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As the Legislature prepares to convene in January, another round of changes to the California Environmental Quality Act seems likely. The question is whether the 2026 changes will be incremental – clarifying, among other things, some of the “Swiss-cheese” holes punched in CEQA in 2025 – or whether someone in the Legislature will attempt a more comprehensive attempt at reform.

Huntington Beach has lost around round in its seemingly endless legal battle with the state over housing law.

Nearly five million Californians live in high fire hazard severity  zones , and the year’s disasters in Los Angeles County are only the most recent examples of just how severe California’s wildfires can be. For planners in the hundreds of cities and counties that touch on the wildlands-urban interface, fire hazard planning, via safety elements and other initiatives, is literally a life-or-death matter. Meanwhile, firefighting agencies face increasing urgency to fight and prevent wildfires in urban and semi-urban settings.

A few blocks south on Grand Avenue from Bunker Hill a titanium dagger protrudes over the sidewalk. The blade captures the sunlight and hints at something terribly interesting, beckoning you to walk closer and find out about the carcass into which it is plunged.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to  California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to  CP&DR  by clicking  here . You can sign up for  CP&DR ’s free weekly newsletter  here . San Diego Prevails in Five-Year Legal Battle over Tax Measure Five years after its approval by voters, litigation over San Diego's Measure C hotel tax has concluded with California's Fourth District Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the measure. Plaintiff California Taxpayers Action Network electing not to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Measure C, which raises hotel tax rates to fund homeless services, road repairs, and a convention center expansion, passed with 65.24% support in 2020, but spent years tied up in a legal battle over whether the measure needed a supermajority to pass. San Diego began collecting the new tax in May, and has raised $35 million so far. The City anticipates $1.04 billion in additional revenue from the measure in the next ten years. Measure C raises San Diego's transient occupancy tax from 10.5% to 11.75 - 13.75%, with properties closer to downtown seeing the largest increases. The prospect of expanding the convention center is now in doubt, with construction cost increases pushing the price of such a project much higher than the $850 million that was projected when Measure C went on the ballot in 2020. The City also lacks control over a waterfront property seen as key for expansion, and a settlement with the leaseholder prevents progress on an expansion plan through the end of 2026. City officials are discussing modernization of the existing facility, and the convention center has already identified $400 million worth of investment needed over the next twenty years. Nonprofit Launches Tech Portal to Support Wildfire Rebuilding in L.A. County Builders Alliance, a not-for-profit organization formed in response to the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires, has launched a first-of-its-kind, tech-enabled portal to support fire survivors’ rebuilding efforts. The portal offers a robust library of homes, with pricing up front, filtered by specific lot, zoning, the owner’s preferences and price range. The portal is initially supported by 10 participating homebuilders dedicated to achieving significant time and cost savings and end-to-end project management, making rebuilding do-able for as many homeowners as possible. Participants are experienced, licensed homebuilders, ranging from small boutique firms to larger companies. The no-charge Builders Alliance Portal is a digital representation that maps every residential parcel in the Palisades and Eaton fire areas. Employing AI technology, the map is trained on local zoning regulations and pairs each lot with extensive menus of designs and costs. Establishment of this Builders Alliance is a key recommendation of Project Recovery, the plan offered by ULI Los Angeles, UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and USC Lusk Center for Real Estate in response to the Los Angeles wildfires. Menlo Park Moves toward Ballot Measure to Determine Fate of Downtown Development Menlo Park is weighing a citizen initiative that would give voters the power over approval for redeveloping city parking into affordable housing. The measure stems from a fight over a city plan to turn three downtown parking lots totaling 556 spaces into at least 345 affordable housing units. The community group Save Downtown Menlo opposes the project, arguing that the loss of car access could significantly hurt local businesses, and gathered signatures to place the initiative on the ballot. Advocates for the project say it is essential to meeting housing needs in the community and staying on track with state housing mandates to avoid harsh penalties. The city commissioned urban planning firm M-Group to study the measure's impact on the city. The report will cost the city $164,000, and is required to be completed in 30 days. Major Infill Development Proposed for San Francisco A developer is proposing to replace a closed Safeway grocery store in San Francisco's Western Addition that would add more than 1,800 homes to the city, representing the largest housing push the area has seen in decades. Align Real Estate’s