The American Planning Association announced its 12 National Planning Achievement Awards for 2017 in advance of its national conference in New York City. Four of the 12 winners are based in California winners. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs got the award for Best Practice-Silver for “Placemaking for an Aging Population: Guidelines for Senior-Friendly Parks. ” The guidelines describes 10 purposes that senior-friendly open spaces should address: control, choice, safety and security, accessibility, social support, physical activity, privacy, contact with nature, comfort, and aesthetic and sensory delight. Monterey Bay won a Best Practice-Silver as well for its “Historic Fort Ord Regional Urban Design Guidelines” that outline reuse plans for the 28,000-acre historic military installation. The City of Ontario won an award for a Grassroots Initiative-Gold for its “Huerta del Valle Community Garden” which provides fresh organic produce to the community. The garden opened in 2013 and features 68 family plots and 2.5 acres of agricultural land that produces 6,000 pounds of food annually. In 2015, Huerta del Valle Community Garden became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The final California winner was Marin County and its “Game of Floods” which won an award for Public Outreach-Gold. The Game of Floods combines games with community planning exercises to communicate about sea-level rise vulnerabilities and adaption. Review of National Monuments Includes Eight in California Eight national monuments’ designations in California are among the 30 being reviewed by the Trump administration for possible de-listing. Under a new executive order almost a billion acres nationwide are being reevaluated for their status if they were designated by presidents after 1996 and are at least 100,000 acres. The California National Monuments covered by Trump’s order include Cascade-Siskiyou at the Oregon border, Berryessa Snow Mountain, Carrizo Plain, Giant Sequoia, San Gabriel Mountains, Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. Trump says this will end the “egregious abuse of federal power, and give that power back to the states and the people.” While most of California’s national monuments will pass the tests, the two most recently designated desert national monuments could be in jeopardy. Last February, Obama protected 1.8 million acres at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Republicans opened an investigation in March 2016 claiming a “lack of transparency and consultation with local stakeholders.” However, no president has rescinded a national monument designation, and there is no provision in the Antiquities Act for reversal which would likely lead to lawsuits. San Diego Reveals Plans for Vast Network of Urban Sensors San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced the city would be working with General Electric to upgrade streetlights to reduce energy costs by 60 percent and create a connected digital network that can optimize parking and traffic, enhance public safety and track air quality through deployment of 3,200 smart sensors. It would, city officials contend, create the largest city-sponsored “Internet of things” network in the world. These smart nodes will use real-time anonymous sensor data to direct drivers to open parking spaces, help first responders during emergencies, track carbon emissions and identify intersections that can be improved for pedestrians and bicyclists. The anonymous information will be used for San Diego’s “Vision Zero” strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, and it will be available to developers who want to create civic-minded apps and software. The new lights will be installed this summer and the project will be completed by fall 2018. Ruling Tentatively Preserves Bond Funding for High Speed Rail Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei tentatively denied High Speed Rail opponents' attempt to block the state from spending about $1.25 billion from a $10 billion bond voters approved in 2008. Cadei allowed the project to move forward but delayed a final ruling on a legal challenge asserting the state is not keeping its promise to its voters. Cadei said that the injunction was at the wrong time and blocking the money could hurt Californians as taking away the state’s access to the bond dollars would require forfeit of billions of dollars in federal grants. The lawsuit challenges AB1889, which changed previous law to allow money from high-speed rail bonds to be spent on electrification of Caltrain. Those opposed said only voters can make that change, not Gov. Brown, and contended that the ruling gives the legislature “carte blanche” to redirect voter-approved bond funds.  White Paper Describes Opposition to Housing, Possible Responses UCLA professor in urban planning Paavo Monkkonen, released a white paper addressing obstacles to the production of housing in California titled, “Understanding and Challenging Opposition to Housing Construction in California’s Urban Areas.” The paper provides  ways that residents and groups express opposition to new housing their own neighborhoods and makes a set of policy recommendations for the state government to address the challenge. Monkkonen argues limiting new construction make all housing less affordable, exacerbates spatial inequalities, and harms the state’s economic productivity and environment. The paper covers motivations for opposing densification and tactics used to block housing projects. Monkkonen concludes that the state should enforce and enhance existing laws, push local planning agencies to be more representative and equal, provide information for public discussions, and develop ways to make planning decisions at the metropolitan not neighborhood scale. CARB Seeks to Warn Developers of Pollution Risks The California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued a guide to help cities and developers identify risks of and reduce exposure to pollution from busy urban roads. Strategies to Reduce Air Pollution Exposure near High-Volume Roadways provides planners and builders of infill developments with science-based strategies to protect public health and reduce impacts of nearby traffic. CARB Chair Mary Nichols said, “Infill developments are crucial to California’s ability to meet our air quality and climate goals…The health benefits of denser urban neighborhoods can be reduced if they are built close to congested highways.” The strategies include reducing traffic emissions, reducing concentrations of air pollution from vehicles, or removing pollution from the air. Draft Los Angeles City Budget Released Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled his proposed 2017-2018 budget , with significant funding for expenditures related to transportation and land use. The $9.2 billion budget allocates more than $176 million towards housing and services for the homeless and $35 million to fix roads. More than $89 million of the $176 million is HHH funding and the transportation funds will come from Measure M and SB1. The proposed budget also includes $3.5 million for Community Plan Updates, $17 million for Vision Zero, $3.6 million for Great Streets, $14 million DASH Expansion, $31 million for sidewalk repair, $7.1 million for tree-trimming, and joint use arreements for park space. Quick Hits & Updates The Sacramento Area Council of Governments entered into a contract with Social Bicycles for a regional bike share system that will include Sacramento, West Sacramento, Davis, and UC Davis. The preview system will include 50-100 bikes in May 2017 in Sacramento (downtown and Midtown) and West Sacramento. The program will grow to 800 Smart Bicycles plus 100 Electric Bikes during expansion targeted for the fall. The City of Los Angeles  released a new interactive Vision Zero map that shows the location of recent traffic fatalities, identifying them by age, gender, and whether they were traveling by foot, bike or car. The map focuses on the High Injury Network (HIN): six percent of streets where 65 percent of deaths and injuries take place. The map includes data from 2003 to 2016. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) The CEO of the High-Speed Rail Authority, Jeff Morales, announced he will be stepping down this summer after five years. The board of directors are in the process of selecting a replacement. Los Angeles Metro’s Planning and Programming Committee approved final project definitions for a future Eastside Gold Line extension. The project must get approval from the full board, and then can move into environmental clearance studies. The Eastside Gold Line extensions are funded by Measure M with two phases: $534 million to break ground in 2029 and open in 2035 and $2.89 billion for break ground in 2053 and open in 2057. The committee also approved four West Santa Ana Branch light rail alignments to be used for environmental studies. Measure M funds two phases of light rail on the West Santa Ana Branch, which will ultimately run from Union Station to Artesia. Metro plans to scope their EIR this spring, prepare a full EIR, and the agency expects to approve in late 2019. Santa Clara Valley Water District is considering building a new $800 million dam and reservoir in the hills of eastern Santa Clara County near Pacheco Pass. In February the board voted to pay consultants up to $900,000 to study the idea. If the findings return favorable, the district will apply for funding under Proposition 1.  The California Housing Consortium has launched BringCAHome.org , a website with information for Californians on infographics and statistics on the housing affordability crisis, “take action” section that connects Californians with legislators, and a toolksit of county-by-county factsheets on housing affordability and the type of workers who are being priced out. A report released by the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority on the proposed Desert Xpress high speed rail line finds that 27 percent of the more than 23 million passengers that travel between Southern California and Las Vegas would do so by high-speed rail if given the option. The project could also save money for travelers, help the environment, increase safety, and generate $1 billion in revenue. The report notes the promise of infrastructure funding from the Trump Administration and the move of the Raiders from the Bay Area to Las Vegas which can hopefully boost the project to attract new investors. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) is accepting applications for Agricultural Conservation Easement grants and Agricultural Land Strategy and Outcome grants. SALC is the first program in the country to invest in farmland conservation for its climate benefits. Launched by the Strategic Growth Council in 2015, SALC Program dedicated $4.6 million to agricultural conservation easements and planning grants in its first year. Last year, it awarded $37.4 million to preserve 20 properties protecting 19,000 acres. The Anaheim City Council voted to ban commercial marijuana operations, including cultivation, manufacturing and distribution for recreational or medical uses. State officials are expected to issue licenses next year, but city officials say the ordinance give the city control of the issue, rather than deferring to unknown state laws. Anaheim has also limited growing marijuana plants to in their homes and backyards, rather than front-yards. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The City of Los Angeles adopted a new ordinance that would strengthen enforcement of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Under the Ellis Act, landlords who tear down rent-controlled units must either replace them one-for-one with affordable units or ensure that 20 percent of new unit are affordable. The new law would also help prevent displacement of tenants by increasing regulation of both vacant and occupied rental units, requiring owners to re-start the Ellis process if withdrawn units are re-rented, tightening rules when units are demolished without necessary approvals, and requiring property owners to file annual reports. The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, in partnership with researchers at UC Berkeley, is installing  and monitoring air quality sensors in densely packed neighborhoods near the city’s port to give people who live and work there live readings of pollutants that can injure their health. The project has installed the first 25 of 100 sensors in residents’ yards, schools, senior centers, and businesses.

CP&DR Vol. 32 No. No. 4 April 2017

In 1883 novelist Helen Hunt Jackson visited what is now the City of Hemet in 1883 to do research for what became her novel Ramona. The title character is orphaned in Southern California following the Mexican-American War and finds adventure and romance on the frontier. Her story drew thousands of easterners weary of toil and strife and inspired countless readers to pursue the Southern California dream. Had Jackson landed in present-day Hemet, though, she might chosen a different setting for her heroine. The ranchos, orange groves, and soaring peaks that greeted Jackson gave way long ago to the tract housing, freeways, and big-box stores that characterize much of the Inland Empire. Hemet’s downtown — one of the oldest in the region, having been founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1910 — slid into disrepair as the city's population grew to its current 83,000. A new Downtown Specific Plan, adopted on a 5-0 city council vote in early April, aims to bring a little urbanism to Southern California’s original frontier town. The plan applies to a 360-acre area covering 58 blocks including the civic center, historic core, and a future Metrolink commuter rail station. It is bisected east-west by the city’s main street, Florida Avenue and includes a handful of historic resources, such as the 1921 Hemet Theater.

Reversing a Superior Court judge’s ruling, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled that the City of San Diego properly moved forward with construction of a lifeguard station – even though the construction occurred almost 10 years after the city issued a development permit that was supposed to expire after three years.

