The often invoked but rarely successful laches doctrine is an equitable defense when a party unreasonably delays enforcing a right and when granting the relief sought would prejudice the adverse party.  A petition for “exclusion” is an equitable process under California’s Subdivision Map Act, to compel a local agency to redraw or discard a recorded subdivision map, and it is even rarer.  These issues recently collided in Decea v. County of Ventura, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2020) (Case No. B302086), a Second District Court of Appeal case involving a landowner’s attempt to seek a court order declaring void a 1974 parcel map that was prepared and recorded under prior ownership and to restore the prior lot lines of a 1923 map.
Continue Reading Landowner’s Efforts to Void and Redraw Subdivision Map Fails Under Laches Doctrine

California’s statues of limitations in land use cases are notoriously short and harsh and don’t often result in outcomes favorable to aggrieved applicants.  Exceptions such as Honchariw v. County of Stanislaus, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2020) (Case No. F077815) (i.e., Honchariw IV), are thus notable and worth remembering.
Continue Reading Court Holds That Subdivider’s Challenge to County’s Interpretation of Vesting Tentative Map Conditions of Approval May be Filed Beyond 90-Day Statute of Limitations Period

In a new case published on June 8, 2020, North Murrieta Community, LLC v. City of Murrieta, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2020) (Case No. E072663), the Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed novel vested rights issues arising under both the Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code § 66410 et seq.) and the density bonus law (Gov. Code § 65864 et seq.).  Both statutes essentially establish that when a local agency approves a vesting tentative map or enters a development agreement the developer is entitled to proceed on the project under the local laws in effect the time of the approval.
Continue Reading Development Agreement Allowed City to Impose New Fees on Housing Project Despite Previously Approved Vesting Tentative Map

Seeking to piggyback on the State of Emergency Governor Gavin Newsom declared on March 4, 2020 as part of the state’s response to address the global COVID-19 pandemic, California cities filed a letter with the Governor asking him to “pause” various important statutory timelines that apply to twelve parts of state law, including several that play a central role in the ongoing housing crisis.  In the six-page letter, dated March 22, 2020, the League of California Cities explains that
Continue Reading California Cities Seek Relief From Project Processing, Public Records Act, and Other Key Statutory Timelines During State of Emergency Resulting From COVID-19

Since 1907, the Subdivision Map Act has “grandfathered” older subdivisions and the parcels they created if they were properly recorded under any law (including a local ordinance), regulating the design and improvement of subdivisions in effect at the time the map was recorded.  Over the years numerous cases have addressed these so-called “antiquated” subdivisions when landowners have sought affirmatively either to confirm the status of parcels or to obtain relief for land subdivided under older maps that predate the current version of the Map Act.

In Save Laurel Way v. City of Redwood City, __ Cal.App.5th __ (Aug. 29, 2017), the First District Court of Appeal addressed a challenge to the first phase of a two-phase development project on parcels created in a 1926 subdivision when the project area was in the jurisdiction of the County of San Mateo.  In the first phase, the City approved a development permit to construct elements such as a cul-de-sac for a fire truck turnaround, a fire hydrant, new streetlights, pedestrian pathways, an open space land dedication, and other civic improvements.  The second phase would involve additional permits and conditions for construction of residences on each lot.Continue Reading Court of Appeal Rules That Subdivision Map Act Does Not Require City to Determine Legal Status of Lots Created by Older Map Before Approving Development Permit to Allow Construction of Infrastructure Improvements