CP&DR News Briefs Sept 8, 2026:

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Rural Jurisdictions Take Steps to Limit Development of Data CentersTulare County, Hanford, Visalia, San Joaquin County and Coachella are among the California communities taking steps to restrict or ban data center development amid growing concerns about conservation and public health. Hanford has publicly opposed data centers, while Visalia is considering a moratorium. In San Joaquin County, Supervisor Robert Rickman is seeking a temporary moratorium that would give officials time to develop regulations or consider prohibiting large-scale AI and other high-intensity data centers in unincorporated areas. Coachella has gone further, becoming the second city in California after Monterey Park to ban data centers completely. The debate has intensified in Tulare County around a proposed partnership with Global Stack LLC and the Tulare and Kings county fairgrounds to install small, shipping-container-sized edge computing systems. Residents have raised particular concerns about groundwater use as the Central Valley faces ongoing water challenges and agricultural pumping restrictions. Officials across the region say existing land-use rules often do not account for the significant water, power, wastewater, noise and emergency-service demands associated with modern data centers. (See related CP&DR coverage.)

California Forever Shipyard Must Wait; Company Embarks on Revitalization of Downtown Suisun City

Solano County supervisors voted to oppose, 3-2, a proposed state law to streamline approvals for a shipyard on the Sacramento River at Collinsville to be developed by California Forever, the company proposing a new city and industrial zone in Solano County. The shipyard promised to be the first major element of California Forever’s master plan to be implemented. The supervisors’ vote essentially doomed the project for this legislative year. It would have exempted California Forever from having to draft a new environmental impact report and instead would have allowed the company to use an EIR from 2008. Meanwhile, California Forever has acquired property in downtown Suisun City for $1, with the intent of redeveloping and revitalizing the property according to the city’s Downtown Specific Plan, which envisions a mix of commercial and residential uses. California Forever’s partnership with cities in Solano County are part of its strategy to rally support for the proposed new city. (See related CP&DR coverage.)

Gutting of Roadless Rule Could Reduce Protections on 4.4 Million Acres in California The Trump administration is proposing to rescind the federal “Roadless Area Conservation Rule,” a 2001 regulation that bans the development of roads and attempts to keep pristine roughly 44 million acres of federal land nationwide -- ten percent of which is in California. Backers of the plan intend to give discretion to local agencies, arguing in part that it will give states more flexibility to fight and prevent wildfires. The proposal comes at the same time the federal government is attempting to increase logging on federal lands. A statement from the Department of Agriculture calls the rule, “a one-size-fits-all restriction that has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests.” Roadless areas in California span 21 national forests. “These are some of the last truly wild forests left in the country, places that shelter endangered wildlife and protect our drinking water,” said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, in the Los Angeles Times. “Once you start bulldozing roads for commercial logging and industrial development, there’s no getting them back.” The proposal is in the midst of a 30-day public comment period. 

Report Credits ADU's for Bulk of New Housing In L.A. County

USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate published its second annual State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods report. ADU construction hit a record high in 2025, the share of new rental units affordable to low-income households nearly doubled, and homelessness appears to be leveling off after more than a decade of steady growth. While housing production dipped from 2024 to 2025, ADU production reached its peak; despite this growth, the county is far behind state-mandated housing construction goals. Meanwhile, 19% of new rental units affordable to low-income households nearly doubled over the last seven years, rising from 10% to 19% of new stock. More than half of renters in Los Angeles are now considered rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Among middle income households who make between $50,000 and $100,000 per year, severe rent burden has nearly doubled, meaning this demographic is increasingly spending over 50% of their income on rent. The report also introduces a new method for identifying naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), defined as older, unsubsidized units that remain relatively affordable, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining this stock. Even in the most affordable NOAH buildings the typical renter spends 35% of their income on rent.

CP&DR Coverage: Sonoma Co. Development Hopes to Break California’s New Urbanist Drought

Since the adoption of the Charter of the New Urbanism, California has been a hotbed of New Urbanist thought, yet development has been scarce. This trend might be shifting, namely in Sonoma County, where the community of Esmeralda is working its way through the planning process in Cloverdale. It is envisioned as a holistic community full of walkable streets, dense mixed-use structures, roughly 600 housing units, and community amenities. Esmeralda is the brainchild of Devon Zuegel, an entrepreneur who is attempting to establish California’s first large-scale New Urbanist Development built on the principle of human-scale streets and an emphasis on public space. So far, there has been no friction with city planning departments; however, Esmeralda faces challenges in financing the project and in meeting community demands for a full environmental impact report.

Quick Hits & Updates

The Newport Beach city council voted 5-0 to approve a decrease in low-income housing requirements for for-sale homes near John Wayne Airport, dropping the requirement from 15% to 6% of units in a development to be designated as low-income. An additional 8% will now be designated for moderate-income households, a change city officials argued was necessary because Newport Beach's home values run nearly three times the Orange County median.

On a 6-1 vote, the Fresno Planning Commission has endorsed the Southeast Development Area, a 9,000-acre annexation that would permit development in what is now largely farmland. The plan had been considered by the city council last year butas sent back to the Planning Department for modifications. Opponents, including the school district, are concerned about the financial plan for providing infrastructure in the annexed area.

Developer Wellpointe has unveiled plans for Viva, a $2-billion senior housing high-rise complex in Warner Center that would become the largest affordable housing development in Los Angeles. The 2.2-million-square-foot project would comprise four towers ranging from 34 to 42 stories, creating 3,192 income-restricted senior units. The proposal leverages the Warner Center 2035 specific plan, joining the LA Rams’ separate $10-billion headquarters and practice facility as one of two major high-rises now proposed for the area. (See related CP&DR coverage.) New York-based Yellowstone Real Estate Investments has taken over four parcels at San Francisco's Parkmerced complex through foreclosure. The previous developer Maximus Real Estate defaulted on a construction loan that had grown to over $199 million, surrendering the 152-acre property containing more than 3,200 homes next to San Francisco State University. 

Oakland's City Council has advanced a November ballot measure that would extend the city's real estate transfer tax to foreclosure-related transactions, which are currently exempt. The measure could generate $4 million to $13 million annually as downtown office vacancy sits at 30% and landlords default on loans.

A study from UC Berkeley and UCLA found that building more homes can eliminate up to 1 percent of miles driven statewide, a small step toward the state's goal of a 25% reduction by 2030. The study recommends the state prioritize housing goals to help local governments better align new construction with locations that naturally reduce car dependency, as while regional housing agencies are effectively directing growth toward car-light areas with good transit access, individual cities aren't strategically placing new housing to maximize driving reductions. Research suggests that closing this gap could push per-capita vehicle miles traveled down by as much as 6%.