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As California seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state's industries in order to implement provisions of California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 32), entities and trade groups both inside and outside the state have looked to the "dormant" Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution as a legal means to challenge those efforts. The dormant clause implies that states cannot take actions that would, implicitly or explicitly, restrict interstate commerce - such as when California legally compels residents to consume less fuel.

Everybody always loves to complain about the California Environmental Quality Act, but despite all the complaining we don’t now much about how effective it really is and what all the CEQA activity adds up to.

If the oral argument is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to rule against a landowner in Florida who filed a takings lawsuit against an Orlando-area water district – turning what appeared to be an easy victory for property rights advocates into a loss.

California's Fifth Appellate District on July 3 upheld the Westlands Water District's 2012 interim renewal contracts for Central Valley Project water from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, finding the changes they represented were exempt from CEQA review sought by environmental groups.

In  Quail Lakes Owners Assn. v. Kozina,  the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District affirmed a trial court's decision to grant a verified petition by a homeowners' association for an order under Civil Code section 1356. The petition asked to modify the association's governing laws to reduce a supermajority voting restriction.

A report by the Los Angeles Times indicates that transit ridership in the Los Angeles area has steadily declined since the Great Recession. Ridership on Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and rail lines dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 2015, to 453 million boardings. Other agencies experienced similar drops Metro has spent over $9 billion on construction of new light rail and subway, more frequent bus times, changing routes, but the ridership has not increased. Orange County bus ridership fell 30 percent in the last seven years. The shift could be because of gas prices, fare increases, changes in job markets, locations of ridership, law that allows illegal immigrants to apply for drivers license, increase in rides by companies like Lyft and Uber, among many others. Metro plans to spend $12 billion over the next decade for new rail lines and three extensions. SANDAG Considers Sales Tax Initiative The San Diego Association of Governments is gathering citizen input  through phone conferences, meetings and online surveys to gauge support for a proposed half-cent countywide sales tax measure . Possible projects, which are all included in the agency's recently adopted Long Range Transportation Plan, range from walkable communities, highway improvements, surface rail, bike lanes and more. SANDAG is seeking public input in order to tailor the ballot measure according to voters' preferences. The proposed sales tax would remain in place for 35 years. Oakland to Allow Transit Oriented Accessory Dwelling Units The City Council of Oakland will now allow construction of secondary housing units or backyard cottages without dedicated parking if the lot is within half a mile of a bus or BART station and relaxing height and setback requirements. As Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a press release, "This will also help preserve the diversity of our communities by keeping renters and owners in the same neighborhoods, while creating income opportunities for homeowners who also feel the pressure our region's high cost of living." Berkeley passed similar rules last year; however it banned the use of these new units for short-term rentals such as Airbnb. Gilroy Revokes Approval of 4,000-Home Development In response to a lawsuit recently filed by the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission, the City of Gilroy has pulled the application to develop Rancho Los Olivos, a 4,000-home project on 721-acres bordering south Gilroy. The $3 billion project has faced two lawsuits and over 2,000 complaints. The land is not inside Gilroy's city limits, and must be annexed first with approval from LAFCO. The project has been shelved until the 2040 General Plan has been completed.  Study: Airbnb Profits Create �Full Time' Hosts in San Francisco A study by Pennsylvania State University shows that profits from Airbnb are prompting landlords to short-term rent instead of long-term. San Francisco is one of the most profitable markets for Airbnb landlords, with 300 "full-time" hosts making a total of $44 million, which is 22 percent of the Airbnb profit across the entire city. Studies estimate that San Francisco has lost between 10 and 12,000 units, which hurts the already suffering housing economy in the city. Airbnb calls the Penn State study flawed as many hosts list their units available for the entire year, but rent out for much fewer days. Fresno Approves Novel Rules for Tiny Homes The City of Fresno has, according to city officials, become the first city in the nation to officially accommodate the emerging trend of tiny houses. The city recently updated its building code to allow landlords to park tiny homes on existing lots as secondary dwellings. These eco-conscious homes can provide homes for caregivers living in the backyard or as rental units for extra income. Fresno's new rules require that tiny houses, which are generally around 300 square feet, to be on wheels. "This is an important step forward for the tiny house movement because it sets a precedent for other jurisdictions nationwide," says Amy Turnbull, one of the directors of the American Tiny House Association, told the Fresno Bee. "This ordinance sends a clear message: we need to adapt our codes to accommodate new housing models and we need to do it quickly and decisively." Sierra Club Files Suit to Block The Edge's Malibu Homes The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit to block development of five homes by U2 guitarist The Edge in Malibu. The homes were recently approved by the Coastal Commission after a long debate.  The Sierra Club contends that the project's full impacts were not assessed in accordance with CEQA and that the EIR must consider alternatives with no homes or a single home. Evans first applied in 2011 and was denied, he then sued along with three other Malibu property owners saying it was an unconstitutional taking without compensation. A compromise was made with a scaled-down version and a farther set back from the ridgeline. The opponents of the project want the area to remain open space. L.A. Launches Comprehensive Transportation App The City of Los Angeles, in collaboration with Xerox, has launched an app that helps commuters choose travel routes while also taking concerns for health and environmental impact into account. The Go LA app provides detailed information on every available mode of getting around the Los Angeles region. Go LA aggregates and calculates the time, cost, carbon footprint, and health benefits from walking, biking, driving your own car, parking, taking public transit, or using transportation network companies. The details provided include length of trip, price, number of calories burned, and how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. As the app learns more about its user's individual preferences, it will eventually recommend and highlight personalized commuting options.  High Speed Rail May Switch First Segment In a reversal of plans announced in 2012, the California High Speed Rail Authority announced that its initial operational segment may be from San Jose to Bakersfield. The first segment was originally to be from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. Crossing the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains is a complicated and expensive segment of tunnels and aerial structures. In a hearing Jan. 27 HSR Chairman Dan Richard said, "It may take us a little longer than we said to do this" but did not elaborate. A business plan update is expected in the next few weeks that will show reductions in cost.  L.A. Abandon's Ambitious Olympic Village Proposal Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced that UCLA will serve as the Olympic Village for the city's 2024 Olympics bid. A projected estimated to cost $1 billion to $2 billion had been proposed for the Piggyback Yard property owned by Union Pacific Railroad, near the L.A. River. Backers hoped that Piggyback Yard site could be converted to much-needed residential housing following the Games. It also would have been a centerpiece of the city's plans to revitalize the L.A. River. (See prior CP&DR coverage .)   Sacramento Considers Upgrades to Downtown Public Spaces Sacramento officials announced plans to rebuild two public spaces adjacent to the capitol building, Capitol Mall and Crocker Park. City Councilman Steve Hansen hopes to turn the Mall into an event and festival space, will bring the topic to the attention of the City Manager to discuss with the City Council in March. Crocker Museum has plans to turn Crocker Park into Sacramento's own "Central Park" with sculpture gardens, art-oriented children's playground, performance area and potentially a parking garage underground. With the new $507 million arena under construction, plans for 10,000 more housing units downtown and others, city officials are calling for a revitalization of the downtown public space.  Group Says San Luis Obispo Can't Handle Student Population A group of San Luis Obispo residents are asking Cal Poly SLO to cap its student body in order to return the city to a "well-maintained family community" instead of the "alcohol-consuming venue for large numbers of students" it has become, according to a petition circulated by the country. In 2015, 7,377 of the university's 20,049 students lived on campus. The group claims that the city cannot absorb so many students living off campus. The petition calls for the university to reduce enrollment to 18,000 in 2017 and 20,800 in 2035, compared to the 25,000 in the master plan. Cal Poly President Armstrong said enrollment would remain steady around 21,000 for the next few years, with 65 percent of students housed on campus. The city council has not yet weighed in on the petition.

