The housing deficit continues to grow in the Bay Area, which produced only 83% of needed housing units from 1999 through 2005, according to a report by the Bay Area Council. The production of affordable units was even worse, as the nine-county region produced only 42% of the very low-, low- and moderate-income units prescribed in the Association of Bay Area Governments’ regional housing needs determination (RHND). The Council, a CEO-led business organization, said the region’s housing situation is an economic concern. “While salaries tend to be high in the region, costs of living are even higher than comparative regions (almost exclusively due to housing costs), resulting in workers paying a very large ‘premium’ to reside in this region,” the Council concluded. “Thus, as talented workers consider where to live, very high housing costs can discourage new talent from moving to the Bay Area while pushing current residents elsewhere.” Contra Costa County has produced more than its share of total units, and Solano County has nearly met its overall share. Other counties, however, saw less building than prescribed by the RHND. San Mateo County’s 9,365 permits were only 59% of the county’s housing share. Interestingly, the Council found that the jurisdictions that fell the farthest short of their RHND goals were cities of 35,000 to 75,000 people. Together, they had produced only 59% of their RHND total. Smaller cities jointly exceeded their target figures, and larger cities met 85% of their RHND goals. Seven cities provided more than 100% of their share of affordable units: San Jose, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, Hercules, Pinole, San Bruno and Colma. The cities of Petaluma and San Pablo nearly met their goals, according to the Council. The Bay Area Council, previously headed by outgoing Business, Transportation and Housing Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak, urged approval of SB 1800 (Ducheny). The builder-sponsored bill would require local governments to zone for 20 years of housing needs and prepare 10-year housing plans, increase by-right developments and decrease environmental review. However, the bill has received little support (see , page 3). The Council’s report is available at www.bayareacouncil.org .

The state Department of Water Resources (DWR) has recommended that the City of Sacramento consider limiting development in the Natomas Basin, the fastest growing part of the city, because of flood threats (see , October 2005). In July, the Army Corps of Engineers reported that Natomas lacks 100-year flood protection because of levee seepage concerns. “This is particularly troubling since Natomas is a deep basin and may experience flooding in excess of 15 feet,” DWR Director Lester Snow wrote to Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo. “With less than 100-year flood protection, the chance of homes flooding over the next 10 years is approximately 10%, much greater than the risk of a home fire.” The letter emphasizes that DWR is working with the city and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency to upgrade the levees, and that voter approval of two bonds in November will help. In the meantime, though, DWR urged the city to consider: • Limiting new construction; • Requiring building designs relative to potential flooding depth; • Notifying property owners and renters annually of the flood risk; • Requiring builders to provide flood insurance to new residents until “the minimum level of flood protection is achieved;” • A “robust assessment of flood risk in general plan updates,” and possibly new policies. The state agency sent a similar letter to Sutter County, in which the northern end of the Natomas Basin lies. Sacramento officials expressed some frustration with the letter, and there are no indications the city will slow Natomas development. Sutter County officials said development of the planned 7,500-acre Sutter Point project will not likely get started before levees are upgraded. of Supervisors has voted 3-2 to pay the developer of a 440-acre project in Upland $102 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the developer. Colonies Partners sued the county’s flood control district over the cost of providing a 65-acre flood control project in the midst of the 1,150-unit project (see , February 2004; , December 2003). The litigation had already reached an appellate court once and appeared headed back in July when a Superior Court for a second time ruled that the flood control district’s easements on the property no longer existed, meaning the county would have to purchase the land for the flood control channel and basin. The county counsel’s office and outside attorneys with Jones Day disputed the ruling and recommended against a settlement, but a sharply divided board approved the $102 million agreement anyway. Dissenting Supervisors Dennis Hansberger and Josie Gonzales contended Colonies Partners never provided documentation to support the amount of the settlement, and Hansberger later told the that a taxpayer lawsuit for a gift of public funds would be “entirely appropriate.” But the board majority said it was in the best interest of everyone to settle the matter. The flood control district will apparently use its reserves, issue bonds and sell surplus property to make the $102 million in payments over 10 years. The City of Lynwood’s Redevelopment Agency shorted its low- and moderate-income housing fund by $193,000 over three years, spent nearly half of housing monies on planning and administration, failed to record affordability covenants on subsidized housing units, and held property longer than legally permitted, according to a recent audit by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). For the three years audited, 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05, the agency deducted pass-through amounts, fees and transfers to schools from the gross tax increment before allocating money to the low/mod housing fund, according to HCD. The result was $193,000 less than required for the housing account, as state law mandates that 20% of gross increment go into the affordable housing fund. The city blamed Los Angeles County accountants and concurred with HCD’s conclusion. The redevelopment agency spent 13%, 48% and 45% of low/mod housing funds on planning and administration during the three audited years, without determining that the expenses were necessary. The agency countered that it was negotiating and approving two affordable housing projects during that period. State auditors reported that they were unable to confirm affordability restrictions for housing units subsidized by the redevelopment agency. The agency said that no redevelopment funds had been used for the projects, as the city relied on federal funding for affordable housing projects. However, HCD said that assertion contradicted the agency’s audited financial statements, which say the agency spent more than $1.3 million on housing rehabilitation and construction over a six-year period. The city should expect a follow-up audit on this issue, HCD said. As for the six properties held longer than the five- or 10-year statutory maximum, the agency reported that it had sold three parcels to the city for a park, is developing one parcel, and is negotiating with a developer regarding two others. Water began flowing in the Lower Owens River in December when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa turned a control knob opening a gate that has directed the river into the Los Angeles Aqueduct since 1913. After decades of political battles and litigation involving Inyo County and environmentalists, Los Angeles in 1991 agreed to restore the river. But the city moved slowly, prompting more litigation. The city lost recent rounds and was facing the loss of some water rights if it did not start restoring the river (see , October 2006). The river will now flow an additional 62 miles through the Owens Valley before the city diverts it into the aqueduct. The project also includes restoration of riparian habitat along the river. Cynthia Bryant is the new director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. Bryant replaces Sean Walsh, whom Gov. Schwarzenegger has named a senior advisor. Bryant most recently served as chief deputy legislative secretary for the governor. Prior to that, she was a policy aide to state Senate Republicans, legal counsel for the Assembly Republican Caucus and counsel to the Assembly Rules Committee. Gov. Schwarzenegger has extended the life of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley by two years, until the end of 2008. The governor formed the partnership headed by members of his cabinet in 2005 to address economic, transportation, land use and social issues in the eight-county region (see , February 2006). Thus far, the group’s major success has been getting attention focused on the need for Highway 99 improvements. The truce between the City of Berkeley and the University of California over campus development appears to have crumbled. In December, the UC Board of Regents approved the “southeast campus integrated projects” program, which calls for renovating and seismically strengthening Memorial Stadium, constructing a 142,000-square-foot athletic center, and converting the Bowles Hall dormitory into suites for corporate executives attending classes. Two weeks later, the city filed a lawsuit, contending that the project violates the Alquist-Priolo seismic safety law, and that the project description and UC’s search for alternative sites were inadequate under the California Environmental Quality Act. A neighborhood association and environmental groups have filed two other lawsuits over the projects. In 2005, the city and UC reached a settlement over the school’s long range development plan after years of antagonism (see , July 2005; , June 2005). But the friendly feelings are apparently over. The City of Berkeley eased its historic preservation regulations in December, when the City Council approved a revised preservation ordinance. In November, Berkeley voters rejected an initiative that would have locked in place the previous regulations. The new rules make it harder to designate historic sites and structures, and make it easier to remove things from the protected list. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates repeatedly argued that the old rules were abused to halt development.

