The Air Resources Board held workshops August 25 and 26, and rescheduled a third for Oakland on September 3, on how to define "benefit" to a "disadvantaged community" for purposes of programs distributing cap-and-trade auction proceeds. The discussion will include efforts at a formal answer to one of the most important urban planning questions of the past half-century: when does money spent in a place that is defined as disadvantaged actually benefit disadvantaged people? The new Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program will be among those affected by the outcome. See http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/upcomingevents.htm for details, including a discussion document on how CalEPA's updated CalEnviroScreen 2.0 mapping project may be used to identify disadvantage, and a draft released August 22 of proposed interim guidance on what constitutes a "benefit" to a disadvantaged community. The workshop notice sets a deadline for written comment of September 9 but the proposed interim guidelines document states a comment deadline of September 15. Oakland releases Coliseum Area Specific Plan, EIR Oakland released the draft specific plan and accompanying draft EIR for the mega-development proposed to surround a rebuilt Oakland Coliseum. See http://bit.ly/1wyvMa7 for the city's main page linking to the extensive related planning documents. The SF Chron 's Michael Cabanatuan sets out main details at http://bit.ly/1v8Onry. The plan still calls for three separate sports venues, to potentially host professional football, baseball and basketball teams respectively, even though the Golden State Warriors have announced plans for a new arena in San Francisco. Earlier in the month, the Chron 's Will Kane wrote that Oakland would have to raise "at least $1.75 billion" to keep both the A's and the Raiders in town. See http://bit.ly/1owlOAg. Budget activists caution against 'race to the bottom' for Tesla factory The Mercury News reports five "budget watchdog" groups have asked the governments of five states not to let the Tesla company draw them into a "race to the bottom" in competition for Tesla's new "Gigafactory" battery plant. See http://bit.ly/1ASRWTj for the news report and http://californiabudgetbites.org/ for the letter. Los Angeles buys Taylor Yard parcel for LA River project Streetsblog LA has a news feature, and links to documents, on the purchase by the City of Los Angeles of a 41-acre parcel that formed part of the former Taylor Yard rail yard along the LA River. It reports the property is to form a major part of the $1 billion project to clean up 11 miles of the river and make it a center for recreation and investment. See http://bit.ly/1vjUdqf. The Curbed LA history file at http://la.curbed.com/tags/taylor-yard includes past coverage showing the property's site between Rio de Los Angeles State Park and the river. The state park's site, at http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22277, explains that the park is another former portion of Taylor Yard, closed to railroad use since the 1980s. Future of SB 270 plastic bag bill still in doubt The SB 270 plastic bag ban fight went high-profile again in late August as the measure neared its final chance at passage this session. A vote was imminent as of August 27. On Monday, August 25, the United Food and Commercial Workers yanked support from the bill. On the #SB270 Twitter hashtag meanwhile, the @YesonSB270 account and conservationists did battle with @BagTheBan and grocery and business representatives. The @YesonSB270 account links to a pro-ban lobbying coalition's site at http://www.yesonsb270.org/ that ironically was still displaying the UFCW logo on August 26. The @BagTheBan account is described at http://www.bagtheban.com/about-us as "a project of Hilex Poly." In a vote August 25 the bill fell narrowly short of passage in the Assembly, as reported thoroughly by Capitol Public Radio's Ben Adler via Twitter. Per Adler it can return to the floor once more for reconsideration before the end of this year's session and that return may be on August 28. The Sacramento Bee covered the August 25 vote and the UFCW withdrawal at http://bit.ly/1qffyN8. Readers who want to watch this one to the bitter end may want to follow @AdlerBen on Twitter or watch the #SB270 hashtag. AB 52, CEQA bill on Native American sacred sites, advances with significant amendments AB 52, the Native American sacred sites bill that was among the few possibilities this year for a legislative change in CEQA law, was moving forward as of this writing with amendments that in part appeared designed to reassure landowners. The bill would strengthen tribes' rights to involvement in consultation processes under CEQA where a newly defined category of Tribal Cultural Resources would be affected by a proposed project. The League of California Cities tracking page at http://bit.ly/VR4w5r shows the bill passed the Senate August 27. On that same page, the League links to a letter dated July 9, in which it expresses "concerns" about the definition of a tribal cultural resource, about the time(s) for required consultation in the environmental review process, and about tribal notification rules. An August 25 letter then states the League's concerns have been removed. Amendments since July change the definition of a "California Native American tribe" to define it by reference to the state's Native American Heritage Commission contact list rather than per federal recognition. They add a great deal more specificity about process. And they appear to give the lead agency reviewing a project the primary say in defining whether a cultural resource is significant for purposes of the statute. Assemblymember Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, published an op-ed in support of the bill at http://bit.ly/1lcCXzB. Legislative analyses available through the bill tracking page at http://bit.ly/1wyoe7e shows endorsements from tribal governments and conservationists but opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce, a smaller number of tribes, and utility, solar, business and construction organizations. The Chamber of Commerce is cited in the analysis as arguing the bill would "create a disincentive to invest in land" by creating uncertainty on which places might be defined as Tribal Cultural Resources. CA Housing Partnership Corporation reports on affordable housing defecits The California Housing Partnership has posted reports at http://chpc.net/ describing failures to meet affordable housing needs in major California metro areas. Separate reports are posted for Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. A combined summary report is at http://bit.ly/XRmsyU. Individual findings include defecits of 118,895 units in Orange County and 490,340 in Los Angeles County (KPCC coverage at http://bit.ly/1AS8SsV) and a defecit of 40,800 units in the City and County of San Francisco (see http://bit.ly/1mQouVH).   Groundwater bills still headed toward vote The groundwater bills, SB 1168 and AB 1739 (by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills and Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, respectively), were still nearing passage as of this writing. The League of California Cities has both measures on its "Hot Bills" list for August with a "no position" notation at http://bit.ly/1tRpiOc. Conservation groups were supporting the bills. Reuters reported Monday at http://reut.rs/1vgEeZY that many farm groups, but not all, opposed it. Meanwhile the Desert Sun was headed into litigation with Coachella Valley water officials over access to records of landowners' groundwater use (see desert.sn/VqAAgx), the Fresno Bee reported volunteers were delivering drinking water to households where the wells had run dry in Tulare County's East Porterville (see http://bit.ly/1wy2xnY), and celebrities were shipping in water by tanker truck to their estates in Montecito (see http://bit.ly/VPC6sH). Plea from mayors to enact relief bills for Inland Empire towns As of this writing, SB 69 and AB 1521, relief bills for new and newly expanded Inland Empire towns, had passed the Legislature and were awaiting Governor Brown's signature decision. Frank Johnston and Karen Spiegel, mayors of Jurupa Valley and Corona respectively, published an op-ed in the Press-Enterprise asking Governor Jerry Brown and the Legislature to save Jurupa Valley's incorporated status and protect other towns with the bills. See http://bit.ly/1tIhC1y. The two mayors claimed endorsements from 17 other Inland Empire mayors in asking the Legislature for the temporary financing lifeline that the bills represented. Together the bills would provide relief for cities that completed incorporations or annexations just before the Legislature took expected Vehicle License Fee income out of their local budgets in 2011. For past coverage see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3515 on SB 69 and http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3516 on AB 1521. AB 1537 to redefine Marin as 'suburban' goes to Governor AB 1537, to redefine Marin County from "metropolitan" to "suburban" for affordable housing density purposes, passed the Legislature in late August and was before Governor Brown as of this writing. Its proponent, Assemblymember Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, posted an August 22 statement celebrating the bill's passage, by a unanimous vote of the Assembly, at http://bit.ly/XQdh1P. Levine earlier joined Marin County Board of Supervisors President Kate Sears in an op-ed arguing its case at http://bit.ly/VPO71f. Their argument said the bill would only apply for eight years, would not limit local jurisdictions' power to make their own density decisions. A June I-J writeup at http://bit.ly/1x2WZi6 provides more background on the bill, which would reduce default densities for affordable housing in the county from 30 to 20 units per acre. Also in the Legislature -- The Orange County Register reported AB 1102, to protect the use of fire rings on Orange County Beaches by requiring a Coastal Commission permit for their removal, failed in the Senate in mid-August. See http://bit.ly/1qKpagc. Supporters of SB 1199, which would have designated the Upper Mokelumne River as "wild and scenic," told the Stockton Record it had failed in the Legislature. See http://bit.ly/1onHhXK. The