A deal between the cities of Los Angeles and Ontario ends a  dispute over the decline of LA/Ontario International Airport. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Ontario Mayor pro tem Alan Wapner announced the signing of a Settlement Agreement Term Sheet which will lead to the transfer of ownership of ONT to the Ontario International Airport Authority subject to approvals. The City of Ontario will pay Los Angeles World Airports $190 million over 10 years and will assume all debts of the struggling airport. ONT has been drawing only around 4.5 million annual passengers as compared to its capacity of 10 million. In a joint statement issued at a news conference at ONT, Garcetti and Wapner said the Settlement Term Sheet adheres to the premise that Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) will be reimbursed to the extent needed to make them whole regarding investments they have made in ONT, while providing job protection to the airport's current employees. Along form settlement agreement consistent with the initial term sheet will be prepared within 60-days.  A formal approval process is expected to begin in October 2015, with the entire process, including FAA approval, expected to be completed within one year. Ontario has long claimed that local control will enable it to promote more flights and make the airport a greater economic force in the Inland Empire.  Alameda County Explores Sale of Stadium Complex Public officials in Alameda County have expressed interest in selling to the City of Oakland their stake of the Coliseum complex, which houses three professional sports teams and is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Citing a yearly loss of money along with confusing negotiations to keep the three teams in the East Bay, County Supervisor Nate Miley said that it has been too difficult to negotiate a deal with the city, the county, three sports teams, and other entities. "So let's just get out of this and let the city negotiate whatever deals it wants," Miley told S.F. Gate . "Because, frankly, Oakland is going to benefit much more from this than the county." One major issue going forward will be how the city and county work out the $11 million of yearly debt that they have carried since the Coliseum was overhauled in the mid-1990s to lure back the Raiders from Los Angeles. Fresno Sales Tax Could Fund HSR Facility; Bakersfield Explores New Route The Fresno County Council of Governments informally  gave  the green light for $750,000 from a Measure C transportation sales tax to buy a site that could be used as an industrial maintenance facility for the high-speed rail, producing 1,500 jobs for the region. The move comes as Fresno sees potential competition from Kern County, which also had been working on proposals to build a maintenance facility. The Fresno COG years ago approved $25 million in money from Measure C for the rail authority on the condition that it selected the Fresno site over any other competing sites.  In Bakersfield the HSRA has  presented  an alternative, shorter alignment that would affect fewer properties and cost taxpayers less money than the original proposal. The city agreed to drop its lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority in exchange for an agreement to coordinate with city officials on a new route besides the older, hybrid route that would impact 526 structures, including 231 residences. However, Shafter City Manager Scott Hurlbert said he is concerned the alternative alignment would hurt the city's bid for a maintenance facility that would serve the rail project and give the region 1,500 jobs. San Diego Bikeshare Posts Disappointing Numbers San Diego community leaders are raising concerns about the city's new bike-share program as an underwhelming number of people have used the service and as community leaders complain that the owners have cherry-picked bike stations to raking in tourist dollars rather than to create a viable commuter network. Critics say DecoBike, the company that operates the program, has felt pressure to generate revenue because, unlike virtually all of the other 800 cities across the globe with bike-sharing networks, San Diego chose not to subsidize its program. "The city and DecoBike haven't really been that public with where they intend to place the bike stations, what the process is and what the timeline is," Gretchen Newsom, president of the Ocean Beach Town Council, told the L.A. Times . Decobike, the company that operates the program, nevertheless said that revenue so far has been on par with industry standards, and that momentum will continue to build as the company increases the number of stations from the current 85 to a planned 180. Tensions Rise on Monterey Planning Commission Planning commissioners in Monterey made pleas to stay on the city's Council-appointed commission following an email from Mayor Clyde Roberson hinting that two of the members should step down from their posts after their terms end. Roberson and Vice Mayor Alan Haffa sent emails to two commissioners, David Stocker in his ninth term, and Paul Davis in his seventh term, telling them that they felt "eight consecutive years on the Planning Commission is a good number," according to the Monterey Herald . Believing this email to be a call to step down, Davis said that he would like to continue on in the role, citing long-term planning projects in the works. Other commissioners who have been on the Planning Commission for as long as Davis and Stocker did not receive similar emails from the mayor, though the council could replace any of them at its discretion. Court Rules in Favor of Desalination Plant  A Superior Court judge ruled against conservation group San Diego Coastkeeper in a suit in which Coastkeeper said that the San Diego County Water Authority's climate action plan and supplemental environmental report did not focus enough on conservation or sufficiently account for environmental impacts. Specifically, the group targeted the development of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, set to open in November and currently being developed by Poseidon Water, a private company. Judge Gregory Pollack ruled that "substantial evidence exists to support (the agency's) actions" on each of the issues in dispute, including a proposed desalination plant on Camp Pendleton. Apple to Push into San Jose Apple, Inc bought a 40-acre parcel of land in North San Jose, shelling out $138.2 million in cash to Connecticut-based Five Mile Capital Partners for land that it could develop into an office and research campus that could fit up to 15,000-workers, according to public records. The move is just one of Apple's major land-grabs in recent years, as it leased 318,000 square feet of space in Santa Clara along with a 290,000-square-foot building adjacent to the new 40-acre parcel, and as it constructs a new headquarters in Cupertino. "It's mind-boggling what Apple is doing," Terry Bell, a senior vice president with Colliers International, told the Contra Costa Times . "Nothing surprises me any more with Apple's growth. It's tough to get your arms around the scope of Apple's appetite to expand." Disney Land Purchases May Herald Expansion of Resort Walt Disney Co. stirred up speculation of an expansion as it recently bought three large parcels of land totaling about 14.7 acres near its Anaheim resort. Records show that the Walt Disney Co. bought the Carousel Inn and Suites in March, and last year the company purchased two large office buildings, all in Anaheim with a total value of about $60 million. The move comes as Disney officials committed to the city of Anaheim that they will invest at least $1 billion in the park by 2024 under an agreement that ensures the city will not impose an entertainment tax on the resort for the next 30 years. Following the acquisition, speculation stirred that Disney was planning to free up land on the properties for a future park expansion involving Disney's Star Wars or Marvel superhero characters, to which Disney bought rights in 2009 and in 2012, respectively.