plan leverages recent state laws that permit significantly higher density in exchange for affordable units, with approximately 15% of the homes reserved at or below market rate. The project envisions a mix of mid- and high-rise buildings up to 300 feet tall, along with a large underground garage and phased construction. Because Safeway’s departure left the neighborhood without a full-service grocer, the developer also intends to include a smaller grocery store and is seeking a tenant while exploring whether the existing building can be temporarily reactivated. City officials see the proposal as aligning with San Francisco’s broader push to accelerate housing approvals, even as other large projects have stalled amid economic headwinds. Community leaders and the district supervisor have expressed cautious support, noting the project’s potential to restore services, reconnect parts of the Fillmore and contribute significantly to the city’s long-term housing goals. CP&DR Coverage: Housing Element EIRs Could Get More Complex Under New Law Under a new state law, rezonings related to the housing element aren’t subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. But UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf says there’s a tradeoff: environmental impact reports will almost certainly be required for all housing elements, putting more pressure on cities and counties to identify the environmental impact of every possible housing site at the housing element level. Elmendorf also pointed out that the new statutory exemption for infill housing is “cleaner” and more expansive than the so-called Class 32 exemption, a categorical exemption that has been widely used in recent years. SB 131 – one of the budget trailer bills – contained a provision exempting from CEQA upzonings to implement the housing element. This provision was paired with the infill housing exemption in AB 130, which essentially exempted projects that implement the housing element. Quick Hits & Updates  Fresno's Planning Commission approved the highly controversial 9,000-acre, 45,000-home Southeast Development area (SEDA) by a vote of 4-3, despite intense opposition from a broad coalition of residents. Citizen groups who oppose the project say they are prepared to gather signatures for a ballot measure that would subject development on agricultural lands to direct voter approval. During the public comment session, residents expressed strong opposition to taking on the $3 billion budget shortfall SEDA would create, plus concerns about pollution from the new development.  The Perris City Council has requested the city attorney to draft a moratorium on new warehouses, potentially becoming the latest of several Inland Empire cities to impose such a measure as the logistics industry explodes in the area. Perris currently has the third highest warehouse prevalence among Inland Empire cities, and its logistics space per resident could increase from 1,000 sqft to 2000 sqft if every project in the planning pipeline were approved and constructed. The governing board of Los Angeles International Airport approved new $1.5 billion construction project, which will replace 4.4 miles of roads entering and exiting LAX and create new elevated roadways to separate airport-related and local traffic and reduce congestion. Critics questioned the need for the new roadway in light of the impending opening of the airport's automated people mover and new transit connections.  San Diego’s Planning Commission unanimously endorsed a proposal to boost housing production by loosening rules governing historic preservation. The plan would give the City Council more authority over historic designations, allowing it to overturn decisions by the Historical Resources Board based on judgment rather than procedural mistakes. The California High-Speed Rail Authority will issue a request for qualifications for private investors to build, operate, and maintain sections of the state's high speed rail project. HSR CEO Ian Choudri said private investment, enabled by the state's new $20 billion funding guarantee, could speed up construction and lower the taxpayer burden, but would require changing a state law mandating the first section built be from Bakersfield to Merced. Choudri says the line to Merced will still be built, but the initial focus would shift to a Bakersfield to Gilroy line that promises to be more financially appealing to investment according to a report from this August. Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board approved a 20-story student housing project with 137 market-rate units and 32 affordable units, using California’s density bonus law to bypass local labor rules, including the HARD HATS ordinance and Southside prevailing wage requirements. Local construction unions have appealed the project, arguing the concessions misuse the state law and undermine worker protections, while developers say complying with the labor mandates would significantly increase costs and delay construction, which is slated to start in January 2028. An LA County Superior Court judge denied a request from the Rose Bowl Operating co. and the City of Pasadena for a temporary restraining order in the legal fight to keep UCLA football games at the Rose Bowl. Attorneys for the Rose Bowl and Pasadena accused UCLA of conducting back-room discussions to move home games to SoFi stadium, which would breach a lease signed in 2014 with no opt-out clause to keep UCLA home games at the Rose Bowl through 2044 in exchange for the stadium making $200 million worth of renovations funded with public bonds.

