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9 f -2 LEAGUE TO PARTICIPATE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP PANEL ON STATE BUDGET CHALLENGES League Legislative Representative Jean Korinke will participate in a March 7, 2003 panel discussion, entitled "Leading the Way through State Budget Challenges ". Sponsored by the Northern California Local Government's Leadership Institute, the conference will actually include two panels, beginning at 9:30 am. The first features representatives from the Legislative Analyst's Office, Speaker Herb Wesson's Office and the Senate Republican Fiscal Office, and focuses on the state budget problem from an insider's perspective. In the afternoon panel, Steve Kell, Legislative Director for the California State Association of Counties, and Ralph Heim, representing the Califor- nia Special Districts Association, will join Jean Korinke. They will discuss the potential problems facing each other's organizations and discuss mutually supportable solutions to protect the interests of local government as legislative delib- erations proceed. The three associations are the founding members of the LOCAL coalition (Leave Our Community Assets Local). For more details on the Conference, go to hftp: / /rce.csuchiro.edu /leader. . ........................... GET GRANTS! The Governor's Office of Planning and Re- search has created an extensive new database that identifies grant sources within California • agenciesthrough a single search. The getgrantsl site allows you to search for grants even if you • don't know the name of the department administer- ; ing the grant. The database contains a complete • list of grant programs, with contact name and numbers, as well as Web addresses for applica- tions. For more information, go to gstgrants! at: http://www.iia.ca.aov/GetGrants/aeturants.shtmi ............................... SUPREME COURT flrotn page 1......... Not surprisingly, the owners of the land argued that the mere designation of a subdivision on a map prior to 1893 should be enough for the parcels to be recognized. In this case, the subdividing lines were first drawn in 1865 and reprinted on an atlas in 1877. However, as was pointed out in a League - approved friend of the court brief, such a result would undermine one of the fundamental purposes of the Act: to encourage orderly community development, coordinate planning with the community pattern established by local authorities, and assure proper improvements are made, so that the area does not become an undue burden on the taxpayer. Fortunately, the California Supreme Court agreed unanimously. The Court found that the map at issue did not create legally cognizable parcels in 1865. The court found further that even though the grandfather provisions of the Map Act were designed to protect those who detrimentally relied on prior subdivision laws, they evince no intent to imbue antiquated maps with a legal significance that did not exist in their own time. Such a result would not consistent with the Map Act's underlying purposes to facilitate local regulation of the design and improvement of subdivisions so as to encourage orderly community development. While the opinion does not solve all the problems associated with antiquated lots, it goes a long way toward confirming the important role that local agencies play in approving subdivisions. In language that we be useful in other situations, the court stated: "If we were to adopt plaintiffs' position and hold that local agencies must issue a certificate of compliance for any parcel depicted on an accurate, antiquated subdivision map, we would, in effect, be permitting the sale, lease, and financing ofparcels: (1) without regard to regulations that would otherwise require consistency with applicable general and specific plans and require consideration of potential environmental and public health consequences; (2) without consideration of dedications and impact mitigation fees that would otherwise be authorized by the Act; and (3) without affording notice and an opportunity to be heard to interested persons and landowners likely to suffer a substantial or significant deprivation of their property rights (Code citations omitted). The cities joining the League authorized brief in this case were fortunate to have one of the true authorities in California land use law (and former city attorney of Walnut Creek), Dan Curtin of the Bingham McCuthen firm, author the brief on their behalf. The League is grateful for the contribution that Mr. Curtin made to the successful outcome in this case. PAGE 2 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org