The San Diego City Council is expected to approve Southeastern San Diego's first comprehensive set of zoning changes since 1987 with the goal of encouraging more development near mass transit.  Community leaders often complain that the area's lack of high-paying jobs discourages developers from building quality retail and housing projects, even though much of southeastern San Diego is less than 10 minutes from downtown. The changes aim to spur development by rezoning 6,740 acres in the area, where there is more vacant and under utilized land than anywhere else in the city. City officials have decided to split the area into two parts - Southeastern San Diego west of Interstate 805 and Encanto east of the freeway - and to adopt separate community plans for each. The number of multifamily housing units would triple from 4,000 to 12,000 in Encanto and increase 37 percent in Southeastern San Diego, from 9,400 to 12,900, while then umber of single family homes would stay about the same.  The new housing is restricted to targeted areas along trolley lines and in high-potential commercial spots such as Euclid Avenue, Market Street, Imperial Avenue and Commercial Street. Bay Area Group Threatens to -Sue the Suburbs' The San Francisco Bay Area Renters Foundation, a pro-development group, says that it will fulfill its promise to " sue the suburbs ," saying it will file a lawsuit next week against the city of Lafayette, saying that it is failing to construct its fair share of housing. At issue in Lafayette is a development approved by the City Council containing 44 single-family homes, a steep reduction in density from the originally proposed 315 units of middle-income housing that garnered protests. With the Bay Area permitting just about half of the housing it needed from 2007 to 2014, and permitting only about 28 percent of low to moderate income units, the renters' group is using Lafayette as a starting point for its plans to sue other Bay Area suburbs. The suit would finds its base on the state's 1982 Housing Accountability Act, which prohibits cities from blocking higher density affordable housing without a specific findings that it threatens health and safety in an unfixable way. SCAG Releases Draft EIR for Sustainable Communities Strategy The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has prepared a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report for its proposed 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. The Draft PEIR is available for a 60-day public review and comment period from Dec. 4-Feb. 1. Two public workshops, each providing the same information, will take place at SCAG's Los Angeles office. The Draft PEIR is available for review on SCAG's website at:  http://scagrtpscs.net/Pages/Draft2016PEIR.aspx . S.F. Supervisors Support EIR for Warriors Arena  The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to support the Environmental Impact Report for the  Golden State Warriors ' 18,500-seat, $1 billion Mission Bay arena project. Rejecting an appeal from opposition group Mission Bay Alliance saying that the project would have unmitigable impacts on traffic and the UCSF Hospital at Mission Bay, the supervisors found that plans for beefed-up public transit traffic control officers could handle the thousands of basketball fans flooding the neighborhood for games. They also voted 9-1 -- with Supervisor John Avalos voting against -- to establish a Mission Bay transportation fund dedicated to paying for $55 million in transit infrastructure, including four new light-rail vehicles, upgraded Muni power, new signals and signage and an expanded T-Third line platform next to the arena and UCSF. However, Warriors officials fully expect that the project will face its final battle in court, as the Mission Bay Alliance has said that it will file a lawsuit to block the arena. LAO Report: Real Estate Taxes Lag Home Price Increases California's median  home prices  have increased by about 10 percent a year since bottoming out in 2011, but property taxes are likely to increase by only 1.5 percent next year, according to reports from two state agencies. The Legislative Analyst's Office first reported that median housing prices have increased by 45 percent in four years, reaching about $450,000 in September 2015. Topping the increases, San Francisco has seen a 15 percent increase to $1.1 million in the past year, and Santa Clara has seen a 13 percent increase to $926,000. However, with home prices and rents climbing far faster than incomes, the LAO study said those increases "could suggest that the housing market is somewhat overheated." The Board of Equalization said in a separate report that the 10 percent-per-year increases will not reflect next year's property tax bills because inflation has remained remarkably low, and the board's property tax overseer, Dean Kinnee, dispatched a letter to county assessors Friday, instructing them to raise taxable values by 1.525 percent in accordance with Proposition 13, the 1978 property tax limit. San Jose May Allow Tent City for Homeless The San Jose City Council is deliberating the creation of a tent city to quickly house a small portion of the roughly 4,000 homeless people in the city for the winter. Following the lead of Santa Clara County, which allocated $200,000 to a nonprofit to run a tent city, the San Jose Council voted 9-1 to ask staff to analyze the price tag and feasibility of a legal encampment and find potential locations. The staff report lists 11 public 2-acre sites for a potential tent cluster, ranging from Monterey Highway and Bernal Road near a freeway offramp to a vacant facility near the Hillview Library. Mayor Sam Liccardo has objected to the tent cities, saying that sanctioned encampments have not worked in other cities and finding a site will take too long to address the immediate needs of the homeless. Klamath River Dam Removal in Jeopardy After stalling for several years in Congress, a settlement between the state, environmentalists, tribes, and farmers to remove four dams along the Klamath River in both Oregon and California may fizzle out, causing a relicensing process to begin. The river basin has long been the site of intense political fights over the sharing of scarce water between farms and fish, and the compromise to remove the dams would restore the river for imperiled salmon and steelhead, and give farmers greater certainty about irrigation water. However, fearing it would set a precedent for dam removal, House Republicans have blocked the removal proposal for years. If there's no legislation by the end of the year, when the agreements expire, several parties indicated they might abandon the settlement. "It's not the end," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), whose congressional district includes the lower Klamath, told the LA Times . "If anything it may be the beginning of a new and potentially more productive push to get these dams out by way of the process and the Clean Water Act authority the state of California has." Relicensing of the dams would go through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses hydropower projects for 30 to 50 years. Groups Present Restoration Plan for Carrizo Plain Two environmental groups have teamed up on a plan to restore nearly 8,000 acres of