Oakland Sues to Block Sale of Stadium Land to A's
A Superior Court judge issued a temporary order to block Alameda County’s Coliseum land sale to the Oakland A’s, after the city of Oakland sued the county over the sale. The A’s proposed tearing down and redeveloping the RingCentral Coliseum site, on top of their plans for a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site. In April, Alameda County moved forward with the sale its 50 percent share of the 155-acre site for $85 million. Oakland owns the other half of the property. And the Oakland City Council has since contended that the county’s sale is in violation of California’s Surplus Land Act, a state law that requires publicly owned surplus lands to be considered for affordable housing, and for owners to negotiate “in good faith,” with affordable housing developers for 90 days before the lands are sold or leased. County officials say they have been in discussions with the city to sell their half of the site to the city since 2015, but that the city has failed to reach a deal. Oakland mayor Libby Schaff objects to the city council’s lawsuit, and hopes to reach a deal with the county without going to court. “It is so easy to put a lawsuit on pause while we try and resolve things diplomatically,” she said. “And I think that is in the best interest of taxpayers. Governments should be working together and not against each other."

Vallco Mall Developer Sues Cupertino 
In the latest back-and-forth before the November ruling over Cupertino’s Vallco Mall redevelopment plan, the plan’s developer has sued the city. The city and the developer Sand Hill have been engaged in a months-long skirmish over the planned development, which was approved through state law SB 35 that requires streamlined approval of certain developments that meet affordable requirements. Plans includes 2402 apartment units, 400,000 square feet of retail and 1.8 million square feet of office space. Since its approval, the city council has attempted to block the plan, and recently approved a general plan amendment from the site that eliminated the office space and imposed a 60-foot height limit took a step to block the company from including more office space in its plans. In response, Sand Hill filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that this approach would render affordable units infeasible – resulting in a potential loss of “tens or hundreds of millions of dollars”. In August, the state got involved: with a letter warning the city that they could violate state law if housing fails to materialize at Vallco. Last week, the city released nine-page memo of a study by Hausrath Economics that shows that at least two scenarios for housing projects that are financially feasible. Until the November hearing, Sand Hill has been moving forward with construction: they have demolished several sites on the West side of the mall. (See prior CP&DR coverage.)

Caltrans Issues Concerning Climate Change Reports for S. California Districts 
The California Department of Transportation updated its climate change vulnerability reports for three major districts, examining how extreme weather will impact transportation infrastructure like roads and bridges. The areas included in the September update are District 7, Los Angeles and Ventura counties; District 8, Riverside and San Bernardino counties; and District 11, San Diego and Imperial counties. In District 7, CalTrans noted that District 7’s high population and dense highway infrastructure will create particular vulnerabilities to temperature rise, sea level rise and storm surge, heavy rain events, and wildfire. Its district resiliency plan includes raising and realigning roadways to prevent highway inundation from sea level rise and coastal erosion, as well as keeping landscaping “fire-safe” with high-moisture plants. In District 8, key vulnerabilities focus on roadways though wilderness areas susceptible to wildfire and sudden extreme storm events. Risk mitigation plans include reinforcing bridges for sudden storm events, and fire-proofing CalTrans facilities, and considering high temperatures for CalTrans worker schedules. District 11 was considered one of the most vulnerabile areas in the state: with areas threatened by future erosion, sea level rise, wildfire, extreme heat, and sudden storms. The resiliency plan includes long-term pavement heat protection, flood mitigation, fire mitigation, and erosion control.

Feds Back Down from Proposed Delta Water Plan 
Following pushback from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the federal Bureau of Reclamation walked back its plans to push more water through the Delta to Central Valley communities. The Trump administration has been trying to increase water deliveries to the Valley throughout its term, and had planned to deliver on the promise this fall. However, the state department of Fish and Wildlife protested, citing harmful impacts on endangered fish species, including the Chinook salmon. The Delta provides much of the north-to-south delivery of water, and is often caught in the crosshairs of water agency battles between the Central Valley and Southern California. And, despite this temporary allowance, the Trump administration is still moving forward with sweeping plans to ease environmental restrictions and pump more water south long-term. “It really wasn’t in their best interest to go to war with the state on this one,” Jeffrey Mount, water policy expert at the Public Policy Institute of California told the Sacramento Bee. “Sometimes, strategic retreat is a good thing.”