Even if they disagree with each other sometimes, state and local officials are trying to make it easier to get development projects through the CEQA process. Jerry Brown recently used his 2011 CEQA reforms to get a solar project approved in Riverside County. Meanwhile, Fresno County streamlined its CEQA process even as Brown has attempted to intervene in disputes between Fresno city, the county, and Madera County over greenfield development. Brown Uses CEQA Reforms to Approve Solar Project CA.gov Last week Governor Brown certified the McCoy Solar Project in Riverside County under the terms of his 2011 CEQA reforms (AB 900), making it the second project to be certified since he signed the bill in September 2011.  AB 900 allows projects to be eligible for expedited review. Brown says the billion-dollar renewable solar facility is projected to generate clean solar power, create over 340 jobs, and invest at least $100 million in the state.  A RDA Success Story For Long Beach LA Streetsblog The former RDA effort to revamp downtown Long Beach provides a unique example of something positive coming from the state's dissolution of the RDA last year. A four-phase project to redo downtown streetscapes was slimmed down to focus solely on Pine Avenue, the main downtown corridor. .  Recently Approved Regulatory Change Makes Development Easier in Fresno County  Fresno Bee Amid concerns that Fresno and Madera counties have made development of greenfield projects too easy, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve a regulatory change that will help speed up the county's development process. The change allows developers to hire their own consultants, instead of the county contracting to a third party, for CEQA required reviews of project proposals. Opposing groups call this change a conflict of interest; however supervisors hold that there is no conflict of interest since the county will continue to oversee the environmental review process of proposed projects.  Metro Approves Use of Measure R Funds for the 710 Freeway Coalition LA streetsblog The City of Rosemead is using a portion of its Measure R local return funds to pay for its membership fees in the 710 Coalition. Although many oppose the use of local tax dollars to support the highly controversial I-710 extension project, Metro claims that this use falls within the Metro funding guidelines.  US DOT Prioritizes Walking and Biking in New Design Standards DC streetsblog Traditionally, US DOT has relied on adopted roadway guidelines that favor the automobile and render roadways unsafe for bicyclists and pedestrians. Now for the first time, US DOT is setting out to create its own set of design standards that prioritize safer streets for biking and walking. Secretary of Transportation, Raymond LaHood, says that DOT will draw from best practices and collaborate with AASHTO and NACTO to develop standards that create a safer experience for all roadway users.  Council Candidate Visions A New LA Rail Line With Streetcar Curbed LA Los Angeles Council District 13 candidate, Matt Szabo, revealed his comprehensive transportation vision for the area in a plan titled, "This Could Be Us: A Public Transit Vision That Works". The plan includes a new rail line running along Sunset Boulevard, connecting Hollywood to other destination areas, like Dodger Stadium and Downtown LA, a new streetcar along Riverside Drive connecting to the downtown streetcar, and an extension to Metro's existing red and purple rail lines. Szabo's plan aims to improve the area's connectivity, improve access to public space, and advance efforts for increasing green space, like the Hollywood Central Park freeway capping project. San Diego Preps Region for CA's High Speed Rail U-T San Diego San Diego is in the process of preparing the county's rail lines for the state's future high-speed rail network. The blueprints , as part of the draft CA State Rail Plan, aim to combine the existing rail system with the future rail system needed to accommodate the state's new bullet-train network. Although the high-speed rail isn't expected to operate through San Diego for decades, officials are committed to improving regional access to future network connections in Los Angeles and San Diego by investing in its current light rail system.

Gov. Schwarzenegger waited until the last minute to take action on the most important housing bills of the 2004 legislative year, signing some and vetoing others. The most controversial housing bill that the governor signed is SB 1818 (Hollingsworth), which increases the maximum density bonus for certain affordable housing projects from 25% to 35%. One way developers can qualify for the larger density bonus is by donating land for future affordable housing projects. The bill also requires cities to provide affordable housing developers with three incentives of the developer's choice. That final provision is a major concern, said Sande George, lobbyist for the California Chapter of the American Planning Association. It appears a developer could use the provision to avoid paying mitigation fees, utility connection charges, and planning fees, she said. But bill supporters say they envision the incentives being things like smaller setbacks or relaxed parking requirements. Under the legislation, a city may refuse to grant a concession if the city makes findings. Also receiving the governor's endorsement were AB 2348 (Mullin) and AB 2158 (Lowenthal), both of which make changes to the housing element process (see , June 2004). The governor vetoed two other high-profile housing bills, both by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). One of the failed bills was AB 2702, which would have reduced local government discretion over second units. “As a strong proponent of local control,” the governor said in his veto statement, “I believe that government is most responsive and accountable to people when it is close to the people. This bill removes that control away from local officials, where homeowners and residents can voice their concerns about their neighborhoods and moves it to a state bureaucracy in Sacramento.” The second bill Schwarzenegger rejected was AB 1426, which would have provided $1 million from the Proposition 46 housing bond to fund incentives for affordable housing production in the Sacramento region. The governor said it was inappropriate for the state to set aside the bond funds for one region's programs. Interestingly, both vetoes came despite Business, Housing and Transportation Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak's support for the Steinberg bills. Housing advocates were disappointed. “This governor may be more receptive than any of his predecessors over the last 25 years to local government arguments for local control,” the California Housing Law Project said in an October memorandum. BESIDES THE HOUSING BILLS, the governor also took action on two other bills that could have indirect land use implications. Schwarzenegger signed AB 2572, which requires cities, special districts and other water providers with at least 3,000 connections to install water meters by 2025 (not by 2013, as reported by in September). The largest cities affected are Sacramento and Modesto. Meanwhile, the governor vetoed a bill that would have capped air pollution limits at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles at current levels. Schwarzenegger said AB 2042 (Lowenthal) “would not reduce air pollution in any way.” Instead, he called for a new state and federal program of financial and regulatory incentives to reduce port air pollution. AS EXPECTED, CALTRANS DID NOT AWARD A BID a bid to build the “signature” portion of a new, seismically safe San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. However, instead of asking for a bid extension, the state simply let the $1.4 billion bid expire on September 30. The bid from a consortium of bridge builders for the self-anchored cable suspension span was about double what Caltrans had estimated, and the bid helped make clear just how expensive the