CP&DR

Rancho Guejito: Environmental Gem Or New Growth Area?

May 3, 2007

Local Watch, New cities, Paul Shigley, San Diego County, Vol. 22 No. 04 Apr 2007

The owners of a 22,000-acre ranch in San Diego County are making preliminary moves to develop their property, located several miles east of Escondido. However, environmentalists, public land advocates and even a pro-growth county supervisor are already lining up in opposition.

The property is Rancho Guejito, which is both one of the last intact Spanish land grants remaining in California and the largest parcel of undeveloped, privately owned land in San Diego County. Environmentalists have long wanted to protect the property, which is mostly untouched except for cattle grazing on portions of the site.

ABAG Housing Plan Gets Smart

Apr 5, 2007

California, Featured Articles, Housing, Paul Shigley, Vol. 22 No. 02 Feb 2007

The Association of Bay Area Governments has adopted a methodology for distributing fair-share housing units that directs housing growth to existing urban areas, especially those with jobs and transit, and downplays the trend of extensive development on the Bay Area's fringe.

Proposed Horse Track Goes Before Dixon Voters

Mar 1, 2007

Economic development, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Solano County, Vol. 22 No. 03 Mar 2007

Voters in the northern Solano County city of Dixon will decide in April on a project that could change the nature of town: A horse racing track and entertainment center capable of handling events for up to 50,000 people, plus more than 1 million square feet of hotel, entertainment, retail and office development.

State Supreme Court Emerges As CEQA Enforcer

Mar 1, 2007

California Environmental Quality Act, Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Sacramento County, Vol. 22 No. 03 Mar 2007

In issuing its second California Environmental Quality Act ruling in seven months, the conservative-leaning California Supreme Court is emerging as one of CEQA's staunchest defenders. The latest decision — the rejection of an environmental impact report's water analysis for a large Sacramento-area housing project — is the court's first foray into such water studies, and the court appears to have set a high standard.

New Authority Plans For Coastal Wetlands Restoration

Mar 1, 2007

Environment Watch, Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Vol. 22 No. 03 Mar 2007, Wetlands

A new joint powers authority has acquired 66 acres of coastal wetlands at the mouth of the San Gabriel River in Long Beach and Seal Beach, and may acquire at least 100 more acres in the near future. The Los Cerritos wetlands may provide the scene for the last major coastal wetlands restoration project in Southern California.

Downtown Stockton Awaits Private Investment

Dec 1, 2006

Downtown planning, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, San Joaquin County, Vol. 21 No. 12 Dec 2006

If you asked the average person to name a city that has professional sports, big-name entertainment, acres of waterfront park and dozens of historic buildings, not many people would say Stockton. But, in spite of its reputation as a crime-ridden, working-class place, downtown Stockton has all of the above — and more is on the way.

Court Says San Diego's Airport Proposal, Traffic Didn't Damage Property Rights

Nov 1, 2006

Legal Digest, Paul Shigley, San Diego County, Takings, Vol. 21 No. 11 Nov 2006

One of the largest takings awards in California history has been thrown out by a state appellate court, which ruled that preliminary airport planning and traffic circulation changes by the City of San Diego did not amount to a taking of a developer's property.

Planning's Good, Bad And Ugly Updated

Nov 1, 2006

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Paul Shigley, Vol. 21 No. 11 Nov 2006

Hundreds upon hundreds of real estate developments, planning efforts, economic development projects and related matters have received coverage in the pages of CP&DR during the past 20 years. We present here an update on some of the most important, and some of the weirder, stories from that period — while keeping in mind that most of these stories still have not ended.

San Francisco Project Emphasizes Housing In Poor Neighborhood

Sep 1, 2006

Paul Shigley, Redevelopment, Redevelopment Watch, San Francisco, Vol. 21 No. 09 Sep 2006

Although it's city has been in the redevelopment business since 1948, San Francisco has recently created its largest redevelopment project area. The new, 1,300-acre Bayview Hunters Point project might also be the most controversial redevelopment project in a city where land use planning and development are always contentious.

Large-Scale Development Planned For Copperopolis

Sep 1, 2006

Calaveras County, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 21 No. 09 Sep 2006

Building homes around publicly accessible lakes may be the new gold mines in California's Sierra Nevada foothills. The unincorporated community of Copperopolis in western Calaveras County has just such a water feature in Lake Tulloch, and, not surprisingly, the area is experiencing a growth boom.