Bay Area Leaders Detail $100 Billion Transportation Bond Measure 
Bay Area transportation leaders are planning a massive $100 billion tax measure that would fund projects like a second bay crossing and low-income fare discounts. The combined efforts of the Bay Area Council, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and the urban planning think tank Spur are devising the mega-measure, called Faster Bay Area. Backers of the bill describe broad goals, such as better integration of the region’s transit systems and major rail and freeway infrastructure improvements. But the second bay crossing is among its foremost projects. The list of projects involved has not been finalized, but several key works will be included, including the much-discussed second rail line across the San Francisco Bay. The current single-tunnel BART line from the East Bay into San Francisco runs overcapacity. Plans for a second line, either a second tunnel or a bridge line, would also include Caltrain and Amtrak capability. The measure is planned to be put to voters in November 2020. 

Quick Hits & Updates 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county's first-ever sustainability plan. The OurCounty plan sets ambitious targets for a more sustainable city: including entirely phasing out fossil fuels, maintaining the biodiversity of native species, and deriving 80 percent of the county’s water from local sources. According to UCLA-led research, transitioning Los Angeles County to local water is not only possible, but cost effective: storm water collection infrastructure could meet up to one-third of the county’s water needs. The comprehensive plan also links environmental sustainability with economic sustainability, focusing on equity for disadvantaged communities.

Oakland-based landscape architect and U.C. Berkeley professor Walter Hood was named one of this year’s 26 MacArthur “genius” grant recipients. Hood, 61, is the founder of Hood Design Studio, and is known for the Bayview Opera House, landscaping the gardens at the de Young Museum in LA, and the upcoming plan to transform the Oakland Museum of California’s roof into a public art center. Hood primarily works within the public urban environments, and is currently also planning a park atop Yerba Buena Island and a public art piece for the Embarcadero fire station in San Francisco.

In the second such investigation for the California High Speed Rail Authority, California bullet train board member Ernest Camacho is under investigation for a potential conflict of interest. In a letter earlier this month, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) alleged that Camacho’s financial disclosures form indicates that his firm, Pacifica Services, has contracts with firms that the rail authority hired to perform major work. This investigation from the Fair Political Practices Commission follows an investigation earlier this summer of Roy Hill, top executive of the project, which resulted in Hill’s suspension in June. Camacho, the first project board member with significant engineering, construction, and project delivery background, objects to the investigation. He notes that he has no contract with the High-Speed Rail Authority, and that his work with both firms has long since passed.

Approval of an affordable housing project in Cambria will go before the Coastal Commission after pushback against the development for its water demands. Cambria has suffered from years of water shortage, and the city’s water is partially sourced by the brackish water treatment service, the Sustainable Water Project. Objections to the 32 units of the Cambria Pines Apartment project, which was approved by the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission in April. claim that there isn’t enough water to support the new development. The Coastal Commission will conduct a full review of the development before it can proceed.

The Los Angeles Metro staff is studying the possibility of delivering the West Santa Ana light rail line in phases. As part of the project’s in-progress environmental impact report, Metro Board’s Planning and programming Comittee is studying two interim operating segments in addition to the full 19-mile corridor lining Artesia to Downtown Los Angeles. The first segment would run from the line’s Pioneer Boulevard southern terminus in Artesia to the proposed Green Line connection at the I-105 median. The second segment would extend service north to the Blue Line connection at Slauson Avenue. These interim segments could begin running by 2028. The full line would not reach completion until 2041.

The Emeryville City Council called for an ordinance to end parking requirements for all new buildings to discourage car use in the area. Emeryville currently requires developers to include the equivalent of at least 67 parking spaces per 100 housing units, or .67 spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space. If the ordinance is approved, the city will next consider expanding bike-share programs and adding more stops to its free shuttle service.

A new San Francisco subway may extend to the west side. The Board of Supervisors approved a $960,000 study of a new tunnel project between West Portal and Parkmerced, and south to the Ingleside neighborhood. These plans anticipate thousands of new housing units built in the coming years in these neighborhoods, with a projected increase of about 20,000 new residents in the next decade. These areas are already seeing increased demand for transit options and capacity, according to local supervisors.

Despite its initial rejection of e-scooters, San Francisco has allowed up to 10,000 scooters to operate in the city as part of its attempt to reduce car driving within the city. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority authorized Lime, Jump (owned by Uber), Scoot (owned by Bird), and Spin (owned by Ford) for permits beginning October 15. Each will initially offer up to 1,000 scooters, but can increase that to 2,500 over 12 months through a performance incentive system. This comes after a largely successful limited pilot program after the scooters received pushback citywide for the dangers of unregulated speeds and sidewalk traffic. (See prior CP&DR coverage.) 

Los Angeles workers are increasingly quitting their jobs due to long commute times, according to a recent survey from the carpool app Scoop. The national survey assessed 7,000 commuters in 16 major metropolitan areas, asking about their commute time, and job perspective, including intent to stay and job application decisions. The survey found that Los Angeles had the highest intent to quit due to commute time of any region. It also found that commuting causes personal stress every day for 33 percent of L.A. commuters.