Southern California is facing a major die-off  of trees throughout parks, campuses and yards in both urban and rural areas, according to data from the U.S. Forest Service. For instance San Diego County’s Tijuana River Valley Regional Park has seen over 100,000 willows destroyed by the polyphagous shot hole borer beetle. Greg McPherson, a researcher with the US Forest Service, estimates the beetle could kill as many as 27 million trees, or 38 percent, in LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. These would be only losses from the beetle, but many of the trees in the area cannot tolerate stresses of drought, water restrictions, higher salinity levels in recycled water, wind and new pests that arrive almost daily because of global trade and tourism, local transportation systems, nurseries and the movement of infected firewood. The hardest-hit native species of urban trees are California sycamores, typically found along streams and used as shade and street trees. Bay Area Cities Strengthen Rent Control San Jose City Council approved a suite of measures, on a 6-5 vote, to strengthen renter protections, including a requirement that landlords must cite a reason for refusing to renew a lease. San Jose has had more than 2,400 evictions without cause since 2010. This was among several moves in recent weeks by Bay Area cities to strength rent control. City housing officials will also study tying rent increases in the city’s 43,000 rent-controlled units to inflation rather than the current 5 percent increase allowed annually. The council also approved Ellis Act protections that would require landlords of rent-controlled units to provide 120 days to a year of notice before they demolish, remodel or convert their buildings and provide displaced renters money to relocate. In Pacifica, the City Council voted , 3-2, to approve a temporary rent-and eviction-control ordinance. In early May, the Council will decide whether to put a rent and eviction control on the Nov. 7 ballot. In Santa Rosa, residents will vote on a broad rent-and eviction-control measure in the June 6 election. Union City City Council approved an eviction-control ordinance that would limit evictions to just causes allowed by law. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Nationwide Housing Crisis Costs Economy Up to $1.6 Billion  Analysis from economists Chang-Tai Hsieh of University of Chicago and Enrico Moretti of UC Berkeley finds that the lack of affordable housing in "superstar cities" like New York, San Francisco, and San Jose have cost the US economy about $1.6 trillion a year in lost wages and productivity. The report is titled, “ Why Cities Matter: Local Growth and Aggregate Growth .” The nation’s 380 metro areas generated $14.6 trillion in GDP in 2012, there is little research about factors that limit the growth of cities and metros. Hsieh and Moretti developed a statistical model that analyzed the contribution of each US city and metro to national economic growth. They analyzed 220 metros from 1964 to 2009 and looked at effects of housing on wages and productivity. The authors found that nearly 75 percent of the nation’s economic growth came from small group of Southern metros and 19 other larger metros. The superstar metros created wealth in finance and high-tech industries, but the gains were eaten up by the wages used to pay for higher housing costs. The authors also investigated whether workers are not flowing to the superstar metros because they have become too crowded, noisy and unpleasant, or whether it’s policies like zoning, building codes and NIMBYism. Improving transit is a large part of the solution, according to Hsieh and Moretti. (See prior CP&DR interview with Enrico Moretti.) Santa Monica Releases Conservative Downtown Plan The City of Santa Monica  released the final draft of its Downtown Community Plan. The 300-page document lays out the future of development downtown through 2030, includes what some consider to be aggressively slow-growth rhetoric. The document has five major elements: density, building heights, housing, affordability and transportation. The plan projects less than 20 percent of downtown’s property area will change because it is largely built-out. The maximum height for buildings will be 84 feet (although some areas maximum will be 32 feet) and three exceptions exist already. The plan breaks up downtown into seven districts, with the tallest buildings planned for the area near the city’s light rail stop. City officials say the plan paves the way for the construction of 2,500 housing units over the next two decades. The plan regulates the number of studios and one-bedroom apartments and requires a certain percentage of new units be available for low and middle-income families. For transportation, the priorities are pedestrians, bicycles and public transit. The document still must go through public review at the Planning Commission and City Council, before officially becoming policy. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Lumber Companies May Challenge Spotted Owl Habitat Designation The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that a group of lumber companies, calling themselves the American Forest Resource Council, have legal standing to challenge the northern spotted owl’s designated “critical habitat.” Federal officials in 2012 designated more than 9.5 million acres in California, Oregon and Washington as essential to the owl’s survival. Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there is substantial probability that the critical habitat designation would cause a decrease in the supply of timber and the members would suffer economic harm as a result of the decrease in supply. The case moves back down to district court, and the trial judge may order the Fish and Wildlife Service to redraw the critical habitat maps. Permits for Housing Construction Decline in Los Angeles Permits for housing construction in LA area have declined from 34,034 for 2015 to 32,008 last year or a six percent drop. The units that have been constructed have been primarily condominiums and apartments. This slowdown can most likely be attributed to pullback in bank lending, new land use regulations, and difficulty for developers to find available land. This is the first decline in six years, since permitted units hit a recession-era low of 7,281 in 2009. Most of the new construction is concentrated in downtown LA, where developers can build taller buildings and higher densities. These declines in housing construction may be a cyclical pause or a trend in the making. However, lower numbers of available units negatively impact the cost and availability of homes for buyers. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington in Texas had 55,618 units permitted last year, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land had 44,643. Even New York and Atlanta’s metropolitan areas surpassed LA with 10,458 and 4,113 more units respectively.  