degraded wildlife habitat in the Carrizo Plain area of southeastern San Luis Obispo County as a result of several lawsuits requiring two solar companies to conserve the land as environmental mitigation. The two environmental groups, Carrizo Plain Conservancy and the Sequoia Riverlands Trust, plan to replant the land, which has been converted to grassland through centuries of farming and grazing, with 15 percent brush cover. That land serves as habitat for pronghorn antelope, San Joaquin kit foxes, giant kangaroo rats, blunt-nosed leopard lizards and birds. The sprawling 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm was required to conserve 5,400 acres under a settlement worth several million dollars, and the nearby 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch was required to conserve 2,500 acres. Lompoc Purchases Site for Transit Center The Lompoc City Council approved an initiative to purchase $550,000 worth of land, marking the first step in the city's attempts to build a $13 million Old Town Transit Center . Funding for the center will partially come from the voter-approved Prop. 1B, which has already provided $2.3 million of an anticipated $3.1 million for the project. It will also rely on a yearly $1 million redirected from funds for streets and roads. The new facility will include 15,446 square feet in fleet maintenance bay space and 5,900 square feet in transit maintenance bay space, along with updated parking facilities. California Cities Among -Best Performing' Six California cities landed in the Top 25 spots of the Milken Institute's annual " Best-Performing Cities " index, with San Jose and San Francisco securing the first and second spots, respectively, on the list. "San Jose's tech boom continues unabated," says Ross DeVol, Milken Institute chief research officer and one of the report's authors. "Its economy has the densest concentration of high-tech manufacturing in the nation." The index finds that technology continues to power America's most dynamic cities, with diversified economies showing resiliency amid the plunge in oil prices. High Speed Rail Loses Key Supporter; Deal for Fresno Maintenance Facility Stalls The state high speed rail project hit another speed bump as Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando) withdrew her support for the project, saying that five other Democrats in the Legislature are also reviewing their positions. Support for the project amongst Democrats had previously been nearly unanimous, but Lopez told the LA Times that the project would damage her low-income, mostly Latino community, which has been hurt historically by the construction of three freeways, garbage dumps and other decisions by political power brokers in the state. In other high speed rail news, Fresno's plans to win the bid for a heavy maintenance facility have hit a hitch as the financial plan to build the 700-acre facility changed. Developer Tim Jones had offered to front $750,00 for the facility if Fresno County was chosen for the project. His funds would be supplemented by $25 million in Measure C funds. The Fresno County Transportation Authority had agreed to reimburse Jones. Jones, however, recently proposed new terms, putting the deal in jeopardy. Court Gives Powers to S.F. Rent Board A state appeals court ruled that the San Francisco Rent Board can apply its own safeguards to protect tenants against eviction in lieu of contrasting state laws. The case arises as various landlords in the city seek to evict tenants to raise rents on the next occupants. The landlord in this case, John Britton, relied on a 2000 state law that allows landlords to change the terms of month-to-month leases with 30 days' notice, announcing new rules for tenants and saying those who couldn't comply would have to leave. San Francisco's Rent Board, which enforces the city's 1979 rent control law, passed regulations in 2012 that restrict landlords' authority to enforce new lease terms by evicting tenants or forcing them to move out. Ruling in favor of the rent board, Justice Maria Rivera said in a 3-0 decision that under the Supreme Court rulings from 1976 onward, "a municipality has the authority to limit the substantive grounds for eviction."

The San Francisco Planning Commission approved unanimously a fifteen-month period of controls on new developments in the Mission District. These new controls will require developers to provide information on how the projects will affect the neighborhoods economic diversity. Developers excused from the new regulations are those with 25 or more units or at least one-third of apartments reserved for low-income residents. Housing projects with more than 75 units must provide additional projections of the affect to the residents, businesses and community. The neighborhood activists pushed for a full moratorium on new developments to keep the affordability in the Mission. Coastal Commissioners to Consider Ouster of Lester Members of the California Coastal Commission are considering ousting the commission's highest ranking staff member, Executive Director Charles Lester. His future will be an agenda item on the commission's February meeting, according to a recent notice. Capitol Weekly reports that pro-development forces are seeking Lester's ouster, while he generally has support from environmental advocates. The same report indicates that commissioners who support Lester's ouster are appointees of Gov. Jerry Brown. LAFCO Sues City of Gilroy The City of Gilroy is facing an unusual lawsuit by the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission for illegally annexing 721 acres of farmland to build a new 4000-unit development. LAFCO says Gilroy violated CEQA and did not consider water and other impacts, and is not developing land within its city boundaries. The city council is currently divided on the development of the project. Mayor Perry Woodward hopes the city and LAFCO will come to a compromise. "We've been saying all along that this will take 10 to 15 years," Woodward told the Gilroy Dispatch. "This isn't a short-range project. We will have a discussion with LAFCO and if we can find a middle ground, then we will move forward." L.A. City Council Formalizes Oversight of Olympic Bid Finances The LA 2024 Committee, the group that is backing Los Angeles' Olympic bid, has signed off on a memorandum of understanding that gives the Los Angeles City Council oversight over the bid's financial projections. Los Angeles City Council must sign off on the bid because of the possibility for financial risk to the city. The International Olympic Committee typically requires host cities to pledge financial guarantees. President of the Council Herb Wesson told LA Times, "We don't believe anything this big should occur without us being equal partners." The agreement enables the council to hire an accounting firm or other expert to examine revenue and cost projections. The major expenditure in Los Angeles hosting the Olympics is constructing the village, housing 17,000 athletes, coaches, and other support staff. Coastal Commission Advances Controversial Sea Wall Fee City of Solano Beach is discussing how best to protect the environment and recreational uses of a beach while still protecting homeowners on beach cliffs at risk of erosion. The California