Sacramento Bee is reporting at http://bit.ly/1q2t0oJ that the vigorous anti-"gas tax" campaign to postpone the calendared AB 32 expansion into fuels taxation is "finished for the year" with the postponement bill, AB 69 by Assemblymember Henry Perea, D-Fresno, now "sidelined" by outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. The Bee reported SB 1183, authorizing localities to vote in fees for bike facilities by initiative petition, was on the Governor's desk. See http://bit.ly/1q3b5go. In recent legal rulings -- The State Supreme Court on August 20 denied a request for partial republication of the underlying Fifth District appellate opinion that it reversed in City of Los Angeles v. County of Kern . The Supreme Court's July 7 decision concerned a challenge by the City of Los Angeles to a Kern County ballot measure that barred the city government from using biosolids from sewage to fertilize land that it owned in Kern County. The actual decision interpreted the federal grace period statute at 28 U.S.C. �1367(d) to bar Los Angeles from filing a state suit in the matter 78 days after a federal court dismissed its case on preemption grounds. For the State Supreme Court's online docket in the matter, see http://bit.ly/1BTPXj0. California's Fourth District ordered publication and modification, by orders August 13 and 14, of its opinion in San Diego Gas and Electric Company v. Schmidt , No. D062671. The court upheld a jury verdict setting the compensation amount, rejecting SDG&E's petition for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and also awarding litigation expenses to the defendant property owners. The property's "highest and best use" was said to be an open-pit aggregate mine. The decision is at http://bit.ly/1vOJDJ5 and the online docket at http://bit.ly/1p57aMh. The Ninth Circuit ruled that a citizen suit under the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act was not a proper means for neighbors of railyards to redress alleged harm from diesel particulate pollution, because "Defendants' emission of diesel particulate matter does not constitute 'disposal' of solid waste" under the statute. The case is Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. BNSF Railway Co. For the opinion, see http://1.usa.gov/1peSyyY. In Sierra Club v EPA , the Ninth Circuit held petitioners had associational standing to challenge a permit issued by the EPA for construction of a gas-fired power plant. It found the EPA wrongly allowed Avenal Power to build the plant in accordance with grandfathered prior air quality standards that were in effect when the company first applied for the permit. Instead, the court found "the Clean Air Act unambiguously requires Avenal Power to demonstrate that the Avenal Energy Project complies with the regulations ineffect at the time the Permit is issued." For the opinion, see http://1.usa.gov/1oH6T1G. A Ninth Circuit opinion by Judge Jay Bybee upheld decisions by the city of San Diego to deny conditional use permits for cell towers run by the American Tower Corporation. The case is American Tower Corporation v. City of San Diego , No. 11-56766, opinion at http://1.usa.gov/1rbUydI. And in other news -- The City of Rosemead scheduled public meetings this fall, beginning September 10, on the proposed Garvey Avenue Specific Plan. See http://www.cityofrosemead.org/index.aspx?page=436. A federal judge refused to enjoin the new San Francisco ordinance increasing relocation payments to tenants by landlords who elect to empty their buildings under the Ellis Act. See http://cbsloc.al/1wyKE8y. We still don't know which fault exactly caused the South Napa earthquake, but Scientific American discusses how geologists will go about finding out: http://bit.ly/1zGlMb8. Also, this may have been California's first major earthquake with an early damage patrol filmed by drone: http://lat.ms/1pCujLe.

Google unveiled a  "whimsical" proposal  for a massive new headquarters in Mountain View designed by architect Frank Ghery. The plan, which would include new office space and public trails, has been met with skepticism by the Mountain View populace, wary of the increased traffic in the city of 75,000. The city has already approved 3.4 million square feet of expansion for Google, but now it is requesting 2.5 million more of "bonus floor area ratio," potentially allowed by the city in exchange for community enhancements. Now,  it's in competition with social media site  LinkedIn, which may set up an expensive and politically-charged fight in Mountain View's North Bayshore. Oakland Welcomes S.F. to Export Affordable Housing With San Francisco's housing pressures getting worse by the day, the City of Oakland may encourage its Bay Area neighbor to consider outsourcing its rental housing. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf wants to allow San Francisco developers to fulfill their requirements by building some affordable housing in Oakland. Such an arrangement could take the form of a regional housing partnership, though details now are slim. A spokeswoman for San Francisco's Mayor Ed Lee said that they are committed to making one-third of a planned 30,000 new housing units affordable in the next five years. The definition of "affordable" varies by city, with an affordable housing unit in San Francisco translating into about $500,000 for a two or three bedroom house in Hunters Point. Oakland has, historically, been considerably less expensive. Miriam Chion, ABAG's director of planning and research, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "I think Oakland and San Francisco have taken the current economic growth and development pressure as an opportunity to collaborate and address some of the pressing housing needs and needs for planning for regional job growth." Fresno Approves New Water Source Project Fresno's city council  approved a visionary new plan  to secure a steady supply of clean water for the city after several years of groundwater depletion due to the drought. The $429 million project initiated by Mayor Ashley Swearnegin would replace miles of old pipes and build a new surface water treatment plant. To fund the project, officials would have to raise water costs - possibly doubling the costs for a single-family residence from around $25 to $49 in 2019. Today, about five out of every six gallons used by Fresnans come from groundwater sources, which has helped to contribute to a sinking of land in the Central Valley. New Transit Center to Sell Naming Rights for Construction Costs San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center is taking a page from Chicago's book  and trying to sell naming rights  to some of its public spaces. In an attempt to raise some of the $300 million in construction of the center slated to open in 2017, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority is seeking to sell naming rights to private companies for various parts of the center. Sponsors can opt for a five-year deal to name certain areas of the center - including an amphitheater, the main plaza, and at least 13 gardens - or a 10-year deal to name the whole park. Peninsula Watershed Could Open Its Trails to the Public The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission  unveiled a new proposa l to expand public access to the Peninsula Watershed, hoping to allow more hikers and bikers to use the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail. The proposal shows a split within nature enthusiasts, some of whom have been clamoring for a loosening on the strict management of the watershed, and others who fear for the conservation of local wildlife and water quality.  The new proposal comes as one piece of a larger system of improvements to the trail system in San Francisco in an attempt to plug a major gap in the 550-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail going around San Francisco Bay. VA to Develop Permanent Housing for Homeless Vets Following a lawsuit, the US Department of Veterans Affairs  has pledged to open  its West Los Angeles campus to permanent and temporary housing for the area's homeless veterans. It will also place returning service members in subsidized apartments in the city.  "The challenge for L.A. even if we end veteran homelessness is we're going to have to maintain sufficient resources so we're not just creating housing but maintaining  housing," said the executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. The secretary of the VA said that he will be sending $50 million and 400 workers to the region to improve veterans' conditions. The plan also calls for the VA to hire an urban planning firm to draw up a new master plan for the West Los Angeles property. San Diego Reacts to Charger Stadium Deal in L.A. San Diego officials are scrambling to find a way to raise funds to build a new stadium to keep the Chargers in town following a surprise announcement that the team was looking into a deal to build a joint stadium with the Oakland Raiders in Carson.  The latest proposal  for the $1 billion project: a county "bridge loan" proposed by Supervisor Ron Roberts, in which the county would front the money for the part of the project requiring public funds. The money would not need to be paid back until surrounding developments begin to generate a cash flow. Roberts said that the proposal would likely work better at the existing Qualcomm Stadium than at a new stadium downtown. San Diego taxpayers have, thus far, been reluctant to support funding for the stadium with public dollars. Officials Want a Plan for Redevelopment of Kings Stadium Officials in the North Natomas area of Sacramento  are becoming anxious  as the owners of the Sacramento Kings still have not announced plans for how to redevelop its current home when the team moves downtown. City Council Member Angelique Ashby recently requested that the team announce a timeline for redevelopment. A team representative told the City Council that the team planned to step up its efforts to find a use for the 200 acres surrounding the Sleep Train Amphitheater. "I don't want to wait until 2016 and the team is gone and that engine is gone for Natomas before we have a plan for how we're moving forward," Ashby told the Sacramento Bee. The Kings will move into their new $477 million arena downtown next fall. Many locals have advocated for a new hospital on the premises.

