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A contentious three-year planning effort to redevelop a former state mental hospital in Sonoma County is coming to a close, with land use decisions expected by the Board of Supervisors during December—or else the state takes back control of the property. Current proposals call for allowing a development that has 1,000 housing units and creates 900 jobs in retail and offices uses on the site of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), which closed in 2018. Those numbers could increase if the state takes control. Local residents are asking for only 450 units, while developers are expected to propose a far higher number. Affordable housing and open space preservation are expected to be hallmarks of whatever is approved. The board is expected to act at a special December meeting to approve a specific plan and EIR for the 945-acre site. Current plans call for over 700 acres to be preserved as open space, and development to occur within the existing footprint of buildings on the site, which is located in a wine growing region halfway between the cities of Santa Rosa and Napa. The open space will be integrated into adjacent Jack London State Historical Park on the west and Sonoma Valley Regional Park on its east. Unlike other mental hospitals that the state has closed, the SDC site is in a rural area prone to wildfire, with little transportation access and 130 aging structures. Buildings on the site burned during big fires in 2017. And yet, housing pressures are fierce. With a population of about a half million people, Sonoma County grew only by 1 percent between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. But like much of California, it needs more affordable housing, as residents continue to be priced out of existing units. Most of the county’s growth has occurred in its cities along Highway 101, north and south of Santa Rosa, its most populous city. The 2023-2031 Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocation for unincorporated Sonoma County is 3,881 units. California’s Department of General Services is currently trying to determine which developer to choose for the 180-acre project to be built around existing buildings at SDC. One development project, submitted by local environmentalists, calls for 450 homes and the creation of 600 jobs. Two other big-name developers have submitted proposals, according to the Kenwood Press— Napa developer Keith Rogal and Related California, which is building a huge project near Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium. Details of their SDC proposals have not yet been released. County Supervisor Susan Gorin, whose district encompasses SDC, said she expects a developer to be chosen sometime next year.

