A REPORT prepared by a group of New Urbanist planners for the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) recommends that cities and counties adopt form-based codes to govern development. The report knocks typical zoning codes, which are based on land uses. The authors contend this type of zoning has led to 50 years of suburban-style development, which has caused people to rebel against growth. "Just two generations ago, before sprawl fully took hold, when a green field was developed, a new neighborhood or town was gained," the report states. "Citizens then saw a fair transaction: A piece of nature traded for community, wealth and opportunity. But today, with only the suburban pattern available, citizens expect the farm field to become merely another housing subdivision, or a shopping center, or a business park rather than more of their town, and therefore as a net loss transaction." A form-based code places heavy emphasis on the design of streets and buildings — but not their uses. "The form-based code process … begins by defining the public spaces — the boulevards, the system of parks and greenways, the vistas to rivers, bays and nature preserves — and then within carefully measured neighborhoods lays out a network of streets and blocks that are scaled first to the pedestrian, then to the lots and buildings, and finally to the automobile," the report continues. "The automobile is accommodated, but at lower speeds — precisely what one wants in a neighborhood." To assist local governments, the authors recommend that ORP prepare at least one model form-based code. They also recommend that the state provide tax advantages and infrastructure funding to support compact, pedestrian-oriented and transit-oriented development. And they urge the state to commission a program-level environmental impact report so that "smart growth can be offered preferential permitting procedures, and can be found to be an environmentally superior alternative to sprawl under CEQA." The "White Paper on Smart Growth Policy in California" was prepared by planning consultants Robert Alminana, Paul Crawford and Laura Hall, architects Andres Duany and David Sargent, and Hercules Community Development Director Steve Lawton. ******* SAN BENITO COUNTY growth wars have heated up. In early April, the Board of Supervisors decided to adopt a growth control initiative rather than place the measure on the ballot. Landowners responded by starting a referendum drive to overturn the supervisors' decision. A rural county within long commuting distance of Silicon Valley, San Benito County has been the site of some bloody fights over housing developments during recent years. The county grew at a rapid percentage during the 1990s. Still, two-thirds of the county's 56,000 residents lives in the City of Hollister, according to the Department of Finance. The county has also seen real estate prices rise rapidly. The initiative sought to ensure that the Board of Supervisors could not back down from growth-control policies adopted since the late 1990s. (An initiative can be changed only by subsequent voter approval.) The initiative encompassed an existing policy that requires voter approval of upzoning to accommodate more than 100 units, and a two-year-old growth management ordinance that caps growth at 1% annually. Additionally, the initiative rezoned most agricultural land from five-acre minimum parcel sizes to 20-acre minimums. The initiative increased the minimum parcel size on rangeland from 40 acres to 160 acres. Initiative petitions presented to supervisors contained 5,600 signatures — more than four times the number of valid signatures needed for the initiative to qualify for the ballot. So supervisors adopted the initiative, which made landowners go on the offensive with the referendum. County Planning Director Rob Mendiola said the board's decision forces the county to go forward with a transfer of development credits program that the county was already designing. ******* THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION has approved a 313-unit housing development and 675,000-square-foot outlet mall on the Marblehead coastal plateau in San Clemente. Landowners have tried to develop the 250-acre site for 30 years. Previous proposals have ranged from 2,100 housing units to the Nixon presidential museum to a 60-acre shopping mall and houses. Those proposals all hit stiff opposition from San Clemente residents and environmentalists. Over the years, the size of the development proposal continually shrunk. Finally, the landowner and developer, the Lusk Company, revised the plan to its final shape. During the April Coastal Commission meeting, longtime opponents of earlier proposals lined up to support the development, and the Coastal Commission voted its unanimous approval. The approved plan designates about 105 acres for habitat and public open space with hiking trails. Buildings must be at least 250 feet from the edge of the bluffs and at least 100 feet from wetlands. Additionally, stormwater runoff from the site will be collected and piped to a wastewater treatment plant. ******* SAN MATEO COUNTY'S Midpeninsula Open Space District needs to improve its commitment to agriculture before expanding its boundaries to the county's coastal areas, the San Mateo County grand jury has concluded. One of the state's most aggressive open space districts, Midpeninsula proposes to grow by 140,000 acres, from the county's ridgeline to the coast. The expansion, which still needs Local Agency Formation Commission approval, would allow Midpeninsula to protect land along the coast and in the hills facing the ocean. Coastal farmers have opposed the planned expansion, fearing the agency would attempt to shut down some agricultural operations. The grand jury found that the agency lacks agricultural expertise and has not made preservation of farming a priority. Agency officials responded that planning behind the proposed expansion addresses the grand jury's concerns. "We're not interested in curtailing agricultural uses," district General Manager Craig Britton told The San Jose Mercury News. ******* THE ONGOING CORRUPTION SCANDAL in San Bernardino County continued to unfold during April. Former San Bernardino Councilmembers Valerie Pope-Ludlam and Edward Negrete were charged with taking bribes from a developer during the mid-1990s. Also charged were a grandson of Pope-Ludlam and Negrete's wife. The state Attorney General's office alleges Pope-Ludlam and her grandson accepted $50,000 from developer Allan Steward. Negrete and his wife allegedly received $10,000 in bribes from Steward. Prosecutors did not name the favors that Steward received for the payments. During the 1990s, Steward received a number of economic development loans and loan guarantees from the city. Two years ago, Steward pleaded guilty to separate federal charges that he bribed San Bernardino County and City of Colton officials. Also, Riverside businessman Gaylord Singletary pleaded guilty in April to bribing Colton City Councilman James Grimsby. Singletary paid the councilman $5,000 for his influence in getting