Vol. 23 No. 06 Jun 2008

A general plan that does not address the issue of climate change appears to be an endangered species.

Numerous cities and counties in the process of updating their general plans are addressing climate change with policies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and, to a lesser extent, adapting to changing conditions. Some localities have adopted climate action plans that affect the general plan and other long-term planning documents, while others have written specific general plan policies and implementation measures. » read more | add to cart

When Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network CEO Russell Hancock talks about transforming El Camino Real into the Northern California version of the Avenues des Champs Elysees, one begins to wonder what color the sky is in his world. » read more | add to cart

Just looking at the proposed football stadium on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County is enough to give me indigestion. This six-dollar hamburger is just too big to eat. » read more | add to cart

Westwood Village sits in the middle of a rare constellation of commercial districts. To the east lie Prada, Spago and the extravagance of Beverly Hills. To the south, Century City offers a resplendent new multiplex and every imaginable upscale chain store. To the west, Santa Monica’s Promenade ranks as the paragon of L.A. urbanism. Further afield, the ersatz streets of The Grove and CityWalk attract “destination” shoppers from all over the region.

By the unusual standards of West Los Angeles, Westwood Village could be cited for blight. Yet even as other pockets of the Westside become ever more upscale, the city’s new focus on “elegant density” and strategic infill might leave Westwood behind.

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In this month's roundup of news from around the state: Employment and civic engangement concerns confront the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area; a judge rules Carmel Valley incorporation is not a project for CEQA purposes; a different judge throws out an EIR for a Carmel Valley subdivision; hospital bonds fail in Sonoma and Stanislaus counties. » read more | add to cart

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit has dismissed as moot an animal rights group’s challenge of the environmental review documents for a program in which the National Park Service eradicated feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island. » read more | add to cart

A Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals ruling striking down San Diego County’s ordinance regulating cell phone antenna location and appearance has been set aside, and the case will be reconsidered by the court. » read more | add to cart

The owner of an affordable apartment complex in Sacramento may pursue a breach of contract lawsuit against the state Department of Housing and Community Development over a rent increase that the state rejected, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. » read more | add to cart

What’s the next big thing?

The last big thing was housing, and it’s over. So what’s next?

We may be in a real estate slump, but as California communities and planners begin mapping out their futures, it is not too early to start thinking about what the next big thing will be in the world of real estate development.

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Restoration of Alameda Creek in the East Bay reached a milestone this spring when what appeared to be hundreds of steelhead trout hatched in a tributary to the creek. If the young fish are indeed steelhead — experts should know soon — they would mark the first natural reproduction of steelhead in the creek since the 1960s. » read more | add to cart