City of Laguna Beach Retains Local Control over Coastal Development Permit for St. Catherine of Siena Parish School Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Bauer ruled late Monday that the California Coastal Commission does not have authority over the proposed remodeling plans of the Laguna Beach Catholic school, St. Catherine of Siena Parish School. “This ruling keeps decision making over local land use in Laguna Beach where it belongs: with local, community and civic leaders,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Paul J. Beard II, who represents St. Catherine of Siena Parish School in this case. “This ruling recognizes that the Coastal Commission doesn’t have the legal authority to interfere in these local matters. The school is now able to proceed with presenting its environmentally responsible reconstruction plans to city officials, without intrusion from a state bureaucracy.” Last year, after the school first put forward reconstruction plans to city officials for the 50-year-old landmark school, the Coastal Commission suddenly declared that it had authority to hear an appeal of the City’s decision. In challenging the Commission’s attempt to intrude, PLF attorneys noted that the California Coastal Act recognizes that local coastal permitting decisions should, whenever possible, be left to local governments. Although the Commission attempted to classify two drainage ditches on the school’s property as “streams” giving it jurisdiction, PLF attorneys pointed out that the City’s Commission-certified local coastal program and map clearly show no drainage ditch or stream within 100 feet of the school project....
National Property Rights Organization Launches Lawsuit Under Arizona’s Proposition 207 In a lawsuit invoking Proposition 207, Arizona’s new property rights initiative, Flagstaff firefighter Jon Regner and three other residents are asking for compensation for new City rules that restrict them from upgrading their homes and property. Jon Regner, Paul Turner, Bob Richards, and Margaret Allen are represented by attorneys with Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, the nation’s premiere legal organization dedicated to property rights and limited government. They’re suing under a new state law, Proposition 207, approved in November, 2006, by almost 2/3 of the voters of Arizona. The new law requires just compensation for people whose property value is decreased due to government restrictions on their property rights. “Arizona voters spoke with a united voice last November in enacting Proposition 207,” said Timothy Sandefur, one of the attorneys representing Regner and the other property owners. “They said property owners should not be exploited in this way by bureaucrats. If the government takes away your property rights, it should compensate you for that taking. Unfortunately, the City of Flagstaff doesn’t think it’s necessary to comply with state law.” Regner planned to renovate his home, and to add a second story to the smaller house behind his, so that he could rent it out. But under the City’s new “Historic Overlay Ordinance,” property owners in his Flagstaff neighborhood are not allowed to refurbish their property without permission from a special government board. The ordinance also sets severe height and size restrictions on homes: landowners may not have structures higher than 25-feet tall or roofs at less than a 45-degree angle. The new restrictions mean Regner cannot go through with his plans. But the City refused to answer Regner’s requests for compensation....