CP&DR News Briefs June 30, 2026: Transfer Taxes; State Housing Bond; CA Forever Shipyard; and More

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Ballot Measure to Curb Local Special Taxes Pulled; Los Angeles ‘Mansion Tax’ Remains Intact

After talks of rolling back Los Angeles’ “mansion tax”, the Los Angeles City Council pulled a plan to reform the measure from the November ballot -- which would have exempted new multifamily projects from the tax -- approved a $544.3 million spending plan funds, the largest single-year allocation since the measure took effect in April 2023. Measure ULA has generated more than $1.24 billion in the last three years for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs. But, critics say it has backfired and discouraged developers from building, effectively reducing availability of apartments and general property tax revenues. In part to neutralize Measure ULA--and reduce local taxes generally--the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association had qualified an initiative for the November ballot that would have capped transfer taxes at 0.11% and retroactively overturned special taxes that passed with less than two-thirds support, which Measure ULA's 58% approval in 2022 would not have met. After negotiation with lawmakers, the Jarvis Association agreed to pull the measure. In exchange, lawmakers agreed to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot raising the voter threshold for future special taxes to two-thirds, while leaving existing taxes like Measure ULA intact. Some critics of Measure ULA have called the outcome the “worst possible scenario.” (See related CP&DR coverage.)

Legislators to Place $11 Billion Housing Bond on November Ballot 

The Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 will appear on the November ballot, pending formal approval by the legislature and the governor's signature. The $11.25 billion housing affordability measure includes $1.25 billion in self-supporting revenue bonds for the CalVet Home Loan Program and $10 billion in general obligation bonds for affordable housing construction, rehabilitation, and preservation. Only 17% of California households can currently afford a median-priced single-family home, and more than half of renters spend over 30% of their income on housing. The bond is projected to assist over 40,000 Californians with down payment assistance and affordable mortgage financing, while also funding the creation or preservation of affordable rental units and creating thousands of construction jobs. Targeted populations include veterans, seniors, farmworkers, college students, tribal communities, and people experiencing homelessness, and affordable units funded through the measure must remain affordable for at least 55 years. State officials estimate for every $1 invested by the state, an estimated $4 in federal tax credits, local funding, private financing, and resident rents will assist in financing and development.

California Forever Seeks Expedited Approvals for Shipyard Project 

California Forever, the billionaire-backed venture seeking to build a new city on Solano County farmland, is pushing for legislation that would fast-track environmental reviews and ease regulatory hurdles for a planned shipbuilding facility and dense urban development. The legislative push is tied to efforts to land a lease with Saronic Technologies, an Austin-based defense contractor weighing a $3.2 billion autonomous vessel shipyard between California and Texas, where officials recently approved a $211 million tax-abatement package for a competing site. California Forever has hired former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg to pitch a package of concessions. The new legislation would cap CEQA  challenges to 270 days and rely on a 2008 environmental impact report for the shipyard site, allowing Suisun City to annex California Forever's agricultural land if local governments fail to produce sufficient housing. (See related CP&DR coverage.)

California Sues Feds to Maintain Vehicle Emissions Standards 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempt to roll back the state's vehicle emissions standards, calling the federal actions illegal and dangerous to public health. The Clean Air Act has allowed California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal minimums since the 1970s through a waiver system that has been upheld by administrations of both parties for more than 50 years. The EPA has granted California more than 75 such waivers, and expressly reaffirmed the process under President George W. Bush in 2004 and 2008. Two weeks ago, however, Trump's EPA declared that each of those waivers is now a "rule" subject to congressional review, which the lawsuit argues has no legal basis. Among the specific standards are California's 2013 rules reducing emissions from new cars and light trucks, its 2008 greenhouse gas standards, and a 2024 waiver upholding the state's ban on most gas-powered lawn equipment. The lawsuit argues that overturning these protections would mean "more pollution, poorer air quality, more market uncertainty, and greater health risks" for communities already bearing a disproportionate emissions burden. The EPA declined to comment on the lawsuit.