proposed eastern Bay Bridge replacement may be ( , October 2004). The estimated cost of the project has jumped from $1.3 billion to $5.1 billion since 1997. The state has convened a panel of experts to reconsider the Bay Bridge design. A report to the Legislature is due in December. More than half of the state's cities and counties have not completed a comprehensive general plan update in at least 10 years. According to a letter from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to the attorney's general's office, 288 cities (out of 477) have not completed an update in at least a decade, nor have 37 of the state's 58 counties. However, OPR did report that 75 cities and 19 counties are currently working on comprehensive plan updates. OPR defines a “comprehensive” update as a revision of at least five of the seven required general plan elements. AT A HEARING ATTENDED BY MORE THAN 1,000 people, the Los Angeles City Council approved phase two of the Playa Vista project on the city's west side. Phase two will slide between housing that is already under development on the project's west end, and a 3 million-square-foot office and industrial park on the project's east end (see , October 2003). With 2,600 housing units, 175,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail space, phase two is proposed to contain the mixed-use aspects that Playa Vista backers have touted. In all, Playa Vista will have about 5,800 housing units. Even though about 600 of Playa Vista's 1,087 acres are being set aside for open space, wetlands habitat or parks, development opponents persist. During the City Council hearing, they complained bitterly, especially about traffic congestion. Litigation over phase two approvals is next. A RAND CORPORATION STUDY is the latest to link low-density, suburban-style development with public health problems. The Santa Monica-based think tank found that adults who live in the most sprawling cities have a health profile similar to someone who is four years older and living in a more compact city. The RAND study identified the Riverside-San Bernardino region as the nation's most sprawling. Among the health conditions more prevalent among residents of sprawling areas are high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches and breathing difficulties - even after accounting for factors such as age, race, income and local environmental conditions. “To improve our health the study suggests that we should build cities where people feel comfortable walking and are not so dependent on cars,” said Dr. Deborah Cohen, a RAND researcher and study co-author. The study is available on the RAND website at: www.rand.org/research_areas/health/index.html . A STATE APPELLATE COURT has for the first time invalidated an urban water management plan. In an unpublished decision, the Fifth District Court of Appeal rejected the Castaic Lake Water Agency's plan. Castaic's urban water management plan - which is supposed to address 20-year supplies and needs - has received criticism since the agency adopted the document in 2000. The agency sells water at both wholesale and retail in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Sierra Club and Friends of the Santa Clara River sued over the plan in 2001, as did Ventura County, which eventually dropped out of the litigation. Earlier this year, directors of the Newhall County Water District, which purchases water wholesale from the Castaic agency, cast a no-confidence vote regarding the plan (see , March 2004). The environmentalists contend that the plan improperly relies on “paper water” from the oversubscribed State Water Project and questionable groundwater supplies. The Fifth District rejected the plan because it did not properly account for perchlorate contamination from a closed munitions factory in Saugus. “If the perchlorate contamination impairs the supply of water taken from the Saugus formation in dry years, the districts plan to restore full production capacity by treating the contaminated water,” Justice Dennis Cornell wrote for the court. “While the treatment facilities are being built, the districts have no plan to cover the reduction in water available from the Saugus formation. “Thus, the plan's description of the perchlorate contamination and the method for addressing that contamination is flawed because it fails to (1) address the time needed to implement the available method for treating the contaminated water and (2) describe the reliability of the groundwater supply during that implementation period,” Cornell continued. The implications of the court ruling are unclear, although the decision places planners in a tenuous situation. In the meantime, the Castaic agency is preparing the mandated five-year update to the water plan. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN A CONDOMINIUM tower and a multi-modal transportation depot in downtown San Francisco has concluded with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voting to purchase the condo site via eminent domain. Developer Jack Myers had actually begun preliminary construction on a 423-unit, 51-story condominium project across the street from the site of the planned transbay terminal (see , August 2004). Construction of the condominiums apparently would have prevented construction of an underground rail line to the terminal. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority suggested both projects could go forward if a huge concrete foundation were built under the residential tower. Supervisors, however, rejected the idea as risky and costly, and instead voted to acquire Myers' site on Natoma Street for $32 million. The city would pay half and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission the other half. Myers, who vowed to continue with a lawsuit over the terminal's environmental impact report, will likely press for a higher price. SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISORS in October approved a 45-day moratorium on the demolition of one- and two-screen movie theaters. A proposal to raze the Richmond District's 4 Star theater to make room for a church spurred the moratorium, which supervisors are likely to extend this month. In the meantime, the city is considering a process in which developers would have to prove that a proposed theater demolition would not harm a neighborhood. PACIFIC LUMBER COMPANY (PALCO) and state agencies have been ordered to pay $6 million in attorneys' fees after losing a lawsuit over a “sustained yield plan” for 200,000 acres of forest owned by PALCO on California's north coast. The award of attorneys' fees is one of the largest ever in an environmental case, and an appeal is certain. The logging plan was drawn up as part of the $480 million deal in which the state purchased a portion of the Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County from PALCO. The Environmental Protection Information Center and the United Steelworkers Union challenged the plan on a variety of grounds, winning the case in 2003. More recently, Lake County Superior Court Judge John Golden awarded EPIC $4.3 million in fees and the union $1.8 million. The administrative record in the case contains more than 75,000 pages. AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE of planning, discussion and controversy, the City of Los Angeles broke ground in October on a new pedestrian path around Silver Lake Reservoir. The 2.2-mile long pathway will encircle the 126-acre property and have varying amounts of separation from the street. The project also includes the planting of street trees and a new chain-link fence along the west side of Silver Lake. The $4.2 million project, funded by the state and city, is the highest priority of the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs master plan. The bodies of water have been off limits to the public since the 1940s, and the city during the 1980s proposed covering them because they provide drinking water. Area residents fought that plan and have worked ever since to get some limited use of the public property.