Coastal Commission has asked citizens living on the coast to pay a mitigation fee to for the amenity of a sandy beach, which is protected by the sea wall permits. The fee will then be issued statewide. The Solano Beach proposal is a fee of $870 per linear foot of sea wall and will increase up to $1,311 in 2026. Most sea walls in the city are 50 feet long, and homeowners have expressed concerns that the fees are too steep as by building these walls they are protecting beachgoers from collapse and landslides. According to a report in the L.A. Times, environmental groups feel it is "pointless to build sea walls because eventually the ocean will destroy them and the bluffs will collapse." S.F. Lawmakers Propose Competing Housing Measures Following the passage of several measures related to affordable housing in November, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Jane Kim have each proposed to put competing measures to promote affordable housing on the June ballot. Kim's measure would increase the minimum percentage of below-market-rate units in a development to at least 25%. Lee's proposal leaves that percentage up to the city controller and Planning Department. Supervisor Scott Wiener has also proposed an initiative in which conditional use permits would be excused for developments that are 100 percent affordable housing. The deadline for measures on the ballot passed last week; however, initiatives can be negotiated or pulled out. Burbank Enters into Contract to Plan High Speed Rail Hub The City of Burbank has entered into an agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority to spend $1.2 million to plan for a transportation hub adjacent to Bob Hope Airport. The rail authority announced it would provide $800,000 while City of Burbank will contribute $400,000, mostly from a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority grant. The project will take almost two years but will involve community outreach and designs. Other cities in California have reached similar agreements with the rail authority: Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield, Gilroy and Palmdale. Borrego Springs Faces Dwindling Water Supply Results from a six-year groundwater study completed by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that the inland San Diego County community of Borrego Springs may be in peril. Its only source of water, groundwater, is being depleted four times faster than it is replenished. The town of 3,500 people includes golf courses, and farms uses, which collectively use 20,000 acre-feet. Only 5,600 acre-feet sinks into the aquifers from rainfall and other sources. The study also showed that citrus farms (43%), palm tree farms and ornamental shrubbery nurseries use 70% of the water, while 20% goes to recreational reasons such as the golf courses, and 10% to residential. The town has constructed a group called Borrego Water Coalition to discuss and plan for its future. Sacramento Imposes Restrictions on Short-Term Rentals The Sacramento City Council unanimously approved two ordinances to regulate the use of short-term rental services such as Airbnb. Airbnb hosts must now obtain a business operations permit, and pay the transient occupancy tax of 12% of the room charge. The hosts must now notify neighbors within 200 feet that a permit has been issued, keep a register of all guests, have a six guest limit, rent less than 90 days annually if not primary residence, and host no weddings, fundraisers or other events. The ordinance is the strictest yet imposed among major California cities. Shirey to Step Down as Sacramento City Manager Sacramento City Manager John Shirey has announced he is leaving his position November 2016. He has served in Sacramento since 2011 and is credited with much of the revitalization of downtown Sacramento and Golden 1 Center. While Councilman Jay Schenirer says Shirey's greatest accomplishment was getting Sacramento on solid financial footing, in 2014 the city had a surplus for the first time in seven years. Shirey joined the city after a tenure as executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, which disbanded following the dissolution of redevelopment in 2011.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee introduced a five-pronged plan to build and rehabilitate 10,000 affordable housing units in the city by 2020. Significantly, construction will begin in November to allow nonprofit developers to take over federally funded public housing projects in exchange for upgrading them, hopefully repairing 1,400 units by 2017 and another 2,060 by 2018. In the wake of the removal of 5,470 apartments from protected status through evictions from 2004 to 2014, Lee's plan looks to pass legislation to give the city first right to buy the property if it goes on the market and to ensure that when new housing units go on the market, residents of that neighborhood have priority to rent or buy them. Though it strongly advocates for increasing affordable housing, Lee has clashed with sects of progressive housing advocates in opposing Proposition F, which would curtail the use of short-term rental sites like Airbnb, and Proposition I, which would halt construction of market-rate developments in the Mission for two years. While backers say that market-rate housing contributes to soaring prices, Lee says that the moratorium is counterproductive because market-rate developer help finance construction of affordable housing. Air District Votes for Stricter Controls on Urban Oil Fields Following a multitude of health and quality of life complaints over the past several years by residents neighboring oil and gas fields, the South Coast Air Quality Management District board in an 11-2 vote approved new rules requiring urban oil fields to control odors and more adequately respond to complaints from nearby residents. Applicable to as many as 240 facilities operating more than 4,000 onshore oil and gas wells, the regulations will require operators to adopt new odor control measures and post signs with instructions on how to report odor complaints. They will also force facilities within 1,500 feet of homes, schools and healthcare facilities to submit reports on the cause of any confirmed release of odors, oil mist, or droplets. Operators of facilities within 100 meters of homes will have to conduct daily inspections of well equipment in a compromise to industry groups that lowered the distance from the originally proposed 1,500 feet for daily inspections. More than 32,000 people in the Los Angeles basin reside within 100 meters of active or or gas wells, and about 1.7 million live within a mile of those wells. L.A. Olympic Bid May Jump-Start Transit Projects The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to use Los Angeles' bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics to fast-track two of its most anticipated rail projects. Metro sent a letter to the Federal Transit Administration asking to join a pilot program that would allow it to follow an "extremely aggressive" schedule to finish the $2.3-billion Purple Line subway extension and the $330 million LAX train station by 2024. The Purple Line - currently planned to be expanded in phases to Mid-Wilshire in 2024, to Century City in 2025, and to the Department of