Proponents of a stadium that would jointly host the relocated Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers in Carson put together a ballot initiative to seek local approval for the project. The measure would approve the creation of a public authority in Carson, akin to the arrangement the 49ers used to build their new stadium, that would own the stadium and lease it back to the teams. Public approval would nullify many potential objections that might otherwise arise during environmental review and delay the project. This tactic was cleared with last year's Tuolumne court decision. The stadium has the backing of an investment group led by Goldman Sachs that lent $850 million to the public authority to finance construction, to be paid back by stadium revenue. In a major divergence in this plan from a concurrent plan for a stadium in Inglewood, presumably for the relocated St. Louis Rams, proponents say that the stadium will be publicly owned, but that no tax money would be spent on its construction. "Period. End of discussion. Not one penny will go into the project," said an attorney representing the project. Claremont Seeks Eminent Domain Taking of Water Agency Seeing spiking water rates compared with those of neighboring communities, the City of Claremont initiated eminent domain proceedings to take over a private water agency that has served the community for 80 years. The suit, authorized by a unanimous city council vote, targets Golden State Water Co., an investor-owned purveyor whose rates are set regionally by the Public Utilities Commission. The city contends that the company has been overcharging residents; rates have doubled since 2008 and are now higher than they are in 10 cities immediately neighboring Claremont.  Claremont voters, by more than two to three margin also approved up to $135 million in bonds - paid for by increases in the water bills of taxpayers - to buy the system. The city has offered $55 million for the agency; attorneys for Golden State told Capitol Weekly that it is worth more than $100 million. Final EIR Approved in Redlands Rail Project  The Redlands Passenger Rail Project received final approval of its EIR, clearing the way for final design and construction later this year. The $242-million, nine-mile project will connect the cities of Redlands and San Bernardino via an existing right of way. Projecting population growth and increased congestion, and factoring in the physical barriers of the Santa Ana River and Interstate 10, in 2004 the San Bernardino County Association of Governments to look at cost-effective travel options for communities along the Redlands Corridor. SANBAG is expecting to have the service in operation in 2018. Delta Property Owners Scramble to Prove Water Rights Over 1,000 property owners across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Central Valley are scrambling to prove they have a right to divert water from the system's streams. They are required to do so because of a state order from the State Water Resources Control Board, which may order owners who can't submit proof - sometimes buried in county parcel maps dating back to the 1850s - to stop diverting water entirely as California enters its fourth year of drought. State agencies suspect that water released from their reservoirs is being inappropriately diverted by property owners in the Delta as it flows past their land. "We had rights and used that water before the state even had any departments," said one property owner told the Sacramento Bee . "It's very difficult to prove it." The order went to 1,061 "senior rights" holders, meaning that they were given rights to the water before 1914. Study: L.A.'s Heat Island Reduces Fog A new report by Columbia University suggests that growth of the Los Angeles region's urban footprint is causing the city's fog to dissipate. The study shows that the frequency of fog over the city, including the famous "June gloom," has decreased by 63 percent since 1948 because of the "heat island effect," in which urban areas become hotter during the day as heat is trapped in concrete surfaces. Besides the environmental consequences, the report warns that the disappearance of fog could have economic impacts as temperatures rise and use of air conditioning increases. Redondo Beach Voters Let Power Plant Stand Despite the pleasant seaside location of Redondo Beach, the city's landscape is dominated by the industrial hulk of a now shuttered power plant. This month city voters rejected a redevelopment for the plant, with only 48 percent of voters voting yes on Measure B. The measure, which roused passions on both sides, was sponsored by AES, which owns the site. It would have allowed for the site, blocks from the beach, to be redeveloped into a hotel, retail space, and 600 residential units. Despite widespread distaste for the plant, opponents of the measure argued that it would have led to overdevelopment and intolerable traffic. They have called on AES and the city to consider a more modest development plan. Kids' Health Benefits from L.A.'s Decrease in Smog Generations after the Los Angeles area first declared a war on smog, health indicators among the region's children are vastly improved. A study by the University of Southern California, published last week, found that the percentage of children with impaired lung function has dropped by half since 1994. The study followed children in high-pollution communities, including Long Beach, Riverside, and San Dimas, comparing lung health of children in those areas today compared to that of 20 years ago. USC says that it is the first such study to track changes over time. The Los Angeles area has combated pollution in a number of fronts in recent years, requiring truck and ship engines and stricter pollution controls on industrial facilities. Fine particle pollution has declined by up to 50 percent over the past 20 years. The region remains one of the nation's most polluted.