A bill concerning development under military airspace continues to evolve in the state Legislature. Senate Bill 1462 originally proposed creation of the Military Greenway Commission, to which cities and counties in Southern California would have to report proposed developments that could impact the military. But the bill’s author, Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), expanded the measure into a California Environmental Quality Act amendment that would force local governments to consider a project’s potential impact on military operations. In mid-May, Kuehl again amended the bill, dropping the CEQA provisions. Instead, the bill would require local governments to notify the military of proposed development projects, general plan amendments or plan updates when the property in question lies beneath a low-level flight path or adjacent to a military base. The military branch involved could then request a consultation with the public agency or project applicant. The bill also requires the governor to create a conflict-resolution process. The CEQA version of the bill generated a firestorm of opposition from developers, business groups, and some cities and counties with military bases. It appears unlikely that the latest bill amendments will satisfy opponents. The bill was written at least partially in response to Tejon Ranch’s plans for a new town of 60,000 people at Interstate 5 and Highway 138. Portions of the 11,700-acre project site underlie a low-level flight path used for training military pilots (see , April 2003). Kuehl and the bill’s backers — which are mostly environmental groups — say the measure is necessary to prevent conflicts between urban development and military activities, and they point to the round of base closings that is scheduled to commence in 2005. Opponents say the measure is unnecessary and only an attempt to block development. At the committee level, the bill has received mostly partisan supports. But the measure puts some conservative lawmakers in a difficult position because a vote for property rights could also be portrayed as a vote against military readiness. A former development company executive is the new director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Lucy Dunn to the post effective June 1. Dunn spent 12 years with the Koll Company and its affiliates. Most recently, she was executive vice president of development for Hearthside Homes, where she negotiated deals concerning Bolsa Chica entitlements and wetlands restoration (see , January 2002). An attorney, Dunn is vice president of the California Building Industry Association and a director of the National Association of Home Builders. Dunn succeeds Matthew Franklin, who served as HCD director for a year before taking a position as head of San Francisco’s housing programs. Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that makes it easier for local governments to adopt transit village plans. Under the original Transit Village Development Planning Act, a transit village could be created only around a rail station, and only if the local government could prove the project would 13 specific public benefits, such as redevelopment of depressed neighborhoods, promotion of job opportunities, and increased stock of affordable housing. Assembly Bill 1320 (Dutra) permits creation of a transit village around any sort of rail station, a bus hub, a bus transfer station or a ferry terminal. The bill also reduces the public benefit requirement from 13 to five. The controversy over a proposed quarry and concrete batch plant just outside Santa Clarita continues. In May, U.S. District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian approved a consent decree between Cemex and Los Angeles County that allows the mine to go forward. However, the Santa Clarita City Council has voted to appeal the consent decree to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit in February directed the lower court to let the city intervene in the lawsuit. Cemex sued the county more than two years ago, after the county rejected the Mexican mining company’s proposed quarry in Soledad Canyon, off Highway 14. Under the settlement, the company must pay about $1.5 million over several years into a fund to address air quality, traffic and open space impacts. The company also must widen Soledad Canyon Road between the quarry and the freeway. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 for the settlement, with Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who represents the area, firmly opposed. The city contends the mine will harm already poor air quality, increase traffic congestion, threaten groundwater and scar a prominent hillside. The city also insists that environmental studies should be updated. In an interesting twist, the city earlier this year purchased for $1 million the 493 acres where the mine is proposed. But the Bureau of Land Management owns the property’s mineral rights and has issued mining permits to Cemex. Both U.S. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) and Sen. Barbara Boxer have introduced bills that would block the mine. One development company that has vigorously fought another company’s project in El Segundo lost yet another round in May. In an unpublished decision, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled against Kilroy Realty. Kilroy had alleged that the City of El Segundo had manipulated the CEQA process to aid Thomas Properties Group, which plans to develop 2.2 million square feet of office and retail space near the Los Angeles International Airport (see , May 2002). Kilroy lost an earlier round of the lawsuit at the trial court level. Two years ago this month, Kilroy lost at the ballot box when two-thirds of El Segundo voters rejected a Kilroy-funded referendum of the project. The 46-acre site of “Campus El Segundo” has been vacant since the early 1990s, when Rockwell International closed and then demolished an aerospace industry factory. Voters in Azusa approved a specific plan for 500 acres owned by Monrovia Nursery during a special election in May. The plan calls for 1,250 housing units, including single-family houses, condominiums and apartments, a retail “promenade,” an elementary school, a transit plaza around a Metrolink rail line, and 200 acres of parks and open space. A group called Azusans for Responsible Growth opposed the project, contending it contained too many housing units. After the city approved the project last year, the group gathered signatures on a referendum. The city found the referendum flawed, so the group sued. The city then put the plan on the ballot anyway, and the plan won favor with 75% of voters. In 1999, city voters overturned approval of a 1,600-unit development on the nursery site, which Monrovia is vacating. The city then undertook a lengthy planning process with heavy public involvement (see , February 2002). The resulting plan is the one voters endorsed in May. A five-member commission charged with examining the proposal to divide Santa Barbara County in two has been appointed by the governor. The commission has up to one year to report on the proposal to carve Mission County out of the northern and western portions of Santa Barbara County (see , July 2003). The commissioners are Jack Boysen, a retired developer and member of the county Planning Commission from Santa Maria; former Solvang Mayor June Christensen; retired San Luis Obispo County Assessor Dick Frank; former Santa Barbara Mayor Harriet Miller; and former San Jose City Manager and retired airlines executive Ted Tedesco. Private water companies should be eligible for Proposition 50 bond funds , according to a recommendation from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. In a May 14 report, the LAO found that legal and tax issues could be resolved, so the issue is one of policy for the Legislature. Proposition 50 — a $3.4 billion resources bond approved in November 2002, — does not address public versus private eligibility, and the LAO has urged lawmakers to set a clear policy. Senate Bill 909 (Machado) could provide the policy. The LAO reported that 23% of Californians get their water from private companies, the majority of which are quite small. Those companies appear to be eligible for portions of $1.4 billion in six different Proposition 50 categories. Making those monies available to private water companies would further the public purpose of Proposition 50, the LAO concluded. The LAO’s report is available at www.lao.ca.gov .

The Bush administration brought its efforts to change environmental regulations to California in September, when high-ranking appointees conducted “listening sessions” in Redding and Colton — two of 24 informal hearings across the country intended to carry out a 2004 executive order calling for “cooperative conservation.” Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey called cooperative conservation the “fourth chapter” in American conservation, following on the initiatives of Theodore Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the environmental movement of the 1960s and ’70s. At the Redding hearing, attended by about 140 people, environmentalists expressed skepticism that landowners, developers and resources industries would be willing to cooperate for the sake of the environment unless strong laws require such action. “Voluntary compliance is a beautiful idea, but we don’t think it has a chance working,” said William Oliver, of the Audubon Society’s Wintu Chapter. He and other environmentalists urged federal officials to “believe in the science that we are paying for.” However, numerous timber industry representatives at the Redding session focused their comments on the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Tim Feller, a district manager for Sierra Pacific Industries, called the two laws “onerous” and difficult to comply with. The Endangered Species Act “has turned into a hammer on private lands,” said Dave Bischel, president of the California Forestry Association. “Put away your hammer,” he told the officials. Representatives of environmental groups did endorse existing programs that bring conservationists, landowners, ranchers and others together. But the environmentalists spoke repeatedly about the need for more funding and pointed out that the administration has proposed reduced funding. Federal officials have offered little indication of what they will do to implement cooperative conservation, or when. There is a website: http://cooperativeconservation.gov .