Santa Monica Seeks Legal Remedy to "Builder's Remedy" The City of Santa Monica plans to fight the “Builder’s Remedy” in court. At a recent city council meeting, City Attorney Doug Sloan said the city has hired an outside law firm to mount a legal challenge, though he did not say which firm had been hired. Sloan said the city will probably challenge the October 15 deadline for state approval of their housing element as the trigger for the Builder’s Remedy. He said the city will claim that the deadling should be date of an earlier letter from the Department of Housing and Community Development saying the city was “substantially in compliance.” “Some of these builder’s remedy applications we received after that we may not have to treat that way,” he said. Builder’s Remedy approval of some 5,000 units – apparently required under the Housing Accountability Act – set off a firestorm in Santa Monica and fear among cities around the state, though the lawyer representing the Santa Monica developer said the Builder’s Remedy may not be used as widely as some believe . Governor Rejects Cities' Homelessness Plans, Withholds $1 Billion Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected every plan to confront the statewide homelessness crisis, declaring that they are not bold or actionable enough. The move is largely symbolic, with Newsom acknowledging the validity of the public's arguments that elected officials are not fulfilling their promises to improve resources and housing availability. Now, $1 billion in funding for cities and counties will be delayed , though the governor has committed to collaborating with local government leaders to advance their homelessness plans. The move has faced criticism, with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and other officials stating that restricting funding puts services and shelter at risk for people who need it most while muddling the plan for moving forward. California Cities to Vote on Land Use Questions Roughly three-dozen land use questions that appear on local ballots stateside will be decided by the end of today. As usual, voters in the City and County of San Francisco face by far the most local measures. This year, the number is seven, including competing measures about whether to close a major street to vehicular traffic and several measures related to taxation for affordable housing. Several other cities, including Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, are also considering local taxation measures to fund affordable housing, homeless services, and parks. There are only a few instances of "ballot box planning," in which voters are being asked to accept or reject individual development projects; they include a question about a hotel in Laguna Beach. One of the more esoteric measures in recent memory is a question to change the name of the Ventura County city of Port Hueneme to the "City of Hueneme Beach." CP&DR will report full results of local ballot measures. Bay Area to Promote Transit-Oriented Communities Regionwide The Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission has adopted a Transit-Oriented Communities Policy intended to boost the Bay Area housing supply while increasing density in transit-rich areas; incentivize commercial development near transit hubs; improve transit, walking, and biking paths; and improve quality of life in transit-oriented communities for all residents. The policy is designed to upzone areas while prioritizing affordable housing and preventing displacement, and it includes the elimination of minimum parking requirements throughout most areas, encourages shared parking between residential and commercial spaces, and requires one parking space per new housing unit. The new policy will replace a previous initiative implemented in 2005 and will apply to areas within a half-mile of several transit options, including BART, Caltrain, SMART, and ferry terminals. Coastal Commission Approves Scaled-Down Desalination Plant in Orange County Having rejected a plan for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach five months ago, the Coastal Commission has unanimously approved a smaller, $140 million, publicly-owned plant that would produce five million gallons of potable water per day. One-tenth the size of the former proposal by Poseidon Water, the South Coast Water District's Doheny Ocean Desalination Project is intended to provide water to 40,000 Orange County residents in face of extreme drought. Water would also come from a closer source instead of pumped from the Colorado River or through the State Water project. This is the first desalination plant approved by the Commission since the implementation of more environmentally-conscious regulations. Quick Hits & Updates After four years of planning, Redlands City Council members have unanimously approved the Transit Villages Specific Plan, which details planning guidelines, including neighborhood-oriented zoning, for areas within a half mile of city transit stations. CalTrans financed the plan, which featured an information website, announcements, and workshops to encourage community input. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The Oceanside City Council upheld the approval of Oceanside's Ocean Kamp resort, which would include a surfing lagoon amongst restaurants, retail stores, a hotel, and homes. The approval was challenged for its extreme water use potential by a local nonprofit group composed of environmental advocates. The Coastal Commission extended a permit for a site holding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which includes over 50 canisters of nuclear waste. The 13-year extension was unanimously approved, though commissioners noted their desire for the federal government to locate a permanent storage space. The City of Alameda, which owns the 333-acre Corica Park golf course, and the golf course's operators, Greenway Golf Associates (GGA), are both suing each other over conflicts about discrimination, contract breaches, and accusations of a campaign to switch control of the complex. The issue began when Umesh and Avani Patel purchased GGA and improved efforts to make the greens more accessible, leading to pushback from the city. About 55,000 people left San Francisco to find a new home in one year, according to new data from the Census Bureau. This figure makes up 6% of the city's population, though an additional 7.6% of residents have considered relocating as well. A Texas developer who intended to redevelop San Bernardino's Carousel Mall is not moving forward with its plan due to "economic" reasons. The land on which the 43-acre mall sits remains in the hands of the city, though Renaissance Downtowns USA and ICO Real Estate Group may continue with their principal development role. As part of the Transformative Climate Communities program, the state has awarded $96.2 million in grants to 10 disadvantaged, unincorporated, and tribal communities to support local projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health, and expand economic opportunities. The 10 projects are expected to reduce emissions by 64,000 metric tons. In 2020, California reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by nine percent compared to the previous year, but that year's devastating wildfires eliminated two decades of reductions progress, according to recent findings. On top of a return to heavy car use, wildfires and insufficient reduction efforts are counteracting many of the state's emissions reduction strategies. The City of Whittier is facing a lawsuit from Whittier Conservancy, a nonprofit opposing the approval of a four-story, 52-unit apartment development. City council members approved changes, including less restrictive parking standards, to allow the project to move forward, which the conservancy alleges have not been properly considered in the environmental review. The percentage of vacant homes in San Francisco increased by over 50% between 2019 and 2021, according to a report from the Budget and Legislative Analyst's office. The data aligns with suggestions of a mass exodus from the city that began closer toward the beginning of the pandemic.

In litigation over the notorious 469 Stevenson housing project in San Francisco, the battle is between the California Environmental Quality Act and the Housing Accountability Act – and for the moment CEQA is winning.