The City of San Jose's 2011 general plan, known as Envision 2040 and designed to focus growth in urban nodes and balance the city's job and housing mix, is now facing a lawsuit from a Davis-based environmental group for allegedly causing sprawl. The nonprofit California Clean Energy Committee claims that the plan improperly prioritizes economic development over housing and is short by 109,000 housing units, and that the shortage will push development to other cities and cause more traffic as workers drive to their jobs. Officials dispute that, saying that the plan prioritizes jobs following decades of city approval of residential projects without thought. Officials will head to court next month to argue against a broad decision that would force the city to do a time-consuming and costly do-over of the entire plan. "If we're more economically vibrant, yes, people will potentially drive from elsewhere," San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio told the San Jose Business Journal . "But what's the alternative? You want to turn us into the only housing suburb for San Francisco? LA. Passes Temporary 'McMansion' Ban  The Los Angeles City Council  issued  a two year ban on "McMansions" in 20 areas of the city. The ban will put restrictions on the size of new, single-family dwellings to stanch the "proliferation of out-of-scale developments that threaten the cohesion and character of neighborhoods," according to a city report. Stakeholders in the affected communities have long raised concerns about the practice of building homes that occupy substantial portions of their lots. These homes are often built up to the property line and can loom over neighboring homes. The City Council passed a similar ordinance in 2008 to control the size of homes in Los Angeles, but loopholes allowed larger homes to rise and prompted the new ordinance. Developers and building industry representatives decry the moratorium for preventing property owners from maximizing the value of their properties.  Urban Farm Ordinance Approved in Sacramento A new ordinance passed by the Sacramento City Council will allow residents to build minature farms on private properties and sell produce out of urban farm stands. Prior to the ordinance, growing produce for sell was only allowed in specially zoned lots. But now, urban farmers will be able to open urban farm stands with a business operations tax certificate.  One goal of the ordinance is to reduce urban blight and bring fruits and vegetables to "food insecure" populations whose access to fresh produce is limited in low-income neighborhoods. By building farms up to 3 acres, residents would be able to grow and sell food directly from their properties and get tax incentives for turning lots into minifarms. Study Promotes Use of Rooftop Solar Power in L.A. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has the opportunity to expand the amount of local solar use to 150,000 megawatts, enough to power 355,000 homes, by installing solar systems on up to 10,000 acres of rooftops, according to a study sponsored by the L.A. Business Council conducted by UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation and USC's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity. The study focused on opportunities located in what the study identifies as "solar equity hotspots" - neighborhoods with abundant rooftops and great need for economic investment and jobs. The hotspot areas exist in the San Fernando Valley, East Los Angeles, and areas west of Downtown, including Hollywood. In many cases, solar training programs that target less advantaged workers. "Los Angeles has a unique confluence of characteristics providing a firm foundation for a successful solar FiT (feed-in tariff) program: abundant sunshine, a trained workforce and tremendous economic need," said Dr. Manuel Pastor, Director of the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, in a statement. "Growing the FiT will bring economic opportunity to some of our city's most underserved and environmentally-challenged neighborhoods." The city is offering financing programs to help homeowners and businesses install solar systems. Producing 1,500 megawatts of clean solar power over the next decade would cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 million metric tons and create more than 36,000 new job years, according to the study. Groups Call for More Funding for Active Transportation Program Over 120 organizations statewide signed a petition urging the state to increase its investment in the Active Transportation Program (ATP), which seeks to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure statewide. In the last round of ATP funding, more projects applied for the program than could be filled with the $300 million biannual funds allocated to the program, leaving over $800 million worth of ready-to-go projects unfulfilled. The petition -- signed by community and advocacy organizations that focus on health, walking biking, the environment, and economic policy -- calls for a $100 million increase in ATP funding and clearer rules to make sure that low-income communities are benefiting from the ATP. "We know that 20 percent of trips by Californians are on foot or by bicycle, but despite the overwhelming demand for projects that create safer streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and pathways, the state Active Transportation Program still only receives around one percent of Caltrans' annual budget," Jeanie Ward-Waller, Senior Policy Manager for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, told Streetsblog . Planning Scholar Donald Shoup to Retire in June Renowned urban planning professor Donald Shoup announced that he will be retiring from UCLA in June. Widely known as the "parking guru," with enthusiastic followers know as "Soupistas," Shoup is credited with revolutionizing the ways that cities view the relationship between parking and land use. His 2005 book The High Cost of Free Parking, which criticizes standard methods of deterring parking requirements, and his ideas on parking policies have led cities across the world to adapt new policies for parking requirements and to charge fair market prices for curb parking. "I can't think of anyone who has made more scholarly contributions to the field of parking and transportation than Donald Shoup," said Dean Frank Gilliam in a statement . River Restoration May Cost City of L.A. $1.2 Billion New estimates show that the City of Los Angeles could bear the brunt of the costs of restoring the Los Angeles River to a more natural state, possibly shouldering as much as $1.2 billion for the project. City leaders were originally hoping to split the expense evenly with the federal government, whose Army Corps of Engineers originally built the concrete channel that now defines the river, by contributing about $500 million to the project, but now it appears that the city could bear over 70 percent of the costs. The restoration could take 30 to 40 years, and it is expected to introduce the most dramatic changes to the river since it was lined with concrete in the middle of the 20th century. "Real estate in L.A. is extremely expensive, and a project done in a highly urbanized area makes this more expensive than any other restoration project in the country," Jay Field, a spokesman for the Army Corps, told the L.A. Times . Tenants Ordered to Vacate Hollywood Building  Five months after a judge ruled that a 22-story apartment building in Hollywood was improperly approved, officials ordered the project's developer, CIM Group, to evict the tenants living there. The suit was brought by attorney Robert Silverstein, who has repeatedly invoked CEQA to fight development in Hollywood. Opponents of the project, called Sunset and Gordon, claim that it violated terms of the project approval by demolishing a 1924 that was supposed to be preserved. Officials estimated that the 299-unit complex had about 40 tenants living there when the eviction order came. "In 24 years at the city, I personally have not seen this before," Luke Zamperini, a Building and Safety spokesman, told the L.A. Times . Hollywood has seen other legal setbacks recently as it tries to implement Mayor Garcetti's vision of larger, denser developments in the neighborhood. Target had to stop work on a shopping center after a judge said that officials improperly allowed the project to exceed the 35-foot height limit. Another judge invalidated the Hollywood Community Plan Update, which called for taller and denser construction near transit, for using outdated demographic data. Great Park Audit: Irvine May Recover Some RDA Funds An audit of the Orange County Great Park project commissioned by the Irvine City Council to see if money was wasted in designing the project shows that the city may be able to recover some lost money. The audit blamed a lack of realistic financial planning, as cost estimates shot up to $1.24 billion from the original estimate of $401 million. Projections in 2009 showed that the Great Park could only afford to build and maintain about $61.2 million of facilities, according to the attorney's findings. The city has since 2005 spent more than $250 million building 88 acres of the 1,3000 acre former marine base.

