CP&DR News Briefs: October 13, 2026: Data Center Moratoriums; Joshua Trees; Downtown L.A.; and More
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Indio and Imperial County Impose Moratoriums on Data Centers
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new 45-day interim moratorium on approving data center facilities in unincorporated areas. This comes after controversy surrounding the Imperial Data Center project, for which an environmental impact report was required and proved evidence of potentially significant effects involving water quality, air quality, hazardous materials, fire safety, emergency response, services, land use, and pressure on agricultural resources. In the nearby Coachella Valley, The Indio City Council approved an extension on their moratorium on data centers and other similar high-intensity computing warehouses. Initially approved in June for 45 days, it will now be in effect through October 16, 2027. After the June ban, city council directed staff to include options to extend the moratorium and review alternatives for a permanent ban. The city then identified issues with water consumption, electrical demand, greenhouse gas emissions, noise and air quality as reasons for their continued ban. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Feds Renege on Funding to Protect Endangered Joshua Trees
The U.S. Department of the Interior has blocked more than $25 million in funding for over 130 agreements that were already formed with outside partners, including 10 agreements worth nearly $1.2 million in Joshua Tree National Park. According to the Center for Western Priorities, Joshua Tree funding would have supported the hiring of at least 16 people to protect the area, including $41,000 for a fire preparedness vegetation specialist, over $339,000 for collection and planting of native seeds, $108,000 for a youth conservation crew, and over $83,000 for youth biological technicians to ensure efficacy of road and construction projects. The Interior Department has claimed that it blocked the agreements because the partner groups work against administration priorities. The Center for Western Priorities also tracked about 1,500 projects, many previously approved, that the park service moved to a new “low priority” list this year. Four were at Joshua Tree, including fire pit and picnic table purchases and exhibit replacements. The funding withdrawal particularly threatens the Joshua tree, already burdened by development, wildfire, and climate change. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Los Angeles Experiments with Program to Fill Downtown Storefronts
The City of Los Angeles has launched the Vacant to Vibrant program, which aims to turn empty storefronts into small businesses as part of a larger downtown revitalization plan. The $500,000 in funding directed toward this initiative comes from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and coupled with AB 1679 and AB 2418 aim to create a pathway to more easily fill vacant spaces with new businesses. Artist Charlie Alston is among new tenants in the Historic Core neighborhood, opening his studio in a building that was previously vacant for ten years. The Central City Association’s non-profit, Downtown Works, will direct funds to connect property owners with small businesses to fill vacancies in downtown, which currently generates 30% of L.A. 's revenue.
American Canyon Moves toward Controversial Annexation
The Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County (LAFCO) approved the addition of the 282-acre Hess/Laird lands to the spheres of influence of American Canyon and the American Canyon Fire Protection District, moving the city a step closer to someday annexing the property. The request came from the property owners, as the land is targeted for development and for a roughly three-mile section of a Highway 29 relief route. The plan still faces legal challenges from Watson Ranch developer Terrence McGrath, who sued through his companies American Canyon I LLC and Napa Valley Ruins & Gardens LLC, arguing the city is expanding its urban limits without required voter approval, environmental review or pre-zoning. Opponents of the development argue that a CEQA review should come first and that the city needs clear plans for water, wastewater, roads and financing. The county rezoned the land from agriculture to industry in 2024, and earlier this year the county and city approved an agreement supporting eventual annexation, including a property tax split and a shift of some state-mandated housing obligations to the city.
CP&DR Coverage: Highlights of the 21st Century Road To Housing Act
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act – hailed as a major bipartisan accomplishment – took effect on July 11 over President Trump’s objections but not his veto. Because of the federal government's limited role in housing production, it’s not likely to have a transformational effect; however, several provisions could be important to the planning and development community in California as the state and its cities continue to grapple with the state’s housing affordability crisis. Key provisions include: funding for jurisdictions that have increased their housing supply; guidelines and best practices for zoning reform; provisions designed to streamline project approval under the National Environmental Policy Act; and a 10% penalty in Community Development Block Grant funding if minimum housing production numbers are not met.
