The California Air Resources Board  released its Draft Staff Report on the Proposed Update to the Senate Bill 375 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets and the Draft Environmental Analysis prepared for the Proposed Targets Update. CARB’s proposed targets would result in an additional reduction of GHG emissions of over 10 million metric tons of CO2 per year in 2035 compared to the current targets. For the 2020 Target, the four big MPOs are divided in their achievement of the adopted goal. MTC/ABAG has a goal of 10 percent reduction but is currently only at 7 percent. SACOG is meeting its 7 percent reduction goal. SANDAG has a goal of 15 percent reduction but in 2010 only had a 7 percent reduction. SCAG has is meeting its 8 percent goal. CARB is looking for comments on the Draft Staff Report and Draft EA until July 28, 2017. TCC Draft Scoping Guidelines Available for Comment The third revision of the Draft Scoping Guidelines for the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program is being made available for public comment. Written comments are due to SGC by 5 p.m. on June 27, 2017. This new draft does not represent the full proposed guidelines for the Program. In February, the SGC convened a Stakeholder Summit on the TCC Program in Sacramento to launch the public process for receiving input on the second revision of the Draft Scoping Guidelines. Written public comments were submitted to the SGC by March 13. Revisions have been made to provide greater clarity on the SGC’s vision for the program and to reflect public comments that were received. This June 2017 release presents a revised draft program framework that includes updated eligibility requirements, redefined strategies and other requirements applicants must meet for implementation and planning grants. Updates have been made to the proposed application process, and sections have been added to reflect scoring criteria, grant administration, and technical assistance and support. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Google Eyes Massive Mixed-Use Development in Downtown San Jose Google is in talks with the City of San Jose about developing a 245-acre tech campus downtown near the Diridon rail station and SAP Center on city-owned land. The city council will vote today on whether to extend exclusive negotiating rights to the tech giant. The new campus would accommodate up to 20,000 jobs and transform the area into a transit-oriented tech village. The proposed village would build more than 6 million square feet of office and research space. The city currently has about 10 million square feet of offices, so an additional 6 million would be a huge addition. Many local businesses in the area are worried about being displaced by the project. Two groups of property investors have been purchasing properties surrounding Diridon Station and have currently spent a combined $124 million. The city has been long discussed more intensive development around the station, in part because it will serve as a hub for California High Speed Rail. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement, “Based on our conversations with Google, we share a collective vision for the future of this space, a vision of urban design that will invite the public into the station.” BART Releases Transit-Oriented Development Guidelines Bay Area Rapid Transit recently released its Transit-Oriented Development Guidelines, which would create greater clarification for BART’s expectations about development around its heavy rail stations. This guidelines, developed pursuant to a policy adopted by BART in June 2016 and performance targets adopted in December, are expected to assist partner cities developing transit-supportive station area plans, developers interested in building on BART properties, community-members wanting to understand how they can get involved, and others wondering about future intentions for properties. The goals include complete communities, sustainable communities strategy, increased ridership, value creation and value capture, transportation choice, and development of up to 7,000 affordable housing units by 2040. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Drop While Economy Grows The California Air Resources Board released a report showing that the state has achieved significant GHG emissions reductions while also posting its strongest economic growth since 2005. At this rate, the state is on track to achieve its 2020 emission reduction goals. The 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory found emissions fell by 1.5 million metric tons in 2015 compared with 2014, which is the equivalent of removing 300,000 vehicles from the road for a year. Additionally, in the last seven years, California has created 2.3 million new jobs, cut its unemployment rate in half, eliminated a $27 billion budget deficit and has seen its credit raising rise to the highest level in more than a decade. The diverging numbers are encouraging, as economic growth typically correlates with greater GHG emissions and suggested that policies like AB 32 and SB 375 may be having their desired effect. CARB is now developing a 2030 Scoping Plan to guide GHG reductions beyond 2020. Groups Form Coalition to Address Housing in San Diego In response to San Diego’s housing crisis, affordable housing advocates, community-based organizations, labor unions and environmentalists have formed the Build Better San Diego coalition. This housing coalition is focused on the struggle of rising housing costs, tenant displacement, substandard quality stock, longer commutes, poverty-wage jobs, and flat family incomes. The group argues that the “housing affordability” is a mantra that some use to take advantage of the situation to build dense, unaffordable homes without regard for community impacts. Throughout the state there are coalitions and measures based to address the housing crisis. The San Diego group has eight guiding principles that seek to address jobs, housing, natural resource protection, solve homelessness, commutes, displacement and tenant protections. Sacamento Streetcar Gets Boost on Eve of Vote by Businesses The Sacramento Regional Transit bus and rail agency board recently agreed to put $25 million towards the Sacramento streetcar effort in advance of a planned vote by local businesses on whether to tax themselves to support the line. The money would be part of a $100 million pot of local and state funds that would hopefully be matched by a $100 million federal grant to cover the $200 million project. The money SacRT pledged comes from the agency’s hare of the high speed rail bond fund. While this financial assistance was critical in keeping the project alive, it does not assure the project will happen. In the next weeks, 300 major downtown businesses will vote on whether to tax themselves at least $50 million over the next 25 years to pay for some of the streetcar’s operating costs. Los Angeles Revives Hollywood Community Plan City of Los Angeles Planning Department released a draft of the updated Hollywood Community Plan and accompanying environmental impact report, nearly four years after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge threw out a prior version of the plan. The revised plan calls for high-density development near the major transit corridors and Red Line subway stations. A major change from the previous draft is an increased focus on historic preservation and protections of single-family neighborhoods. The previous plan was overturned primarily because of faulty growth forecasts. In this plan Hollywood’s residential population is expected to grow from 206,000 to 226,000 by 2040 and employment from 101,000 to 119,000. The previous plan had been adopted by the city but ran into CEQA lawsuits filed by local activists.  QUICK HITS & UPDATES AHSC program staff across the Strategic Growth Council, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Air Resources Board released the 2016-2017 Final Draft AHSC Program Guidelines, which incorporate feedback obtained through public comments and workshops held in April 2017 on the initial draft guidelines. AHSC 16-17 Guidelines Final Draft  will be considered for adoption at the July 17 2017 Strategic Growth Council meeting. The release of a 2016-2017 AHSC NOFA and application are expected to occur October 2 2017.  A new report from AT Kearney lists San Francisco and Los Angeles numbers 1 and 25, respectively, on its recent list of 25 cities to “keep an eye on in the coming years.” Los Angeles continues to be a center for business and technology, and is home to several tech giants; however, it fell four spots from the 2016-2017 rankings. San Francisco has consistently been at the top of the list because of its strength in innovation.  