CP&DR Coverage: HCD Supports Midway Rising’s Proposal to Violate San Diego Coastal Height Limit

In the wake of two court cases striking down voters’ decision to eliminate a coastal height limit in San Diego, developers of the city’s sports arena site have now taken the position that they can violate the height limit under the Density Bonus Law. And now the California Department of Housing and Community Development has issued a letter that would appear to validate that position. The Midway Rising project would include more than 4,000 new housing units as well as a new sports arena, hotels, and other amenities. The question San Diego posed to HCD was whether the Density Bonus Law, which deals with housing, could override the voter-approved 30-foot height limit even on the non-residential portions of the property, including the new sports arena. HCD responded in the affirmative.

Quick Hits & Updates

Humboldt County residents have launched a ballot initiative to ban large industrial warehouses from the county's Coastal Zone, a direct response to a proposed Amazon distribution center in McKinleyville. The measure would cap new warehouse facilities at 20,000 square feet, effectively blocking Amazon's roughly 40,000-square-foot proposal, while exempting marine-dependent industries like fishing and aquaculture. Organizers submitted the measure through Indivisible Trinidad and must collect 4,874 verified signatures from registered county voters before the Board of Supervisors can adopt it or place it on the November ballot. 

The Western Association of Wildlife & Fish Agencies released its Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan, responding to a dramatic population collapse that has seen monarch numbers fall 86% since the 1980s and hit a record low in 2020. The updated plan spans nine western states, outlines population targets, incorporates new science, and proposes conservation actions aimed at stabilizing the population. The revision follows a December 2024 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 

The Los Angeles County Superior Court rejected United Water Conservation District’s challenge to protections for Southern California steelhead trout. Judge Tiana Murillo upheld the California Fish and Game Commission's listing decision to protect the trout, which has been pushed to the brink of extinction by urban development, water diversions, climate change, and dams like those operated by Ventura-based United Water Conservation District. 

East Bay lawmakers are moving to block the Trump administration's plan to fund a long-contested coal export terminal in West Oakland. The moves follow President Trump's June 4 announcement directing $75 million toward the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal. The proposed terminal would be able to export up to 10 million short tons of coal annually, with trains passing through West Oakland, a neighborhood that already ranks among the highest in the state for asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to industrial pollution.

L.A. County Metro and the city of Los Angeles are planning improvements to the Vermont Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) after at least a decade of planning. Plans include removing some on-street parking and omitting areas for bike lanes. Advocacy group Streets For All has submitted a letter and is considering legal action, claiming that the project does not comply with Los Angeles’ Measure HLA and Mobility Plan.

Oakland home values are at their lowest in a decade according to data from Zillow. Oakland has seen the starkest home value drop among U.S. cities with at least 100,000 residents, tied with Cape Coral, Florida, which was dubbed the worst housing market in America last year. In March the typical home value in Oakland was about $716,000, reflecting a drop of more than $90,000, or 11.4%, after adjusting for inflation. Larger such as emptying downtowns, crime rates and a shift toward the suburbs combined with high mortgage rates have hurt demand for homes in both San Francisco and Oakland.

San Diego, which has maintained a place in the top ten most expensive cities in the U.S., has fallen to 12th place with median one-bedroom rents dropping 2.2% annually to $2,200 a month. Analysts attribute the slide primarily to a surge in apartment construction, as San Diego County built more multifamily housing per capita than any other California metro and ranked second nationally as a share of total construction, after New York. 

The Trump administration has suspended federal funding for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, citing concerns about financial mismanagement. Federal funding accounts for about 7% of LAHSA’s budget and primarily supports permanent housing subsidies through HUD’s Continuum of Care program, which promotes community solutions to homelessness. The agency warned that losing federal support could jeopardize housing assistance for thousands of formerly homeless residents and increase the risk of people returning to homelessness.

The EPA announced more than $15.3 million in Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup (MAC) grants, with funds split across four categories. Grants are intended to accelerate redevelopment of long-contaminated properties, and include $7 million for environmental assessments, $6.38 million for cleanup activities, $2 million for multipurpose grants, and $500,000 in supplemental revolving loan fund support for the City of Fresno. The Brownfields Program has awarded more than $3 billion in total grant funding since 1995, leveraging over $45 billion in cleanup and redevelopment investment and supporting more than 228,900 jobs.