Lancaster Does Away with Parking Requirements in Commercial Zones The high desert city of Lancaster approved  an ordinance that would delete parking requirements in commercial zones. The staff report contends that eliminating these requirements is one step towards reversing low-density, sprawling development patterns, and resulting fiscal liabilities. For development, parking spaces carry a high cost in terms of the land needed to build them but also the costs in maintenance. Planning Director Brian Ludicke said businesses can treat parking as a "business decision" rather than a regulatory requirement. A benefit is that city planning staff can save time spent on calculating, determining, and verifying compliance. To prevent extreme abuse, developers must determine the number of parking spaces sufficient for their project and provide justification to the Direct of Development Services and/or Planning Commission. Quick Hits & Updates According to analysis  by Redfin, San Jose is the nation’s most competitive market for residential real estate with 69.6 percent of homes sold over the listing price. Second and third place were San Francisco and Oakland, respectively. Low supply has driven competition, which keeps pushing home prices up. Los Angeles County will  lose nearly 14,000 affordable rentals over the next five years according to analysis by the California Housing Partnership Corp. The group says these units, spread across 232 building,s are at “high” or “very high” risk of being converted to market rate units.  A report  from the USC Price School of Public Policy, “The Affordable Housing Crisis in Los Angeles: An Employer Perspective,” contends that nearly 60 percent of leading employers have cited the region’s high cost of living as impacting employee retention. Seventy-five percent cite housing costs specifically. Nearly 64 percent report including cost of living when negotiating hiring packages for high-level employees. Rohnert Park Mayor Jake Mackenzie was unanimously elected as the chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Mackenzie has served for the past two years as MTC’s vice chair and has represented Sonoma County on the Commission since 2008. A controversial project  proposed by Cadiz, Inc. to pump Mojave Desert groundwater to sell to urban Southern California has been given new life by the Trump administration. The existing documents said Cadiz could not use an existing federal railroad right-of-way for a new water pipeline, which meant the project would have to go through federal environmental review. Cadiz asked the BLM to reverse what it called a flawed decision. The new memo from the BLM, states that future right-of-way decisions will be made by the agency’s Washington office. Anaheim’s $185 million ARTIC transit hub, will have to pay  its operating deficit from the city’s general fund for the foreseeable future. For the past three fiscal years, the station has fallen far short of ridership projections and operated in the red, with a $2.5 million deficit for 2016-17. This year, because of television shows and commercials filmed there, is projected to generate $1.4 million in revenue. Los Angeles real estate investor Leeor Maciborski faces  fines of $17,000 after writing checks through more than a dozen companies to help elect City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. Under city rules, each donor can only give $700 per election at the time, the company exceeded restrictions by $3,000. The Elk Grove City Council approved , 4-0, $8 million worth of incentives to lure a Costco superstore. Construction will begin in June on a 17-acre site in the suburbs. The project includes 150,000-square foot store and up to 30 gas pumps. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed  a lawsuit against the city of San Bernardino Municipal Water Department and the City of San Bernardino challenging a plan to dramatically reduce water flows in the Santa Ana River. The project would cut water by 50 percent, hurting endangered wildlife and recreational opportunities for people. The National Parks Services has added  the Pan American Bank structure in East Los Angeles to the National Register of Historic Places. This structure is the headquarters of the oldest Latina-owned bank in California and was co-founded in 1964 by Romana Acosta Banuelos, who was also the first Latina Treasurer of the US. Sacramento leaders have met with automakers and technology company representatives to become a national testing  ground for driverless cars.The city is callings its efforts the Autonomous Transportation Open Standards Lab, or ATOS.

In a case involving a historic house on Coronado Island, an appellate court has reinforced the idea that local governments deserve great deference in making findings and shouldn’t be second-guessed by judges.

One of the most nebulous areas of the California Environmental Quality Act is what’s a separate project and what’s not. Under CEQA, lead agencies can’t piecemeal projects in order to avoid dealing with impacts.

The following is a selection of the largest master planned communities currently underway in California. See accompanying story, Post-Recession, Master Planned Communities Come Back to Life .

Up to the year 2000 or so, through the headiest days of growth in the Inland Empire, the 13 square miles between Ontario and Chino now known as Ontario Ranch had a population of over 300,000. If all goes according to plan, it will have roughly 150,000 by the midpoint of this century. Despite this dramatic decline, Ontario Ranch is not some woebegone Rust Belt city. Indeed, it is experiencing not so much one of population so much as it is a change of species: from cattle to human. What it does not represent, however, is much of a change in California’s development patterns. In decades past, outer suburban areas like the Inland Empire, inland San Diego County, Sacramento’s rural counties, and the far tendrils of the Bay Area boomed with subdivisions and master planned communities — typically dominated by single-family homes. Recently, though, economic conditions and a new regulatory climate put a halt to much of that type of growth as cities turned towards infill development and greenfield development was deemed unsustainable. “The size and scope of master-planned communities meant that they did take a larger hit because of their size,” said John Beckman, CEO of the Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley. The recession and housing crisis of 2007 onward stopped development, of all types, in its tracks. Meanwhile, the 2008 passage of Senate Bill 375 was intended to usher in a new age of infill development in center cities. Cultural trends, consumer preferences, and environmental concerns inspired the tantalizing notion that, perhaps, sprawl was dead, interred in a cemetery of its own making. (See prior CP&DR coverage here and here .) Don’t order the headstone yet. Ontario Ranch is but the most massive of a new generation of large master planned communities that are in various stages of development statewide. Technically, Ontario Ranch is an annexation, consisting of nine master-planned communities that are enormous — on the order of several thousand residential units — in their own right. They are joined by the likes of Mountain House in San Joaquin County, Otay Ranch (5,300 acres) in San Diego County, The Villages of Lakeview in Riverside County (11,350 homes, 2,800 acres), Tesoro Viejo in Madera County (5,190 homes, 1,600 acres), and Newhall Ranch in northern Los Angeles (21,500 homes, 10,000 acres). The community of Grapevine (12,000 units, 8,100 acres) recently received approval from Kern County; a sister community on the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch site, Centennial, is awaiting approval from Los Angeles County. (See sidebar  on California's pending large master planned communities.) Despite some exceptions, many of these developments aren’t so much new as they are remnants of the early 2000s with new funding and old approvals. Mountain House, Newhall Ranch, and Tesoro Viejo have been kicking around since the 1990s.

The Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission released draft Plan Bay Area 2040 . The plan is an updated long-range Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy for the nine-county Bay Area. The previous iteration was adopted in 2013 as a result of the California Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (Senate Bill 375). The result of two years of planning, Plan Bay Area 2040 continues a “no sprawl” vision with a focus on infill areas near transit for more walkable neighborhoods, and it attempts to identify transportation and land-use strategies that promote sustainability, equity, and economic vitality. According to the plan, 77 percent of new homes and 55 percent of new jobs are focused within Priority Development Areas, which are designated infill areas close to transit. Some critics  contend that the plan will not do enough to make the region’s housing more affordable. There will be nine open houses, one in every county in the region. Additionally there will be three public hearings: San Jose May 16, Vallejo May 18, and San Francisco May 12. The comment period for all documents will close Thursday June 1. (See prior CP&DR coverage  of second-generation SCS's.) SCAG Adopts Regional Transportation Plan / SCS  The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) adopted  the 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (2016 RTP/ SCS). The plan demonstrates how the region will reduce emissions from transportation sources to comply with Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) and meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set forth by the federal Clean Air Act. The 2016 RTP/SCS is a Project List containing thousands of individual transportation projects that aim to improve the region’s mobility and air quality and revitalize the economy. Since the plan’s adoption, some of these projects have experienced technical changes that are time-sensitive.As a result, amendments to the 2016 RTP/SCS and the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) are needed in order to allow these projects to move forward in a timely manner. SCAG’s Transportation Committee approved the release of the Draft 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy Amendment #2 and the Draft 2017 Federal Transportation Improvement Program Amendment #17-07. There will now be a 30-day public review and comment period ending May 8. Public hearings  will be held in Los Angeles April 25 and will be accessible via videoconference from any of SCAG’s regional offices. Appeals Court Upholds Cap-and-Trade Program An appeals court has upheld California's cap-and-trade program, preserving what supporters say is a crucial source of funding for the state’s efforts to combat climate change. Two judges on the three-judge panel sided with state officials who argued the program is within its authority to regulate the industry through permits to release GHG emissions. The dissenting judge contended the cap-and-trade functioned as an unconstitutional tax. The suit was brought by business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, that contended that the program was an unfair burden on businesses. The decision could still be appealed to the California Supreme Court. Cap and trade funds contribute to land use programs such as the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant program.  Architecture Awards Recognize Nine California Projects The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies have awarded over 79 buildings, commercial and institutional developments, landscape, architecture and urban planning projects form 43 nations for the American Architecture Awards for 2017. Nine projects in California were recognized.  Golden 1 Center , home of the Sacramento Kings, received an award for its innovative solutions, active and spectacular outdoor event plazas, creativity and innovation, and sustainable designs. Other California projects to win the award were the Colorado Esplanade  in Santa Monica, Blu Dot Showroom in West Hollywood, In Situ in San Francisco, Petersen Automotive Museum in LA, The Main Museum of LA Art, Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, Oasis: Silicon Valley Technology Center in Santa Clara, and Sea Song in Big Sur. Lawsuit to Promote Housing In Lafayette Struck Down A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge ruled against activists who filed a lawsuit against the City of Lafayette. The group, San Francisco Bay Area Renters Federation (SFBARF) alleged that Lafayette violated the state’s Housing Accountability Act by approving a smaller housing development rather than a larger apartment complex. Part of a larger movement to increase the region’s housing supply, the suit became known as “Sue the Suburbs.” The developer, O’Brien Homes, initially proposed 315 apartments but in the revised plans that were approved, included only 44 single-family homes, which would be more expensive. SFBARF argued the city pressured the developer to reduce the size of its project, to prevent potential renters from moving to Lafayette. The city says it has over 500 apartment units completed or in the pipeline, particularly downtown near BART and public transit. Los Angeles to Revamp Civic Center into ‘Civic Innovation District' The City of Los Angeles released  a draft plan to convert the existing downtown Civic Center into a “Civic Innovation District” that would include mixed-use street-fronting retail, startup office space, pedestrian paths, public parks, and high-rise residential housing. In March, the City Council approved the new Civic Center Master Plan, based on a study from IBI Group, that will guide the redevelopment. The plan involves demolishing the historic but socially-problematic former LAPD headquarters from 1955, the modernist-style City Hall East building, and the Metropolitan Detention Center. The plan will be implemented in six phases, beginning with the demolition of the former police department headquarters. Existing City Hall South building will be replaced in 2019, in 2021 the 390-foot tall tower will go into the existing Los Angeles Mall, and between 2024-2027 includes the block containing the Parker Center replacement. The entire plan will be completed between 2030-2032. The plan requires one more vote by the city council for adoption.  Bay Area Polls Reveal Concerns about Housing, Transportation The Bay Area Council Poll released  a series of four polls related to quality of life and attitudes towards land use in the Bay Area March 30 - April 2. The first poll focused on Housing, Traffic & Cost of Living and found 46 percent of millennials are considering leaving the Bay Area. Of cost of living, traffic and housing, the first is the top problem with 55 percent, followed by traffic (41 percent) and housing (39 percent). The second poll was about transportation in the region and 70 percent said that the Bay Area needs a major regional investment in transportation, even if it means raising taxes. Even 83 percent of voters said they want traffic treated like an emergency. The third poll was about economic confidence and found 31 percent of voters thought the economy was doing better compared to the previous six months, with millennials feeling the most concerned. The last poll was about the Housing shortage and solutions and found that 70 percent of millennials support building denser while only 57 percent of those aged 40-64. Lower Colorado, Bear River Make ‘Endangered Rivers’ List The American Rivers group released its report of “America’s Most Endangered Rivers” and the Lower Colorado River and Bear River made the list . The Lower Colorado River provides drinking water for one in ten Americans, but is under major threat for water scarcity and demand. Over the past years, federal agencies and state water leaders have made progress towards conservation and programs that reduce overuse of the river. This success is threatened by the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2018 Budget proposal which would cut programs like the Bureau of Reclamations’ System Conservation Program, the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART program and Title XVI grants for municipal conservation and efficiency efforts. Bear River from the Sierra Nevadas flows 73 miles to the pastures and fields of the Central Valley. This river supports recreation, cultural use, rare habitat, and water for agriculture and municipal supplies in multiple cities and counties. This river is threatened by a proposed 275-foot tall Centennial Dam.