Veterans' Affairs campus in West L.A. in 2036 - would be crucial to the success of the Olympics, carrying thousands of international visitors to UCLA's campus to see events, Metro Chief Executive Phillip Washington wrote in the letter. Washington proposed accelerating the plan with concurrent construction on all three phases, hopefully funding the third phase through a $1 billion federal grant and $525 million in local taxpayer revenue, the letter said. They also hope to expedite the LAX "people mover," which will connect the airport with a consolidated car-rental facility, a ground transportation hub and a station on the Crenshaw line, from a 2028 schedule. FBI Targets Palm Springs Mayor's Ties to Developer The FBI raided Palm Springs' City Hall in response to allegations that Mayor Steve Pougnet illegally worked as a consultant for a developer when he voted to sell city property to the same developer. The raid comes as the city's downtown - developmentally stagnant for decades - has been booming with construction of new hotels and restaurants due to city incentives of hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the alleged involvement of the mayor with developer Richard Meaney, which the mayor called a mistake, has led some to say that developers have become too powerful in the desert city.  "People like to come here because it's an escape from the city, but this council is putting, basically, a miniature Century City in the heart of town," Frank Tysen, who owns a downtown boutique hotel, told the L.A. Times. Baylands Project Seeks Input from Would-Be Neighbors Residents in the tiny, 2,000-home city of Brisbane are being surveyed for their opinion on the proposed Baylands project, a huge mixed-use development that would add as many as 4,434 homes, condos and apartments along with 7.5 million square feet of commercial space on 684 acres of abandoned rail yards and bay fill. Center to the survey is how residents feel the surge of growth would alter the way of life in one of the Bay Area's smallest communities, with the survey asking voters to decide whether "I worry that too much is changing too fast in Brisbane and we're losing our small-town character," or "I feel we're maintaining Brisbane's small-town character even as we change and grow as a community." An alternate proposal put together by a citizens groups calls for a similar amount of commercial space, but no housing at all, raising red flags to housing advocates.  Study Questions Link between Food Deserts and  Obesity A study from Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. says that there is little evidence that eliminating food deserts - areas and neighborhoods that are devoid of fresh, healthy food - would improve people's health. Rather, the study said that causes of the obesity epidemic in low-income neighborhoods are more complex and include cost of food, cultural preferences, and marketing, and that simply putting a supermarket in a low-income neighborhood likely won't solve any problems. Specifically, the study found virtually no link between the type of food and drinks that Los Angeles County adults consume and the proximity of fast-food outlets, grocery stores and convenience stores to their homes. However, Dr. Paul Simon, director of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said that while government regulations intended to improve public health tended to be too simplistic, the food environment is still one of many important factors in the obesity epidemic. Cost of Transbay Terminal Development Rises San Francisco's new Transbay Transit Center, whose price tag for construction jumped from $247 million to $2.1 billion two months ago, will cost an additional $244 million to complete its first phase, according to new estimates from consultant T.Y. Lin International. The project's first phase will set up a bus terminal with room for a railroad in the basement and a park on top, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has repeatedly helped the Transbay Joint Powers Authority balance its budget as the costs have soared. According to the report, much of the reason for the increase in costs is the booming economy pushing construction costs higher, along with a pattern of inaccurate estimates on contracts and overly optimistic assumptions. Study Identifies Southern California's Worst Air Residents in an Ontario neighborhood near the 60 Freeway are breathing in the dirtiest air in California, according to new measurements of lung-damaging soot by the South Coast Air Quality Management District as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The average concentration of fine-particle pollution about 30 feet from the freeway was 18.7 micrograms per cubic meter from January to March, compared with federal health standards limiting concentrations to 12 micrograms. "It's not just people living along the 60 Freeway - anyone close to that many diesel trucks is going to be breathing the same heavy pollution," Penny Newman, who heads the Riverside County-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, told the Los Angeles Times. Last year, the EPA instituted new requirements that 100 big cities place pollution monitors next to major roads. Air quality officials used to place monitors at a distance from traffic and other big pollution sources. S.F. Sup. Weiner Devises Plan for Subway Construction San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener laid out a plan to increase and maintain subway infrastructure citywide through his "Subway Master Plan," which will task San Francisco with "always" having a subway under construction. Seeking to accommodate a potential population boom of over 2 million people in the next 30 years, Wiener's plan would bring Muni subways to the southern and western sections of San Francisco and construct a second BART transbay tube to connect the East Bay with San Francisco and to alleviate traffic as the Bay Area grows. The master plan, which Wiener plans to introduce via an ordinance to the Board of Supervisors this week, does not identify funding sources for subway tunneling, which Wiener said would be acquired on a per-project basis. San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Directors Chairman Tom Nolan, however, said that many of these projects require federal funding, and the government has lately been stingier. "With the current situation, they're not likely to give us an extra billion dollars for more subways," Nolan told the SF Examiner. San Diego Appoints Planning Director Jeff Murphy, the planning director for the City of Encinitas, will serve as the new Director of the Planning Department for the City of San Diego, according to a letter from Mayor Kevin Falconer. Murphy has served as the director for Encinitas for 15 years, overseeing land development operations and developing an approach to public engagement on the City's Housing Element Update. He was also instrumental in the rebuild efforts following the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, directing, organizing, and coordinating approximately 100 employees, supervisors, and contract staff in carrying out planning and land use efforts. Murphy succeeds Tom Tomlinson, who had served in an interim capacity for over a year, having succeeded CP&DR Publisher Bill Fulton.