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released three reports of interest to planners in March. The reports address housing supply, the link between water and planning, and planned developments. The housing supply study surprised many people because it reported a statewide shortage as of 2000 of only 138,000 units, when interest groups and other analysts have pegged the shortage at 500,000 to 1 million units. Authors Hans Johnson, Rosa Moller and Michael Dardia identified a shortage of 168,000 units in the Bay Area, 146,000 units in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and 87,000 units in San Diego County. However, they found that housing was abundant everywhere else in the state, especially in the Inland Empire and Central Valley, a situation that forces long commutes and traffic congestion. Housing construction dropped from 2.1 million units during the 1980s to 1.1 million units during the 1990s. The researchers reported that macro economic trends — such as employment levels, U.S. economic policy and private investment strategies — and demographic factors — including a slowing of population growth during the 1990s, and more immigrants and children — accounted for 80% of the construction decrease. "These findings do not mean that there are no hardships with respect to housing supply and new construction in California," the report states. "There may be serious problems in markets for low-income housing, and there is evidence of a housing shortage in the state’s largest metropolitan areas. However, they do suggest that the supply crisis may be overstated, and that our position in 2000 was perhaps better, and certainly not much worse, than in 1990." The survey on water supply and growth found that most jurisdictions coordinate the two in some fashion. The survey by Ellen Hanak and Antonina Simeti found that 62% of cities and counties participate in the planning activities of their local water utilities. The survey also found that 55% of cities and 83% of counties require some sort of assessment of water availability before approving new housing, although the level of assessment varies greatly. About half of cities and counties also have policies that link new homes’ locations with considerations of stormwater management and groundwater recharge. The survey also found that half of counties and one-quarter of cities have conducted reviews under 2001 legislation (SB 610 and SB 221) that requires assurances of water availability for large developments. The study of planned developments found that they are not the evil, walled compounds for the wealthy that some commentators have described. The study by Tracy Gordon found the percentage of middle-income people living in planned developments is the same as in similar areas. Gordon did find that planned development residents are more likely to be white, and less likely to be Hispanic or African-American, than in the community as a whole, but she said planned communities have a minimal impact on overall segregation in the state. The study also countered the belief that planned development residents withdraw from the larger community. Gordon found higher percentages of voter registration and turnout in planned developments, and voting preferences that matched similar neighborhoods. All of the PPIC studies may be found at www.ppic.org THE SAN DIEGO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY did not provide replacement housing for units demolished as part of redevelopment projects, double-counted housing units and spent an inordinate portion of housing funds on planning and administration, according to a Department of Housing and Community Development Department audit released in March. Auditors identified one project that removed 24 housing units that were not replaced. Two other projects that involved demolition of 137 and 19 units, respectively, relied on replacement units that had been built four years earlier and may not have been available to displaced residents. Auditors also identified four instances in which the redevelopment agency counted units as both replacement housing and toward low- and moderate-income housing production requirements. Additionally, over the three years audited, from 21% to 44% of low- and moderate-income housing fund expenditures were for planning and administration, HCD reported. In response, the agency differed with HCD’s interpretation of state law regarding replacement units. The agency said that under state law, it may count units built as much as four years before demolition of existing units as replacement housing. Officials at HCD appeared to agree but only if the units were built or rehabilitated in anticipation of removal of the existing units. The agency did not do this, according to HCD. As for double-counting of housing units, the agency said it would review its implementation plans and work with HCD. The agency contended that its planning and administrative expenses were justified and, because of accounting techniques, appeared exaggerated. The state also knocked the redevelopment agency for counting ineligible units toward housing production requirements, not keeping bond proceeds for housing in a separate account, and filing inadequate reports. THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS did not adequately analyze alternative sites for constructing a new death row, according to a report issued in March by the California State Auditor. Corrections is in the planning stages of a $220 million overhaul of the condemned inmate facility at San Quentin. "Relocating San Quentin’s activities elsewhere and allowing Marin County to develop the property would provide an opportunity for the state to help Marin County address some of its housing and transportation concerns," State Auditor Elaine Howle reported. But Howle also concluded that relocating death row could cost $300 million more than the state would receive from the sale of the property. Corrections officials said the report justified their decision to go forward at San Quentin. Developers and some Marin County officials have eyed the San Quentin site — overlooking San Pablo Bay, near San Rafael — for years. Howle’s report is available at www.bsa.ca.gov THREE BALLOT MEASURES that would have allowed development on small parcels of agriculturally zoned land in Napa County were rejected by voters in March. Voters said no to a proposal to expand a restaurant in Oakville (Measure Q), a plan to expand the Pope Valley Market (Measure R) and rezoning for a commercial establishment near Cuttings Wharf (Measure S). The elections were required under 1990’s Measure J. Since then, voters have rejected seven of eleven measures to rezone agricultural land. THE TOWN OF LOOMIS joined the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society in filing a lawsuit over the City of Roseville’s recent approval of the 3,100-acre west Roseville specific plan (see , March 2004; , August, 2003). The suit alleges Roseville did not adequately address traffic congestion, air quality degradation, the loss of farmland and impacts to wildlife habitat. REUSE OF THE FORMER NORTON AIR FORCE BASE in San Bernardino advanced in March, when Stater Bros. Markets announced it would move its headquarters from Colton to 160 acres at Norton and build a 2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center. As many as 2,000 people could work at the new Stater Bros. facility, which could break ground this summer. Stater Bros. would join Kohl’s, which has already opened a large warehouse at Norton, and Mattel, which is planning a facility of its own. The Inland Valley Development Authority, which is responsible for base reuse, continues to negotiate its assistance for Stater Bros.

Lots going on in California planning and development this week ...  Central Valley's Growth War Gets the Governor's Attention Fresno Bee Governor Brown intervenes to help resolve debates over how the central valley should grow. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research is currently overseeing the meetings between the city of Fresno and its neighboring counties to help reach a mutual understanding for how to sustainably grow and develop the region. With recent state projections showing that the valley is growing at a faster rate than anywhere else in CA, the policies that regulate its growth and development will significantly impact where its growing population will be able to live and the extent to which the region will physically grow.  Hot in CA: Plans to Improve Biking and Walking... SFStreetsblog In response to MAP-21, a bill passed by Congress last year that cut federal funding for biking and walking programs, advocates like the League of American Bicyclists and the California Bike Coalition are urging the Brown administration to prioritize walking and biking in the state budget.  �California Bike Coalition's goal to influence the state budget and CEQA reforms� LAStreetsblog Gov. Brown's budget proposal combines funding for pedestrian and bicycle programs into one category, cutting "active transportation" funds 10% from last year. Additionally, CalBike wants CEQA reforms to include a streamlined process for projects that improve bicycle infrastructure and better-connect bicycle networks.   �SF's Bicycle Strategy could be a model for the nation, now they just need the funding� SF Streetsblog SFMTA proposes three strategies to effectively improve bike mobility in the city.   Despite the city's historic record of underfunding bicycle projects, officials are on board with advocates for an increase in bicycle funding.  Specific Plan in LA Sets Smart Development Model for the City Los Angeles Times Cornfields Arroyo Seco Specific Plan seeks to revitalize neighborhoods and industrial areas by proposing new urban zones. The plan was approved on Tuesday by the City Council planning commission and needs to go through the City Attorney's office before the full council can approve the plan.  LA Community Parks Risk Closing Without Redevelopment Dollars L.A. Downtown News Two parks in Skid Row, Gladys Park and San Julian Park, were at risk of closing last week.  With the end of Redevelopment in CA, the nonprofit, SRO Housing Corp, who has long maintained both parks with annual CRA payments have been looking for support elsewhere. When the funds to operate the park ran out in June, Councilwoman Jan Perry helped secure funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority that would keep the park operating for another six months. Those six months have passed and redistricting has handed this issue over to Councilman Jos� Huizar. With the risk of the parks closing on February 1st, Huizar allocated $50,000 of discretionary funds to aid SRO with San Julian Park's maintenance and operation costs and the city's Department of Recreation and Parks will now maintain Gladys Park. City officials are currently working on a long-term solution that will hopefully prevent the risk of closure in the future.  Berkeley Greens Its Downtown The Downtown Streets and Open Space Improvement Plan was unanimously approved by Berkeley's City Council on Tuesday night.  The plan follows Berkeley's Downtown Area Plan that was approved last year. The provisions aim to create a more pedestrian-oriented downtown and better design for its streetscapes, plazas and parks.

