December 2017

On December 7, 2017, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the County of Ventura’s land use regulations, which require a conditional use permit for “temporary outdoor” events, violate the First Amendment’s protections of free speech and expression.

The case, Epona, LLC v. County of Ventura, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. 2017), arose out of a CUP application to use a 40-acre working ranch and vineyard known as the Epona Estate for up to 60 outdoor events per year, including weddings.  The property is zoned for agricultural use, and neighboring properties are designated either as agricultural or as open space.Continue Reading Ninth Circuit: Ventura County Outdoor Wedding Regulations Violate First Amendment

American humorist Will Rogers once quipped, “The minute you read something that you can’t understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer.”  There are, of course, many other similarly amusing criticisms of legal writing.  According to former Yale Law School professor Fred Rodell, for example, “There are two things wrong with almost all legal writing.  One is its style. The other is its content.”

To the extent such assessments ever ring true, they are especially unfortunate when given life in the form of a poorly-written published court opinion addressing important legal issues.  The Fourth District Court of Appeal’s October 31, 2017 opinion in The Kennedy Commission v. City of Huntington Beach, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2017) serves as a prime recent example.  The saving grace is that the Court reached the right legal conclusion.Continue Reading Huntington Beach Specific Plan Exempt From General Plan Consistency Requirement