A few years ago, Charlie Munger ended up with a piece of property in my neighborhood. He decided to develop an upscale retail center: restaurants, boutiques, nail salons, or whatever. His architect came up with an elegant design of an appropriate scale, and his development company set about getting approvals.  To make a long story short, neighbors bent over backwards to kill the project. Four years later, the site consists of an empty lot and an abandoned building surrounded by chain link.  I thought of Munger whenever I heard an activist rail about "greedy developers" during the recent battle over Measure S in Los Angeles. Munger insisted that he had no interest in profit and just wanted his project to be something "nice for the community," as he put it at a meeting I attended. I believe him. See, Munger is Warren Buffet's business partner. He's worth $1.4 billion, and he's ninety-three years old. He has no use for greed. Needless to say, not every developer is a Charlie Munger. Unfortunately, many people in Los Angeles talk about developers like they're all Charles Manson.  Among the grandiose promises, half-truths, and outright whoppers that sponsors of Measure S proffered, one of the most consistent messages concerned the depravity of real estate developers. They affixed “greedy” to the profession the way the president affixed “crooked” to his opponent. Perhaps most damningly, they referred to developers as “Trump’s pals.” (Munger, for one, isn’t .) To hear the Measure S coalition tell it, developers, be they individuals or companies, want to exploit the city, corrupt the politicians, and build the biggest, ugliest structures they can, everywhere and anywhere. They foist “luxury” apartments upon and invite gentrification into unsuspecting neighborhoods and drive up rents, as if gentrification depends purely on supply and has nothing to do with demand.  Left unchecked, Los Angeles would suffer “Manhattanization,” as if resembling the most prosperous, most exciting city in the world would be a fate worse than death.  *** These accusations came from two angles. Traditional NIMBY’s consider anything that blocks their view, slows their commute, or makes it easier for “those people” to live nearby to be a nefarious deed. On the other end of the political spectrum, advocates for social justice implicate developers in all that is wrong with capitalism. To hear them tell it, every developer is, if not Charles Mason, at least Henry Potter, gleefully putting up shacks and gouging the good people of Bedford Falls at every turn. Of course, the greedy developer stereotype is grounded in reality. Like many other city-watchers in Los Angeles, I’ve taken my shots at people like Geoff Palmer . Mall developer Rick Caruso is an affable enough guy, but no one would accuse him of pursuing a modest lifestyle. Don’t get me started on Donald Sterling.  Are developers aggressive? Many are. Do they come off as slick rather than earnest? Sometimes. Are they trying to make money? Of course. What I don’t get is why their efforts are so much more nefarious than anyone else’s. Grocery stories don’t sell food for free. Doctors don’t perform surgery for free. Teachers don’t go to class for their health. Movie stars don’t act for free. Even staff members at charities are entitled to earn a competitive salary. (More on that later.) Developers make money because they produce something that people are willing to pay for. Unless you built your own house, you are living someplace that was, by definition, built by a developer -- or at least by someone willing to make that knotty leap from use value to exchange value. If you don’t like developers, I’m sure A16 has a few tents they can sell you.  Developers get special attention — and special derision — for two related reasons. First, their products are literally visible. We see what they are doing, and we can decide immediately whether we approve or not. Second, their business inherently depends on the public trust and impact the public realm. Land, sky, and infrastructure are public goods, in the strictest, Economics 101 sense of the term. They are not to be handed over wantonly. Developers who manipulate the public process — maybe, as the Yes on S coalition claimed, with the occasional campaign contribution or secret handshake — are classic rent-seekers. I get it: that’s not cool.  And yet, if we’re going to get all huffy about capitalists, I’d submit that real estate developers are the least of our worries. Sure, you might hate the Hollywood Palladium towers. But at least you see what you’re getting. The very quality that makes real estate threatening is the same quality that limits the damage it can do. I’m far more concerned about, say, greedy drug companies, greedy food companies, greedy financiers, and greedy defense contractors than I am about greedy developers.  *** The Carusos and Palmers notwithstanding, many developers are more like regular white-collar professionals than they are captains of industry. They put in crazy hours — nay, years — partly to navigate our regulatory morass, often with uncertainty every step of the way. Many of them make good livings, but few of them make killings. With that said, from a purely psychological standpoint, do we really expect developers to do good work and to want to cooperate with the city if we’re berating them all the time? If you call people “evil” and “greedy” often enough, they’re either going to get really uncooperative, or they’re just going to say to hell with it and conform to the labels they’re given.  In the middle of all of this, you have the pot calling the kettle black. If anyone has committed the sin of avarice, it’s the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. They’re the ones who created, sponsored, and overwhelmingly funded (if you consider 99 percent overwhelming) the Yes on S campaign. You have to wonder how a nonprofit company manages to sock away so much money that it can spend $6 million on billboards . (The answer: you can do it when you have annual revenue of $900 million, an annual budget of $160 million, and pay the executive director $380,000 per year. How many developers would love to have that kind of balance sheet?) It’s usually easy to claim the moral high ground when you're an AIDS charity. Until, of course, you stray so far from your mission that you start seeming like a plague on the city. And let’s not forget about the real power brokers in Los Angeles. In many ways, the Measure S campaign was a smokescreen for homeowners’ own greed. Indirectly, their properties become more valuable as supply is constrained. There’s rent-seeking capitalism , at work yet again. More directly, homeowners associations are pretty adept at extracting concessions from developers. Developers lop off a few stories from their buildings and add community amenities all the time. Sometimes they even cough up  cash payments that fund HOA's own war chests, to be deployed next time someone proposes 22 stories rather than 16.  *** Developers, like the grocery store and the doctor and plenty of other capitalists, serve crucial functions in society. In fact, planning and development — the very name of this publication — are inextricably and symbiotically linked. Plans mean nothing without someone to build them. Of course, a city’s plans can be lousy. That’s why Measure S was so potent. It called out Los Angeles’ antiquated plans and rightfully highlighted the absurdity of “spot zoning." But, whether plans are outdated or enlightened, most developers are just trying to do their thing.  For too long in Los Angeles, developers have been the only ones actually advocating for more housing. The vast majority of Los Angeles’ rent-burdened residents have sat by (probably because they’re working three jobs) while slow-growth interests have lobbied against every additional unit. This situation has left developers to fend for themselves, pleading their cases before roomfuls of indignant homeowners, praying that planning commissioners and zoning administrators will see through their protests and acknowledge the greater good. And, yes, I’m sure they make occasional campaign contributions. My point is, no one is entirely guilty in this mess, and no one is entirely innocent.  *** We who live in the new, ascendant, post-Measure S Los Angeles can choose how to understand each other and how to relate to each other. If we restrict development just because developers are “greedy” or fail to implement policies to reduce their temptations, then the joke’s on us. As rents keep rising, it’s the landlords – not the developers – who win big.  The way to prevent this is to reject the divisiveness of the Measure S campaign. We 4 million people live in close quarters on a small piece of this earth. We are neighbors, whether we like it or not. And, contrary to the city’s history and culture, we’re going to have to embrace each other a little bit more. We’re going to have to stop the name-calling and tone down the distrust and put aside the rivalries so we can all work towards a better city, compromises and all.  No matter how high the towers of the future rise and no matter how dense certain neighborhoods get, it’s the attitude — more so than any single development or any citywide policy — that will help Los Angeles put its past behind it and embrace a new era.  To paraphrase the president, some developers, I assume, are terrible people. But most are not. In this new era, developers deserve the benefit of the doubt. Charlie Munger certainly does. As for the Donalds – Sterling, Trump – and their ilk, not so much. Author's note: This piece has been edited since its original posting.

After an intense week of lobbying, largely on the part of Gov. Brown, the state legislature passed a $52 billion transportation plan that will raise gas taxes to fund road projects. The bill passed with the bare minimum two-thirds, with 27-11 in the Senate and 54-26 in the Assembly. The base gasoline excise tax will increase by 12 cents, creates a transportation improvement fee based on the value of a vehicle, and raises diesel excise and sales taxes. Estimates indicate that Senate Bill 1 will provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulate the economy. Gov. Brown estimates that the higher fuel taxes and fees would increase costs by about $10 a month for the average motorist. Lobbying for the package included what the L.A. Times describes as “ side-deals .” These include $400 million for an extension of the Bay Area commuter rail line, the Altamont Corridor Express, and $100 million parkway project between UC Merced and Highway 99 in Sen. Cannella’s district of Merced. The measure also provides $427 million for transportation projects in Riverside County. The cities of Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Menifee, and Wildomar will receive $18 million to reimburse them for vehicle license fee revenue they lost through a change in law on newly incorporated cities. S.F. Supervisor Targets Fraudulent Evictions San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell introduced legislation that would go after landlords who evict tenants from a rent-controlled apartment with the pretense of moving back in, but instead rent to someone else at a higher price. This fraudulent owner-move-in eviction has been occurring over the past five years but has been difficulty to prove the owners never intended to move in. The new bill would require landlords pursuing this type of eviction to sign a document under penalty of perjury stating they plan to occupy the property. It also requires the landlord to submit verification to the rent board that they have moved into the property, with a utility bill or car registration notice. There have been around 1,500 owner-move-in evictions since 2014, and Farrell estimated a quarter of them were illegal. Sonoma County Seeks More Housing Sonoma County officials approved an ambitious goal to construct more than 3,000 homes in the next five-years. As many as 1,375 housing units could be built on county-owned land in Santa Rosa area, and 2,000 units on other sites by 2022. This boost could ease the strain on renters by potentially tripling the almost zero vacancy rate, and slowing the pace of rent inflation. Pre-recession, contractors added 18,000 homes, apartments and condos from 2000 to 2008. Supervisors first plan is to sell 82 acres of county-owned land in northeast Santa Rosa hills to a developers who wants to build 800 housing units. County officials also hope to sustain and improve assistance programs for the needy by expanding projects to identify and coordinate services for hundreds of the most vulnerable residents. Another priority is securing funds for improving the county’s aging infrastructure. There is an estimated $560 million in maintenance needs over 10 years for transportation and a $236 million backlog in county buildings. Developer Sues San Diego Convention Center  Developers of a luxury bayfront hotel proposed for the site have sued the San Diego Convention Center over provisions in an upcoming ballot measure that, they say, would illegally impair their plans. Fifth Avenue Landing, which has a ten-year lease on the property, will seek a 66-year extension once building permits are approved for the 44-floor hotel. The lawsuit accuses the Convention Center of interfering in their permitting process and undermining plans for a four-star, $300 million hotel. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s initiative to raise hotel taxes to generate $685 million for an expanded convention center began last week after the failure of the “Convadium” ballot measure in November. Some of the generated funds would go to improving roads and reducing homelessness. However, the ballot initiative does not include plans for the city to control where an expansion would occur. Fifth Avenue Landing claims that the ballot measure would give the city an excuse not to extend its lease and, instead, reclaim the parcel where its hotel would be developed. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Survey Finds Concerns about Displacement in L.A. The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs  released  results from the second annual LA Quality of Life Index survey. The survey asked 1,600 respondents how they rated their own quality of life in nine different categories including jobs, economy, education, race relations, and acceptance in their neighborhoods. More than half were upset with the displacement of their neighbors; only 19 percent viewed gentrification as a good thing. Satisfaction with the cost of living dropped and more respondents complained about lengths of commutes this year. However, the most positive rating on the survey was race relations. UCLA plans to present the study to county officials, non-profit organizations involved with human services, chamber of commerce, and the LA City Council this year. BART Faces Lawsuits over Disabled Access Two advocacy groups and two individuals with disabilities are suing BART for illegally discriminating against people with mobility disabilities by making it difficult or unpleasant to access the transit systems. BART’s elevators are frequently sprayed with urine and human waste. The elevators are frequently broken down, as are the escalators, far gates and call boxes. The plaintiffs are not looking for financial compensation, instead to have a court order to require BART to commit to more frequent cleaning and maintenance of elevators, and to come up with a better evacuation plan. Traffic Fatalities Rise in L.A. Traffic deaths in the city of Los Angeles have risen sharply despite the Mayor’s Vision Zero policy. In 2016, the first full year the policy was in effect, 260 people were killed in traffic crashes on city streets – an increase of almost 43 percent form the previous year. In 2017 so far, crash fatalities are 22 percent higher than in the same period last year. This year, the Transportation Department is focusing on 40 corridors to widen sidewalks, eliminate lanes, left-turn arrows, higher-visibility crosswalks, and other techniques to slow down vehicles. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Quick Hits & Updates The Department of Conservation announced that the Proposed Final FY2016-17 SALC Program Guidelines and associated  Quantification Methodology  will be presented to the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) for consideration and approval at the April 11, 2017 SGC meeting.  The California Transportation Commission announced $56 million in grants for projects promoting bike lanes, sidewalks and safer ways to get to school throughout Southern California. The commission will fund 25 projects in six counties. These include nearly $15 million for bike lanes in the Arts District in LA, $3.7 million for a $6.5 million protected bike track in downtown Pasadena, $3.2 million for a project at Union Station, among many others. In San Diego,  Father Joe’s Villages announced a $531 million, five-year plan to create 2,000 permanent housing units and reduce homeless encampments . The organization is working with Chelsea Investment, a low-and-moderate income housing group, to develop a financial plan involving tax credits, monies from the city’s affordable housing trust fund, CivicSan Diego’s various housing programs and other available state and federal grants, plus private donations. The Palo Alto City Council voted , 5-4, to roll back some development impact fee increases that were approved last year by the previous council. The new fee structure will “protect the city’s affordable housing fund without discouraging development.” According to Councilman Adrian Fine, the new fee structure encourages more multi-family residences and condos as the most efficient way to add affordable housing to the city. The Sonoma City Council is reviewing a 150-page “Nexus Study” on housing impact fees to help support the creation of affordable housing. When redevelopment funding was terminated in 2012, it brought the city’s affordable housing program to a halt as well. The city is now looking at ways other communities are creating affordable units. Trammell Crow and Greenland USA have entered a joint venture to develop 15 acres surrounding the North Hollywood subway station in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. The team originally had two options but seems to have stuck with Option B, which includes a series of high-rise structures that would include 1,500 housing units (250-325 are affordable), 450,000 square feet of offices, and 150,000 square feet of street-fronting commercial space. Members of Oakland’s Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities are upset at Motivate and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for planning Bay Area Bike Share  without including options for disabled users. One commissioner argued that the bike share programs cannot legally launch without bikes for the disabled. The city of Oakland is expected to get 70 stations with 850 bicycles. Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin counties have more people leaving than arriving according to estimates released which cover the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. Job growth has slowed in the Bay Area while housing prices have increased, and that leads to less demand to live in the region. Eight of the region’s nine counties, Solano County being the exception, experienced their lowest levels of net migration last year in at least four years. The Los Angeles Department of City Planning unveiled a draft design ordinance which would reshape development along commercial corridors in the North Westlake area. The proposed ordinance would promote pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use corridors and encourage the reuse of existing buildings. The subject area incorporates many neighborhoods, including Historic Filipinotown. The proposed policy shifts touch on a variety of topics including building design, site planning, parking and signage.