Scientists have found that the effects of rising sea levels on coastal flooding may be even worse than previously thought. Researchers say a 10- to 20-centimeter sea-level rise, which is expected by 2050, will double the frequency of serious flooding events in many parts of the globe, including the California coastline. Estimates of ocean’s effect on coastal erosion, environment and human communities have taken into account storm surge and tidal fluctuations, but frequently left out waves. In California, much of the flooding is dominated by wave-driven events, which is why El Niño with its extremely large waves has such extreme effects on coastal erosion. The City of Los Angeles unveiled draft rules for proposed regulations on how and where marijuana businesses can operate within city limits. They would be limited to commercial and industrial zone, barred from opening within 800 feet of one another, as well as within 800 feet of schools, public libraries, parks, and drug and alcohol treatment facilities. All in all, the city’s proposed rules “allow for a fairly free and open market… to have a real economic engine here in Southern California,” said Matt Stang chief revenue officer for the cannabis media and event company High Times. The Inglewood City Council will vote on an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Los Angeles Clipper to build an arena for the team. The agreement will run for 36 months with the option of a six-month extension for the team to complete environmental reviews. The city will receive a nonrefundable deposit of $1.5 million. The Rams and Chargers $2.6 billion stadium is currently being constructed across from the proposed’ arena. The Seal Beach Planning Commission voted to send a recommendation to the City Council to adopt a “reduced intensity” version of Southeast Area Specific Plan (SEASP). Of the almost 1,500 acres, about 86 percent would see significant changes to current land use and allowable building heights. Environmental advocates and nearby residents are unhappy with SEASP saying it does not represent community wishes. The original 1977 planning document capped development and population density to maintain a coastal village feel and protect the wetlands. Los Angeles County released a draft transit oriented specific plan, Connect Southwest L.A., that would include 1,000 residential units and 1.7 million square feet of commercial around Metro’s Vermont/Athens Station near downtown Los Angeles. The plan also includes infrastructure upgrades. The City of Long Beach has released its Midtown Specific Plan for 369-acres along Long Beach Boulevard corridor. The plan includes walkability measure, improved mobility options for bicycles and transit riders, and new development and housing opportunities along the corridor. The California Association of Environmental Planners (AEP) awarded the plan’s vision and contributions with an Outstanding Planning Document award. This is awarded to a document that best accommodates projected population growth to protect California’s environmental resources, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and provide urban recreation and natural open space.  The City of Huntington Beach Planning Commission will review a draft of the general plan update, which will guide the city through 2040. The city’s general plan hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1996. The update will be reviewed multiple times by the commission and council over the next several months. Planning consulting firm Michael Baker International is assisting the city with the update. The Del Mar Alliance for the Preservation of Beach Access and Village is suing the city for its ban on short-term rental housing saying it violates CEQA and the Coastal Act. The group alleges the ban is a “project” because it has significant adverse impacts, however the city did not perform any environmental reviews of its potential impacts. Additionally, the LCP does not include the ban. The Coastal Commission sent Del Mar and other coastal cities a letter saying, “the regulation of short-term/vacation rentals represents a change in the intensity of use and of access to the shoreline, and thus constitutes development to which the Coastal Act and LCPs must apply.” Santa Barbara County Supervisors voted , 3-2, to ban short-term rentals in residentially zoned areas and small agricultural parcels, but allowed them on larger agricultural properties and areas zoned for commercial and mixed use. This ban means 92 percent of the county’s permitted STRs are illegal starting in September of next year. San Diego City Council rejected , 5-4, a proposed special election in November for a hotel tax increase to expand the convention center and boost money for homeless programs and street repair. The five councilmembers opposed to special elections are all Democrats, and Mayor Faulconer, a Republican, has lobbied aggressively for a special election for the convention center and SoccerCity. According to a report released by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, ride-hailing cars drive over half a million miles every day on San Francisco streets. Lyft and Uber cars make more than 170,000 trips within the city every weekday, which is 6.5 percent of total weekday vehicle miles in the city. Weekday peak times, 6:30-7pm, see 5,700 Uber and Lyft cars. The report analyzed the impact these companies have on the city’s streets. The Third District Court of Appeal ruled against the City of Galt and upheld the lower court’s decision to block a cooperative agreement between the city and a redevelopment agency. In 2011, before the dissolution of redevelopment agencies, the City of Galt struck a $22 million deal with a redevelopment agency for multiple projects. Although the agreement went into effect before the Dissolution Law, the California Department of Finance held that the deal was unenforceable because it fell within the timeframe. The city then filed a lawsuit, but the trial court sided with DOF. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a spending to divide the nearly $259 million projected in the first year of Measure H, a quarter-cent sales tax increase. The supervisors accepted virtually all the recommendations of a 50-member planning committee.  San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim asked Uber to tax itself voluntarily to help fund the city’s public transit system and improve its infrastructure. Kim singled out Uber as the source of congestion and the dangers for emergency vehicles. Kim’s idea loosely resembles a bill passed in Massachusetts that would charge ride-hailing companies 20 cents per ride. SoccerCity officials have announced that they are moving forward with their plan to redevelop Qualcomm Stadium. The San Diego City Council refused to support a special election but has agreed to hear the SoccerCity backers present their plan. The special election in the fall is crucial because the MLS is announcing expansion sites by the end of the year. If a city does not have a firm commitment to build a soccer stadium, it will not be considered for a team. The Peninsula Open Space Trust is planning to buy 1,000 acres of Coyote Valley for $80 million over the next decade. Most of the land in that area is currently zoned for tech campuses. The environmental group is hoping to create a space for wildlife to hunt and breed between the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains. The group expects half the funds to come from individual donors, quarter from public sources such as Measure Q, and a quarter from private foundations.

Following President Trump's vow to pull out of the Paris climate accord, dozens of states and hundreds of cities across the country have vowed to fulfill the U.S. commitment without Washington. Fifty California cities — out of 292 nationwide -- have joined the effort known as # ClimateMayors , which is led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. They include Alameda, Arcata, Berkeley, Chula Vista, Culver City, Cupertino, Davis, El Cerrito, Encinitas, Fremont, Hayward, Healdsburg, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Malibu, Menlo Park, Milbrae, Morro Bay, Mountain View, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Rancho Cordova, Redwood City, Richmond, Sacramento, St. Helena, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Luis Obispo, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Torrance, Watsonville, West Hollywood, West Sacramento, Windsor, and Woodland. The states and cities would need to meet 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. According to some estimates, federal withdrawal from the Paris Accords may have limited impact because 70 to 80 percent of the work on reducing emissions happens at the state and local level, regardless of federal policy. Bloomberg, has pledged to personally cover the $15 million the U.S. is reneging on for operations fund of the U.N. agency overseeing the Paris accord. These cities have agreed to intensify efforts to meet the current climate goals for the city, but also push to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, and work together to create a clean energy economy. In California, the most significant climate change policies related to land use relate to Senate Bill 375, which encourages compact, transit oriented development. Feds Join Lawsuit Alleging Los Angeles over Disabled Housing The U.S. is joining a whistle-blower lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles that alleges the city illegally brought in $933 million in federal funding over six years by falsely claiming it provided sufficient housing for people with disabilities. The law requires 5 percent of units in certain federally