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1.2 Million Acre Amargosa Basin National Monument Proposed in Inyo County
A nonprofit group based in the desert town of Shoshone, California in Inyo County has formed to propose a 1.2 million-acre Amargosa Basin National Monument. The proposed monument, which would exceed the size of Yosemite National Park, would span a largely undeveloped corridor in California’s Mojave Desert between Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve, including canyons, hot springs, fossil beds, salt flats, ancient lakebeds, and desert-river oases fed by the Amargosa River. The proposal, led by the nonprofit Friends of the Amargosa Basin, proposes consolidation of a number of existing federally managed sites including the Amargosa Canyon, the Kingston Range “sky islands,” and the Lake Tecopa fossil beds under a unified management framework. The group supports the Bureau of Land Management, which is generally more flexible with land use than other organizations, as the best candidate for operation of the monument. The nonprofit has secured local backing from the Timbisha Shoshone and Moapa Band of Paiutes, as well as from area environmental groups and business organizations.
Redlands to Ban New and Expanded Warehouses
Part of a spate of new restrictions on logistics facilities in the Inland Empire, the City of Redlands will ban development of new warehouses citywide. The city council voted, 5-0, to explore an ordinance that would halt development in the three areas of the city that are currently zoned to allow warehouses and to restrict property owners from tearing down existing buildings for the purpose of constructing new warehouses. The vote is based on a recent recommendation by the city's planing commission. Motivated in large part by concerns about pollution, the ban would be among the stricted yet imposed by a city in the Inland Empire. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Coastal Commission Upzones Land in Santa Barbara County; Relaxes Rules on Affordable Housing
The Coastal Commission approved a controversial request from Santa Barbara County to rezone three parcels of farmland just outside Carpinteria city limits for high-density housing development totaling up to 686 units. Carpenteria residents and city officials presented significant opposition to the change at a hearing earlier this month, citing concerns over increased traffic, loss of farmland, and increased density caused by the developments. Residents also expressed worry that one rezoning would open the door to more developments. Carpenterina has a population of 13,000, and its boundary with the immediately surrounding farmlands has not changed substantially in over 40 years. The move comes as the Coastal Commission, which has historically drawn the ire of housing activists and state politicians for impeding coastal development, has made changes in recent months to help accellerate new housing construction. Commissioners recently voted to give affordable housing projects five years, up from two, to be constructed.
San Diego's Clairemont Neighborhood Could Grow by Over 100,000 under New Plan
San Diego’s Land Use and Housing Committee unanimously approved a 30-year plan to add nearly 20,000 new homes to Clairemont, along with new parks, a fire station, and a possible new trolley station. The plan has the potential to increase the neighborhood’s population from 80,000 to about 119,000, concentrate dense housing in commercial corridors, and eliminate Clairemont’s longstanding 30-foot height limit in many areas to allow buildings up to 65 feet. Much of the new housing, including many rent-restricted units, would be built near high-resource areas near employment and educational centers as well as community amenities such as parks and libraries. Despite proposed sweeping changes to the community, the plan aims to preserve Claremont’s suburban character by concentrating new housing in development in already commercial areas. Some residents and community groups however object to rezoning the Rose Canyon Operations Yard for high-density housing, arguing it would allow too many units. Other detractors, particularly in Bay Park, oppose lifting height limits to 65 feet, saying taller buildings would block bay views and significantly reduce nearby property values.
Single-Stair Reform Catches on in Culver City, San Jose
On September 29 Culver City Council unanimously voted to approve 'single stair reform', just before a six-year state moratorium on cities changing their building codes took effect on October 1st. The single stair code allows for buildings up to six stories tall to have one staircase instead of two, increasing building density and efficiency as advances in fire safety technology have made it safe to have only one staircase in larger buildings. San Jose City Council also directed staff to study the possibility of a similar building code change. Cities like New York and Seattle have already adopted single-stair codes, in Seattle's case since 1977. San Jose City officials emphasized the potential of single-stair buildings to help effectively utilize smaller and irregularly shaped lots, as well as the standard's excellent fire safety record when combined with technologies like sprinklers, fire-rated materials, and pressurized stairwells.
Ruling: Long Beach CEQA Exemption Didn't Protect School
The owners of a Long Beach gas station wanted to add a car wash. But the property is adjacent to a school and in close proximity to several other gas stations, and Long Beach Unified claimed that the air quality analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act was inadequate. Now, in an unpublished opinion, an appellate court has agreed. On appeal, Justice Stephen Goorvich, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, concluded that the report from the Chambers Group “constitutes substantial evidence that the project would “compound or increase” the environmental impacts of the nearby automobile-related businesses. Because the case was not published, it cannot be used as legal precedent.
Quick Hits & Updates
The Navy issued an apology for taking almost a year to disclose the presence of radioactive material at the former Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco. the site has been undergoing redevelopment for decades but has been slowed by remediation of contamination and debates over how much remediation is necessary to make the site safe for residents.
Air taxi startup Archer Aviation will pay $125 million for control of Hawthorne Airport, in south Los Angeles County. The company, based in the Bay Area, intends to use the airport as a hub for air taxi services throughout the region. Archer has yet to receive FAA certification and has not flown any commercial flights yet.
The cities of San Clemente and Rancho Palos Verdes are forming a coalition to lobby for emergency declarations and state assistance for cities facing risks of landslides. Both cities have recently experienced erosion and shifting earth that has made homes and other structures uninhabitable. The two cities are hoping other coastal cities, such as Laguna Beach, will join the coalition.
Los Angeles Metro staff have recommended the addition of a new Metrolink commuter rail station in San Fernando. The station would connect with the first phase of a light rail life that is currently under construction and would obviate the need for a second phase, which would be costly and complicated.
Rand released a report finding California to be the most expensive state for multifamily housing production in every category measured. Findings included that the average completion time for a project is 22 months longer than the average in Texas, and that the average municipal impact and development fees per unit were $29,000 in California, compared to $12,000 in Colorado and $1,000 in Texas. The report recommended that California adopt a 30-day deadline for local jurisdictions to approve or deny development proposals, pursue policies to streamline building times, and reconsider high development and impact fees, the loss of which could be offset by higher property taxes and other local revenue as well as overall welfare benefits.