a road built to Singletary's property, which he wanted to develop. Grimsby is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court this month after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from Steward. In a different case, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Patrick Magers ruled that there was enough evidence for corruption charges against San Bernardino County Supervisor Jerry Eaves and businessman William "Shep" McCook to proceed to trial. McCook is charged with bribing Eaves, former County Administrator James Hlawek and two Colton city councilmen to gain approval for the erection of billboards along Interstate 15. Eaves is charged with accepting the bribes, which in his case allegedly amounted to 10 free visits to a Las Vegas resort and $32,000 in campaign contributions. The other public officials allegedly accepted cash bribes. McCook and Eaves have pleaded not guilty. Federal prosecutors brought similar charges against Eaves, who remains in office through 2004 despite pleading guilty in 2001 to seven misdemeanors for not reporting gifts. However, a federal judge said the billboard case belonged in state court. ******* FORMER PITTSBURG City Councilman Frank Quesada pleaded no contest to three conflict-of-interest misdemeanors and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service in April. According to Contra Costa County prosecutors and a Contra Costa Times investigation, Quesada was in debt to the family of developer Albert Seeno Sr. by as much as $370,000. Yet Quesada voted to approve several Seeno projects before losing a re-election campaign in 2001. ******* NAPA COUNTY SUPERVISORS have approved a controversial Stream Setback Revision Ordinance, which prohibits construction of non-residential structures near rivers and streams. The new setbacks range from 25 feet for small drainages to 150 feet for larger creeks and rivers in hilly areas. Grapegrowers and other farmers opposed the new regulations, saying they will harm production and provide negligible benefits. Agricultural interests say they will pursue a referendum. Supporters, however, contend the rules will decrease flood danger, maintain water quality, and aid wildlife. The county has had a stream setback ordinance since 1991, but the new regulations increase the amount of land covered by setbacks from 23,000 acres to 53,700 acres, according to a county Conservation, Development and Planning Department staff report. About 11,700 of those acres are vineyards. After getting blasted by homeowners during public hearings, county officials decided to exempt residential construction from the setback regulations. County planners later determined that the exemption would mean the loss of less than 1 acre of proposed setback annually. ******* A LAWSUIT over an Alameda County growth-control initiative has been given a second life. In an unpublished decision issued in March, the First District Court of Appeal upheld Measure D, which established growth boundaries around cities and unincorporated communities in central and eastern Alameda County (see CP&DR, December 2000, October 2000). But in April, the court accepted the request of two developers and property owner to rehear the case. The development interests had argued in their lawsuit that Measure D, a Sierra Club-backed initiative approved by voters approved in November 2000, was counter to state housing element law and violated the single-subject rule for an initiative. A trial court and the First District rejected those arguments. It is very rare for an appellate court to grant a request for a rehearing. Filing such requests is typically only an administrative step on the way to petitioning for review by the state Supreme Court. The plaintiffs expressed cautious optimism, while initiative backers said they hoped the rehearing would lead to a published opinion in their favor. ******* A TRANSPORTATION PLAN that is heavy on alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle has been adopted by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The plan forecasts spending about $42 billion through 2030 on transportation projects. Rail transit, buses and transit stations will get 38% of the money under the plan, while carpool and bus lanes will get 18%. Streets and road will get 23% of the funding, and highways 19%. Among other things, the plan calls for additional carpool lanes on Interstates 5 and 15, construction of a long-planned rail line from Oceanside to Escondido, expansion of San Diego's trolley system, and completion of a freeway loop south of San Diego. ******* ALSO RECEIVING SANDAG board approval was the North County Multiple Habitat Conservation Program (MHCP). The plan designates 19,000 acres as habitat for 60 plant and animal species in northern San Diego County (see CP&DR Environment Watch, February 2003). Seven cities in the area still need to adopt companion plans to carry out the MHCP. ******* STANISLAUS COUNTY is scheduled this month to begin seeking bids for construction of the proposed Gallo Arts Center in downtown Modesto. The Board of Supervisors has approved the design of the facility, which will provide two performing arts theaters, museum space, offices and meeting rooms. A private nonprofit organization, The Central Valley Center for the Arts, will provide about half the money for the $32 million arts center project, with the county providing the rest. The facility will replace two dilapidated buildings on I Street. ******* TULARE COUNTY SUPERVISORS have adopted the state's most rigorous dairy monitoring program. The program applies to any agricultural operation with at least 25 confined animals; the county's approximately 300 dairies are the primary target. Livestock farmers will have to file annual reports that address the handling of manure, runoff and wastewater, and other issues. The county may later amend the program to require groundwater monitoring. ******* THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT decided not to appeal a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on offshore oil drilling. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the California Coastal Commission has the authority to review proposed extensions of federal offshore oil drilling leases (see CP&DR Legal Digest, January 2003). Interior Secretary Gail Norton announced that her agency would negotiate with the state regarding the oil drilling. ******* A LAW INTENDED TO BLOCK a proposed open pit gold mine in eastern Imperial County received Gov. Davis's signature in April. The urgency legislation, SB 22 (Sher), would require Glamis Gold Ltd. to fill in and restore the 850-foot-deep pit that the mine would create. Glamis said such reclamation would make the mine too expensive to open. The 1,500-acre mine is proposed for federal lands next to the Quechan Indian reservation. The tribe considers the site a sacred area and opposes the mine. Then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt rejected the mine application during the Clinton administration's final days, but Interior Secretary Gail Norton reversed the decision in late 2001.