William Fulton
Local Planning Funds Will Flow Through Water Bond
Submitted by jstephens on 9 March 2010 - 1:37pmThe old saying in government is that in order to understand what’s going on, you’ve got to follow the money. In local planning throughout California, that’s becoming increasingly easy to do. Local government revenues – property tax, sales tax, development fees, redevelopment funds – are in steep decline.
Deficit-Plagued State Continues At Full Speed On Environmental Regulation
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 9 February 2010 - 12:37pmThe distance between California’s growing budget problems and California’s ambitious environmental protection agenda continues to increase.
The consequences of the state’s chronic budget deficit – currently $20 billion per year or more with no end in sight – continue to chew up everything and everybody in its path: local governments, transit agencies, the prison system, welfare recipients, school districts.
Schwarzenegger Operates On CEQA With Scalpel, Not Hatchet
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 11 January 2010 - 2:05pmArnold Schwarzenegger has always been a Republican with a twist. As the governor enters his final year – attempting to deal both with economic woes and an ambitious environmental agenda – it appears that nothing has changed. He is going after the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in his own way. It’s legacy time for the governor. For better or worse, the Schwarzenegger approach to skinning CEQA may be part of his legacy.
Will $40 Billion Public Investment Create A Transit-Dependent L.A.?
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 22 December 2009 - 9:48amAlmost in spite of itself, Los Angeles has emerged as a city focused on transit. The big question now is whether L.A. can move from being a city focused on transit to a transit-oriented city.
The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles
Submitted by Robin Andersen on 1 December 2009 - 5:08pm$21.00
Author: William Fulton Published: August 2001 Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press.
$21.00
Climate Change Adaptation Recommendations Result In Same Old Fight
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 9 November 2009 - 3:51pmIf predictions about the impact of global warming are even half right, a lot of us are going to be quite literally swimming – or at least wading – through our daily lives in 30 or 40 years. Yet in the current debate about how the state should approach “adaptation” strategies, all parties are crouched in their typically unhelpful postures.
Regions May Get More Climate Mandates, But Little Funding
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 7 October 2009 - 11:08amSometime this year or next year, Congress will probably pass a climate change bill that tries to mimic SB 375’s link between transportation patterns and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And the bill will probably generate billions of dollars by capping emissions and placing a market value on them. But it is doubtful Congress use the money to invest in the transportation improvements and land use changes required to reduce automobile travel.
Agencies, Growth Council Jockey To Assume OPR's Responsibilities
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 1 September 2009 - 4:30pmCalifornia government never fails to amuse. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appears poised to eliminate his own Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and nobody – not even the state’s planners – is rushing to the beleaguered office’s defense. Yet throughout Sacramento, vultures are hovering, because while OPR itself may not be worth saving, the carcass appears to have value.
Sotomayor's Light Record On Property Matters Creates Uncertainty
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 30 July 2009 - 10:25amThe conventional wisdom is that Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, because there’s not much meaningful ideological distance between her and her predecessor, Justice David Souter. So, the party line goes, the court will still be stuck in the familiar 5-4 or 4-5 split, depending on how Justice Anthony Kennedy is feeling that day. But there’s a debate brewing as to whether that’s really the case in land use and property rights law.
Bureaucratic Compliance With SB 375 May Not Reduce Driving
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 1 July 2009 - 11:22amNow that the age of greenhouse gas emissions reduction is upon us, I think there’s an important point worth making: Government agencies in California can try to comply with SB 375 – or they can focus on reducing driving. There is a lot of overlap between the two, but they are not exactly the same thing.