Strategic Growth Council staff are currently finalizing the review of submitted concept proposals for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grand program. All AHSC applicants will be notified of the results of the concept proposal reviews by no later than Monday, March 16th. The full application will be posted on or before Wednesday, March 18th. The due date for the full applications will be extended to April 20, 2015. Applicants will be notified when the full application is available via email. For more details, see CP&DR's coverage of the AHSC workshops. Draft of California Transportation Plan Released Caltrans released its long-range draft plan for the next 25 years of transportation projects in California. The plan, called the California Transportation Plan 2040 , presents a wide range of strategies to reduce the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions, as required by the A.B. 32 Global Warming Solutions Act. The plan says that the state will not meet its reduction goals unless it implements every one of the plans most aggressive recommendations -- including road pricing, increasing carpool trips, building bike lanes, and changing most of the cars and trucks on the road to zero-emission vehicles. However, there's some concern that the plan won't come with any "teeth," and that Caltrans won't be able to enforce its directives. Odds of Earthquake Danger Revised Upwards Based on newly analyzed data, geologists have raised the chances of California being struck by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in the next three decades to 7 percent from 4.7 percent. Part of the reason for the increased risk is a growing knowledge base of California's faults.  "It has become increasingly apparent that we are not dealing with a few well-separate faults, but with a vast interconnected fault system," seismologist Ned Field told the Los Angeles Times . Scientists now expect a magnitude 8.0 or greater quake - which would be devastating to a populated area - to come once every 500 years, as opposed to previous estimates of once every 600 years. Cities across the state, most notably Los Angeles, are embarking on programs to encourage seismic retrofitting of older buildings. In other earthquake news , a USGS analysis of the damage wrought by last year's earthquake in Napa reveals that the vast majority of damaged buildings were built before 1950. Desert Solar Lands Cut In response to over 12,000 mostly critical comments on the draft plan to create renewable energy facilities in deserts across the state, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan will for now only apply to public lands, reports the  L.A Times . The plan originally would have managed renewable energy projects on 22 millions acres of public and private lands, but many counties objected to having the state and federally funded programs on their land. Now, officials say that they will first focus on 10 million acres of public lands, and roll out the rest later once local issues are resolved.  The lands under the permitting authority of critical counties - including Los Angeles, San Diego,and San Bernardino among others - would be suitable for about 80 percent of the projects expected to be built under the plan. However, counties claim to have many different issues with the plan, including concerns that the development will displace agriculture, and that the designation of certain land as conservation zones would restrict moneymaking land uses like mining. Nevertheless, officials hope to build enough to help meet the Obama administration's goal of generating 20,000 megawatts of power from federal land by 2020. Laguna Resident Sues City, Coastal Commission, over Hotel Expansion A local resident is suing the city of Laguna Beach and the California Coastal Commission over the approval without an Environmental Impact Review of a hotel renovation project in Aliso Canyon - some areas of which are described as a "rare habitat." The resident, Mark Fudge, said that the renovation of the 84-acre property known as the Ranch requires an EIR, and that the California Coastal Commission and the city inappropriately approved it without one. The renovations would increase the number of hotel rooms by splitting 32 existing one-bedroom suites in half and removing the kitchen to make 64 standard-sized rooms. The developer insists that the work on the rooms is being done within the existing framework for the project. Denver Official to Head L.A. Metro  Los Angeles County transportation officials chose the former leader of the Denver Regional Transportation District to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Anticipating a new phase of multibillion-dollar expansion of its rail system amid coming years of projected budget shortfalls, officials chose Phillip Washington to replace outgoing CEO Art Leahy. Metro is simultaneously building five rail lines and is in the early stages of drafting another tax that could fund a dozen more projects. However, the agency faces a projected deficit of $83 million in 2018 and $248 million in 2013 due to rising pension costs and operations of new rail lines. Washington managed Denver's transportation authority during a similar time, securing more that $1 billion for the city in the midst of a multibillion-dollar expansion. Leahy will become CEO of southern California commuter rail network Metrolink.  Study: Short-Term Rentals Exacerbate Housing Shortage in L.A. A new report shows that Airbnb is an important contributor to the housing shortage in Los Angeles, as more than 7,000 housing units have been taken off the market for short-term rentals through the online platform. The report estimates that in tourist-friendly neighborhoods like Venice and Hollywood, the listings can account for 4% of all housing units in the region, decreasing the supply available and increasing prices. While many participants are just homeowners renting out a spare room to tourists, there are signs of growing professionalization of the service, with some property-manager middlemen listing dozens of properties on the site. "In places where vacancy is already limited and rents are already squeezing people out, this is exacerbating the problem," Roy Samaan, who wrote the report, told the L.A. Times . Tulare County General Plan Litigation Settled The final lawsuit challenging the County of Tulare's general plan has been settled, paving the way for implementation of the plan. The Tulare County General Plan 2030 Update was approved in 2012 by the Board of Supervisors, but was challenged separately by the City of Porterville and the Sierra Club. The settlement calls for the revised plan to include incentives for solar power, protection of prime farmland, and reduction of diesel emissions from trucks. "The reason we filed suit was the plan didn't commit the county to anything about many of the major issues as far as we saw - air pollution, farmland loss, water issues, climate change," said Gordon Nipp, vice chairman of the Sierra Club chapter that covers Tulare, Kings and Kern counties, told the Visalia Times-Delta . The revisions will be subject to public comment and a vote of the Board of Supervisors.  Santa Monica Considers Moving Interstate Offramp in Downtown Plan With a colossal traffic problem at the exit on the farthest East part of Interstate 10 in Santa Monica, city officials there are expediting a realignment of the interstate that would change the way vehicles exit onto Fourth Street. The plan, known as the Olympic crossover or the freeway flyover, would completely remove the current off-ramp to Fourth street and instead bring traffic over the freeway to tie in with the recently-built Olympic Drive. The off-ramp would be one piece of the new Downtown Specific Plan, which is still in the draft stages but could provide the framework for land-use in downtown Santa Monica.

The State Supreme Court denied review October 22 in the major case of Citizens for a Sustainable Treasure Island v. City and County of San Francisco (Treasure Island Community Development) . As discussed in the CP&DR July 2014 issue , the ruling upheld the massive environmental impact report for a $1.5 billion development plan on Treasure Island, the man-made island at the middle of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. As legal precedent the case is important for its holding that an EIR's original status as program-level or project-level doesn't matter as much as whether, practically speaking, it provides enough information to support necessary decisions. No rent control end run via Costa-Hawkins in LA California's Second Appellate District blocked an attempted end-run around Los Angeles rent control in Burien v. Wiley. The ruling was by the Second District's Division Five, in an opinion by Justice Sandy Kriegler joined by Justices Paul Turner and Richard Mosk. In Kriegler's summary, the case concerned a rent-controlled apartment building on Sawtelle Boulevard that received its original certificate of occupancy in 1972. The landlord converted it to condominiums and obtained a fresh certificate of occupancy in 2009. He then sought to exempt the building from rent control under the Costa-Hawkins Act by claiming an exemption for units with certificates of occupancy issued after 1995. The tenant who objected, James Wiley, would have faced a rent increase from $1,401 to $3000 per month. The court found "the exemption can only apply to certificates of occupancy that precede residential use of the unit." The case is at http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B250182.PDF. In other legal news -- Alaine Patti-Jelsvik, an attorney with the Counsel Press filing service, posted a detailed commentary on the new California Rule of Court 8.701 , which implements SB 743, saying it "severely shortened and tightened... filing and service requirements and procedure for appellate relief in CEQA cases." The Point Reyes oyster war that you thought was already over had one more battle in early October. On October 6 the Marin Independent-Journal reported that Marin County officials asked the Coastal Commission to confirm the Drakes Bay Oyster business was shut down by federal courts without a consistency determination from the Commission. (Steve Kinsey, a Marin County Supervisor who is also chair of the Commission, criticized the Commission's role in the matter to the paper, while Amy Trainer of the Environmental Action Coalition told the paper there was no action requiring a consistency review, because the oyster beds' lease had simply expired.) But then, on the same day the I-J wrote that news, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported the oyster operation announced it had reached a settlement agreeing to shut down after all. The owners announced they would remove their oyster farm from federal wilderness property in Drakes Estero and would open a retail oyster business in nearby Tomales Bay. For prior coverage see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3547. The Supreme Court rejected a depublication request in the case of Citizens for a Green San Mateo v. San Mateo Community College District . The case was a June ruling by the First District Court of Appeal that said a community group raised its objection too late to be heard against the cutting of more than 200 mature trees on the College of San Mateo campus. For coverage see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3518 and a discussion of the timing issue by William Abbott on his firm's land use weblog .