funded apartment projects to be accessible to people with mobility impairments and an additional 2 percent for those with vision and hearing impairments. The lawsuit was originally filed six years ago by nonprofit Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley and wheelchair user Mei Ling from North Hollywood. The case has been settled and the city promised to spend at least $200 million over a decade to address complaints that publicly funded housing did not include enough apartments accessible for those in wheelchairs or other disabilities. LA also agreed to pay $4.5 million to the nonprofits that sued the city, plus other fees. The federal government is coming into the case a year after the settlement was reached. LA City Attorney Mike Feuer promised to fight the lawsuit, calling it an “abuse of power that would deprive the city of crucial funds needed to address our housing crisis”. California Cities Receive EPA Grants for Brownfields The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $56.8 million in grants nationwide to 172 recipients to assess and clean up brownfield sites, help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economics. Of all the funds being distributed by the EPA, $17.5 million will benefit small and rural communities with populations of less than 10,000. Northern California received $1.9 million in grants to five cities. City of Arcata received $300,000 grant for a former lumber mill and industrial sites throughout the city. Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District received $200,000 to remove contaminated debris piles associated with a former pup mill site in Samoa, CA. City of Grass Valley was awarded $598,312 for mine-scarred lands and former mill sites surrounding multiple cities in the Sierra Foothills. Plumas County Community Development Commission will receive a $200,000 grant to complete an assessment and develop a cleanup plan for a 28-acre former lumber mill site. The last city in Northern California to receive a grant will be the City of Yreka with $600,000 to support assessments and redevelopment planning for Yreka, Weed and Siskiyou County. In Central California, the City of Bakersfield will receive $300,000 to assess contaminated properties for cleanup and redevelopment in the city’s Economic Opportunity Areas. These areas include downtown Bakersfield, Bakersfield Airport, Highway 58/Mount Vernon, and four other corridors or sections of the city. Report Investigates Inequality Across California Fair Shake Commission on Income Inequality in California, a think tank founded by billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer, released a report outlining the root causes behind the state’s widening wage gap and solutions for closing it. The goal is that all Californians have a “ fair shake ” at opportunity because it is not only just, but essential to growth, prosperity, social stability and democracy. The report includes input from Democratic political operatives, academics, and labor leaders. The report maintains the state has the highest GDP in the nation and more “millionaires, billionaires and families living in poverty than any state in the nation.” The report also covers wage stagnation, loss of manufacturing and middle-class jobs, and low-wage work with high housing, education, transportation and childcare costs. According to the report, a growing number of people are part of the “gig economy” meaning contractual, part-time work without access to disability and unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. Solutions included in the report are “establishing greater protections and workplace benefits for contract workers, strengthening enforcement measures against wage theft, and supporting greater access to education and vocational training, as well as increasing affordable housing and more opportunities to immigrants. However, as one Republican political consultant remarked: “the report didn't offer anything groundbreaking or particularly helpful. He’s someone trying to position himself for higher office.” Judge Rules in Favor of Spending GHG Funds on High Speed Rail A Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ruled that California regulators did not abuse their discretion when they decided to pay for the state’s HSR project with money from a GHG emissions program. The Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund, which opposes the bullet train, argued that the $64 billion project would create more pollution than it would eliminate for at least a decade. The group alleges the CARB underplayed the train’s harmful environmental effects and exaggerated its environmental benefits. The TRANSDEP group hasn't decided whether to appeal the decision. QUICK HITS & UPDATES Santa Rosa voters rejected , with 52.5 percent of voters opposed, the rent control law passed by the City Council last summer. These results show the residents want the city to take more steps to solving affordable housing and homelessness instead of placing restrictions on existing rental housing. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Los Angeles Metro’s Board of Directions passed a motion, unanimously, to eliminate a long-discussed tunnel through South Pasadena and Pasadena as a solution for closing the 6.2 mile gap between the end of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra and the 2 Freeway North in Pasadena. The motion recommends re-allocating the nearly $150 million for new mobility improvement projects in the area surrounding the tunnel project. California’s regional water districts are working with Gov. Jerry Brown to take on more responsibility for designing, building, and arranging financing for the $15.7 billion WaterFix tunnels . The joint-powers authority, JPA, would speed up the project and critics who oppose the tunnels say it could allow cutting of corners on issues of public safety and the environment.  The Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods has filed an initiative to put short-term rentals on the ballot. The group wants voters to decide whether STR's should be allowed in single-family residential neighborhoods in the city. The city just passed a new vacation rentals ordinance which limits how many times a year a home can be rented but the psn4n group is looking for an outright ban. According to a new appraisal , Qualcomm Stadium land is worth $110 million. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer must now decide if investors pay “fair market value” for the land, and if he goes ahead with this figure will the SoccerCity team still want the deal? San Diego City Council voted not to spend $5 million for a November election for the SoccerCity redevelopment and raising hotel taxes to expand the Convention Center and fund homelessness and infrastructure. However, this appraisal may change the Council’s Democratic majority’s minds. Caltrans last week agreed to accelerate its allocations of funds for approved Active Transportation Program (ATP) projects. This is possible because SB 1 included an annual increase of $100 million for the ATP, which is 80 percent more than the current funding levels. The ATP has been oversubscribed and underfunded, with only about a third of the projects applying being approved for funding. A week after Los Angeles officials announced a 57 percent rise in homeless veterans, the group Vets Advocacy announced that the Veterans Affairs is stalling on development of its sprawling West Los Angeles campus. The advocacy group is saying the VA has dragged out termination of commercial leases on the property and blocked the group’s oversight of negotiations with renters. Real Estate Research Council released a report saying homebuilding was down in the first three months across Southern California, but nowhere more than San Diego County. In the seven-county region, residential building permits were down 10 percent compared to same time last year but San Diego County was down 37 percent. The biggest drop in San Diego County, 50 percent, was in multi-family construction. Developers of San Luis Ranch in San Luis Obispo are proposing to build 580 homes to reduce commutes and provide affordable housing. The twist is: first dibs go to those already living or working in the city. The homes would range from 250 square feet efficiency apartments to a 2,200 square feet home with prices ranging from $350,000 to $600,000. The plan includes 40 acres for housing, 60 acres for organic farming and open space, 200,000 square feet commercial, 150,000 square feet of office and a 200-room hotel. This proposal heads to the City Council July 5. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a subpoena demanding access to four years worth of data from Uber and Lyft. In the statement released the data was explained to “include miles and hours logged by drivers, incentives that encourage drivers to ‘commute’ from as far away as Fresno or Los Angeles, driver guidance and training, accessible vehicle information, and the services provided to residents of every San Francisco neighborhood.” This information is already available to the California Public Utitlities Commission, their state regulator, but now the two companies have 15 days to comply with San Francisco or face penalties.