CP&DR Vol. 40 No. 11 November 2025 Report

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to  California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to  CP&DR  by clicking  here . You can sign up for  CP&DR ’s free weekly newsletter  here . Los Angeles to Tighten Rent Increases for Rent-Stabilized Units With a city council vote last week, Los Angeles will reduce its cap on annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments from 3-8% to 1-4%, the first change to rent stabilization in LA in 40 years. Applying to units built before 1978, the change affects nearly half of the city's residents. According to the LA housing department, over 60% of LA residents are renters. The LA times says more than half LA renters qualify as rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 1 in 10 LA residents spend more than 90% of their income on rent. Proponents of the change say it will help provide desperately needed relief to vulnerable renters and improve affordability in the city. Council members John Lee and Bob Blumenfeld, who voted against the cap change, criticized the move as discouraging development and investment and making it more difficult for landlords to maintain buildings. The pro-housing group YIMBY Action highlighted the change's potential harm to the city's housing supply by causing developers to avoid building on rent-controlled lots. Councilmember Nithya Raman, who introduced the proposal, affirmed the importance of increased housing supply as the ultimate solution to the affordability crisis, and vowed to work to ensure the rent changes do not slow new production. Newsom Defies Trump's Reported Plans to Open California Coast to Oil Drilling The Trump administration has proposed a plan to open six lease sales for oil drilling off the coast of California between 2027 and 2030, as part of a wider proposal to also open new oil operations in the eastern Gulf Coast and the High Arctic north of Alaska. Governor Newsom condemned the plan, saying it would "never happen", saying “as it relates to offshore oil drilling, it’s overwhelmingly opposed by members of all political parties in the state of California,” during a press conference. Experts noted that California does not have the same existing infrastructure for offshore drilling as many states on the Gulf of Mexico, and there is uncertainty if companies would be interested in new projects in California. Critics contend that the proposal is driven as much by politics as by energy policy, especially as Trump has repeatedly targeted California’s environmental agenda and received significant industry support. Although oil companies have shown some interest, analysts note that the region’s limited reserves, strict state regulations and global low oil prices make large-scale investment unlikely, and any new activity would face California’s extensive legal and political barriers to onshore infrastructure. Malibu Declares Entire City to be in Fire Danger Zone The Malibu City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance designating the entire city as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, based on the State Fire Marshal's severity map released in March. Malibu is now one of a very small number of cities in California to be entirely designated Very High Fire Hazard. The universal designation could help the city adopt more aggressive fire regulations. The move comes amidst growing debate over "Zone Zero" regulations stemming from Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-18-25, which would require no trees within 30 feet of houses in the highest-risk areas. Critics argue these rules could be environmentally detrimental and counterproductive for safety, as the right species of trees can actually help shield homes with the right placement. Tule Tribe to Regain Control of 17,000 Acres of Ancestral Land California will return over 17,000 acres of land to the Tule River Indian Tribe, according to a recent announcement by the governor's office. The nonprofit Conservation Fund purchased the two cattle ranches in Tulare County, and the state helped fund and facilitate the transfer to the tribe. Situated east of Porterville and west of Giant Sequoia National Monument, the land is mostly undeveloped and adjoining to the south end of the tribe's existing 55,000 acre reservation. Governor Newsom hailed the transfer as a step towards restoring the Tule Tribe's stewardship of their ancestral lands, and acknowledged the tribe's historical mistreatment by the state. At a land return and tule elk reintroduction ceremony marking the transfer, Tribal leaders emphasized how the return will help the tribe maintain access to food and medicinal resources, preserve cultural sites, and further stewardship and wildlife reintroduction efforts. The Tule River Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe whose members descend from many different Yokut-speaking communities originating from all across Tulare Lake basin and the southern Sierra foothills. Fresno Development Plan Faces Fierce Opposition A broad coalition of Fresno community members gathered last week to demand that Mayor Jerry Dyer kill the controversial Southeast Development Area (SEDA) megaproject and start a comprehensive process to create a new general plan for the city. If Mayor Dyer refuses, the coalition said they are prepared to gather signatures for a ballot measure establishing an urban growth boundary for Fresno, which would effectively strip the mayor and city council of approval power for fringe developments and hand it directly to voters. The ultimatum comes after a city report estimated that developer fees would cover at most just 20% of the project's infrastructure expenses, leaving taxpayers responsible for a $3 billion funding gap. The coalition against the 45,000-home plan area spans across Fresno's political spectrum, and the most recent press conference included representatives from the Central Labor Council, which represents 105,000 workers, former Mayor Ashley Swearengin's DRIVE initiative of the Central Valley Community Foundation, as well as neighborhood and community groups from across the city. For the time being, Mayor Dyer has continued to push SEDA forward, and presented phase 1 to the city council last week. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Lawsuit to Block La Jolla Cityhood Thrown Out The acrimonious battle between the City of San Diego and La Jolla citizens who want a separate city continues in court – with the citizens recently winning a battle to throw out a lawsuit from the city on anti-SLAPP grounds. The city sued the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission over the incorporation attempt, saying the LAFCO acted improperly in certifying that the incorporation proponents had gathered enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. In a ruling issued October 24, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judy S. Bae granted ACLJ its request for an anti-SLAPP motion. The judge in the case essentially concluded that the citizens’ attempt to move the La Jolla incorporation attempt forward constitutes free speech. Quick Hits & Updates National City’s council unanimously rejected a proposed biofuels rail transfer station, signaling a break from the heavy industrial uses that have long polluted the community and limited access to the bay. Leaders and residents framed the decision as the beginning of a broader push toward environmental cleanup and waterfront revitalization. The Menlo Park City Council is commissioning a study on a ballot initiative that would require voter approval before converting downtown parking lots into affordable housing, a plan that has split residents between concerns over lost parking and the need for more housing. Supporters want a special election to decide the measure, while councilmembers emphasized the importance of meeting state housing requirements to avoid penalties or loss of funding. The Link Union Station project, which will add run-through tracks to Los Angeles Union Station and allow direct Metrolink and Amtrak service across Southern California, has advanced with Metro’s approval of a supplemental environmental study. The updated $3 billion plan streamlines earlier designs to cut costs, including reducing the number of raised platforms, narrowing the passenger tunnel expansion and scrapping a full rail yard canopy, while facing funding gaps and possible legal challenges from the City of Vernon before construction begins in 2026. A long-awaited 25-acre park in San Diego County's Alpine community has been delayed indefinitely after a judge ruled that San Diego County’s environmental review failed to address impacts on local wildlife, wildfire risks and traffic. Conservation groups want the court to revoke the project’s approvals, leaving residents divided between those seeking long-promised recreation space and others who say the park would harm Alpine’s character. Santa Clara's Measure A, a tax increase proposed as a counter against Trump administration healthcare cuts, was passed by voters earlier this month. The measure will raise county sales taxes by 5/8ths of a cent, which is estimated to generate $330 million per year to offset federal funds lost by the county hospital system through cuts to Medicaid in the GOP-led Big Beautiful Bill. Critics pointed out that the money will go into the County's general fund, with no legal mechanism to ensure it is spent on hospitals. A tax increase with a specific allocation would have had to pass with a two thirds majority. The Strategic Growth Council awarded $128 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) grants in Round 10 of the program for the permanent protection of 40,000 acres (62.5 square miles) of croplands and rangelands, including returning 11,000 acres to California Native American Tribes. 48 of the 52 projects funded are acquisition grants for deed restrictions preventing the conversion of agricultural land to development. A new report on housing development in Palo Alto found that none of the multifamily development prototypes examined are economically viable in current conditions. The report attributes the lack of feasibility to rising construction costs and interest rates, some of the highest local fees in the region, and demand for higher returns from investors. The study found that removing affordable housing requirements and local fees, which help fund essential city services and affordable housing, improved feasibility substantially. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved the new Regional Housing Incentive Program. The program allows developers to earn "incentive points" by adding affordable units to developments or paying in-lieu fees, which they can then spend on a variety of zoning exceptions including incentives for parking, design standards, floor space and land uses, and density. Critics on the Board said the program may not accomplish much as it only targets to raise around a third of the funding needed for the county's minimum target for affordable housing, while proponents lauded the program as a step in the right direction which would not be the last incentive for affordable housing.

