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$808 Million in AHSC Grants Awarded to 37 Projects Statewide The California Strategic Growth Council announced $808 million in funding awards for 37 affordable housing projects across the state as part of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program, which aims to promote dense, transit-oriented development and lower housing-related carbon emissions. Combined, the projects receiving this sixth round of awards will avoid over 1.4 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to taking 304,472 daily passenger vehicles off the road for one year. AHSC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Diego Amends Inclusionary Policy to Promote Housing in Coastal Zone The San Diego City Council approved , 8-1, amendments to the city's 2019 inclusionary housing law that requires market-rate housing developers to build affordable housing or face greater costs. City council members reviewed the changes after the Coastal Commission recommended a policy that requires that the affordable units be built within a half-mile of mass transit or areas designated for more housing by the California Tax Credit Allocation Community. The city council also approved a requirement that less than five percent of affordable housing units be government subsidized. While some changes will impact the whole city, most would be targeted toward coastal neighborhoods, though the Coastal Commission must give a final approval before the law takes effect. Developer Sues City of Alhambra over Rejection of Housing Project Los Angeles-based real estate group The Ratkovich Company is suing the City of Alhambra in Los Angeles Superior Court to fight to construct more affordable housing. The move is in response to the city's dismissal of The Villages at the Alhambra, the largest housing project in California to be rejected by a local government. Ratkovich's development aligned with all city zoning and development requirements and was intended to bring 790 units to underused land at The Alhambra, which features 1 million square feet of office space near public transit. The company hopes that Alhambra will approve the project after spending four years and 20 public hearings considering the development, a process that had already violated the state's Housing Crisis Act. PPIC: New Housing Production Falls Short of Need California's strategies for increasing the state's housing supply does not make up for decades of undersupply with population growth, according to data from the 2020 Census and analysis from the Public Policy Institute of California. The Census Bureau's data shows that new housing has not matched population growth; the amount of people increased 3.2 times more than housing units over the past decade. Now, California is short of the near 3.5 million homes that Gov. Gavin Newsom believes will be essential by 2025. The Census also proved that coastal housing is the most expensive, but inland regions have experienced the largest percent change in housing values because residents are pushed or attracted to their lower costs. CP&DR Legal Coverage: Development Code Vagueness; Density Bonus Law In the City of Santa Cruz, 1930 Ocean Street Extension would build eight fourplexes on hilly terrain near the San Lorenzo River. The project’s been in litigation for years – in part because of the potential impact of a nearby crematorium – but the latest battle basically comes down to this: Do the city’s Planned Development Permit rules require the developer to go through a process to modify slope regulations for the project or do they exempt the developer from that process? A Superior Court judge said one thing and now an appellate court has said the opposite. Meanwhile, in San Diego a community association opposed a 20-story apartment building based on two arguments that might have succeeded in the past: conflicts with the general plan and the idea that the project’s “massing and scale” is out of character with the neighborhood. But the Bankers Hill neighbors aren’t winning the argument. They’ve lost all the day down the line, and an appellate court criticized the neighborhood group for “sidestepping” the density bonus law in their arguments. Quick Hits & Updates  San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced that the city will opt-in to Senate Bill 10 in order to streamline the process of building housing near mass transit areas. San Diego will likely be the first large city in California to do so. Documents filed in a lawsuit over the Angel Stadium deal suggest that city leaders privately decided that they would sell the stadium before formal negotiations between the city and Angels Baseball began in November 2019 and while the public still believed that the city would renegotiate the lease. The Oakland Department of Transportation is beginning to phase out its Slow Streets program intended to protect pedestrians and bicyclists, a process that began almost two years ago. Officials will start removing Slow Streets infrastructure, including signs, safety cones, and barricades, located on about 21 miles of roadway within the next two weeks, allowing vehicles to return to the streets. (Related CP&DR coverage .)  The Simi Valley City Council unanimously adopted to extend an an urgency ordinance that will enhance local control over the impacts of Senate Bill 9 for two more years. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Francisco developer Republic Metropolitan is suing Santa Clara for violating state housing law and breaching a contract to construct a housing project with 170 units for students and 70 units for low-income residents. The city blocked the project after two years of planning for a mixed-use complex on land owned by the city and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. The Oakland Planning Commission is recommending that the City Council approve the A's Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark project environmental review after considering hours of public input. While some members of the public hoped the commission would take more time, its decision is a major step in moving forward with the $12 billion project. The frequent use of racially-motivated exclusionary zoning policy has generated unaffordability and exclusion, according to a group of researchers who used the results of a longitudinal survey of local governments in the US's 30 largest metropolitan areas in 2003-2019 to analyze the steps necessary for reforming land use regulation. The researchers argue for urban planners' ethical and legal responsibility to undo the racial segregation embedded in local zoning. The Strategic Growth Council announced the recipients of the BOOST Program, a state-wide program tailored to help under-resourced California communities advance their climate action, resilience, and equity objectives. The communities include the cities of Barstow, La Puente, Maywood, McFarland, Needles, Rialto, and South San Francisco, who will receive support in the form of trainings, partnership development, community engagement planning and implementation support, grant application assistance, and communications assistance. The UC San Francisco has introduced a 3-year pilot Community Investment Program intended to advance health equity by funding affordable housing and BIPOC-owned small businesses. The Anchor Institution Initiative has promised to invest $5 million into housing assistance, employment, and small business loans in San Francisco in the Easy Bay. While California officials voice their commitment to low-emission, climate-focused transit, their actual achievements are negligible, according to a draft report co-authored by researchers at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Davis. At both the local and regional levels, policymakers tend to pass car-centric policies, which is evidenced by the fact that programs under AB 285, the state's plan to reduce emissions, only account for 2% of state transit spending. While a landlord interest group, Santa Ana for Fair & Equitable Housing, was hoping to repeal Orange County's first rent control law, the group announced that it will no longer pursue its effort. Instead, it is considering filing complaints regarding violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act when the council examined and voted on the policy in October. The Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna metropolitan area took 15th place on The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com's list of the Top 20 Emerging Housing Markets, which analyzes the markets expected to be advantageous for both homeowners and investors, most of which were smaller markets.

Recent changes in state law – the density bonus law, expanded CEQA exemptions, and objective standards – are changing the game in the neighborhood-by-neighborhood battle over density and development throughout California. But in many cases, neighborhood activists seeking to limit new development are still fighting the last war – to their detriment. The latest example of this trend comes from the Bankers Hill neighborhood in San Diego, where a community association opposed a 20-story apartment building based on two arguments that might have succeeded in the past: conflicts with the general plan and the idea that the project’s “massing and scale” is out of character with the neighborhood. But the Bankers Hill neighbors aren’t winning the argument. They’ve lost all the way down the line – planning commission, city council, Superior Court, and now in an unpublished opinion by the Court of Appeal. And the reason is the recent changes in state law that give developers more power to seek density bonuses, concessions, and waivers, which in this case are overpowering the neighbors’ traditional arguments. In fact, the appellate court criticized the neighborhood group for “sidestepping” the density bonus law in their arguments. The project in question is a proposed 20-story, 204-unit apartment building at Sixth and Olive in Bankers Hill, a long-established neighborhood just north of Downtown San Diego and just west of Balboa Park. The land is actually owned by St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, which is adjacent. The new project, to be developed by St. Paul’s development partner, Greystar , includes a courtyard that would be shared by the apartment building and the cathedral. They would also share an underground parking garage. Under the city’s conventional rules, Greystar would have been limited to 147 units on the site and also would have been subject to additional discretionary review under the city’s Community Plan Implementation Overlay Zone (CPIOZ), which requires additional review for projects of more than 65 feet. However, under the state Density Bonus Law (sometimes known as the SDBL), Greystar proposed an addition 57 units, including 18 very-low-income units (restricted to residents with incomes below 50% of median income). In addition, Greystar asked – as it is permitted to do so under the Density Bonus Law – for three incentives that deviated from the city’s development standards: eliminating a setback on one street, eliminating two on-site loading spaces for trucks, and reducing the number of private storage areas for residents. (As required by state law, the Density Bonus Law is implemented in San Diego by local “Affordable Housing Regulations”.

