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"Coals to Newcastle" isn't exactly the right metaphor, but it's close. The delivery in question is not a boatload of anthracite but rather its opposite: a recent $ 1.1 billion donation from John Doerr, a partner at the vaunted Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, and his wife Ann, to Stanford University for the establishment of the Doerr School of Sustainability. It is envisioned as an interdisciplinary educational and research institution dedicated to fighting climate change.  The school will cover disciplines including energy, climate science, and sustainable development and environmental justice, and it will house up to 150 faculty members. I don’t doubt that an institution like Stanford will produce important work with those funds. And yet, the idea of fighting climate change by cloistering it in an ultra-exclusive institution, in a region that is already well versed in the ravages of climate chance, seems to miss the mark. To be sure, undoing, mitigating, or at least adapting to the effects of climate change requires study. But academic research takes time. And the climate effort needs many things that already exist, or, at least, that are coming into existence—especially in California. Dating back to the days of “An Inconvenient Truth,” the state adopted a raft of laws and regulations designed to promote dense development. They include AB 32 (greenhouse gas reduction), SB 375 , (dense development and coordination between land use and transportation), SB 743 (reducing vehicle miles traveled), and others—all of which take aim, in some way or another—at the carbon-intensive landscape that California built in the 20 th century and on the types of fuels we use. For planners, the most important elements of these laws are those that promote dense urban development that enables people to get around without individual cars and that align development with public transit and active transportation. In many cases, these regulations are designed to enable the California Environmental Quality Act—one of the country’s original pro-environment laws--to actually do what it's supposed to do. These policies are complicated insofar as they are bureaucratic. And they are controversial insofar as many Californians cling to the status quo, especially if it involves a single-unit home. But they are based on pretty simple principles. Regardless of what new model of electric Hummer comes along or how much your wifi-enabled thermostat knows about your bodily habits, the "technologies" and "policies" surrounding dense, car-phobic development are literally millennia old. In some cases, mitigating climate change doesn't require anything new -- it just requires less obstruction. Look at, for instance, CEQA's antagonism toward infill development or the affordable housing industry's disingenuous affection for parking minimums (which they like only because they allegedly make density bonuses relatively more attractive). Every planner knows about them, whether they went to Stanford or have just looked out the window.  That's one reason why, as delighted as I am for a proud California institution to get a windfall, the approach and the geography of this gift perplex me. Granted, Stanford is a global institution, and the school will have global impacts. But location still matters. California is already a leader on the climate front, in terms of policy, public sentiment, and technology. For all of California’s faults, obliviousness to climate change is not one of them. The hearts and minds that need changing are elsewhere. There's Texas, for instance – where the Doerrs went to college. Rather than plunk $1 billion down just a few miles Tesla’s main factory, why not do it in Houston – the home of ExxonMobil? Or maybe in Iowa, where ethanol corn still gets more respect than windmills. Or Florida, which promises to sink into the Atlantic any day now. Those would have been difficult choices (because, in part, many scholars and students might be uncomfortable living in some of those political climates). But they would have sent a far stronger message. Instead, the Doerrs chose to keep their money in their own backyard, comfortably within view of their fellow tech billionaires. And what backyards they are! Say what you will about New York billionaires, they live more sustainability than Woodside billionaires do. I don’t like to make ad hominem arguments. But, it’s possible that the Doerrs are focusing on academic and technological solutions to climate change because they—and so many others in Silicon Valley—are unschooled in the urbanist solutions. Despite having a darn good model of dense urbanism at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, the cities of the South Bay exemplify what not to do. They rely on freeways and wide boulevards. They celebrate single-family homes and denigrate density. They price out almost all workers below executive level, forcing them to drive in or take infamous “Google Buses” and the like. For people who deal in futuristic nano-scale technology, the carbon footprint of the typical Silicon Valleyite is more like that of a brontosaurus. The advances that have come out of Silicon Valley in the past three decades eclipse anything in the previous history of human civilization. Unfortunately, many of them have arisen in the service of wealth creation rather than in the preservation of the human race, civil society, and the biosphere. Oh well. The Doerrs’ donation feels more like penance than a sincere attempt to marshal the financial and intellectual forces of his industry. $1 billion is a pittance for Silicon Valley. $1 billion is a tiny fraction of the funding that Kleiner Perkins has awarded and a rounding error compared to the value of the companies in which it has invested. Heck, it's only 10% of the Doerrs’ personal net worth. But, $1 billion is better than nothing, I suppose. I sincerely hope the Doerrs’ donation does some good. (In particular, I hope the institute brings on some psychologists to figure out how to talk sense into climate deniers.) John Doerr has been an effective angel investor in the world’s sexiest industry. In this instance, though, he and many other smart, wealthy, powerful people are going to have to figure out more humble ways to move heaven and earth. Until then, I guess we'll have to keep the coal shipments coming. Image courtesy of Ari He, via Flickr .