The San Francisco Bay Area Renters Federation (SFBARF) is suing  the City of Berkeley City Council over allegations that the council has repeatedly violated California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA). The HAA, from 1982, compels municipalities to “not reject or make infeasible” housing developments that help meet housing needs. SF-BARF, along with California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund (CaRLA), allege the city has violated HAA by rejecting a recently submitted application for a new three-unit development. The project was in compliance with “all applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards” and problems arose when neighbors were unhappy with the project and appealed. The City Council argues because the project required demolition permits to remove the existing residence, HAA did not apply. This is the second city that SF-BARF has sued to comply with HAA; the pervious case against the City of Lafayette, was settled in the city’s favor last month. Design Competition Seeks Responses to Sea Level Rise A newly announced design competition in the Bay Area, “Resilient by Design,” will select  10 interdisciplinary teams to tackle 10 sites around the bay, with at least one in each county, to mitigate the effects of sea-level rise. The Rockefeller Foundation pledged $4.6 million to fund the competition (the foundation also funds 100 Resilient Cities; see prior CP&DR coverage). Other sponsors include Metropolitan transportation Commission, City of San Francisco, and Santa Clara Valley Water District. The kickoff last week will couple a request for qualifications from design teams as well as an “open call” for Bay Area residents to suggest particular spots that might be worthy of in-depth attention. The 10 design teams will be selected this summer, and the fall will be spent gathering information and visiting the different sites, which will be finalized in December. Design solutions will be presented next May and each design team will receive $250,000 for its work. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Trump Budget Proposal Would Eliminate Much City-Related Funding According to analysis by the League of California Cities, President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposes  significant cuts to programs that generally serve cities, either directly or indirectly. The budget would eliminate Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, Choice Neighborhoods, and Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Programs. Other changes include eliminating funding for Transportation Security Administration Law Enforcement Grants, Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program, and five components of existing FEMA Programs, while requiring a 25 percent local match on others. This is only a short list of the proposed eliminated and reduced programs. However, this is only an initial proposal and Congress must ratify the budget. Many Congressional members have expressed concerns for the major cuts proposed by the administration. The administration justifies the cuts on the “state and local governments are better positioned to address local community and economic development needs”. San Francisco Adopts Density Bonus Ordinance The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved , 10-1, a housing density law that has been in discussion for two years. The ordinance allows developers to build taller residential structures in exchange for 30 percent of units made affordable. The only dissenting vote, Supervisor Norman Yee, asked for a special exemption for the Ocean Avenue corridor in his district. The ordinance, known as Home-SF, will bring more housing units into an increasingly expensive market and is critical in keeping working and middle-class residents in the city. The supervisors also unanimously approved a settlement with short-term rental services such as Airbnb and HomeAway that ensures all local hosts are registered with the city. L.A. Airport Settles Lawsuit with Neighboring Communities The Los Angeles City Council agreed  to settle lawsuits brought by Culver City and Inglewood that alleged potential environmental impacts from modernization projects at Los Angeles International Airport. The two cities will participate in planning future development at LAX and implement transportation projects that will be paid for by Los Angeles World Airports, according to the agreement. The airport department will give Culver City $2.71 million and Inglewood $14.9 million to implement “intelligent” transportation systems, which should involve sophisticated information and communication technologies to move people safely and efficiently. Inglewood will receive an additional $10.6 million to develop a transportation demand management system to reduce travel demand or redistribute it over time or across the transportation system. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) SCAG Announces Winners of Annual Sustainability Awards The Southern California Association of Governments handed out its Sustainability Awards at its recent Regional Conference, which "recognize projects that best coordinate land use and transportation to improve the mobility, livability, prosperity and health of Southern California." Transportation Corridor Agencies, Foothill South Settlement Agreement received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Sustainability; UCLA BruinBikeSmart received an award for Active Transportation; the City of San Bernardino’s Waterman and Baseline Neighborhood Specific Plan received the “Against All Odds” award; the Collaborative Partnership went to the Imperial County Transportation Commission’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Access Study for the California/ Baja California Land Ports of Entry. The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation won an award for Green Region; the City of Lynwood for Healthy and Safe Communities, and City of Long Beach for its Midtown Specific Plan. Quick Hits & Updates The City of Long Beach has released its Midtown Specific Plan for 369-acres along Long Beach Boulevard corridor. The plan includes walkability measure, improved mobility options for bicycles and transit riders, and new development and housing opportunities along the corridor. The California Association of Environmental Planners (AEP) awarded the plan’s vision and contributions with an Outstanding Planning Document award.  San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Fewer has requested a study on the possibility of a BART extension to the Richmond District. An MTC study revealed approximately 16,200 Richmond District residents commute downtown on a public transit lines designed to serve a maximum of 16,800. The State Historical Resources Commission earlier this month voted unanimously to recommend placing the Albion River Bridge on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the last timber trestle bridge on Pacific Coast Highway. Caltrans wants to replace the 150-foot tall bridge with a wider, more earthquake-safe bridge. However, some Mendocino Coast residents want the agency to repair and keep the quirky bridge. The Sacramento City Council approved a scaled-back renovation of the Sacramento Convention center, choosing to save money for a second, undetermined project intended to draw tourists and conventioners to the city. Mayor Darrell Steinberg told the Sacramento Bee, “It would be a missed opportunity to put all of our money in a single asset to increase tourism and hotel demand.” The original proposal was $170 million and would add more than 100,000 square feet to the convention center. The new plan that figure by $50 million. Los Angeles County Metro will open three new bike-share pilot projects this summer: 31 kiosks in Pasadena as of July 14, the Port of Los Angeles July 31, and Venice later in the summer. The pasadena program will include 370 bicycles for a two-year pilot program. Los Angeles County’s homeless population has increased 23 percent over last year to nearly 58,000 although 14,000 people are permanently off the streets through rent subsidies, new construction, outreach and support services. In City of Los Angeles, homelessness jumped over 34,000, which is up 20 percent from 2016. Santa Clara County Housing Authority has agreed to buy Buena Vista Mobile Home Park in Palo Alto for $40.4 million. The Housing Authority’s board must give final approval to the deal, but the agreement to save the city’s last real affordable housing has been worked out over the last four months.

The Federal Transit Administration abruptly reversed course last week to approve a $647 million grant to electrify Caltrain tracks. Several months ago, newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao abruptly said it would not disburse the funds to the Bay Area commuter railroad, even though they had already been promised under the Obama administration. The electrification project, which will cost a total of $2 billion, will mean faster and more reliable trains on a 51-mile stretch, offering more than 110,000 rides per idea instead of the current 60,000. Electrification is also a crucial step towards readying the Peninsula corridor for high speed rail. The first electric trains will be in service by 2021, and construction will begin in 60 to 90 days. The electrification will replace the current fleet of diesel trains. "We are very thankful to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and the Trump Administration for recognizing the value that Caltrain Electrification will create for the Bay Area and the nation by easing congestion in one of the country’s most economically productive regions and creating almost 10,000 American jobs in the process,” said Jim Hartnett, General Manager and CEO of Caltrain, in a statement . Los Angeles Metro Considers Overhaul of Bus System In response to falling bus ridership, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority has embarked on a study to “re-imagine” the agency’s bus network, which is the largest in California. The study, expected to take over a year, will analyze the system’s 170 lines and 15,000 bus stops. The current system has been in place for over 25 years without major changes. In that time, Metro has opened multiple rail lines, which have influenced rider behavior. Annual bus ridership on the system has fell 16 percent from 2013 to 2016, or 59 million trips. After months of preliminary research, Metro officials acknowledged the bus system is not working as well for riders as it once did. A recent survey of 2,000 former riders say the buses don't go where they want them to go or don’t come often enough or stop running too early. Of those surveyed, 79 percent now primarily drive alone. Metro's Conan Cheung told the Los angeles Times, “we’re misaligned with current travel demands.” Los Angeles County Short Half-Million Affordable Units A new report  (pdf) from California Housing Partnership Corporation contends that Los Angeles County has a need for 551,807 new units of affordable housing to satisfy demand from very low