Culver City Abolishes Parking Minimums Culver City council members have voted , 3-2, to abolish minimum parking requirements across the city in an effort to incentivize affordable housing construction, reduce auto-dependence, and make the city more pedestrian- and bike-friendly. In his vote of approval, Councilmember Alex Fisch noted that there is no real benefit to requiring parking spaces and that requirements often cause more harm than good. The new policy will not entirely eliminate parking but rather allow each project to decide whether or not parking would be beneficial. Culver City joins several cities throughout the state, including Sacramento, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda, but it is the first in Los Angeles County to make the change. The move comes in advance of the implementation of AB 2097, restricts cities' ability to impose parking minimums in many urban areas of the state. High Speed Rail Awards Contracts for Station Area Planning The California High-Speed Rail Authority has awarded $35.3 million to two-London based companies, Foster + Partners and Arup, to plan station areas along the initial operating route of the future statewide high-speed rail system. The architectural and engineering consulting firms will operate under a 30-month contract to plan stations through the San Joaquin Valley, including Fresno, Merced, Hanford, and Bakersfield. In addition to analyzing the existing sites and acquiring the property, the joint team will begin developing designs for the stations and may potentially be the team that finalizes and executes plans for construction. Eventually, the second stage will connect the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin. Two Bay Area Cities Permitted to Sue Oil Companies over Climate Change A federal judge has ruled that San Francisco and Oakland officials can sue major oil companies for releasing fossil fuels and attempting to conceal how their activity exacerbates climate change in a California state court. The oil companies were fighting to restrict the case to federal court, citing their operations on federally-owned land. However, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled against them, aligning with a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that would allow California courts to rule on a similar fossil fuel lawsuit from local governments against BP, Chevron, Conoco, Exxon Mobil, and Shell. Alsup's ruling is based on the impact of oil operations on local residents' health and well-being. HCD Cautions Elk Grove in SB 35 Dispute The Department of Housing & Community Development has weighed in on the Elk Grove SB 35 dispute, issuing the city with a “Notice of Violation”. As CP&DR reported last week , Elk Grove rejected an SB 35 application for supportive housing in the city’s Old Town, saying a ground-floor retail requirement was a “fundamental” land use that couldn’t be waived under the state’s Density Bonus law. HCD’s letter to Elk Grove said the city violated several state laws and failed to implement its Housing Element. “The City’s response should include, at a minimum, a specific plan for corrective action, including allowing the Project to move forward at 9252 Elk Grove Boulevard,” the department wrote. CP&DR Coverage: Bill Fulton on Builder's Remedy If the Builder’s Remedy becomes widely used, it could disrupt the local housing planning process even more than recent housing production laws. But there is no question that the Builder’s Remedy has become more attractive because of recent housing production laws that have strengthened the Housing Accountability Act and jacked up the number of units virtually every city must plan for in their housing elements. Projects can only be rejected for a narrow set of specified reasons, including lack of conformance with “objective standards”. If a preliminary application is filed, the “objective standards” in place at the time of the filing are locked in. Developer law firms in Northern California are already signaling to their clients that they might pursue the Builder’s Remedy. Quick Hits & Updates San Diego officials have adopted several programs intended to increase affordable housing construction, but the city issued much fewer housing permits for low-income residents in 2021 compared to previous years. While officials issued 1,254 permits in 2020, only 451 were approved in 2021. Meanwhile, rates for market-rate housing development remain steady. For the first time in 200 years, the Tongva people have land in Los Angeles County after an Altadena homeowner returned a one-acre stretch of land to the Tongva people. Tongva leaders intend to foster a place of community where land ownership will allow for ceremonial practices, culture, and healing. The Fish and Game Commission has delayed its decision on whether or not to list the Joshua tree as a threatened species, leaving it under consideration until at least February. Officials have noted that they want to continue conversations with tribal nations as they consider the tree's cultural and ecological importance. Permit Sonoma is circulating its final Environmental Impact Report and Specific Plan that will provide more information on redevelopment plans for the Sonoma Developmental Center. The proposal now includes 700 acres of open space and 1,000 housing units, including 283 affordable, as well as an affordable housing timeline priority. The Los Gatos Town Council has voted to push back the deadline of its decision on whether to allow voters to revise the 2040 General Plan or do it themselves until spring 2023. The revision would address an appeal from residents unhappy with the number of housing units planned for. Meanwhile, council members are working on the Housing Element. At the start of the new year, Chief Justice of California Tani Cantil-Sakauye will become the president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. Cantil-Sakauye will retire from her current position to assume her new role, which received unanimous support from the PPIC Board of Directors. UCLA will purchase two large properties in Rancho Palos Verdes currently owned by Marymount California University for $80 million in an effort to allow for more students on satellite campuses. The university, which accepted about 6,600 new students last year, hopes to add 3,000 more undergraduate students by 2030. While the Oakland Athletics organization says it is "privately financing" its new waterfront stadium, taxpayers will likely still contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the project. Government grants for off-site infrastructure total $321.5 million, though officials also imply that those estimates are likely to be far below the final costs.