In the latest skirmish between the UC Berkeley and resident groups in the city, an Alameda County judge ruled that the university can move forward with a student housing project in People’s Park , the site of an infamous confrontation between student protesters and police in 1969. But two days later a state appellate court stayed the judge’s ruling until at least October. After Judge Frank Loesch made issued his written ruling August 2, UC officials immediately began clearing People’s Park, leading to a series of protests. But on August 4, Justice Teri Jackson of the First District Court of Appeal, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, issued a stay blocking “all construction and further demolition, tree-cutting, and landscape alteration activities” unless health and safety issues are involved and also denied UC permission to build a security fence. The case involves many of the same players as the recent Berkeley enrollment case – including the same plaintiffs’ lawyer, Thomas N. Lippe – and made many similar arguments, arguing that UC’s environmental documents do not consider capping or reducing enrollment as an alternative and that the university should have considered alternative sites. People’s Park is a 2.8-acre off Telegraph Avenue along Dwight Way that UC originally purchased via eminent domain in 1967. The site was originally slated for student housing and other purposes, including a sports field, but in 1969 local residents essentially appropriated the site as a park. In May 1969, a protest on campus moved to the park and protesters argued vocally to keep the park from further development. Law enforcement officials responded by seeking to disperse the crowd but at least one person was killed in the melee. Recently, People’s Park has been occupied by a large number of homeless people living there. UC’s plan for the park calls for 1,100 student housing units, more than 100 supportive living units, and the retention of 1.7 acres of the site’s 2.8 acres as a park. Earlier this year, UC officials began relocating homeless residents to nearby apartments and clearing the site.

San Francisco Upzoning Ordinance Faces Veto by Mayor Breed A controversial proposed ordinance that would do away with single-family zoning throughout San Francisco -- but impose what critics describe as onerous burdens on land owners who want to develop small mulit-unit buildings -- is effectively dead. Mayor London Breed wrote a letter to the Board of Supervisors promising that she would veto the ordinance if it passed. Breed suggested that the ordinance's approach to development of fourplexes in residential neighborhoods and six-unit homes on corner lots would undermine SB 9 by increasing restrictions that make it harder to build housing. As only six board members supported the measure, the board cannot override the veto. However, supervisors continue to disagree with the mayor's decision, urging that they worked diligently to ensure the law would encourage both density and local land use decision making. The Department of Housing and Community Development, meanwhile, voiced its support for the mayor's veto, stressing that the proposed law would have severely undermined SB 9. San Jose, Santa Clara Reach Settlement in Long-Running Feud In a settlement agreement with Santa Clara, San Jose is drafting a plan to invest $38.5 million in transit infrastructure aimed at minimizing congestion in the northern part of the city. The plan would open up opportunities to build more affordable housing near key transit areas that does not, as previously required, have to pair with commercial space. In return, Santa Clara will not sue San Jose over the construction process. San Jose has committed to ensuring that 20% of total new housing is affordable, though the first 8,000 built would be market-rate. The agreement follows two decades of legal turmoil between the cities, though Santa Clara County has not yet approved the agreement due to the unfinished construction of several San Jose projects. HCD Releases Online Tool to Promote Fair Housing The Department of Housing and Community Development released a new feature of its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Data Viewer that will more comprehensively identify the impacts of segregation. The Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAAs) map layer builds upon a metric established by researchers at the University of Minnesota to consider racism and segregation specific to California's geography. In an effort to confront policy that has systemically driven racially concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, the AFFH and RCAA will remain accessible to the public, including researchers, nonprofits, and elected officials, who would be able to reference data as support for affecting change. SANDAG Advances New Housing Agency A new regional affordable housing agency may come to fulfillment after the San Diego Association of Governments' board of directors voted in favor of amendments to SB 1105. The new program, titled the Regional Equitable and Environmentally Friendly Affordable Housing Agency, would center housing accessibility for residents making 120% or less of the area median income. It would raise finances through taxes and applying for state and federal funding, though that opportunity would not come until the 2024 general election. Its tax and governance structure and proposed effectiveness is facing pushback from nonprofits such as the San Diego