A century or so ago, the Sears Corp. sold tens of thousands of catalog homes that were constructed across the United States. Today, the Sears company is still creating homes, as its former stores are converted and redeveloped into housing developments.

La Cañada Flintridge has abandoned its efforts to right off a controversial builder’s remedy project and has approved the project.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . Los Angeles Mayor Lifts Emergency Declaration that Facilitated Affordable Housing Development Mayor Karen Bass announced that Los Angeles will lift its homelessness state of emergency on November 18, marking the end of the executive powers that enabled rapid action through measures like Inside Safe and Executive Directive 1 (ED1), which expedites the development of affordable housing developments. While homelessness has declined modestly for two consecutive years, City Council members pushed to end the emergency to restore transparency and formalize successful programs, including efforts to codify ED1 into permanent law. If that language is not finalized before the deadline, the city will temporarily halt accepting new affordable housing applications under ED1. Bass emphasized that lifting the emergency does not signal the end of the crisis but a transition toward long-term, sustainable systems. Meanwhile, Bass issued a separate executive order, EO10, to accelerate post-fire commercial rebuilding in Pacific Palisades, focusing on targeted, expedited recovery efforts even as the homelessness emergency winds down. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Shafter Protests At-Grade Alignment of High Speed Rail Frustrated by a new California High-Speed Rail proposal that would run the train through town at ground level, Shafter's City Council voted to reject the plan, with the mayor saying he'd rather see the project “go around the city” than tear up local streets. The revised design, meant to cut costs and shorten construction by two years, would replace elevated tracks with a network of underpasses and overpasses, but residents argued it would harm small businesses, disrupt schools and divide neighborhoods. Rail officials said the change reflects “lessons learned” from earlier construction in Fresno and would reduce community disruption, emergency access issues and the need for millions of cubic yards of fill dirt. Despite those claims, Shafter leaders say the city won't benefit economically from a system that doesn't include a station and only brings local impacts. Report: Los Angeles County Lost Half-Million Residents since 2015 Neighborhood Data for Social Change at USC Lusk Center for Real Estate released its State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN) report, presenting detailed data on the region's housing, demographics and affordability. The report found that, since 2015, LA County's population has decreased by over 500,000 people, including a loss of 280,000 foreign-born residents, despite the number of households continuing to increase. The report found that housing production has fallen from over 70,000 new units per year in the 1950s to fewer than 15,000 per year in the 2010s, with only 10% of recent rental units affordable to lower-income households while permitting timelines triple the national average. Homeownership has also dropped to 45% of residents, its lowest level in more than 50 years, with Black and middle-income households seeing the largest declines. The report found over 90% of renters earning under $50,000 spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Despite a 57% increase in permanent housing beds for unhoused residents, and the number of unsheltered residents dropping 15% in two years, 66% of people experiencing homelessness in the county remain unsheltered, the largest percentage in the country. CP&DR Coverage: San Diego Midway Project; Referendum Nixed in Livermore San Diego's Midway redevelopment project has been held up by litigation again, as an appellate court has ruled - for the second time - that the city did not prepare adequate environmental documents in preparation for a ballot measure lifting the city's 30-foot coastal height limit. In reversing a lower court ruling, the appellate court also concluded that the state's reforms of the California Environmental Quality Act adopted back in June do not apply to the Midway plan. The effect of the ruling is to invalidate the ballot measure lifting the coastal height limit -- for the second time. Eden Housing has been trying to build an affordable housing project in Downtown Livermore since 2018. Two local groups with the same backer have gone to court with different lawsuits to stop the project - or at least move it. One legal skirmish got caught up in the underbrush of referendum law, specifically the question of whether the city's approvals were administrative or legislative. In a second decision on that case, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that Livermore's latest approvals were entirely administrative - and therefore a referendum on the project can't go forward. The published ruling reversed the decision of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael M. Markman. Quick Hits & Updates The San Francisco Arts Commission voted 8-5 to temporarily dismantle the Vaillancourt Fountain in San Fransisco's Embarcadero Plaza, the latest development a fight over the monuments fate sparked in 2024 by the announcement of plans for an overhaul of the plaza and a new park. The Recreation and Park Department called for the removal, saying the city could not afford the estimated $29 million for a full restoration. The owners of a five-acre property near the Santa Barbara Mission, who plan to build an eight-story housing project under builder's remedy, are suing Santa Barbara County over nearly $200,000 in property taxes. The Mission LLC claims the site is exempt because it hosts religious services by the Unitarian Universalist Mission, but the county argues the property does not qualify since it has been largely vacant and not used exclusively for worship. The state's Court of Appeals has allowed preliminary geotechnical work to proceed on the $20 billion Delta Conveyance Project, reversing a lower court injunction blocking the work pending additional environmental certification. The project, aiming to transport water from the Sacramento River to southern parts of the state, remains controversial due to the environmental concerns, local opposition, high costs and ongoing legal and funding roadblocks. Jim Wunderman, 22-year veteran CEO of the Bay Area Council, is leaving to become head of public affairs for California Forever, a billionaire-backed plan to build a new city of 400,000 residents in Solano County with dense housing, middle-income jobs and a large advanced manufacturing campus. The former-CEO's departure comes as California Forever submits a revised plan to extend Suisun City, amid criticism from environmental groups and local ranchers concerned about agricultural impacts, traffic and sprawl. San Diego's Coastal Resilience Master Plan (CRMP) outlines a citywide approach to adapting to rising sea levels with dune restoration and dynamic shoreline design as opposed to seawalls, as coastal squeeze threatens 70% of the state's beaches by 2100. The plan emphasizes community engagement, with workshops, volunteer restoration events and partnerships with loca organizations hopes to protect beaches, habitat and public access.

Voters resoundingly favored new housing Santa Cruz and Sausalito, two cities that have historically had strong anti-growth movements. In Sausalito, a pair of complementary measures designed ot help the city comply with state Housing Element law passed easily. In Santa Cruz, a competition between two measures to promote affordable housing proved to be a snooze, as the more aggressive measure won by a comfortable margin whereas a watered-down measure barely broke double-digit percentages.

The California Chamber of Commerce is floating a ballot measure that would create a series of “shot clocks” for actions under the California Environmental Quality Act.