As anticipated, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved the application by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to have its 1400-acre Camp 4 property taken into federal trust. The Tribe has stated intentions to build housing, a community center and related buildings on the property. Local critics have expressed fears about what could happen after trust status takes the property out of state and county jurisdiction and exempts it from local taxation. The Santa Barbara Independent reported county officials were preparing to follow through on the Supervisors' prior decision to appeal such a ruling. A December 30 report by the Lompoc Record quoted at length from antagonistic comments by two central spokespersons in the matter, Tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Doreen Farr. The "Stand Up for California" organization, which monitors California gaming issues, has posted a copy of the Notice of Decision . The text includes extensive rebuttals to public comments critical of the fee-to-trust application. For CP&DR's pre-approval news feature on of the fee-to-trust controversy see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3650. Brown, at Fourth Swearing-In, Talks Climate Preservation Gov. Jerry Brown took the oath of office for his fourth term as Governor on Monday, with a speech calling for increased uses of renewable energy . His text expressed pride in the balancing of the state budget and in the passage of Propositions 1 and 2, and called on the state to work toward deriving 50% of electricity from renewable sources. The same day Brown swore in Justices Mariano-Florentino Cu�llar and Leondra Kruger, returning the state Supreme Court to its full complement of seven Justices. Moreno Valley May Create Foreclosure Registry The Riverside County city of Moreno Valley is considering requiring registration of foreclosed properties . The proposal would require lenders to register properties with the city "as they go into default," to report periodically on the properties' status, and to provide contact information for use "if criminal and property maintenance issues arise." The Press-Enterprise says the city saw a peak of 6,239 foreclosures in 2008 but the foreclosure rate "dropped" to 605 counted in 2014 as of mid-December. The proposal calls for contracting with Nationwide Cost Recovery Services , which already runs foreclosure registries for the Southern California cities of Carson, Eastvale , El Monte, South El Monte, Pico Rivera and West Covina. Other California cities with existing foreclosure registry ordinances include Los Angeles , which recently toughened its rules after criticism ; Fresno , Oakland , San Diego , Long Beach , Fountain Valley and San Bruno . (A few details as of 2012 are here .) Also in Moreno Valley, Maven's Morning Coffee noted efforts to solicit Riverside County business support for a gigantic warehouse complex , the "World Logistics Center." The Press-Enterprise said the complex would create 14,600 to 29,000 truck trips per day, though it reported the city of Riverside was questioning some figures in the traffic portion of last year's draft EIR on the project. Two Unusual City Hires in San Francisco Profiles appeared this past week of new city staff in San Francisco who have unusual job descriptions. Urbanful.org interviewed Patrick Otellini, a former permit expediter and city "earthquake czar," now working as " the world's first chief resiliency officer " -- though he's actually only the first of 100 CROs being hired by cities around the world funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. (Oakland has also hired one.) And the city Department of Public Health hired an epidemiologist to study pedestrian fatalities and injuries in traffic collisions. San Jose Buyer Makes Steep Resale of Redevelopment Property A San Jose real estate company has apparently made a tidy profit buying and selling a 1.25-acre former redevelopment property. Nate Donato Weinstein reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journa l that Next Realty bought a parking lot on Fountain Alley from the San Jose Redevelopment Agency for $6.2 million in 2011 and resold it in December 2014 to System Property Development Co., which he described as "a parking lot owner and operator based in Southern California." A few days later on Twitter, he reported the new sale price was $16 million . Also: CP&DR 's own Bill Fulton wrote an opinion piece for UT San Diego with  some afterthoughts on his time as Planning Director in San Diego . California's High-Speed Rail project officially starts construction with a groundbreaking in Fresno January 6 . And San Francisco Twitterers have been drawing faces on a mouth-like balcony in the rendering for a tower to replace the All Star Donut shop at Market and Van Ness. The tower design, by SoloCordBuenz and Sn�hetta, otherwise got a favorable review from Chronicle architecture critic John King. The "mouth" midway up the structure has a purpose: King writes that it's part of a design "intended to diffuse the downdraft" on one of the windiest parts of Market Street.

The city of Bakersfield reached a settlement December 19 with the California High-Speed Rail Authority in which the rail agency agreed to consider a different route than originally proposed. The L.A. Times reported the new route "travels through the northern section of Bakersfield, arriving at a downtown station a few miles from the existing Amtrak station." The paper quoted the rail authority's spokeswoman, Lisa Marie Alley, as saying the settlement was unrelated to the December 12 decision by the federal Surface Transportation Board saying the California Environmental Quality Act didn't apply to high-speed rail projects. For the STB decision click here , courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Blog , which advocates for the project. As CP&DR partly noted online last week , the issue of railroad preemption of CEQA has been raised in an implicit conflict between the First District Court of Appeal's Friends of the Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority -- which the state Supreme Court has now accepted for review -- and the Third District's Town of Atherton et al v. California High Speed Rail Commission , to which the state Supreme Court denied depublication in October . Monterey Downs EIR Delayed After Mistaken Release of Water Supply Document The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Monterey Downs Specific Plan was expected out December 19. But the Monterey Herald reports the previously delayed document has been delayed again, following the unintentional release of a confidential legal document in which outside counsel advised the city of Seaside to address "uncertainties" about water supplies for the project in the EIR. The Monterey Downs project would create a racetrack and surrounding real estate development on a portion of former Fort Ord land. Cal American Goes Ahead With Test Well The Monterey Herald reported that California American Water was at work on its desalination test well although the Ag Land Trust and Marina Coast Water District were both suing to stop it. The Coastal Commission gave its permission for the project in November . Marin County Wins Landfill Expansion Litigation Marin County has defeated a CEQA challenge to the EIR for expansion of the Redwood Landfill, which receives most of Marin's solid waste. The decision, which followed extensive litigation, was in an unpublished First District appellate ruling, No Wetlands Landfill Expansion v. County of Marin . Among other unpublished holdings, the court found it was acceptable for the project proponents to present an off-site alternative landfill location in unidentified, hypothetical form, though opponents argued they couldn't comment meaningfully on a site that wasn't physically identified to them. It also found the EIR did not fail sufficiently to address sea level rise, groundwater effects, air pollution health effects or greenhouse gas emissions. Marin County's statement on the case is here . Los Angeles Creates Barriers to Demolitions of Older Buildings The Shepherd Mullin law firm has noted that, as of 2015, the city of Los Angeles will be imposing new  notice requirements for demolitions of most buildings more than 45 years old. Before demolishing such older buildings, property owners must post a notice on the property, write to abutting neighbors, and advise the office of the local City Council member. Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell said on his blog that the ordinance "will go a long way toward protecting non-designated local landmarks and architectural gems that are significant to the rich history in the 13th District." The City Council Web page for the legislation is here . L.A. Streetsblog panning 'Option 1A' for Glendale-Hyperion Bridge Writer Joe Linton at L.A. Streetsblog is in full dudgeon over a renovation proposal by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for the Glendale-Hyperion Viaduct between Silver Lake and Atwater Village. He writes that the currently proposed version of the plan, "Option 1A", jams together bicyclists and pedestrians, redesignating the sidewalks as "shared use paths," in order to keep enough room for four auto lanes. The viaduct project has its own city Web site at http://www.glendalehyperion.com/ . Gate at Paradise Cove is Open Again The Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission have settled with the Paradise Cove Land Co., owner of a beachside mobile home park where non-resident surfers complained they were being charged $20 "walk-in fees" and blocked from carrying surfboards across the sand. Complaints had included some from members of the Black Surfers Collective. The L.A. Times has details . The agencies' press release is here . California King Tides Project Documents a Future of High Water Some of the highest tides of the year washed the Pacific coast at the winter solstice, and a network of cell phone photographers were waiting for them. The California King Tides Project , a partnership of nonprofits and agencies including the Coastal Commission, invited Californians to photograph how  exceptionally high "king tides" looked on the waterfront landscape. The project works on the prediction that the current highest tides of the year should look a lot like the ordinary daily tides of the global-warming future. For images see #KingTides on Twitter.

Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles announced his new " Sustainable City pLAn ," a far-reaching decree that seeks to make Los Angeles sustainable in ways ranging from water to solar energy to waste. Among other things, the plan seeks to reduce daily Vehicle Miles Traveled by 5 percent by 2025, to implement the Vision Zero policy to reduce traffic fatalities, to have zero days in which air pollution reaches unhealthy levels by 2025, and to complete 32 miles of Los Angeles River public access by 2025. The plan defines sustainability broadly, to include not only ecological goals but also broad goals of social and economic sustainability. The plan seeks to reduce driving and pollution, increase walkability within neighborhoods (using WalkScore), improve pedestrian safety, promote development of affordable housing and transit-oriented development, support the re:codeLA initiative to update the city's zoning code, revitalize the L.A. River, and support environmental justice, among other goals. Garcetti also signed a mayoral directive that requires all city departments to incorporate pLAn goals into their programs, and establishes sustainability officers in applicable departments and bureaus. At a signing event, he pledged that this "is not a plan for the shelves." San Diego County Rescinds Climate Plan In a long-awaited move, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors officially rescinded the county's Climate Action Plan, which had been the subject of a lawsuit from the Sierra Club since 2012 asserting that the plan violated CEQA and didn't do enough to combat global warming. On April 11, the California Supreme Court ruled against the county on the plan, denying its request to review and appeals court decision against the county and legally requiring the county to rescind the plan within 30 days. The 4th District Court of Appeals had ruled that the plan lacks the necessary specifics and enforcement mechanism to achieve the goals. "The Sierra Club wants to see a climate action plan that has meaningful and enforceable measures to achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets," Davin Widgerow, a representative of the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. National Planning Achievement Awards The American Planning Association announced its 2015 National Planning Achievement Awards, recognizing the work of three California organizations among the 12 nationwide recipients. Among the winners: Lake Tahoe Sustainability Action Plan, which provides a toolkit to local agencies in two states and five counties to rebalance the region's environment and economy while confronting climate change.  Pop-Up Outreach efforts in San Diego, which seek to connect neighborhoods that have historically low levels of trust in local government with urban planners through simple outreach efforts, including a chalkboard chat, street sign survey boxes, and pop-up feedback trees. Tongva Park & Ken Genser Square: a new urban park in Santa Monica that was once a parking lot. It covers 7.4 acres, features a lush landscape including rolling hills and gardens, overlooks the Santa Monica Pier, and is just two block away from the future terminus of a new light rail line. Awards will be given out at the national APA conference in Seattle next week.  Lennar Preserves $1 billion Judgement in Suit against a San Diego Developer A San Diego developer must pay $1 billion to Miami home builder Lennar Corp. following an appeals court ruling that the developer, Nicolas Marsch III, defamed Lennar and improperly deleted emails. The ruling is the culmination of a five-year lawsuit, which began when Marsch claimed that Lennar cheated him out of millions of dollars in a development of a private golf community. Marsch had hired Barry Minkow, a notorious con man now in prison for his involvement with Marsch, to back his claims. The Appeals Court cited in its ruling Marsch's "deletion of relevant emails, the concealment of material witnesses, lying during depositions, providing false testimony before the trial court and much more." Navy SEALs Release EIR for $1B Campus A proposed new Navy SEAL campus - a 1.5 million square foot development on the northern edge of Imperial Beach in South San Diego - took a step forward with the recent release of its final Environmental Impact Report. Built over a decade, the new campus would move the SEALs' center of activity from Coronado Island, where it has been since 1962, south to a largely empty piece of the Silver Strand beach. The main headquarters and the training centers will remain in Coronado, but the new campus would provide logistical support buildings, equipment-use and maintenance-training facilities, classroom and hands-on tactics instructional space, among other buildings. Residents of Coronado Cays, an upscale housing development just north of the proposal, told the San Diego Union-Tribue that they are concerned that loud helicopter traffic could impact their quality of life. UCLA Gives L.A. County C+ on Environmental Issues UCLA issued its first comprehensive environmental "report card" for the city of Los Angeles, giving the city an overall grade of C+ and indicating that there is "tremendous room for improvement in all six environmental areas" of water, air, ecosystem health, waste, environmental quality of life, and energy and greenhouse gases. Among other things, researchers from UCLA's Sustainable L.A. Grand Challenge and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability said in the report that L.A.'s air quality regularly fails federal standards for pollution, that excessive levels of pollutants are found in virtually all the region's bodies of water, and that the county's waste recycling program is robust but lacks data on how much is actually recycled. Judge Invalidates Take Permits for Logging Plan A federal judge invalidated incidental take permits that officials granted to Fruit Growers Supply Co. which allowed the company to harm threatened species in logging private land on 150,000 acres in Siskiyou County. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins said that that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrongly factored conservation efforts by the U.S. Forest Service into the company's plan to conserve spotted owl populations, adding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should have also factored the timber operations' short term effects on coho salmon. Group Lists Rogue-Smith Rivers as �Endangered' American Rivers' 2015 list of "America's Most Endangered Rivers" includes the Rogue-Smith Rivers in Oregon and California as one of the ten most endangered rivers in the U.S. in need of immediate governmental help. The report says that proposed nickel mining in the headwaters of the Northern California rivers would threaten the rivers' salmon runs - with an average of 100,000 fish returning each year - plant biodiversity, and recreation. The report recommends that the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Department of Interior withdraw the area from mining immediately. Bay Area Bike Share Program Announces Ambitious Growth Plan The Bay Area Bike Share program could see a massive influx of bikes to its program, expanding tenfold from 700 to 7,000 bikes under a proposal announced by the mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. The proposal would extend the program for the first time into the East Bay. In San Francisco, the number of bikes would jump from 328 to 4,500; in San Jose from 129 to 1,000. In the East Bay, 850 bikes would go to Oakland, 400 to Berkeley and 100 to Emeryville. However, Redwood City, Palo Alto and Mountain View, which participated in the two-year pilot program, are cut out of the new proposal, based on low ridership numbers. Motivate, the company that operates the bike-share program, bought out previous owner Alta Bike Share, which had significant management problems that hampered cities from expanding their programs.

