April 6, 2020, the California State Judicial Council adopted Emergency Rule 9 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] As originally approved, the rule tolled the statute of limitations for all civil causes of action from April 6, 2020 until 90 days after the Governor lifts the current State of Emergency Declaration related
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Proposed Legislation Aims to Boost Affordable Housing on Land Owned by Religious Institutions and Nonprofit Hospitals
California Senate Bill (“SB”) 899, introduced in March by Senator Scott Wiener and currently in the Senate Housing, Environmental Quality, and Governance and Finance Committees, would exempt eligible affordable housing projects and mixed use projects on property owned by religious institutions and nonprofit medical facilities from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub.
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Los Angeles City Council Passes Ordinance to Expand Temporary Tenant Protections
On a unanimous vote yesterday, May 6, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance (“New Ordinance“) amending rules in the Los Angeles Municipal Code that temporarily prohibit the eviction of residential and commercial tenants in the City of Los Angeles for failure to pay rent due to COVID-19. Notably, the New
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New Bay Area COVID-19 Orders Ease Restrictions on Construction and Impose New Safety Protocols
In an earlier post, we covered the local Shelter-in-Place (“SIP”) orders, which severely restricted construction activities throughout the Bay Area. This week the participating jurisdictions (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties) updated their SIP orders to ease restrictions on construction. The changes take effect May 4 and will
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Digital CEQA: New Executive Order Creates An Alternative Path For Complying With CEQA Notice, Posting And Public Review Requirements
On April 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-54-20 (EO) which, in part, addresses an outstanding question related to the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) “public review” requirements, which quickly became problematic upon closure of the locations typically used to house and post CEQA-related documents. These closures, which impact government buildings like
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US EPA’s COVID-19 Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Interim Guidance regarding EPA decision-making with respect to the potential impacts of the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on field work at certain cleanup sites. The Interim Guidance, which “supplements” a March 19 EPA guidance, applies to all contaminated sites where EPA is the
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Code Section 1031 Like Kind Exchange Deadlines Extended
By John Crisp
On April 9, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 (the “Notice”) which expands the filing and payment deadline relief announced by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in March. The March announcement gave taxpayers until July 15, 2020 to file their federal income tax returns and to pay federal income taxes, each of which were originally
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