Housing Federation and other elected officials, implying many debates to come before the program can be established. Quick Hits & Updates  The Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Operations Committee and Applied Wayfinding Inc. have agreed to a $6 million contract to establish a mapping and wayfinding system for Bay Area transit agencies across the region. Information would include information on pedestrian access to bus stop, shuttle, and major transit hub locations. Despite vociferous criticism from equitable housing activists, St. Francis Wood has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, which will severely restrict the construction of new housing in the neighborhood. Though the St. Francis Homes Association claims the area will be inclusive, the decision continues to face criticism for preserving racial and economic segregation. Rising housing values statewide have created a new, very large (1.2 million) group of residents who have become millionaires due to the appreciation of their homes. These millionaires, according to data from the PPIC, are typically older, white or Asian, have paid off their mortgages, and are long-time homeowners. The Costa Mesa City Council is considering a ballot measure that would slightly minimize the impact of Measure Y, which allows voters to decide the fate of large-scale development projects. Due to the minimal approval of such projects, officials are proposing a new measure to go in front of voters that would exempt proposals to meet state housing goals from voter approval. The potential for housing exemptions in commercial and industrial neighborhoods under  Measure Y, though, is not yet set in stone and may in fact be relaxed, as city officials will continue to update the ballot measure before handing its fate off to voters in November. Palmdale will join an updated Joint Powers Agency intended to facilitate the construction of a high-speed rail system between Antelope and Victor valleys that connects to Las Vegas. The city will work with Los Angeles County, Lancaster, Adelanto, and Victorville, with LA Metro potentially joining as well. Though Elon Musk ditched his plan to build an underground tunnel for high-speed transit between the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink station and Ontario International Airport, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority intends to move forward with an updated $492 million two-tunnel plan for simultaneous travel in both directions in less than 10 minutes. Colton Joint Unified School District officials have entered a deal with an Orange County warehouse developer to swap the land that holds Zimmerman Elementary to avoid a plan that would surround the school with 2.7 million square feet of warehouses. The developer will spend $45 million to construct a new school, though community members remain concerned by the extreme level of warehouse pollution throughout Bloomington. The Glendale City Council is reviewing two plans for a streetcar line that would connect downtown Glendale to other regional services, spanning a 2.6 square-mile area. Transit officials intend for the system to eventually lead into Burbank. The Port of Long Beach's Board of Harbor Commissioners is reviewing the cost of restoring the Queen Mary after the ship's prior operator filed for bankruptcy. As the city attempts to transfer the ship to the port, officials estimate that an assessment of the Queen Mary will cost $3 million and that restoration and upgrades will total hundreds of millions.

CP&DR Vol. 37 No. 7 July 2022

Thousands of Acres Preserved in L.A., Ventura Counties As part of a significant effort by nonprofits to purchase land for environmental protection, the Trust for Public Land completed the final purchase phase of 6,000 acres of Los Angeles County ranch land known as the Hathaway/Temescal Ranch. The group transferred the property to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which will operate the land with the goals of improving biodiversity, increasing green space access, and reducing carbon saturation. In addition, the Ventura Land Trust purchased 1,645 acres of Ventura's Mariano Rancho hillsides in an effort to restore wildlife habitats and public access in the next few years. The land trust received financial support from state legislators. SGC Program Helps Cities Develop "Resilience Centers" The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) launched its new Community Resilience Centers program as part of the state's 2021-2022 Climate Budget Package. Over the next two years, the SGC will receive $100 million to invest in upgrades to local resilience centers that provide shelter and resources for residents experiencing dangerous climate and environmental conditions, including extreme heat and air pollution. The program also includes food distribution and workforce development training year-found and will center community hubs, such as schools, libraries, health clinics, and places of worship. The SGC intends to release draft program guidelines in September 2022 for public commentary, and the first round of funding is expected to kick off as applications open early 2023. Environmental Groups File Suit to Block L.A. River Master Plan The Los Angeles River Master Plan is facing legal trouble after two environmental groups identified officials' failure to adequately review its environmental impacts. In their lawsuit, LA Waterkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity maintained that the county violated CEQA and are requesting that officials conduct a proper environmental impact review before approving the plan. The lawsuit follows several nonprofit groups' withdrawal of support in advance of supervisor approval, with many specifically concerned about Frank Gehry's plans to build "elevated platform parks." Instead, the plaintiffs and other associated groups hope that the plan more directly concerns naturalizing the path that runs along the river. CP&DR Coverage: Budget Surplus Skimps on Housing The state hit the jackpot in 2021 with, by some measures, a surplus of over $95 billion above projections. That surplus is bigger than the entire annual budgets of all but eight states. This year's total general fund budget amounts to $235 billion, up from $196 billion last year. Based on a budget revision released in May and adopted in early July, relatively little of those funds will go toward the state's multimillion-unit housing crisis, with only a handful of line items, each in the hundreds of millions of dollars, dedicated to various housing programs. For planners, the biggest bang for the state's buck may come in the form of increased funding for the Office of Planning and Research, including $65 million to establish a new office dedicated to outreach and partnerships between OPR and localities. Quick Hits & Updates The Pomona City Council  approved a 45-day moratorium on new warehouses and trucking facilities while city officials study the burdens of industrial development on neighboring communities. The moratorium may be extended and includes exceptions for businesses expanding by a maximum of 20,000 square feet. Two donations totaling $2 million will fund the introduction of the University of California San Diego's Homelessness Hub, a program that will conduct research, center education, and inform policy and action on homelessness in San Diego. A $50 million state grant will help finance the Sacramento Valley Station renovation project, which includes a new regional bus layover and vehicle charging station, additional regional transit stops, and updated payment technology. The redevelopment of San Jose's Cambrian Park Plaza into a mixed-use village will move forward after the San Jose Planning Commission approved a plan for the old shopping center. The new development is proposed to include housing units, retail and office space, a hotel, and playfields. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the public opening of San Francisco's new 14-acre Presidio Tunnel Tops park. The park received funding from many San Francisco private donors, who contributed $98 million to the park. The Strategic Growth Council opened the Full Application for Round 1 of the Regional Climate Collaboratives Grant Program with a deadline of October 7, 2022. The program aims to provide more climate grants to under-resourced communities and improve local action and collaboration. The San Francisco November ballot will include a measure that would add formal oversight to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing following a report that the department does not properly track housing stock. A proposal for a passenger rail link between the Coachella Valley and Los Angeles's Union Station will move forward after the Riverside County Transportation Commission adopted a service plan for the project. The 144-mile path would use existing tracks and necessitate up to five new stations in Riverside County. A California federal judge reversed Trump-era restrictions to the Endangered Species Act, siding with several environmental groups and restoring protections for hundreds of wildlife species facing development and climate danger. A new feasibility study that analyzes redevelopment potential for the L.A. County General Hospital building and 12 acres of surrounding land proposes several options for the 1.2 million square foot Art Deco building, including housing for very low-income residents, community service spaces such as schools and health centers, and open green space. San Francisco and San Jose have been identified as the first and ninth most livable large U.S. cities, while Berkeley is one of the most livable midsize cities, according to a new tool from AARP. The group's Public Policy Institute has a new Livability Index that identifies the most livable cities using 61 factors, from environment to housing and transit options. The Santa Ana City Council approved an ordinance that increases developer fees from $5 to $15 per square foot for projects without affordable housing. Officials also established incentives fro contractors to hire local union workers. Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Heidi Marton announced her resignation, mentioning her disagreement with LAHSA's board over her decision to increase salaries of the organization's lowest-paid employees. Fresno County is pushing back against Attorney General Rob Bonta's letter critical of the county's draft general plan that is generous toward industrial development that would harm at-risk communities. Fresno officials describe the letter as a bureaucratic charge. Measure E, San Jose's ballot measure approved by voters in 2020, has brought in over $140 million over the past two years, with totals a $65 million surplus. The real estate transfer tax was originally intended to contribute $40 million per year to affordable housing and homelessness programs, in which officials plan to invest more with the extra funds.