Update: As of Feb. 18, the campaign to put the "Our Neighborhood Voices" measure on the November 2022 statewide ballot has been suspended by its backers and is now focusing on the November 2024 ballot. An announcement addressed to supporters reads, in part, that the campaign "will re-file their measure to qualify for the 2024 ballot and continue organizing an ‘unstoppable neighborhood grassroots movement’ of several hundred thousand Californians to make that qualification a certainty."  “We are not ever going to give up until we have restored a neighborhood voice in community planning,” said proponent Bill Brand, Mayor of Redondo Beach, in the statement. “New State laws like SB9 are stripping local communities of their ability to control what happens in their own towns. This cannot stand and thanks to the thousands of Californians joining our cause, it will not stand."  A regulatory approach to housing that was intended to bring subtle, incremental changes to California's housing supply has inspired what could be a massive, tectonic shift in the relationship between the state government and California cities. Prompted by dissatisfaction over Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10--2021 laws that, respectively, eliminate most instances of single-family zoning and make it easier for cities to approve medium-density housing developments near transit--an advocacy group led by municipal officials is seeking to put a measure on the November ballot that would not only undo those laws but also curtail almost all of Sacramento's power to influence local planning, zoning, and housing production. The ballot initiative goes by the slogan "Our Neighborhood Voices" and is officially called the "Brand-Huang-Mendoza Tripartisan Land Use Initiative," named for its three major backers: Mayor Bill Brand of Redondo Beach, Council Member Peggy Huang of Yorba Linda, and Council Member Jovita Mendoza of Brentwood. The initiative's filing documents list John Heath, executive director of New Life Development, as the main point of contact. CP&DR repeatedly contacted several proponents of the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative and got no reply. “We know you think your cities are full and you like them the way they are,” said California YIMBY Director of Communications Matthew Lewis, of the local activists backing the initiative. “But you can’t throw out literally everything because you’re angry that now we’re making it legal to build more homes. It kind of feels to me like an epic temper tantrum.” Though it was triggered by SB 9 and SB 10, the initiative would do far more than reverse just those laws. The initiative " rovides that city and county land-use and zoning laws (including local housing laws) override all conflicting state laws." The initiative allows for only three exceptions: the Coastal Act, the siting of power plants, and development of water, communication, or transportation infrastructure projects. Essentially every other land use decision would be the exclusive domain of local jurisdictions. The duplexes and lot splits permitted by SB 9, the ministerial approvals for certain housing projects under SB 35, and the state's laws concerning accessory dwelling units -- among many others -- would go by the wayside. The initiative also focuses on voter initiatives, specifying that state law cannot override local popular votes -- even and including those that oppose new housing. This provision responds to an element of SB 10 that enables jurisdictions to ministerially approve certain medium-density housing projects. SB 10 includes projects that might be disallowed through local voter initiatives. Though SB 10 is voluntary -- city councils must proactively choose to adopt SB 10 -- its threat to voter initiatives has made it a target. In a recent interview with The Planning Report , Brand described this provision as “very dangerous;” he said the same about SB 10’s relief of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act. Also at risk: the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process. While the initiative would not necessarily undo the targets that the Department of Housing and Community Development sets for the state’s regional planning areas (which are, in turn, allocated by the respective metropolitan planning organizations), it could gut recently adopted laws that strengthen the RHNA process and compel cities to meet their RHNA targets.  