Quick Hits & Updates
Esmeralda, the proposed 605-home development on the site of a long-shuttered sawmill in Cloverdale, a Sonoma County city of about 9,000 people, will face further council vote in November. The city council was expected to vote on whether to advance the project on Oct. 7, but debate and stakeholder impact at that meeting became so overwhelming, lasting over five hours, that the council opted to defer the vote. (See relate CP&DR coverage.)
The Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission unanimously voted to approve the Vista Lucia Reorganization, clearing the way for the City of Gonzales to annex the property. The development was anticipated in Gonzales’ 2010 General Plan and calls for up to 3,498 homes and apartments, three school sites, 79 acres of parks and pathways, and neighborhood commercial areas.
Pleasanton City Council approved a pre-annexation and development agreement for a roughly 30-acre Arroyo Lago site in East Pleasanton, between Pleasanton and Livermore. The project would bring 189 single-family homes and 48 deed-restricted junior accessory dwelling units to land east of Valley Avenue and Busch Road. The city moved to annex it after Alameda County supervisors approved a larger county version in February.
A new poll finds a plurality of Bay Area adults supports the November Regional Transit Measure, a sales tax increase meant to prevent deep service cuts at agencies including BART, Caltrain, AC Transit and Muni. The Embold Research survey of 1,801 adults across five counties found 48% in favor, 34% opposed and 18% undecided. Support was strongest among adults under 35 (69%) and renters (60%), while 47% of homeowners opposed it, as did 46% of those ages 50 to 64.
An application for a mixed-use development proposal near Carlsbad Village was withdrawn after the city questioned whether former tenants of the eight-unit building slated for demolition had received the notices and relocation assistance required by the Housing Crisis Act. Rincon Homes planned to redevelop an either-unit residential building and realty office into 33 condominiums, including five affordable units, 3,419 square feet of commercial space, and 42 covered parking spaces in a four-story building. The company tried to fix the issue and said the state housing department (HCD) signaled it was satisfactory, but the city worried an approval might not survive a legal challenge.
The head of the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County, which oversees jurisdictional boundaries for local governments, was removed from his position after being previously placed on administrative leave following a performance evaluation on Aug. 27. The agency has not provided a reason for the removal from a position which Freeman served in since 2015, after joining the agency in 2008 as an analyst. The move comes as LAFCO weighs two annexations of unincorporated land into American Canyon totaling nearly 400 acres.
San Bernardino County supervisors approved the Bloomington Park Specific Plan, which would add 2.1 million square feet of warehouses to the rural community, over the objections of many residents. The project calls for three warehouses ranging from 383,000 square feet to 1 million square feet, plus a truck trailer lot. Supervisors originally approved it in 2022, but a judge ordered the environmental study set aside in 2024 after critics sued over issues such as air quality.
According to a new report, the Trump-backed Oakland coal terminal could ship about 13.2 million tons of coal a year, roughly triple the volume in the project's original environmental review, and would store it in two open-air bunkers rather than the enclosed facility developers had promised. The report, commissioned by the Rural Utah Infrastructure Coalition, which comprises eight Utah counties considering investing about $43 million into the terminal to receive Utah coal, makes no mention of covered rail cars, and puts the cost at $430 million to $625 million versus the Energy Department's $231 million estimate, with a 53-month timeline that would push exports past 2028.
Santa Monica's economic downturn has been steeper than in peer cities like Beverly Hills and Culver City, with big drops in retail sales and tourism. Visitors are still at only 58% of pre-pandemic levels and the city maintains persistent commercial vacancies. Citywide counts on crime and homelessness are relatively stable, but both are heavily concentrated downtown, where serious violence has roughly doubled since the early 2010s.