In the first half of the 20th century, Beach Boulevard served day trippers traveling from inland Orange County to Huntington Beach, earning it the nickname “The Road to Summer.” Even today, most drivers are likely to want to get through the boulevard as quickly as possible, bypassing an unattractive streetscape of strip malls and seedy motels. Now, Anaheim is attempting to revitalize 1.5-mile stretch of the road in hopes that it becomes a new focal area of the city. The boulevard, which is also a part of State Route 39 and serves over 60,000 vehicles daily, remained popular with travelers for decades, even as Orange County suburbs began popping up in the area. The route is a major north-south artery through western Orange County, serving some of the area’s major tourist attractions, including Knott’s Berry Farm. “As these suburbs sprang out, and the freeways came along in SoCal in the ’60s and ’70s, they had a better way to travel,” Planning and Building Director Ted White said. “Beach Boulevard. as a traveler’s highway lost its way, and it became more of a commuter highway.” The city shared control of the highway with Caltrans, and neither entity implemented a progressive vision for the road, especially in an era when cities--especially in heavily suburban Orange County--were focusing more on malls and other private spaces than they were on streets and public amenities.

In the latest court battle over a self-storage facility in Granite Bay, an appellate court has ruled that a previous appellate ruling declaring a California Environmental Quality Act case moot doesn’t prevent the neighbors from pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging the issuance of a business license for the facility.

Southern California Cities Get Relief on Zoning Update Deadline State policymakers are planning to take some of the pressure off of Los Angeles and other large Southern California cities to meet state housing goals under an impending deadline. While the City of Los Angeles currently has an October deadline to rezone and allocate land to construct 250,000 new homes, state officials are now suggesting that completing that goal would be impossible and are proposing that the city have until fall 2024, which should give Los Angeles plenty of time to rezone for more housing. The new timeline would also give Los Angeles and other cities an opportunity to apply for state affordable housing grants, a critical resource that would disappear if the city did not meet the October deadline. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Bonta Cites Undue Pollution in CEQA Suit Against Moreno Valley General Plan Attorney General Rob Bonta is taking the lead on a lawsuit against Moreno Valley's General Plan, arguing that its environmental review violates the CEQA and will heighten pollution in an area already saturated with polluted air from large-scale warehouses. Bonta has stated that Moreno Valley failed to consider a proper environmental baseline, the rise in pollutants that would violate air quality standards, and the impact on nearby schools, hospitals, and communities. Bonta argues that Moreno Valley did not fully account for and mitigate the environmental and public health consequences of its General Plan. Specifically, Moreno Valley fails to compare the General Plan’s air quality impacts against a proper environmental baseline; evaluate whether the General Plan would lead to a significant, cumulative increase in pollutants like ozone and particulate matter, which impacts whether the region can meet state and federal air quality standards; and consider whether the General Plan would increase pollution near schools, hospitals, and other sensitive sites or otherwise negatively impact the surrounding communities. The suit also claims Moreno Valley’s Climate Action Plan also contains unenforceable measures that fall short of what is required to mitigate the General Plan’s anticipated greenhouse gas impacts. “Communities in Moreno Valley experience some of the highest levels of air pollution in the state. We're intervening today so that those communities do not continue to bear the brunt of poor land use decisions that site warehouses outside their doors," said Bonta in a statement. Report Faults Prop. 13 for Exacerbating Inequity A new analysis of Proposition 13 details the extent to which the initiative has exacerbated the wealth gap, housing shortage, and unjust funding for public schools. The report, conducted by the Opportunity Institute and Pivot Learning and titled "Unjust Legacy," is intended to provide elected officials and other researchers with a more comprehensive understanding of the damage caused by the 1978 initiative passed by voters angered by rising property taxes. Researchers concluded that Prop. 13's heightening of generational wealth for wealthy white families--in addition to redlining, exclusionary zoning, and racism--has severely restricted access to wealth, housing, and other resources for low-income families and families of color. Additionally, in the two decades following Prop. 13's approval, California dropped from fifth to 47th place in nationwide per-student funding, propelling California's education gap. Developer Purchases Great America Theme Park for Long-Awaited Redevelopment A San Francisco developer has purchased the land on which Santa Clara's Great America amusement park stands for $310 million. The operator, Cedar Fair, purchased the land that it had been leasing for over 40 years ago from the City of Santa Clara just three years ago. Now, Cedar Fair has commented that it sold the sale under debt pressure to Prologis, who will lease the park back to Cedar Fair for the next six years. Cedar Fair can extend the agreement up to 11 years. Prologis has not yet commented on its development plans once the 11 years is up. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: New Wrinkle in CEQA Exemptions The age-old question under the California Environmental Quality Act: When is a government action exempt under CEQA? The question is still evolving, as a recent unpublished appellate court ruling involving Los Angeles-controlled water in Mono County shows. The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power has controlled water in Mono County for more than a century and during that time has been engaged in more than a few battles with both local officials and environmentalists over how much water to ship to L.A. and what environmental mitigation should be required. The latest involves a set of leases on 6,100 acres of land owned by DWP in Mono County which were approved in 2010. A trial judge sided with the Sierra Club and Mono County, but the First District Court of Appeal overturned the decision. Quick Hits & Updates A judge has blocked Riverside's proposed Magnolia Flats residential and retail center after owners of a nearby supermarket sued, arguing that it would be impossible for delivery trucks and customers to properly access the parking lot. The developer has appealed the injunction and plans to move forward with constructing 450 housing units and a 9,000 square-foot retail center. The Redlands City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on new warehouses, joining the other Inland cities of Chino, Colton, Riverside, and Jurupa Valley. In the meantime, city staff members will review the impacts of existing facilities to plan for future guidelines. The Culver City Council has voted , 3-2, to abolish parking minimums after reviewing a survey on citywide off-street parking. However, minimums will remain until the zoning code is amended later this year. A California federal judge has reversed Trump-era restrictions to the Endangered Species Act, siding with several environmental groups and restoring protections for hundreds of wildlife species facing development and climate danger. California voters will decide the fate of an initiative to raise $100 billion over 20 years to reduce air pollution on the November ballot. The Clean Cars and Clean Air Act, which received over one million signatures, would tax income over $2 million to fund a transition to electric cars and efforts to reduce wildfire risk. Los Angeles Metro is pursuing a plan to reduce gentrification near its new train stations: land-banking. The process involves working with the county to purchase land early in the planning process and then selling it to affordable housing developers in order to increase housing accessibility near transit. The City of Palm Desert has offered city property to the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition at no cost to construct 14 multifamily units as part of the Palm Desert Merle Street Urban Self Help Program. Officials plan for the program to give low-income households an opportunity to become homeowners. Santa Barbara officials are considering an ordinance that would restrict applications to build new hotels until the housing element is updated to ensure affordable housing construction, especially for service workers. As a result, 21 existing hotel proposals would not move forward in order to limit the rise in vacation rentals and value of land zoned for housing. San Francisco residents will be some of the first to see ride-hailing, robot-operated Chevy Bolt EVs after the state Public Utilities Commission approved a permit for driverless vehicle maker Cruise. As more vehicles appear on the streets, Cruise is expected to publish an app for residents to request a robotaxi ride. Los Angeles County will join a new agency established to facilitate the planning, development, and construction of the High Desert Multipurpose Corridor project after the Board of Supervisors approved the motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger. The 54-mile project is part of a larger initiative to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

While few economists would call California's revenue streams optimal -- especially with the constraints of Proposition 13 -- the state hit the jackpot in 2021 with, by some measures, a surplus of over $95 billion above projections. That surplus is bigger than the entire annual budgets of all but eight states. This year's total general fund budget amounts to $235 billion, up from $196 billion last year.

The age-old question under the California Environmental Quality Act: When is a government action exempt under CEQA?

HCD Determines Vast Majority of Jurisdictions Subject to SB 35 Streamlining The Department of Housing and Community Development announced updated SB 35 Determinations displaying the California cities and counties that are subject to streamlined housing approvals for specific housing projects under Senate Bill 35. For 2022, a total of 38 jurisdictions are exempt from streamlining, meaning that HCD considers their housing policies in full compliance with SB 35. Two-Hundred-Thirty-Eight jurisdictions are subject to SB 35 streamlining with at least 50% affordability; developments with at least 50% affordability would also be able to access SB 35 streamlining in the 263 jurisdictions noted below, for a total of 501 jurisdictions. Two-hundred-thirty-six jurisdictions are subject to streamlining with at least 10% affordability. For most of the state (501 jurisdictions out of 539 jurisdictions) SB 35 Streamlining is available to developments with at least 50% affordability. Accompanying the updated SB 35 Determination is an online interactive map . (See related CP&DR coverage .) Manhattan Beach to Return Property Unjustly Taken from Black Family Bruce's Beach, an open space that belonged to a Black family before the City of Manhattan Beach seized the property nearly a century ago and displaced the family, will officially be returned to the family of Willa and Charles Bruce. In 1995, the city transferred the beach to Los Angeles County, which unanimously approved the transfer last week. The county will rent the property from the Bruces for the next year. The move appears to be a historic plan that could encourage the return of more land to Black and Indigenous people and people of color, as many