and extremely low-income earners. Lowest earnings are those making less than half the county’s median income of $64,300. The nonprofit argues the cuts in federal and state funding, including elimination of Community Redevelopment Agencies, have contributed to the shortfall. According to the report, median rent in LA has gone up by 32 percent since 2000 but household income has actually dropped about 3 percent. Recommendations from the nonprofit include providing more subsidies and incentives to encourage developers to build affordable units and adoption of proposed ordinance being considered that would charge developers a “linkage fees” that could be used to construct more affordable units. San Diego Debates Convention Center Vote San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is pushing for a November special election to vote on a hotel tax hike to finance the expansion of San Diego’s convention center. However, both City Council members and advocates questioned the logic of the ballot measure, which would allocate funding for addressing homelessness and repair crumbling streets, at a recent City Council hearing. Those questioning the special election are wondering whether it is wise to spend million of dollars on a special election and if enough funds are dedicated to the city’s growing homeless problem. Opponents to the measure say it favors the hotel industry at the expense of the homeless. The proposal would boost the hotel room tax by 1 to 3 percent, with nearly two-thirds of the $5 billion raised over 40 years going towards expanding the convention center. The remaining balance of tax revenues would be split between reducing homelessness and tackling street repairs. The council is expected to vote soon on whether to place the measure on the November ballot. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Infill Builders Recommend Parking Reforms in L.A.  A report published by the Council of Infill Builders found that parking policies, such as excessive parking requirements in new construction, lack of adequate pricing and enforcement of existing spaces, and poor management of parking assets inflates housing costs and limits mobility in Los Angeles. The report, “Wasted Spaces: Options to Reform Parking Policy in Los Angeles” recommends eliminating, reducing or right-sizing minimum parking requirements, charge optimal pricing for parking, and improving parking management rather than mandating new parking requirements such as shared parking and transportation demand options. (Disclosure: CP&DR Contributing Editor Josh Stephens participated in a scoping meeting for the report.) Trust for Public Land Ranks Park Access in 100 Largest Cities  The Trust for Public Land released its 2017 ParkScore rankings which analyze how the 100 largest U.S. cities are meeting the needs for parks. San Francisco was third place with a score of 80, Irvine was tied 7th with New York City with a score of 75, San Diego was 14th with a score of 69, and Sacramento was 21st with a score of 63.5. Fremont was 24th with a score of 62.5 tied with Long Beach, Oakland, San Jose, Virginia Beach, Lincoln, and Las Vegas. Anaheim was 63rd with a score of 45 tied with Glendale and Riverside. Fresno was at the bottom of the list as number 90 with a score of 33.5, Stockton was 75th with a score of 41 tied with Santa Ana, Los Angeles was 74th with a score of 41.5, and Bakersfield 71 with 43.5. Quick Hits & Updates The Strategic Growth Council has announced its schedule of technical workshops for the 2017-18 Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program: June 5, Gilroy; June 15, webinar; June 22, Ventura. The Los Angeles City Council approved $27.2 million for Vision Zero programs in 2017-2018. The programs include street and safety improvements, speed zone surveys and enforcements, street improvements, street lighting support and supplies, and vision zero corridor projects to name a few. The allocation is a nearly tenfold increase from 2016-2017, which was $3.4 million. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Gov. Jerry Brown said he will not accept a cap-and-trade program extension with anything les than a two-thirds vote. The program has been the subject of lawsuits related to Prop. 13, so he wants the higher threshold to protect the program from legal challenges. The comment from a Brown advisor came after some lawmakers were considering pushing forward with only a majority vote. City of Los Angeles’ Board of Public Works voted to fund a $1.5 million feasibility analysis for Agence Ter’s winning Pershing Square Renew design to revitalize the oldest open space in the heard of downtown. The contract will allow the Paris-based Agence Ter and their LA contractor, Gruen Associates, to conduct an analysis for the implementation of the team’s concept for the square. Agence Ter received the highest scores from the 1,355 member public who voted on the final four, and was the unanimous first choice of the Pershing Square Renew jury. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) The opening for the new Inglewood stadium for the Rams and Chargers has been pushed back a year because of record rainfall disrupting construction. Instead of opening for the 2019 NFL season, it will open by 2020. San Jose City Council adopted a memorandum in April stating their intention to consider an ordinance to ban income source discrimination, such as Section 8 vouchers, and requiring the city’s housing department to analyze the problem. Those with vouchers in San Jose are having difficulty finding a place to live because many homes are too expensive or landlords choose not to rent to voucher holders. Marin County planners have told supervisors it may take longer than anticipated to reach an agreement with the Coastal Commission on an update to the 35-year-old general plan. Commission staff has been working on the local coastal program for eight years. Updates to the program include rules mandating coastal properties prepare for sea-level rise and more lenient policies for farmers and ranchers looking to build intergenerational housing on their land. The current section being worked on is Hazards, with the deadline for the commission to act as Sept. 29. The Inland Valley Development Agency is looking into developing 500-acres north of San Bernardino International Airport and has hired a consultant to look into options for the site. The over-arching objectives for the plan are economic development, job creation and public amenities. Los Angeles City Council has agreed to settle lawsuits brought by Culver City and Inglewood alleging that potential environmental impacts of modernization projects at LAX were not properly evaluated. Under the terms of agreement the two cities will participate in planning future development at the country’s second-busiest airport. The airport is currently undergoing a $14-billion modernization of ground transportation improvements including a people mover in the central terminal area, transportation center, consolidated car rental facility and upgraded roads. San Jose is facing a delay on a $35 million project designed to provide 100-year flood protection to 2.2 miles of Upper Berryessa Creek, reducing risk to 680 properties and Santa Clara’s first BART station. Although paperwork and permits were in order, last month state water regulators rescinded their earlier approval and said that 15 acres of wetlands or 15,000 feet of creek somewhere else in South Bay had to be restored to offset the harm to the environment from the project. The Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Army Corps are appealing the order and threatening to sue because the project could go over budget and lead to its cancellation. The planned Purple Line subway extension to Westwood may  begin  construction in 2018, nine years ahead of its original schedule. The estimated $860 million in annual revenue from the Measure M, passed in November, will help cover the cost of finishing the extension. However, the project also depends on promised matching federal funds, which still need to be allocated and approved. The Fourth District Court of Appeals has sided with Huntington Beach in a preliminary ruling that reverses a 2015 Superior Court decision that ordered the city to change the zoning on land along Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue to allow low-income and high-density housing. The nonprofit Kennedy Commission, a housing advocacy group, originally sued the city in 2015 claiming it has shut down opportunities to build low-income housing when it cut the number of units from 4,500 to 2,100. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott has raised concerns about the SoccerCity's initiative to build an MLS stadium on the site of Qualcomm Stadium, saying it doesn't guarantee a professional soccer stadium or a river park, and could burden taxpayers with hefty costs for environmental cleanup of the site. The 27-page analysis also raised questions about the contradictions and lack of clarity in parts of the 3,000-page initiative saying it could lead to costly litigation. Backers FS Investors say many of the issues raised by Elliott could be resolved in a lease the group would be required to negotiate with Mayor Faulconer if the initiative is approved. Laguna Beach is partnering with Uber for a pilot program that would provide supplement transportation needs for those 55 and older and the disabled who have relied on the city’s bus service that is being cut or reduced. Passengers will get free rides for the first two months of the six-month pilot program up to 15 miles outside city limits. The program is believed to be the first of its kind in the state.

The year 2017 was supposed to be the year of housing in Sacramento. Housing cost and supply have been widely documented has major issues. There’s little debate from either side of the aisle that it has to be tackled. More than a hundred bills were introduced promoting a wide range of ideas old and new.

Developers always say they want certainty, but one property owner in San Diego sure isn’t getting it. In the latest twist on a see-saw battle, the Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned a trial judge and concluded that the City of San Diego acted properly in denying the property owner a parcel map in order to subdivide a piece of property in Point Loma.

CP&DR Vol. 32 No. 5 May 2017

Many of California’s great Native American casinos rise out of the landscape like mesas in the desert. Think of Morongo along Interstate 10 outside of Palm Springs or Cache Creek towering over the olive groves of the Capay Valley. While the California gambling industry, at an estimated $17 billion per year, eclipses that of Las Vegas, the fantasy of easy winnings and the reality of urban life seldom intersect.

Last fall, the California Supreme Court reversed the First District Court of Appeal in an environmental case from the College of San Mateo, saying that courts shouldn’t second-guess lead agencies on what is a “new” versus a “modified” project under the California Environental Quality Act.