LA's Metro agency approved a new 96th Street station on its Crenshaw rail line to serve the LAX airport more directly than the previously planned Century/Aviation station. LA Curbed calls the design "a very fancy stop with all the extras." See http://bit.ly/1rSKRNK. For a clearer view of the logistics see the agency's diagram at http://bit.ly/1lSMxWp. Cal Supremes to review Property Reserve case The California Supreme Court agreed to review the Property Reserve appellate ruling on whether the state must bring an eminent domain action to get access to private property for geological testing for a future project. See http://bit.ly/V6KCDR for the Nossaman firm's take on what's at stake in the appeal. On the prior decision, issued in March by the Third District Court of Appeal, see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3448. The current California Supreme Court docket is at http://bit.ly/1lNkZlN. (A prior California Supreme Court review on the same case was concluded in 2011.) Two review denials may disappoint conservatives The U.S. Supreme Court turned down California conservatives two ways in late June. It refused to take up an appeal of last year's Ninth Circuit ruling upholding the low-carbon fuel standard that operates alongside AB 32 in California's cap-and-trade program: see http://bit.ly/1nX5Vi2 for a news account of reactions to the denial of review, and http://bit.ly/1sTMQFy for the Stoel Rives firm's legal analysis. The high court also refused to hear an appeal by Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Co., of an order to shut down his oyster beds on Point Reyes National Seashore property. See http://bit.ly/1z3eVLn. Ocean Beach Community Plan approval postponed A big San Diego City Council hearing set for June 30 on the Ocean Beach Community Plan was called off because the Coastal Commission offered 43 last-minute change proposals. The local OB Rag published the text of the Commission's six-page memo at http://obrag.org/?p=84919. The Coastal Commission proposals include several emphasizing effects of sea level rise on bluffs and beaches. More detail from the Times of San Diego is at http://bit.ly/1luPKHg. The community plan page is at http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/oceanbeach/. Wintersburg structures rated among most endangered The National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed the Wintersburg Village structures in Huntington Beach as among the 11 most endangered historic places in the U.S., raising its profile and hence possibly improving its chances of preservation. The site was an early center of Japanese American settlement in Orange County, and one of the few land parcels that Japanese owners managed to acquire before passage of the 1913 Alien Land Law. (See http://bit.ly/TyTNeP.) The six surviving Wintersburg structures include a Presbyterian mission church and the farmhouse established by the pioneering Furuta family. The Huntington Beach City Council has voted to allow demolition of the structures but the property's current owner, a waste company known as Rainbow Environmental Services, may yet arrive at a way to preserve them. See http://bit.ly/1qeqYRQ. JK Yamamoto has more detail in the Rafu Shimpo at http://bit.ly/1pSvELb. San Francisco Grand Jury's port report: worth a read San Francisco's grand jury issued three reports in late June: criticizing the Port of San Francisco for over-friendliness to private developers; expressing concern over the extent of preparation for rising sea levels; and criticizing ethical disclosure standards applied to public officials and candidates. See http://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/report.html for all the reports. The Port of San Francisco report is worth a read for reasons other than criticism: it provides a useful summary of recent proposals and ongoing plans for San Francisco waterfront construction and mentions steps the city took toward use of infrastructure financing districts in the context of the now-abandoned Golden State Warriors development plan. (See http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3510.) In other news: The lawsuit by environmental groups against Plan Bay Area settled in late June in an agreement that includes emphasis on safer methods of moving truck and train cargoes through neighborhoods. The link-rich Planetizen writeup at http://www.planetizen.com/articles/node-69937 includes mentions of overlapping concerns between environmentalist and right/libertarian challengers to the plan. The annual "State of the Nation's Housing" report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies says most of California has some of the highest housing cost burdens in the U.S. See http://bit.ly/1k9tjb1 for the Sacramento Bee 's California-centric take. The report itself is at http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/state_nations_housing. The Sacramento advocates who last week were seeking more social and housing benefits from the Kings arena project (see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3518) went ahead and filed their suit. See http://bit.ly/1pSBUCy for the Bee account. The complaint seeks to overturn the EIR as having insufficiently disclosed, analyzed and mitigated several kinds of impacts, including inconsistency with the city's housing element. It also asks the court to declare SB 743 unconstitutional because of special provisions it contains that purport to streamline review of the arena project. An extended post-Redevelopment dispute over the 700 block of K street in Sacramento settled in late June with an agreement between the city and the state, allowing a start on long-delayed rebuilding plans for the block. See http://bit.ly/1mElp9w. A new lawsuit against the high-speed rail project, this time by a San Rafael environmental group, TRANSDEF, alleged the project wouldn't provide net greenhouse gas reductions for a decade. For news reports see http://bit.ly/1pGoH41 and http://bit.ly/1lNaPSb. The LA Times reported the High Speed Rail Authority had decided strategically to start the timetable toward construction of the rail line's Burbank-Palmdale segment: http://lat.ms/TLxgvQ Moody's upgraded its rating of California general obligation bonds to Aa3 from A1: http://bit.ly/1x9iE8c The San Francisco Chronicle reported San Francisco was finding housing for some of its homeless families by renting places for them in other towns from Vallejo to Sacramento: http://bit.ly/1nYDbXD Mountain View may increase the compensation it requires landlords to pay low-income tenants in certian kinds of no-fault evictions: http://bit.ly/1iQx9et Ellen Hanak's team at the Public Policy Institute of California were suggesting a statewide water surcharge as a way to raise money for regional projects as an alternative to bonds: http://www.ppic.org/main/blog_detail.asp?i=1553 The city of Davis was hearing proposals from developers for environmentally conscious design of an "innovation center". Three proposals are from groups led respectively by Hines, Ramco Enterprises and Capitol Corridor Ventures: http://bit.ly/1lFliPm Mayor Eric Garcetti of LA set up a "Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles" nonprofit to fund projects beyond the support they receive from public budgets. Goals for the fund include work on the LA River: http://lat.ms/1m4EA0h Kern County adopted a regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy under SB 375. Planetizen has a summary and links to an extended commentary by NRDC consultant Ella Wise: http://www.planetizen.com/articles/node-70026 The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) approved a sustainability strategy June 11 that predicted 20% population growth from 2010 through 2035: http://bit.ly/1o28hxo Details emerged on San Francisco's Schlage Lock development proposal, which calls for a stunning 1,700 units of housing on a long-neglected factory campus in the southeastern Visitacion Valley district. A city Office of Economic Analysis presentation said construction spending could reach $637 million. See http://bit.ly/1lMKHqC for the SF Business Times writeup. The presentation is at http://sfcontroller.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=5460. The plan goes to the Board of Supervisors next week: http://bit.ly/1rUTyHp The League of California Cities included clippings in its daily briefs from a couple of disputes over economics and housing in Orange County: homeowners opposed a 70-unit proposed affordable housing development in Santa Ana: http://bit.ly/1nYANyP. Costa Mesa planners were recommending a separate new permitting process for motels to allow long-term stays: http://bit.ly/1jFeuNv

In recent land use news: Sacramento Bee political columnist Dan Walters is predicting fresh attempts in the new legislative session to limit no-fault evictions under the Ellis Act. Streetsblog LA reported the Metro Board of Directors instructed its CEO to report on transit-oriented development efforts that can prepare Los Angeles County to be a grantee under the new Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities cap-and-trade program. Following CalEPA's announcement of its "disadvantaged community" designations for cap-and-trade grantmaking (see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3616 ), hopeful news articles appeared in the Fresno Bee and the Stockton Record about funding possibilities for Central Valley regions where bad air quality and agricultural poverty combine to meet definitions of disadvantage under the CalEnviroScreen 2.0 standard. Meanwhile, however, the California Coalition for Rural Housing submitted a comment on the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program suggesting the program was all but exclusively oriented toward transit-oriented development at major transit hubs, and was "designed to fail" in smaller communities and places poorly served by transit. Video from the AHSC program's last main public workshop on October 28 is available now at http://sgc.ca.gov/ . New guidance documents issued based on the CalEPA decision include this Air Resources Board redraft on benefits to disadvantaged communities . The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported the Crossing/900 project on Middlefield Road in downtown Redwood City signed a major deal to provide a headquarters for the Box, Inc. company, purveyor of secure cloud storage services. The SF Chron reports that housing giant Lennar and another developer, Macerich, have contracted to build a shopping center on the site of the former Candlestick Park stadium, to form the center of a new dense development projected to include 6,000 housing units. News reports came through on a slew of Bay Area specific and general plan revisions:  Menlo Park voted a week before the election to limit medical office space under its downtown and El Camino Real specific plan. An office space limitation measure on the ballot, Measure M, lost by 61.6% to 38.4% . The city of Novato set a public hearing for Nov. 18 on revisions to its housing element. The housing element update page is at http://www.ci.novato.