Reinforcing the idea that local governments have more leeway on fees if they are part of an overall planning regime, an appellate court has ruled against an El Dorado County property owner who claimed that about $23,000 in traffic mitigation fees imposed on him were unconstitutional.

An exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act cannot be delegated to the staff completely and must be agendized as part of a city council meeting, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The appellate court overruled a Superior Court judge but remanded the case to the judge to determine the remedy.

Landowners in San Jose’s Coyote Valley have a sufficient enough claim of eminent domain against the city for their lawsuit to move forward, a federal judge has ruled.

CP&DR Vol. 37 No. 10 October 2022

Industrial Zoning Replaces Residential in Southwest Fresno Responding to advocacy from the logistics industry, the Fresno City Council  approved two proposals to rezone areas of southwest Fresno, one from neighborhood mixed use to light industrial and the other from medium-density residential to light industrial, allowing for more warehouses in both districts. One-third of a 92-acre area will revert to its previous zoning rules at the request of property owners, though the request to rezone the remaining two-thirds was denied. The area had been zoned for mixed use in 2017. The rezoning has led to discussions of a citywide zoning overlay district, which would include environmental protections. In addition to this rezoning approval, council members' support of an amendment to rezone 18.9 acres of vacant land for a Busseto Foods expansion has faced opposition from residents, environmental justice groups, and Attorney General Rob Bonta, who have expressed concerns about the health impacts on communities of color. Developers Seize Upon Insufficient Housing Element in Santa Monica After the Department of Housing and Community Development suspended the City of Santa Monica's local zoning ordinances in response to the city's inadequate Housing Element, developers have submitted 16 applications for new housing projects totaling over 4,500 units. Developers are taking advantage of the builder's remedy application process, which does not allow the city to reject a project based on a lack of compliance with the zoning ordinance or General Plan. Projects include a 15-story, 2,000 unit development; a 12-story, 222-unit building; and an 11-story, 340-unit development, 20% of which must be affordable to low-income residents or 100% affordable to those in the moderate income bracket. Now that its revised Housing Element has received approval, no additional builder's remedy projects can be considered, though it's likely these 16 projects will gain approval. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Developer Files Lawsuit Against Elk Grove for Denial of Affordable Housing The City of Elk Grove is facing a lawsuit from the developers of an affordable housing project that city leaders rejected for being too dense and not adhering to zoning restrictions in a historic district. Oak Rose LP planned to construct a 67-unit, three-story complex with housing and resources for previously unhoused low-income families. The developers are now suing for noncompliance with a state law intended to streamline affordable housing projects and that allows for zoning restrictions to be amended in order to provide more affordable housing. Elk Grove must approve and build over 4,200 affordable units to meet state RHNA requirements, with 1,300 currently planned for. (See related CP&DR coverage .) California-Based Researchers Win APA Journal's "Best Article" of the Year The Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA) recognized Evelyn Blumenberg and Hannah King's "Jobs-Housing Balance Re-Re-Visited" as the best article of 2021. The research considers more recent data of rising housing costs as compared to average incomes and concludes that California cities continue to become less self-contained, with many residents living in different jurisdictions from where they work. However, self-containment was higher in cities where housing costs remained more affordable. The authors intend for their research to inform policies that will increase housing availability in job-rich jurisdictions and lower housing costs. They also hope that their findings will improve job opportunities that are more aligned with worker characteristics. CPD&R Coverage: Inverse Condemnation in L.A.; SB 35 Settlement in Burbank The City of Burbank has settled an SB 35 lawsuit with a developer over a controversial housing project near an equestrian area. But another lawsuit from YIMBY California is still outstanding, as is the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Notice of Violation, and it remains to be seen how those situations will play out. The situation could set up a clash between the developer and local neighbors, who have reached an agreement, and HCD and YIMBY activists, who might hold out for SB 35 approval of the original project as a matter of principal.  