The new draft Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program Guidelines is being revised by the Strategic Growth Council with a few significant changes. They include organization and streamlining of guidelines, moving select scoring criteria to thresholds, revised application process and scoring criteria, including Indian tribes as eligible applicants, costs associated with parking are ineligible for AHSC funds, housing element compliance, environmental clearance requirements for transportation components, and joint and several liability. The drafts incorporate feedback obtained through public comments and workshops held in late 2016. SCG is considering two options for geographic allocation of grants. The drafts address concerns and recommendations from statewide AHSC stakeholders, as well as from an internal review of process and outcomes from the past two AHSC funding cycles. The Council is still discussion the question of regional funding distribution goals. Natural Resources Agency Seeks Public Comment on Climate Adaptation Plan The California Natural Resources Agency released a  draft of the  Safeguarding California Plan: 2017 Update  and seeks public comment on the state’s strategy for adapting to a changing climate. The update builds on the first California Climate Adaptation Strategy in 2009. This 2017 update provides recommendations and next steps to advance adaptation in 10 sectors that include water, agriculture, public health and biodiversity. As California continues to experience rising average temperatures, shrinking mountain snowpack, warmer storms, and higher sea levels, the State must consider climate change in its planning, investment, and public outreach. The Natural Resources Agency leads California’s climate change adaptation effort under several statutes and executive orders intended to foster change throughout state and local government. The draft represents a comprehensive effort by experts across 27 state agencies to describe ongoing efforts and needed actions to ensure public safety and environmental protection as average temperatures warm, precipitation patterns change and sea levels rise. The document provides a succinct “to do” list for state departments that will help the public measure progress. Some examples: Develop a map of climate change refugia (places where local conditions persist over time) for certain wildlife species, address environmental justice issues around supporting community solar projects for low-income customers, and advance programs for “living shorelines” that may include wetland plants, aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs or sand fill. The Natural Resources Agency seeks public comment on the draft plan through May and will hold four public meetings this month to gather input from interested citizens, scientists, government officials, and other stakeholders. TheSafeguarding California Plan: 2017 Update document will be revised based on public comments, with a final version scheduled for release in July.  San Francisco Faces Two Affordable Housing Proposals The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is  considering two competing affordable housing philosophies: one would focus on keeping middle-class families in the city while the other would build more affordable housing. The group Council of Community Housing Organizations is requesting the supervisors change the way affordable housing is priced so that it would be based on the market rate of the surrounding neighborhood rather than a citywide median income. The two sides will meet before the board’s Land Use Committee with the resulting legislation going to the board. Supervisor Katy Tang is promoting an ordinance that would allow developers to build two extra floors in exchange for more affordable housing. The Board of Supervisors last week reached a compromise on how much affordable housing to require in new market-rate developments: 18 percent of rental units be affordable for all projects approved between now and January, this will increase to 19 percent next year, and 20 percent in 2019. If the developer instead choses to build the affordable units at another location, the ratios increase from 30 to 32 percent. S.D. State University Pulls Out of Soccer Stadium at Qualcomm Site San Diego State University ended discussions with FS Investors for a proposed joint 30,000-seat soccer near Qualcomm Stadium, which is being abandoned by the Chargers. The University said the proposal did not meet the athletic and academic needs of the campus. The proposal is part of a ballot initiative that will head to the City Council next month for a possible special election Nov. 7. Originally the university would have contributed $100 million and received the facility as a donation after five years. Without SDSU, FS Investors will revert back to a smaller 22,000 seat soccer-only stadium without the ability to double in size if SDSU later changes its mind. L.A. Metro to Consider Two Alternatives for 710 Freeway Gap Los Angeles Metro released a study last week recommending the development of a tunnel to close the infamous gap in the 710 Freeway between Alhambra and Pasadena. A 4.9-mile tunnel is expected to cost at least $5.4 billion and would be the longest tunnel in California for car traffic. The study recommends two double-decker tunnels, one for each direction of traffic. Metro Board of Directors Ad-Hoc Congestion, Highway and Roads Committee passed, 3-2, a motion which recommends adopting the Traffic Systems Management/Traffic Demand Management alternative which would instead upgrade local streets rather than build a tunnel. Both proposals head to the May 25 Metro board meeting for consideration. The motion requires votes by 7 of the 13 members to pass. S.D. State University Pulls Out of Soccer Stadium at Qualcomm Site San Diego State University ended discussions with FS Investors for a proposed joint 30,000-seat soccer near Qualcomm Stadium, which is being abandoned by the Chargers. The University said the proposal did not meet the athletic and academic needs of the campus. The proposal is part of a ballot initiative that will head to the City Council next month for a possible special election Nov. 7. Originally the university would have contributed $100 million and received the facility as a donation after five years. Without SDSU, FS Investors will revert back to a smaller 22,000 seat soccer-only stadium without the ability to double in size if SDSU later changes its mind. Quick Hits & Updates San Francisco is the only city in the nation where every resident lives within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space according to an analysis by the Trust for Public Land. A 10-minute walk is approximately a half-mile for the average person. The group’s annual ParkScore analysis includes the number of individual parks, overall spending and facilities upkeep. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation restoring funding to the state’s most recently incorporated cities. Eastvale, Wildomar, Menifee, and Jurupa Valley were hit hardest when VLF funds were cut in 2011. SB 130 allows these cities to receive allocations of property tax as VLF adjustment amounts that all other cities receive. An earthquake fault has been discovered under Seaport Village in San Diego according to preliminary results from a geotechnical study. This could force a complete redesign of the redevelopment plan for the 37-year old retail center. The plan was to build a series of hotels, offices, an aquarium, maritime academy, shops and restaurants but an active fault would require major reworking of the development plan. The National Trust for Historic Preservation celebrated the 30th anniversary of its annual “Most Endangered Places” list with a retrospective of success stories. In California, Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco and Cathedral of St. Vibiana in Los Angeles have made the list for having been successful preserved. California regulators moved towards closing the last coastal sand mine in the United States, which has used a legal loophole to operate near Monterey Bay for decades. The 8-acre Lapis Sand Plant has for the last 27 years sucked up sand and seawater even after all other sand dredges were banned from the coast. The Coastal Commission has claimed Cemex is threatening both the surrounding dunes and hastening the southern Monterey Bay erosion. California State Lands Commission told the company they must immediately submit to state regulation. The San Jose City Council rejected , 10-1, a policy that would have weakened tenant protections for mobile home park closures. The city is home to nearly 11,000 mobile homes in 59 parks, the largest number of any city in the state. The closure policy had a loophole that would allow a property owner to close a park without paying high relocation benefits or face as much scrutiny but sit on the land to redevelop it later. According to a new report from the California Association of Realtors, only 29 percent of LA County households can afford to buy the county’s median-priced home of $485,800. The study also found that a minimum annual income of $99,830 was needed to make monthly payments of $2,500 on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 4.36 percent interest rate. In comparison, 52 percent of San Bernardino County households can afford the region’s $256,900 median-priced home but only 21 percent of Orange County households can afford the $750,000 median priced home. In a sign of the housing crisis in the Bay Area, Stanford University paid $130.5 million for upscale apartment and retail complex in Los Altos to house faculty and staff. The complex includes 167 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail space. According to the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office, the property’s value was calculated at $85.1 million a year ago.  The Office of Exposition Park Management  released an RFP seeking master planning services for the 160-acre expanse as new large-scale projects are being developed around the park, in South Los Angeles. This will generate the park’s first master plan since 1993.  UC-Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS) released  (pdf) a report “Displacement in San Mateo County, California: Consequences for Housing, Neighborhoods, Quality of Life, and Health.” The study found a spike in evictions in San Mateo County, disproportionately affecting people of color. The researchers did 100 in-depth phone surveys with primarily low-income tenants who received services from Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto.