Three environmental groups are suing Riverside County over a climate action plan and amendments to its general plan. Plaintiffs claim that, contrary to the plan's stated goals to combat climate chance and protect the environment, the plan actually creates increased traffic, air pollution and threats to wildlife. Plaintiffs include the Center for Biological Diversity, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club. The groups argue that the Board of Supervisors violated CEQA by certifying an inadequate environmental impact report. The county argues its plans are up to the state's standards and designed to assist California in meeting its GHG emission-reduction targets. According to the groups, Riverside County is not discouraging sprawl by increasing density in existing cities, not actively reducing pollution, and allows for developments near sensitive wildlife areas. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22. NFL Approves Rams' Move to Los Angeles After a 21-year wait, the National Football League has finally approved the relocation of a team to the Los Angeles area starting in the 2016 season. NFL owners voted, 30-2, to allow the St. Louis Rams to transfer to Los Angeles. They will temporarily play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and then move to a new stadium complex in Inglewood. The San Diego Chargers have a one-year option to join, but must decide by Jan. 15, 2017 or else the Oakland Raiders will get the year-long option. If they both choose to stay in their home markets they will each get $100 million for their own new stadiums. The proposed stadium in Inglewood will open in 2019 and cost almost $3 billion with no public funds. The 298-acre site will include entertainment, retail, housing, performing arts venue, and privately financed stadium with 70,240 seats. Study of Bay Area Carbon Footprint Released UC's CoolClimate Network, which includes researchers from UC Berkeley and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, recently released a ranking of census blocks in the nine-counties in the Bay Area according to carbon consumption. The per-household measurements are based on transportation use, food consumption, goods and services used, energy to heat or cool home, materials going into construction, electricity use and waste. The study is the first detailed carbon study of a major metropolitan area. "One of the things that really struck me the most was the wide variation within cities," Christopher Jones, program director of the CoolClimate Network, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Oakland, for example, has some of the highest and lowest carbon footprints in the entire Bay Area, all within the same city." The study found that Atherton has the largest per-household carbon footprint in the Bay Area, at 85.7 tons; Emeryville has the smallest, at 30.7 tons. Caltrans Issues Statewide Bikeway Guidelines Caltrans has issued a long-awaited "Class IV Bikeway Guidance" ( pdf ) document to assist planners and engineers in building protected bike lanes. In 2014 the Protected Bikeways Act mandated Caltrans create a category and guidance documents. The guidelines provide, for the first time, a statewide standard to help local planners design and implement bike infrastructure.  The document is written with a permissive rather than restrictive attitude to encourage the local jurisdictions to specialize to fit their communities. The guidance document are continuing protected intersections, loading zones and driveways. This document is designed to help engineers and planners build bike lanes for those commuters less comfortable with using the road alongside vehicle traffic. "We didn't want to dictate from a Caltrans statewide perspective," Kevin Herritt, chief of Caltrans' Office of Standards and Procedure, told Streetsblog . "The guidelines are intended to be flexible, so that all local jurisdictions can do what they need to do given their specific local circumstances." Coalition Proposes Region-wide Tax to Restore San Francisco Bay A coalition of Silicon Valley business leaders, Bay Area Council, and environmental groups such as Save the Bay are teaming up to create a new local tax for the Bay Area to vote on in the next election. This initiative would put a $12 tax on each parcel to grow a fund for bay restoration to protect against rising sea levels. If approved this program would raise $500 million over the next twenty years for levees and restoration of natural buffers such as marshes and wetlands. The tax poses complex issues in communities not adjacent to the Bay, such as Gilroy, Livermore, and Half Moon Bay that would still pay the tax. There is discussion of structuring it more like a benefits assessment; those that live closest to the potential danger should pay more. The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority voted Jan. 13 to place the measure on the June 7 ballot. Los Angles Landlords May Pass Some Seismic Retrofit Costs on to Tenants Under a plan recently approved by the Los Angeles City Council, property owners and tenants can split the costs of seismic retrofitting, with tenants having rent increases of less than $38 a month over a ten-year period. The plan clarifies an ambitious ordinance passed in October that requires around 15,000 buildings to be retrofitted, especially unstable wood-frame apartments and concrete buildings. The costs of retrofitting these types of buildings could cost between $130,000 to millions. With the cost-sharing discussion resolved, the question of implementation remains. Property owners have seven years to retrofit wooden apartments and twenty-five years for concrete. According to Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety there are approximately 13,500 soft-story wooden buildings that need retrofitting. The city is continuing to search for financing options to assist landlords such as low-interest loans, permit fee waivers and tax breaks. Ojai Approves Total Ban on Short-Term Rentals Enacting what may be the strictest limits on short-term rentals in the state, the Ojai City Council voted, 5-0, to ban informal rentals from sites such as Airbnb and VRBO in all areas of the city including mixed-use and commercial zones. Councilmember Betsy Clapp told the Ventura County Star, "online business model circumvents and undermines community zoning laws" by allowing renters who do not enroll in schools, volunteer or contribute to the community. While some citizens said they rely on short-term rentals for financial support, the majority of the community was against this new home-based hotel system. The council also voted, 4-1, to subpoena Airbnb, VRBO, and others for records on existing vacation rentals in Ojay. The restrictions go into effect Feb. 1. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Suit over Santa Ana Sucker Fish By refusing to hear a suit brought on by 21 Inland Empire water agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively put to rest an ongoing dispute over the protection of the Santa Ana sucker fish, which has been listed as threatened since 2000. The species lives in a specific 2-3 mile stretch of the Santa Ana river in Riverside, with over 9,000 acres in the county designated as critical habitat. Plaintiffs claimed the designation was based on flawed science and threatens billions of dollars of future water capture and groundwater recharge projects. With the ruling, the agencies must develop plans to protect the species. McKeever to Step Down as SACOG CEO Mike McKeever has announced, that 2016 will be his last year as Chief Executive Officer of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. During McKeever's 12-year tenure as CEO, the organization has been recognized as an active participant in collaborative regional decision making. The work of SACOG and the region is highly regarded nationally for the visionary Blueprint framework, the Rural Urban Connections Strategy (RUCS), several high performing Metropolitan Transportation Plans, and programming hundreds of millions of dollars for members and partners to construct transportation projects that increase transportation choice and mobility. Don Saylor, SACOG Board Chair for 2015 and Yolo County Supervisor, said in a statement, "Mr. McKeever is a tremendous asset to the Sacramento region. He has assembled a great team at SACOG and has been extremely effective at serving our diverse 31-member Board." A successor has not been announced. Transfer of Control over Ontario Airport Nears Completion Following an agreement over the sale of Ontario International Airport to the City of Ontario, the city is applying to the FAA take control of airport operations. Approval could come as early as July, thus substantially completing transfer of the airport from Los Angeles World Airports to the city. There are multiple payments being negotiated between the various cities, airports and agencies. Los Angeles World Airports will operate ONT during the transition phase and assist with the protection of workers positions and salaries. Upon transfer, Ontario will owe LAWA $120 million, to be paid for largely through $2 per-passenger fees. Redondo Beach Develops Plan for Waterfront The City of Redondo Beach is considering a public-private partnerships to redevelop its pier and other waterfront properties.  Infrastructure repairs to fix the pier, crumbling parking garages and waterfront cost around $108 million. CenterCal Properties and the city of Redondo Beach are working together on a $250 million project called Waterfront Redondo. The plan has 11 acres of public open space, improved beach and swim area, public market, 700-seat specialty theater, hotel, retail space, and wider boardwalk. Some residents have expressed concerns over restricted views, threats by exploding sea lion population and resistance to a mall by the sea. The proposal will go to the City Council in March for approval. Accessory Dwelling Units Catch on in Marin County The San Rafael City Council voted , 3-2, to approve "junior second units." Council members agreed that additional units need to be built in the city. However, two council members disagreed on the requirements for the new units, expressing concerns about overcrowding and excessive parking use. The new junior second units will be constructed without minimum lot size or additional parking spaces. Officials will monitor the program for two years to watch for overcrowding or other problems, which warrant revisions. The move is part of a trend in Marin County. Novato and Tiburon adopted ordinances earlier and Fairfax, Larkspur and Belvedere are moving towards adopting standards. San Jose Considers Approval of Apple Facility Even as Apple Computers constructs its new headquarters in Cupertino, the company has received endorsement from the San Jose planners for the construction of a new campus in North San Jose, near the airport. This 86-acre development would bring 16,000-20,000 Apple employees to the area. The development plan gives the campus 4.15 million square feet and 15 years to add buildings. Planners see the campus as an anchor for economic development in that part of the city.