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=1410 . Solano County's Housing Element update was posted for comment in October . Proposed revisions include a new disability accommodation request process. Half Moon Bay has begun public meetings on a General Plan revision that will be the first since 1993; the Half Moon Bay Review reports the last revision attempt, in 2004, broke down in acrimony. The paper meanwhile reports a recent traffic study found high congestion levels on roads in the Coastside area of San Mateo County. The study is part of the Connect the Coastside transportation management plan process, focused on Highways 1 and 92, which intersect in Half Moon Bay. Cupertino's General Plan went to a hearing November 10 with emphasis on its housing element , which was released for comment in October. The Silicon Valley Business Journal 's Nate Donato Weinstein livetweeted the meeting, noting  62 people submitted cards for public comment and many speakers opposed the draft, especially the proposed allocations of residential and office construction. The City Council next takes up the matter December 2. Palo Alto's revision to its Comprehensive Plan (local equivalent to General Plan) is focusing on " retail preservation " amid some disagreement on what that exactly means. Martinez is discussing amendments to the General Plan and the Hidden Lakes Specific Area Plan. The Calaveras Enterprise is still nagging the Board of Supervisors to move along with revising its General Plan, which is currently projected to reach approval stage around April of 2016. San Diego began this week to install about 200 "smart" parking meters that accept credit cards and track space usage. The first such meters will be in the tourist-oriented Gaslamp Quarter. Fresno homeless-rights activist Mike Rhodes reported on Indybay that settlements have been reached between the City of Fresno and 36 homeless campers. The campers alleged they lost property in a city "cleanup" sweep, using bulldozers, that removed a large encampment of hand-built shelters. Counsel representing the campers included Central California Legal Services and Arnold & Porter. (Item via League of California Cities.) The Press Democrat reported Mendocino College rescinded an agreement to sell a 15-acre blufftop research station property to the Bureau of Land Management. Instead, it announced plans to sell only a conservation easement. The college cited plans to continue using buildings there for research while also preserving the property against development. BLM would have added it to the California Coastal National Monument. A couple of commentaries have appeared from law firms playing up the usefulness of SB 628 Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts. They're posted by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard and by Holland & Knight . For CP&DR's own early profile of the bill � including reasons it may not work well for housing or in dense neighborhoods � see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3563 . The LA Times reported that, in a move one neighbor called "the road to development," The Los Angeles City Council voted to allow paving on Bulwer Road in Laurel Canyon. The stated purpose of paving the dirt road was to help a developer sell two houses that were completed five years ago after sitting unfinished for years before that. But it was disputed whether further construction might follow  California Lawyer 's November issue has reports on two land use matters: the future of California groundwater and AirBnB. If you missed the National Association of City Transportation Officials meeting in San Francisco, some of the presentations are available via links from the daily schedule . Sunnyvale neighbors have appealed a court ruling that disappointed their campaign to recover public access to a public building that the city sold, the Raynor Activity Center. The suit is brought partly uner CEQA, partly under the Public Park Preservation Act. The neighbors' most recent update describes the ruling. The appellate case is Save Sunnyvale Parks and Schools, Inc. v. City of Sunnyvale . Inyo County approved the Munro Valley Solar project in Olancha, despite objections to its visual impact and to effects on tribal cultural resources.  Grist magazine posted a colorful linkfest on extreme responses to the California water shortage, including a National Journal news feature on water theft. The LA Times reported, a tad optimistically , that a new dust mitigation approach "ends L.A.'s longtime feud with Owens Valley."

Organizers have confirmed that attorney Jennifer Hernandez of Holland & Knight and Prof. Ethan Elkind of UCLA will both take part in a panel discussion of SB 375 and SB 743 at the University of San Francisco law school November 4. A third panelist will be Michael Schwartz of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority. Hernandez and Elkind set out strongly worded, antagonistic positions in August on the proposal by California's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to implement SB 743 by shifting from the existing Level of Service (LOS) transportation impact metric under CEQA to a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) metric. The proposal has been championed by advocates for public transportation, bike/pedestrian access and "smart growth" but dreaded by some developers as a source of new uncertainties and obligations under CEQA law. (See http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3560 and http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3582.) Hernandez was the principal author of a fierce criticism published by her firm in August, captioned, " OPR Proposes to Increase CEQA's Costs, Complexity and Litigation Risks with SB 743 Implementation. " Elkind answered it with a critical essay captioned " Misleading Attacks on California's new Transportation Analysis Under CEQA ." A further OPR presentation was scheduled for November 3, so by November 4 the panelists may have further grist for their discussion. See http://www.opr.ca.gov/docs/SB743_Workshop_Notice.pdf. The presentation's webcast may be available later, as with OPR's previous presentation of the type, at http://opr.ca.gov/s_sb743.php. An RSVP form for the USF event is here . Oral argument in Berkeley Hillside set for December 2 The Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments in Los Angeles December 2 in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (Logan). The case is one of the most significant in a large backlog of CEQA cases currently pending before the State Supreme Court. It concerns the application of a categorical CEQA infill exemption to a proposal for a very large private house, and more generally whether or when "unusual circumstances" can create exceptions to the exemption. A header in the respondents' brief argues: "Appellants have not shown that 'unusual circumstances' should be deleted from the Unusual Circumstances exception." And they argue that the exception is at risk of swallowing the rule. (And see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3314.) The petitioners, Berkeley Hillside Preservation, say they haven't sought to delete the 'unusual circumstances' language. They do argue that a fair argument for significant environmental impacts should still trigger an EIR. The full current list of pending major CEQA cases before the Supreme Court is as follows: - Berkeley Hillside , S201116, oral argument December 2 - Citizens for Environmental Responsibility v. 14th District Agricultural Association (Stars of Justice) , S218240, held awaiting the decision in Berkeley Hillside. - Center for Biological Diversity v Dept of Fish and Wildlife (the Newhall Ranch case), S217763, reply brief due November 26. - California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District , S213478 (the "CEQA In Reverse" case): Fully briefed. - City of San Diego v. Board of Trustees of CSU , S199557, fully briefed. - Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District , S214061, fully briefed. - Sierra Club v. County of Fresno , S219783, opening brief due December 2. In other news -- -  The Calfornia Attorney General issued an opinion clarifying that members of oversight boards for local post-redevelopment successor agencies may not receive compensation or reimbursed expenses from the authority that appoints them. The rule applies to appointing authorities for other oversight boards as well. Amit Palta, of the firm of Best Best & Krieger, LLP, wrote up the opinion on JDSupra . The opinion is at http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/opinions/pdfs/12-902.pdf. - The State Supreme Court turned down a request for depublication of a major case affirming the EIR for a portion of the California High-Speed Rail project. For coverage of the Third District appellate ruling see http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3540. - The Los Angeles County Supervisors approved a new "vision statement" for Marina Del Rey. - The city of Tulare adopted a general plan that shrank its Urban Development Boundary by six miles . - The LA Times reported on tensions over the possibility of broader federal tribal recognition policies that could lead to more tribal exercises of sovereignty in places with strictly regulated land use such as Napa. - In what the LA Times called "a new front in the battle over Malibu beach access," Coastal Commission staff sent enforcement warnings over allegations of harassment and high fees for public beach access at the privately run Paradise Cove.

The Coalition for Responsible Arena Development filed a notice of intent to bring a lawsuit against the proposed downtown arena in Sacramento. The group opposing the proposed development claims that the project violates CEQA and is a misuse of public funds. LA Mayor Approves University Village Project Near USC KTLA Mayor Villaraigosa signed off on a $1.1 billion redevelopment project for University Village near USC. The new development includes 350,000 sq. ft. of retail space and new housing and academic areas for students, making it the largest project in the history of South LA. The project's construction could start as early as this year, and will be developed in phases until its expected completion in 2030.  DOF Returns $11 Million To Placer County Modesto Bee After the end of redevelopment in California last year, the state Department of Finance has finally returned the $11 million it has been withholding from Placer County. The county intends to use the funds for highway improvement projects in north Lake Tahoe and Auburn. Central Valley Leaders Work Towards Settling Growth Wars Fresno Bee After the city offered to drop its lawsuit against Madera County's proposal for a 5,200 residential development last week, county officials have agreed to meet with the city to further discuss pending lawsuits and regional growth disputes. In the upcoming meetings, both city and county leaders hope to reach agreement on lawsuit settlements and how the region will grow- hopefully putting the growth wars to rest. Recent Study Shows DTLA Housing is Cheaper Without Parking Curbed LA A study from UCLA's Michael Manville found that housing in DTLA is more affordable if developers don't have to adhere to conventional parking requirements. The study focused on housing provided under the city's Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which does not require additional parking spaces for additional units. The study found that many buildings offered rental rates that were "unbundled" from parking, providing lower housing options for people without cars- a trend that is not exclusive to DTLA.