local entities are proposing land returns to combat long histories of government-sponsored displacement. Laguna Beach Sues Coastal Commission over Handling of Downtown Plan The Laguna Historic Preservation Coalition and two other groups have sued the Coastal Commission over its alleged negligence of detailing the environmental impacts of the Laguna Beach Downtown Specific Plan Update and voluntary preservation guidelines for property owners. The groups are requesting that officials rescind their authorization of the Specific Plan unanimously approved by the Coastal Commission and the historic preservation ordinance. The preservationists argue that the Commission flouted environmental law by failing to implement restrictions that would preserve "historically significant architecture" during remodeling, which they argue benefits larger property developers while harming "California character." The Historic Preservation Coalition has already failed in its attempt to restrict a remodel last year when a judge ruled that its argument about the threat to historic architecture seemed unfounded. Study Finds Affordable Housing Does Not Affect Nearby Property Values in O.C. A new study led by UC Irvine professor George Tita and the university's Livable Cities Lab confirms that affordable housing developments do not increase crime or hurt property values. The researchers' findings, using affordable complexes in Orange County, aligned with previous studies on affordable housing and found that, conversely, these developments tend to drive home prices higher, possibly because affordable developments tend to have more elaborate design standards or replace underused motels and commercial spaces. The researchers presented their findings to officials in the City of Irvine, hoping that the Orange County-specific data will encourage local policymakers to take a more generous approach to affordable housing projects. CP&DR Analysis: How Abortion Ruling Could Affect Property Rights  An indirect effect of the Supreme Court's abortion ruling in Dobbs could affect the way cities approach zoning and development approvals, writes Bill Fulton. For a century, zoning has been considered a constitutional limitation on private property rights in large part because courts – even very conservative ones -- have consistently found that property owners don’t have a constitutional right to develop their property under the 14th Amendment. It would seem that Dobbs would make it even harder for developers in California and elsewhere to file Section 1983 lawsuits and other claims that land-use decisions deprive them of their rights under the 14th Amendment – unless the land-use decision is so egregious it shocks the conscious. Quick Hits & Updates  A state appeals court has sided with two Berkeley neighborhoods groups hoping to stall UC Berkeley's student housing construction at People's Park. UC Berkeley may not move forward with any construction, demolition, tree clearing, or landscape alteration activities until July 19 when a more formal decision must be delivered. The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to implement a Mobility Plan that was adopted seven years ago but has barely moved forward. The Mobility Plan includes proposals for a bus lane network, protected bike lanes, and "pedestrian-priority" areas in order to reduce traffic dangers, which have increased since 2015, and promote more auto-independency. The action plan includes increased coordination and prioritized action in low-income communities. A major warehouse project proposed for Beaumont has been put on pause after local residents, union workers, and environmental advocates argued for hours against the plan. Beaumont Planning Commissioners voted, 4-1, against recommending that the City Council approve an environmental impact report. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has voted to remove Howard Terminal's 56 acres from port designation, a key move allowing the project to move forward. Meanwhile, the fate of the project will remain in elected officials' hands after the Oakland City Council voted against a measure that would allow voters to decide if public funding should be spent on the waterfront development. A jury found downtown Los Angeles real estate developer Dae Yong Lee guilty of bribery in the corruption case against former City Councilman José Huizar when Lee paid Huizar $500,000 to push forward his plan for for a 20-story tower. Lee was also found guilty of wire fraud and obstruction of justice. In the midst of the planned closure of San Jose's Reid-Hillview Airport, a new study found that lead levels in the airport's soil did not exceed local, state, or federal standards. However, the debate over the closure remains heated, with many experts advising that particulate matter from airplanes will often land outside the airport, harming nearby residents. Despite last-minute objections from environmental groups over the L.A. River Master Plan, county officials will move forward with their plan to reimagine the river alongside architect Frank Gehry. The groups cited their disapproval of Gehry's "elevated platform parks," which they say have taken precedent over protecting the river itself. With the end of their current lease coming to an end, the Santa Cruz Warriors, winner of the 2015 NBA G League Championship, are searching for their next arena in lower downtown. The city council voted to begin an environmental impact report, and the planning department is working on redevelopment options with at least 1,800 housing units and new public spaces.

Will U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs abortion ruling make it easier for local governments in California to deny land use projects proposed by private developers?? The answer lies in the complicated and sometimes obscure area of law known as substantive due process – and the question of whether developing one’s property is, at least under some circumstances, a protected constitutional right, as abortion was under Roe v. Wade.