The Strategic Growth Council Sustainable Communities Planning Grants & Incentives Best Practices Pilot Program awarded  (PDF) $250,000 in Proposition 84 monies to six projects statewide. Of the 13 applicants, five were from the Bay Area, four from the Los Angeles area, two from Central Valley, and one each from Sacramento and Central Coast. The City of Arvin that incorporated a Water Element into its general plan. The County of LA won $41,000 for its Green Zones Program: Environmental Justice Ground Truthing in East Los Angeles & Florence-Firestone which aims to utilize sustainable land use tools and implementation measures to reduce and mitigate toxic pollutants from emission sources. City of San Jose won for its Bike Plan Outreach Strategy and County of Merced for its Integration of GHG Inventory. The fifth winner was County of Contra Costa for a Renewable Resource Potential Study that would identify potential for distribution-scale renewable resources such as solar, wind, biomass, and biogas. The final winner was the County of San Luis Obispo for its Oceano Eco-District Project that works with Habitat for Humanity for SLO County to provide an underserved community a clear path for projects that achieve resilience and GHG reductions. Santa Clara VTA to Overhaul Bus Network Santa Clara County’s Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) unanimously approved , on a 12-0 vote, major changes to its bus and light rail routes because of a $21.4 million operating shortfall. The VTA will increase fares by 50 cents over the next two years and the DASH line through downtown San Jose will be replaced by the Rapid 500 bus. The new bus schedules will coincide with the inauguration of BART service coming to the County with Milpitas and Berryessa stops. The redesign focuses on high-volume routes. In the current configuration, VTA considers 70 percent of routes to be “volume” routes, with the remainder as “coverage” routes that make the system accessible but do not attract many riders. That ratio will shift to 83 / 17 in the new configuration. While Uber and Lyft are luring people away from public transportation, stable gas prices and rising car purchases in Santa Clara County have also lead to the decline in ridership. Report Details Low-Income Housing Shortage in Bay Area A report from nonprofit California Housing Partnership Corp. and Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California found that in the Bay Area it is becoming harder for lower-income residents to find affordable housing. Rents and incomes in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Sonoma counties shows that each county is at least 10,000 rental units short of what it would take for everyone to find affordable housing. Residents who earn less than 50 percent AMI spend more than half of their monthly paychecks on rent. The report found that state and federal funding for affordable housing in the four counties analyzed have dropped 65 percent since 2008. California’s spending on affordable housing has gone down $1.5 billion since 2012. Authors Clarify Controversial Study of Transit Oriented Development A study noted in last month's CP&DR news briefs  has roused concern among planners in the Bay Area for reportedly conflating new transit oriented development with transit oriented neighborhoods. The original version of the study seemed to indicate that new TOD tended to hasten rates of gentrification in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The study actually found the opposite. It turns out that there was significant displacement and gentrification in transit oriented neighborhoods, even where there was very little new development. According to an updated abstract, the study found “that transit proximity has a significant impact on the stability of the surrounding neighborhood, leading to increases in housing costs that change the composition of the area, including the loss of low-income households. We found that gentrification and displacement in rail station areas would only be likely to cause an increase in auto usage and regional vehicle miles traveled (VMT) when accompanied by a significant loss of population near transit.” Activists had used the original interpretation of the study to protest SB 375, which promotes new development near transit. The San Francisco Planning Department led the charge to encourage researchers to clarify their findings and terminology.  Group Pledges $100 Million for Homeless in S.F. Nonprofit group Tipping Point Community has pledged $100 million to cut the chronically homeless population in San Francisco in half over the next half-decade. The money will create permanent housing, improve aid for people with mental illness and other causes of homelessness, and help the city attract more state and federal funding. In the latest one-night homeless count, the city found 1,745 of the 6,686 people were chronically homeless (2015). The money was raised privately and will be given to city agencies, including the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The 12-year-old organization raises millions of dollars annually to fight poverty, but this was the first large challenge. Cox and Kotkin Release Brief on Millennials’ Prospects in California Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy released a research brief “Fading Promise: Millennial Prospects in the Golden State.” Co-authored by scholars Wendell Cox and Joel Kotkin, the brief discusses how California millennial are facing “unprecedented economic challenges and, according to many predictions, diminished prospects.” This is primarily because housing prices in California have risen to 230 percent of the national average, while salaries remain lower than key competitive states. This has lead to significant out-migration, primarily by younger families in their late 30s and early 40s. The report covers a variety of statistics including homeownership rates, numbers of millennials living with parents, population change, and how to bring more millennials into the housing market and thereby restoring middle-class prosperity in California. El Monte Envisions Transit Oriented Downtown The City of El Monte is moving forward with plans to revitalize downtown through its proposed “Downtown Main Street Transit-Oriented Development Specific Plan” funded by a grant from Metro. The plan includes a 115-acre area that would generate 2,200 residential units and 500,000 square feet of commercial by 2035. Eight guiding principles have steered the process including mixed-use, pedestrian and TOD village, central shopping district, enticing place for investment, variety of housing opportunities, expanded and improved public transportation system, blend of old and new, balanced system of multimodal streets, and entryways at key intersections. Landfill Discovers Mapping Mistake, Runs Afoul of Coastal Zone Tajiguas Landfill in Santa Barbara County has been trying to expand for 15 years, but last-second discovery of a miscalculation about the location of a key boundary line means the project is “dead in the water” according to Ed Easton of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy. Planners initially discovered the mistake two months ago as they were preparing paperwork to seek financing for the $110 million construction project. They discovered the state’s Coastal Zone Boundary line was 173 yards further inland than planners had believed. This means all permits are null and void. Environmental groups have been trying to get Tajiguas decommissioned since the late 90s. Quick Hits & Updates Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) has filed paperwork seeking a 2018 ballot measure to overturn SB1, the 10-year, $54.2 billion transportation funding bill that would raise the state’s gas tax by 12 cents a gallon, increase taxes on diesel fuel and impose new annual fees on vehicles. The Attorney General’s office needs to give the measure a title and summary, then organizers must collect 365,880 voter signatures to qualify. The California Supreme Court will hear two cases that challenge the North Coast Railroad Authority’s stance that federal laws preempt it from having to conduct an environmental review on its project to restore a railway stretching from Arcata to Napa County. Friends of the Eel River and Californians for Alternatives for Toxics filed the cases in Marin County Superior Court nearly six years ago and are saying the June 2011 environmental review of the 142 mile section of the whole 316 miles is incomplete. The Safeguarding California Plan: 2017 Update-California’s Climate Adaptation Strategy covers water, food, transport of goods, and daily lives around climate and weather. The report is looking for feedback and comments on the working draft. Workshops will be held at UC Merced May 16, Metro Center in San Francisco May 22, Coachella Public Works Department May 30, SCAG in downtown Los Angeles June 3, and two workshops in Auburn and San Diego in June that have not been finalized. The Santa Monica City Council has approved the Lincoln Neighborhood Corridor Plan that will add a bus lane to the street from I-10 to Ozone Avenue. The $2.9 million plan will improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. Developers of the controversial Lilac Hills Ranch submitted paperwork to San Diego County planning department in the hopes of keeping the project alive. The 1,700 home and retail shops in the hills of Valley Center went to voters in November and was rejected by 63 percent of the county. The County got a new stormwater management permit, which makes the project viable, and developers have included requested infrastructure improvements, such as a new fire station, in their new plan.  A San Francisco Superior Court Judge has ordered a landlord to pay the city nearly $2.4 million in penalties for violating state housing law. The judge found that Anne Kihagi and her associates had “purposefully destroyed their tenants’ quiet enjoyment and any sense of sanctuary through their long, continued and unrelenting campaign of harassment, reductions in services, and unlawful and fraudulent evictions.” Kihagi and family members have invested $24 million in San Francisco real estate with a collection of 50 units. An appeals court  found that building a parking lot in place of a 54-year-old garden on the campus of the College of San Mateo frequented by students, teachers and others would have a significant environmental impact and therefore either a full EIR or a description of steps the district would take to reduce environmental effects to “insignificance”. The court ordered the college to consider these environmental impacts.  San Bernardino International Airport has inaugurated commercial operations with an international commercial passenger flight with Volaris to and from Guadalajara. At SBD, the primary business is private business jet travel, with five maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses for general aviation. However airport officials say the number of aircraft annually taking off and landing have reached 48,000 in 2016, double the number in 2013. A developer is  suing the City of Palo Alto for assessing unlawful and excessive fines in Santa Clara County Superior Court. John Tze and Edgewood LLC, the owner-developers, received at least 72 citations totaling more than $700,000 for failing to land a grocery store at the Edgewood Plaza shopping center after the Fresh Market vacated. City officials say Edgewood broke a 2012 agreement that allowed it to build homes on the condition that a grocery store would be provided. The owner argues they are complying by reserving the building for a grocery store and no other use. The City of San Jose Deputy Director of Housing Tim Jones  resigned in early May, two weeks after being hired. Jones was previously accused of mismanagement and financial abuse when he ran the Richmond Housing Authority. A new analysis of the proposed Bay-Delta water tunnels, now known as WaterFix, indicates that the project might make life worse for fish even though the two primary goals of the project are restoring imperiled native fish and improving water deliveries to farms and cities. The USFWS and National Marine Fisheries Service released draft studies detailing how the tunnel might affect fish protected by the Endangered Species Act. Gov. Jerry Brown sent a letter to President Trump asking him to transfer oversight of environmental reviews to the state rail authority instead of the Federal Railroad Administration. This “delegation of federal authority” would give the state final approval and potentially speed up the process. Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a new law that eases the process in legalizing “bootlegged” apartments- existing units that were created without the city’s approval. In the new law, the units are only allowed if they guarantee affordable housing and meet all fire, life, and safety codes. Mayor Eric Garcetti will co-chair the LA Sustainability Leadership Council with UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to help advance the goals laid out in Sustainable City pLAn. The Leadership Council will provide vision, leadership, guidance, and support for the pLAn, the SLA GC, and other important sustainability initiatives.