Developers are awaiting a federal decision that may allow them to start building again in the Natomas region of Sutter and Sacramento Counties. The region, which sits between the Sacramento and American Rivers, was one of the most active areas of development in the Sacramento metro region in the early and mid-2000s. Based on concerns over levees whose solidity has been likened to that of toothpaste, the Federal Emergency Management Agency imposed a moratorium on the area in December 2008. That order put a halt to the development of up to 5,000 homes that had been issued building permits. Improvements to the levees reportedly have satisfied FEMA criteria for lowering the moratorium. The Sacramento Flood Control Agency has spent $410 million to upgrade 18 miles of levees, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set to spend $760 million on 24 remaining miles. Developers are expected to revive many of their plans when the moratorium is lifted in June, though many do not expect demand to be as robust as it was prior to the moratorium's imposition. Some in the Sacramento area , including Sacramento City Council Member Angelique Ashby, see the resumption of development in the area as an opportunity to pursue more sustainable development, as opposed to the traditional low-density subdivision model that had been pursued there in the past. State Budget Proposal Offers Financial Caution, Criticized on Equity Governor Jerry Brown's January 9 budget proposal was greeted with praise for financially cautious state spending, including paying down debt, but was criticized by some advocacy groups for doing too little on equity issues. Reactions from state political figures showed water projects, parks, education and In-Home Support Services (IHSS) came out relatively well. The budget assumed cap-and-trade proceeds would produce about $1 billion in revenue, of which $250 million would go to High-Speed Rail and $200 million to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program. LOCUS Calls for Federal Real Estate Reforms A national advocacy group has announced an ambitious plan to pressure the federal government into addressing social equity and housing nationwide. LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors is calling on federal agencies to promote a series of reforms that, the group claims, could save the government $33 billion annually while helping cities and communities. The proposed reforms include: Eliminate some rate subsidies from the National Flood Insurance Program. Reform the Federal Housing Administration's single-family home program. Better target real estate tax expenditures. Preserve and increase the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. Improve the Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Establish individual Mortgage Savings Accounts. Create an Innovative Financing for Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program The recommendations are spelled out in LOCUS's report, " A Call to Action ". LOCUS is a project of Smart Growth America. (Disclosure: SGA is a former employer of CP&DR Publisher Bill Fulton.) Activists Fighting Chiquita Canyon Landfill Expansion Opponents of the Chiquita Canyon landfill expansion on Highway 126 in Los Angeles County were seeking a hearing in early January on the proposal. They circulated a statement January 5 saying the county had chosen not to schedule a hearing on the draft environmental impact report, instead planning to hold the hearing when the final EIR was up for review. The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning's page on the project shows the comment period on the DEIR was extended twice, closing October 23, 2014. Groups seeking the hearing were the Val Verde Civic Association, Citizens for Chiquita Canyon Landfill Compliance and the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE). The landfill is close to the Landmark Village phase of the much-litigated Newhall Ranch community near the Six Flags amusement park in northwest Los Angeles County. L.A. Considers Fix for Housing Trust Fund The Affordable Housing Trust Fund for the City of Los Angeles, which was never particularly robust, has shrunk to the point of irrelevance. Since 2000, the fund has gone from $108 million to a current $19 million, as the fund's two biggest sources of contributions have both been curtailed. Contributions from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dropped from $54 million in 2008 to $19 million this year, and contributions from the local Community Redevelopment Agency evaporated with the dissolution of redevelopment in 2011. The fund's crisis comes at a time when rising rents and stagnant wages have made Los Angeles the most unaffordable rental market in the country, according to a 2014 UCLA report . Los Angeles City Council Members Felipe Fuentes and Gil Cedillo recently proposed that funds collected in former redevelopment project areas be directed, as they once were, to the trust fund. Strategies using these so-called "boomerang funds" are being considered in several California cities hit hard by the loss of redevelopment. The City Council is expected to discuss the proposal this month. Displacement Civil Rights Complaint Cites Lack of Spanish Translation Low-income Latino tenants facing displacement from ten houses on a future development site in Walnut Creek have filed a HUD civil rights complaint alleging disparate-impact violations of federal fair housing law. The Monterey Herald reported the families said the city had not given them information or interpretation in Spanish at meetings on their possible displacement. The project recently approved for the site is The Landing , a complex of 178 luxury apartments. The paper reported it's disputed how hard the city tried to help the tenants obtain housing in the new Third Avenue Apartments affordable housing project. The Landing project's public review process had been portrayed in 2013 as an early start on the larger public process for the proposed West Downtown Specific Plan near the Walnut Creek BART station. Once Developers' Promises Are Made, Who Enforces Them? The L.A. Times has an investigative report out on cases of promises made by developers to win approvals that are afterward kept slowly or not at all. Instances mentioned include two already-famous fights: over facade preservation at the Old Spaghetti Factory building in Hollywood that was in fact demolished , and promised extra-strength air filters at the Da Vinci apartment complex next to the 110 freeway, -- the latter being arguably a moot point, since the project recently burned to the ground . In Case You Missed Transportation Camp The annual transit nerds' Transportation Camp event in Washington D.C. posted a public list of data sources and tools as part of a hackathon during the event. More material from the conference, some of it California-focused, is available at https://tcamp2015dc.hackpad.com/ Time to Learn Lessons about Water from Australia? So what if the drought doesn't really end? Experts and legislators planned to talk about unhappy scenarios January 12 at the Public Policy Institute of California's "Managing Drought" one-day conference . Registration to watch the webcast has closed but some presentation materials are available online. Questioning Crumb Rubber on Playing Fields After All? State Sen. Jerry Hill has introduced a bill, SB 47 , that would suspend use of crumb rubber on publicly installed artificial turf playing fields while a public study is conducted on the safety of using shredded tire rubber as a padded base between artificial grass blades. Crumb rubber safety was a campaign issue for opponents of San Francisco's Golden Gate Fields renovation, a subject of dueling ballot measures last November. In the South Bay, Segregation Predated Silicon Valley Bay Area social media are buzzing over Kim-Mai Cutler's extended news feature on the history of residential and educational segregation in East Palo Alto and surrounding South Bay towns -- and what that might have to do with the state of employment inequalities in present-day Silicon Valley.