Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: Real Property New Construction

Whilst most California lawyers don't know it, there is no protection for a view. I fought this issue countless times in Malibu.

You can scare them into a settlement of a sort that will limit the height. The cost of litigation is always a factor. What do you want? It is obvious that something is going to happen no matter how mad you get. Quiet minds make the best choices. Let me know what you want. I can explain my fee schedule to you later. Remember, you have no right to a view under California law, so this is all tactics.

Re: Real Property New Construction

This is more of a zoning question than a construction question. Although the two are often related, lawyers tend to specialize in one or the other with some cross over.

Whether you have a right to a view is purely local in nature. (As Mr. Cortson points out, there is no state statute on view ordinances of which I'm aware.) There might be a local view ordinance. You'll simply have to check in your locale. There are other factors that might give you the equivalent of a view. Some locales have enacted solar easements where neither construction nor landscaping can interfere with the ability to receive sunlight. Such ordinances, however, will rarely enable a view in a rural setting because 40' isn't usually high enough to block the sun. Then there are local CC&R's. These will often provide limitations on building and landscaping.

Mr. Cortson's reply can be interpreted as advocating litigation without any legal authority. I give him the benefit of the doubt that this isn't the interpretation that he meant. You can certainly litigate on any subject at any time. But if you do so without legal authority, you can be slapped with some pretty harsh sanctions. I've watched and benefited from sanctions imposed on lawyers (and parties) when the judge found that there was no legal basis for their position.

Re: Real Property New Construction

As a lawyer, I sometimes think only in terms of what answers the law has. Don't forget that there might be political solutions as well. For that matter, there could be contractual solutions. How much is that view worth to the homeowners? Can you pay the developers to not build above, say, 25 feet? Finally, practical problems may mean that homeowners won't build the full 40 feet. I'm not sure what the earthquake zoning is up there, probably at least zone 3, but building 40 feet high means three stories and the costs to meet seismic requirements gets pretty high when you have three stories.