The initiative has been cleared for signature-gathering by the attorney general. It needs to submit 997,139 verified signatures by May 2. Proponents say that statewide land-use laws, including, presumably other recently passed legislation like SB 35 and SB 330, unfairly infringe on local officials' powers. More substantively, they say that even in the face of the state's housing shortage, cities need the freedom to determine where and how to add new housing. Sweeping measures like SB 9, they say, simply may not be appropriate in many places. That was the argument many member cities of the League of California Cities made when the bill was moving through the legislature. In a joint letter sent in September, over 240 cities wrote, in part, “Policymakers must avoid pushing new, unproven policies that would undermine local planning, change the rules midstream, or conflict with the myriad of new housing laws recently passed that cities are now implementing.” Even so, the organization's board recently voted to take no position on the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative. Via a statement provided to CP&DR, Melanie Perron, League of California Cities Deputy Executive Director, Advocacy and Public Affairs, said, “the underlying premise of the proposed ballot measure is sound, however a Cal Cities working group, dedicated to studying the initiative, identified the potential for multiple unintended and negative consequences beyond housing that could arise if the initiative were to pass." Many recently adopted housing laws have not mandated or otherwise given cities support for affordable, below-market-rate housing. Proponents of the initiative say that this shortcoming renders the laws inappropriate and ineffective. They claim that the status quo caters to market-rate development that can crowd out potential affordable developments. (The initiative itself includes no specific provisions to increase housing supply or to promote affordable housing.) In The Planning Report, Brand said, “It's not just about supply, it's about getting more affordable housing built. The state's making it more difficult by sending us these market rate housing bills that are really just upzoning the entire state for market rate—that's not what we need.” Some affordable housing developers oppose the initiative outright. In a recently released statement, Jill Breidenbach, a professor of housing policy at Occidental College, and Alan Greenlee, executive director of the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, wrote, “This proposed initiative is a full retreat from efforts to enact statewide legislation tackling local barriers to housing production.” In their analysis, efforts to undo recent housing laws benefit, “wealthy homeowners in exclusionary neighborhoods unprecedented equity accumulation that stems directly from local government choices.” The measure received "major funding" from Reyla Graber, a resident of the City of Alameda, and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The latter has in recent years advocated against development, especially in its home city of Los Angeles. It sponsored 2017's Measure S, a slow-growth initiative in Los Angeles, and two statewide initiatives, in 2020 and 2018, that would have strengthened rent control. All three measures failed by substantial margins.  AIDS Healthcare Foundation spokesperson Ged Kenslea confirmed that the organization had donated to the initiative campaign. He wrote in an email, “our involvement begins and ends with providing initial seed money for the campaign start up,” but refused to offer further commentary. The organizers have not released signature counts thus far. The initiative did get a major boost, however, from the Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments. The council voted 32-12, with three abstentions, to support the initiative. Last year, the council adopted a Regional Housing Needs Allocation plan that requires its constituent jurisdictions to zone for over 1.4 million new units in the next eight years. A SCAG spokesperson responded to an initial inquiry from CP&DR but did not follow up. Perron cited concerns about management and mitigation of natural disasters, including earthquakes and fires; efforts to further environmental justice for disadvantaged communities, and "the undoing of decades of housing laws that establish shared goals and policies by cities and the state that largely defer to local governments on implementation." Voters might not want these laws undone either. A recent poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Business Council Institute found that 55% of voters surveyed support SB 9 while 27% oppose it, with 18% undecided. The same poll found that 68% support SB 10 and 13% oppose it. Renters who responded to the poll were overwhelmingly in favor of the laws, while homeowners were split evenly. “I don’t think (initiative proponents) understand the degree of commitment of the legislature or the growing majority of Californians who are fed up with the status quo and ready ready to make it legal to build homes in our cities,” said Lewis. Contacts & Resources Our Neighborhood Voices Initiative Text Matthew Lewis, Director of Communications, California YIMBY, matthew@cayimby.org Related CP&DR Coverage Cities Move Quickly to Regulate SB 9 Housing Units How Will SB 9 Affect Planning in California? Revised SB 35 Guidelines Near Completion