I can think of at least a few buildings in the world that exquisite enough that they warrant a little elbow room. The Taj Mahal comes to mind. The Farnsworth House. Certain monasteries and castles. Most quotidian pieces of architecture, though, gain their value not from splendid isolation but rather from their relationships -- with surrounding buildings and streetscapes. Setbacks, which are perhaps the most ubiquitous way that planning imposes on architecture, are to these relationship what adultery is to romantic relationships. For those residents of, say, Paris, Vienna, and New York City who are unfamiliar with setbacks: they are spaces that “set” buildings “back” a certain distance from the property line and, usually, the sidewalk. A distant but useless cousin of the front yard, they appear in, I reckon, the majority properties developed nationwide since 1950 and nearly all properties developed in California. For all their popularity, setbacks have little basis in engineering or architecture. They are simply regulatory whims. Setback requirements come in all shapes and sizes. Some are minimal (a foot or two) while others are dramatic (ten feet, fifteen feet). Some make way for pleasant things like outdoor dining spaces; others turn into unwelcoming bollards. In each case, setbacks are mandated voids, either to be ignored or landscaped, unusually in decidedly half-assed ways. Ferns for everyone! (I refer mainly to setbacks that separate buildings from sidewalks, not to those that separate buildings from each other. I have slightly more sympathy for the latter type.) Received wisdom holds that setbacks make urban spaces feel less crowded. They supposedly ensure that buildings do not overshadow streets and sidewalks. They create the illusion of less density and protect buildings’ personal space. They create room for “green space,” “light,” and “park-like settings,” which sound great in real estate listings. They assume that buildings are impositions on their cityscapes, to be contained so as not to offend delicate sensibilities. A street in Paris (l.) and a street in Los Angeles (r.). This rationale is mostly nonsense, of course. Like so many other concoctions that come courtesy of regulators rather than designers, setbacks are a scourge on our cities. At best, setbacks persist because of habit. But, like elevator music and parsley, they are not actually as pleasant as we pretend they are. They confer psychological satisfaction even if they have nothing to do with aesthetics or economics. To the proponents of setbacks, a few patches of grass might as well be Luxembourg Gardens. But think about the classic street in any of the cities I cited above. If you enjoy Paris or New York, you already know why you shouldn’t like setbacks. Density in a city is good. And not just population density. The actual appearance of density (which may or may not have anything to do with population density, depending on the type of structure in question) is good, too. With scant exceptions, the most pleasant streets and neighborhoods – from the Île de Saint Louis to Greenwich Village to Old Town Tucson to the row house neighborhoods of Philadelphia – are those not where buildings recede from their streets but indeed where they are closest together, working in harmony with streets to create a public realm. A sense of enclosure is one of the hallmarks of great streets, whereby space is created and defined by the intersection of vertical and horizontal planes. Pedestrians also benefit from the shade created by snug buildings and vertical facades (and awnings, if they’re lucky). The no-man’s-lands created by setbacks detract from streets and buildings alike, only scarcely less aggressively than do walls and cyclone fences. From a developer’s perspective, setbacks waste space and, therefore, money. Who would want to give precious square footage to ferns, ficuses, and snails rather than to people? Even worse, setbacks create lousy buildings. When a pedestrian’s feet and eyes might travel mere inches from a façade, that façade ought to be at least somewhat attractive or inviting. Setbacks invite architects to pay that much less attention to detail. I enjoy dragging my fingers on a Parisian façade because, well, Parisian facades are attractive. To fans of setbacks, a building nestled right up against a sidewalk is scary. A ten-foot “landscaped” setback? Just fine. Never mind those shrubs look like mighty attractive hiding places to aspiring muggers. There’s a reason it’s “eyes on the street,” not “eyes on the setback.” What about privacy? I’m sorry, but if your living room faces the street, you’re going to need curtains no matter how far back you are. Setbacks don’t create privacy. They create the illusion of privacy. In short, there is no economic, aesthetic, or security reason for setbacks to exist. Cities have gotten along fine for centuries without them. So, what gives? Let’s think about who might lobby for setbacks, either in an individual project or in a zoning code. They’re certainly not the tenants of buildings. Unbuilt buildings have no tenants. The people most likely to demand that a development be worse are those who don’t like development in the first place and who object to density on principle. Setbacks are the currency of anti-development activism. Homeowners who like their cities and their property values just fine don’t care how far away a building is from a street. They’re likely only to see those buildings at 35 miles per hour anyway, and probably from a lane or two away (plus a few feet if there’s a devil strip ). But they know how to push planners around. For them, setbacks are just a bargaining chip – a palpable way to stick it to developers. Setbacks persist because they are quantifiable and negotiable. Once opponents have whittled down the number of units or the amount of floor space in a project, they can bring on the setbacks. The developer wants a setback of zero feet. Neighbors want a setback of ten feet. When it gets settled at five feet, the neighbors chalk up a win. Why is that a win? Because they don’t care in the first place. They gain nothing, except for a five-foot pain-in-the-ass for the developer and a lousy place to take a stroll. This isn’t advocacy, and it’s certainly not planning. This is urban trolling. I bemoan setbacks not to redesign every condo building from Riverside to Santa Monica. Setback regulations and their proponents have already done their damage to the buildings that exist and the streets that they face. Fortunately, with a few deletions from zoning codes, and more tenacity from the planners who care about density, walkabilty, aesthetics, and fairness, cities can play with a full deck once again. And when the next Shah Jahan comes along with a great idea for a mausoleum, then we can talk. Photo Credits: Paris: Zoetnet via Flickr ; L.A.: CP&DR Staff.