With a significant increase in cap-and-trade funding for 2016, the Strategic Growth Council announced the expansion of the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program (SALC). SALC provides funds that compensate farmers and ranchers for creating conservation easements. It also assists local governments' plans to preserve agricultural lands, with an eye towards mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Available funding in 2016 will amount to $40 million, a eightfold increase over the previous year. Funds will be made available through a competitive application process. Last year, SGC received $45 million worth of applications. The new funding level comes with new guidelines from SGC. Funding match thresholds have been reduced, particularly for projects in disadvantaged communities. Pre-applicaitons are due Feb. 16. Further information, including new guidelines, is available here .  DMV Issues Draft Regulations for Autonomous Vehicles Anticipating what could be one of the most significant urban trends of the coming decade, the Department of Motor Vehicles released a draft of preliminary regulations of autonomous vehicles ( pdf ). The regulations primarily focus on safety issues. Proposed regulations include the following: third-party safety certification; presence of liscenced operators capable of controlling vehiciles at all times; initial three-year deployment permits for manufacturers; privacy and cyber-security protection for vehicles that collect and relay data while driving. DMV initially intends to allow only autonomous passenger vehicles. Two upcoming workshops will be held to discuss the draft regulations and recieve input: Jan. 28 in Sacramento and Feb. 2 in Los Angeles.  Oakland, San Diego Stand Firm on Football Stadium Offers With NFL owners meeting in mid-January, Oakland and San Diego have issued what are apparantly final offers to keep their respective football teams. San Diego officials, including Mayor Kevin Faulconer, promised a $350 millino contribution towards a replacement for Qualcomm Stadium for the Chargers. The City of Oakland is being less generous towards the Raiders. Mayor Libby Schaff and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty reiterated their refusal to spend public money on a new stadium. They have, however, promised to give the Raiders a favorable deal on the long-term lease of 60 acres adjacent to O.co Coliseum if the Raiders choose to fund their own stadium.  Garcetti Taps Pasadena's Vince Bertoni to be New L.A. Planning Director Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the nomination of Pasadena Planning Director Vince Bertoni as the new head of the Los Angeles Department of City Planning (LADCP). Bertoni comes to the department with more than 25 years of planning experience - including a previous stint at LADCP.  "Vince Bertoni's experience both here in Los Angeles and across the region will add tremendous value to our City's planning efforts," said Garcetti in a statement. "He is a professional who leads by collaborating and consensus-building - skills that will help him balance the diverse needs of our communities, and facilitate real progress in the ongoing conversation about development in this city."  Bertoni has served for five years as the City of Pasadena's Planning and Community Development Director. During that time, he successfully managed Pasadena's city planning program through a General Plan update, a comprehensive visioning process that happens just once every 20 years.  Before joining the City of Pasadena, Bertoni served as Deputy Planning Director in Los Angeles, where he oversaw the adoption of 16 historic preservation overlay zones, new guidelines for the Broadway Historic District, a bicycle master plan and a Hollywood community plan.  Los Angeles Goes After Nuisance Properties A new plan approved by the Los Angeles City Council would allow the city to take control of vacant nuisance properties from banks and put them under the control of a court-appointed overseer who would hire contractors to fix the houses for sale. Under the plan, proceeds from the sales, not taxpayer dollars, would pay for that work, including the fees of private attorneys who would handle the legal paperwork. "It offers an effective way to turn a property around quickly," City Attorney Mike Feuer told the LA Times. "This program costs nothing." Feuer's proposal now goes to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti for approval. If he signs off, the city attorney would be able to have outside firms start working on takeovers after 30 days. Mayors Form Homelessness Alliance Five West Coast mayors announced the creation of an alliance united in addressing the growing crisis of homelessness. The alliance, consisting of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, was developed during the West Coast Mayors Summit addressing homelessness, housing, and climate action. It first plans to elevate the importance of homelessness and housing in their communities and among their federal delegations. It would be committed to data collection and sharing - getting the right data for the West Coast - and sharing of best practices. Bay Area Cities Win Problem-Solving Grants San Francisco and San Jose are two of 13 new beneficiaries of grants from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's What Works Cities initiative, a program launched in April 2015 that provides grants to technical experts to help mid-sized urban governments solve local problems. The initiative, launched through New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies, plans to expand to as many as 100 cities by 2017, investing a total of $42 million to support consulting and technical assistance for mid-sized cities. Its goal is to encourage cities to adopt the data-driven governing techniques that distinguished Bloomberg's administration in New York City. L.A. River Project Gets Key Backing from Army Corps The Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, has signed off on the plan to restore the Los Angeles River, a major milestone in efforts to transform the river's aquatic ecosystem. This approval is a critical step toward moving the project forward to Congress for authorization and appropriation of funding.  The Chief's Report now goes to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) for administrative review and transmittal to Congress, expected in early 2016. Congress must authorize the project in a Water Resources Development Act and appropriate funds in order for the Corps and the City to begin construction.  The plan will restore approximately 719 acres by widening the river in key areas by terracing and restructuring channel banks to support vegetation, creating side channels and off-channel marsh, daylighting small streams, and removing invasive vegetation. Associated recreation features include trails, vista points, educational amenities, and pedestrian bridges. "We and our partners have put tremendous effort into developing and moving forward a plan that would improve the L.A. River ecosystem in a constrained funding environment," said Col. Gibbs. "Our number one priority of the plan is to restore the river's ecosystem while preserving the flood protection that is provided by the existing channel system."