2006 is shaping up as a turning point for the state’s enterprise zone program. Not only are 18 of 42 enterprise zones scheduled to expire later this year, but state lawmakers are considering a number of competing bills that would do everything from maintain the status quo to significantly reform the economic development program. This spring, Juan Arambula, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy, issued a report calling for increased enterprise zone program accountability, new criteria for designating zones and reforming the hiring tax credit. A few weeks later, the California Budget Project (CBP) issued a study that strongly questions the effectiveness of the enterprise zone program and calls for lawmakers to substantially reduce the program’s size. The report from Arambula (D-Fresno) was the result of hearings regarding the enterprise zone program and includes 45 recommendations. Among other things, Arambula recommended continuing enterprise zone designations through 2008 to give the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) — which took over the program in 2003 — time to complete a thorough review. Other recommendations call for more state oversight, an annual “cost per job created” report by HCD, and changing the hiring tax credit to reduce abuses. In a 14-page response, the California Association of Enterprise Zones (CAEZ) objected to most of Arambula’s recommendations. “The enterprise zone is meant to be a state and local partnership and the state has been absent in providing adequate oversight, marketing of the program nationally and internationally, and assistance/training to the local communities,” CAEZ responded. The report by the CBP, which frequently questions tax breaks, echoed some of Arambula’s recommendations but went much further. The CBP found that enterprise zone tax breaks cost the state $300 million in 2003. “However, numerous studies have failed to establish a link between EZ tax incentives and increased employment, firm growth, or economic development,” the CBP concluded. In the Legislature, economic development bills have moved slowly this year. Among the most far-reaching is SB 1268 (Cedillo), which would require cities, counties and redevelopment agencies to submit biannual reports on every economic development subsidy — including EZ tax credits — of at least $25,000. Arambula’s report and the CAEZ response are available on the CAEZ website, www.caez.org . The CBP report is available at www.cbp.org . Financial assurances intended to ensure that garbage dumps, hazardous waste facilities and surface mines do not degrade environmental and public health are often inadequate, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has concluded. In a new study, the LAO recommended overhauling the financial assurances system to reduce the state’s liability for cleaning up closed waste facilities and mines. “Our review finds that state agencies, when calculating the required dollar amount of financial assurances, frequently do not include all the costs necessary to prevent adverse impacts to the public and the environment,” the LAO reported. The LAO also found that some of the financial assurance mechanisms – especially corporate guarantees and self-insurance — are not very assured. The report cites a California Integrated Waste Management Board study that estimated the state faces a liability of $1.8 billion by mid-century for solid waste facilities. The state’s exposure for surface mines could be as much as $1.2 billion. Maintaining only one hazardous waste site — the BKK landfill in West Covina — is costing the state at least $5.5 million annually, according to the LAO. Coincidentally, the report came out only days after a state appellate court upheld a regulation giving the state Department of Conservation the final say on when local governments may release financial assurances for surface mine reclamation (see ). The LAO recommended: • Broadening the scope of costs covered by financial assurances; • Eliminating a corporate guarantee or corporate financial test as a means of providing financial assurance; • Consolidating all financial assurance functions into one unit at the California Environmental Protection Agency; • Charging a new fee on currently operating waste facilities and surface mines to provide a state fund for long-term maintenance and cleanup. The report, “Financial Assurances: Strengthening Public Safety of Waste Facilities and Surface Mines,” is available on the LAO’s website: www.lao.ca.gov . Affordable housing advocates have sued the City of Mission Viejo over the city’s approval of a 144-unit housing project. Two years ago, the city made clear it would not approve a proposed 168-unit apartment project for low- to moderate-income residents on the same 23-acre site, a stance that was popular with neighbors but not with HCD (see , August 2004). The recently approved project calls for 122 market-rate housing units and 22 affordable units. The Public Law Center, the Legal Aid Society and the California Housing Law Project sued, saying the city had not identified where it would provide its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing. The Carpinteria City Council has adopted in-lieu affordable housing fees that may set a record. The city on the Santa Barbara County coast has an inclusionary zoning ordinance that requires 12%of new housing units to be designated for moderate-income residents. Under the new fee structure, developers that do not provide the affordable units may pay an in-lieu fee of $493,500 per single-family house or $254,330 per condominium. The fee is based on the difference between median market rate prices and the amount that a median-income family can afford. No one has applied to pay the in-lieu fee since the city established it at more than $200,000 per unit in 2004.

A few highlights from this week's news: The First Appellate District cleared the way for a major redevelopment of the ParkMerced apartment complex in southwestern San Francisco. ParkMerced is a rare dense high-rise structure in the western half of the city. See http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A137753.PDF for the opinion. See http://bit.ly/1qpnusx and http://bit.ly/1w8ikcI for coverage of the project plans now unblocked. The California Supreme Court denied requests for both review and depublication on the 218 Properties case on conversion of mobile home parks from rental to owner-occupied status. The online docket is at http://bit.ly/1qpu2am and CP&DR's prior coverage at https://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3497. The Huntington Beach City Council took a measure off the ballot that would have invited voters to approve mobile home rent control after the landlord of two key mobile home parks moved toward negotiating five-year leases with his tenants. See the Huntington Beach Independent (noted via the League of CA Cities) at http://bit.ly/1uVVELl. The High-Speed Rail project has had mixed fortunes this month: The State Public Works Board approved a string of 158 properties to acquire in Fresno and Kings Counties ( Fresno Bee at http://bit.ly/1tgY8Sk;  Stoel Rives blog at http://bit.ly/1uVNLWl). The High-Speed Rail Auhority itself met to discuss use of its $250 million in cap-and-trade funds from the upcoming fiscal year's budget. (See http://bit.ly/1rXvMcW). On the other hand, the LA Times ' Ralph Vartabedian wrote that construction on the project has been slowed for lack of authority over land. (See http://lat.ms/1n9fCdC.) And Planetizen has a roundup at http://www.planetizen.com/articles/node-70784 of reports on the appeal by opponents of the recent High-Speed Rail bonds approval decision. (See http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3546.) The LA Times reported a group of landlords and tenants are working together to legalize unpermitted rental units in Los Angeles: http://lat.ms/1uVQejA (Noted via @VamonosLA) Per the Second Appellate District, when a city-owned tree falls on private property, it can constitute a "public improvement" for inverse condemnation purposes. See http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B254800.PDF and http://www.natlawreview.com/article/california-if-tree-falls-city-it-serving-public-purpose. San Francisco's Planning Commission approved the Moscone Center expansion: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/15/moscone_growth_spurt.php PG&E pleaded not guilty to federal charges connected with the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion that kiled eight people. The SF Chron 's Bob Egelko reported city officials were campaigning for prosecutors "to seek an independent monitor of the company's conduct, saying state regulators are too cozy with the giant utility," See http://bit.ly/YyNefA. Jennifer Hernandez of Holland & Knight and David Pettit of the NRDC, both CEQA specialists, argued Tesla CEQA exemptions in an August 13 call-in show appearance with business reporter Marc Lifsher on KPCC's "Airtalk" at http://bit.ly/Xib9Q7. AP reported the Ivanpah solar array has become a giant bird zapper: http://bit.ly/1pZVPkg