L.A. Metro did not violate the California Environmental Quality Act or engage in inverse condemnation by building the “regional connector” light-rail project near the Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles by using cut-and-cover construction rather than boring a tunnel. The court concluded: “It seems counterintuitive to argue the application of or exemption to CEQA for purposes of seeking damages for a nuisance claim.” Quick Hits & Updates  The Governor's Office of Planning Research has appointed Saharnaz Mirzazadas as the new Chief Deputy Director for Climate and Planning. Previously, she was the Deputy Director of Community Investment and Planning at the California Strategic Growth Council. Many U.S. cities are in a housing crisis, but San Jose's is the worst, according to a new study from Angi. Researchers found that San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara have suffered greatly from a limited supply of homes, which has resulted in a 7.5% rise in housing prices over the last two years and 15,000 residents displaced. Sonoma County property owners will not be allowed to tap groundwater after the Board of Supervisors approved a six-month moratorium on all new wells to allow county officials to outline more well regulations. The move comes after a 2021 lawsuit by the California Coastkeeper Alliance seeking to implement more restrictions. The Norwalk City Council has approved further plans regarding the redevelopment of the City Hall's front lawn into an entertainment district with 350 housing units and commercial and open space. Councilmembers approved a general plan amendment, zoning updates, a conditional-use permit, and a leasing agreement that would allow the project to move forward. Redlands City Councilmembers have rejected an appeal by an Oakland-based law firm attempting to prevent a new City Center apartment project due to environmental impacts, allowing the Planning Commission's approval of the four-story, transit-oriented, mixed-use project on a vacant three-acre lot to move forward. The owner of the Sears Building, who originally proposed to house 10,000 unhoused residents in the famed Boyle Heights Art Deco structure, has changed the plan to accommodate only 2,500 beds. The reduction comes in response to protests from unhappy local residents, but opponents still remain unsatisfied, believing that the proposal as a whole is offensive. This year's Livability poll, published by CapRadio and Valley Vision, finds that almost nine of every ten Black residents are concerned about severe housing costs in Sacramento, more than any other racial or ethnic group surveyed. The poll also revealed residents' concerns about sufficient childcare, education, and mental healthcare resources. This year's Livability poll, published by CapRadio and Valley Vision, finds that almost nine of every ten Black residents are concerned about severe housing costs in Sacramento, more than any other racial or ethnic group surveyed. The poll also revealed residents' concerns about sufficient childcare, education, and mental healthcare resources. Los Angeles City Council members intend to form 100 miles of bus-only lanes in the next five years, alongside other improvements the city bus stops, to make bus transit faster and more dependable. The new miles will likely be concentrated in high-ridership corridors and transit-dependent communities.

So, what is this “Builder’s Remedy” that has led to the sudden and automatic approval of close to 5,000 housing units in Santa Monica? Where did it come from? How widely is it likely to be used?

The City of Elk Grove and a developer proposing a supportive housing project in the city’s Old Town district are locked in a battle over whether the project is covered by SB 35, which would require ministerial approval of the project.