S.F. Supervisors Face Lawsuit over Denial of Housing Project YIMBY Action  filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco in San Francisco County Superior Court, arguing the Board of Supervisors violated multiple state housing laws, including the CEQA, the Housing Accountability Act, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, and the Permit Streamlining Act, when they rejected the 469 Stevenson housing project near the city's Financial District. YIMBY Law disapproves of the Board's belief that the CEQA review provided "inadequate analysis," especially because the Planning Department had been involved in designing the 500-unit project for four years. The group has previously filed a lawsuit against San Francisco over another housing project and the City of Los Angeles, also for violating state laws that YIMBY Action advocated for. (See related CP&DR coverage .) High Speed Rail Authority Certifies EIR for Burbank-to-Los Angeles Segment The California High Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors unanimously certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the 14-mile segment from Burbank to Los Angeles, making 60%, or 300 miles, of the Phase 1 system from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim environmentally cleared. This is Southern California's second environmental document certification and the Los Angeles Basin's first from the Board. As funding becomes available, the project will be closer to connecting a new Hollywood Burbank Airport Station to Los Angeles Union Station with high-speed rail service along the Los Angeles River. The location is intended to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and increase accessibility. Going forward, the CEQA and NEPA must file a Notice of Determination and issue a Record of Decision, and the Board will review environmental documents for remaining sections of the project. Officials in the City of Burbank have expressed concerns about the alignment, saying that construction of a tunnel and underground station could disrupt the city's water supply. Coastal Commission Report Anticipates 10-Foot Sea Level Rise In its newest report on the danger of sea level rise, the Coastal Commission is using extreme estimates and scenarios to ensure the state is as prepared as possible to relocate vulnerable coastal roads, railways, and sewage plants. In the report, the Coastal Commission assumes sea levels will increase by 10 feet by 2100 in order to ensure that crucial infrastructure is protected. The 224-page draft titled "Critical Infrastructure at Risk: Sea Level Rise Planning Guidance for California's Coastal Zone" particularly focuses on transportation and water infrastructure as two systems that require a lot of prior preparation. The report was released August 16, and public and local jurisdictions may comment on the draft until September 24 for the Coastal Commission to consider final approval in November or December. Purchase of Mill Site in Fort Bragg Raises Concerns The owner of Fort Bragg's Skunk Train used its status as a federally-recognized railroad to purchase a vacant Georgia-Pacific mill site through eminent domain. The site nearly covers all of the west side of Fort BRagg, meaning one owner will make decisions regarding residential, business, and tourist-oriented development on 300 bluff-top acres located in an under-resourced community. The move has faced significant opposition from the Mendocino Coast community, including city officials and local residents who have both characterized the deal as a "land grab" to redevelop one of the largest parcels on the North Coast. The company has been trying to purchase the property for the last two decades and has voiced its dedication to working with the government to establish the area as a "blue economy" that considers ocean resources and resilience. San Francisco Parklets Policy Draws Criticism Though San Francisco Supervisors approved policy to make outdoor parklets popularized due to the pandemic permanent, strict rules and regulations are driving many restaurants to completely cease their outdoor dining operations. One estimate suggests that as many as 90% of parklets must be removed or severely changed to comply with the over 60-page city guidelines covered in the Shared Spaces policy program, or they may face severe charges. As restaurants receive violation notices, the city is not acting on fine punishments, according to spokesperson for Mayor London Breed's office Jeff Cretan. Meanwhile, worried restaurant owners are working through confusing violation notices and parklet requirements to support their businesses. CP&DR Coverage: Newsom Proposes $1 Billion in Planning-Related Grants Anticipating the release of a new statewide housing plan early this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised in his proposed budget to redouble efforts to identify land for new housing and further streamline housing regulations in an effort to accelerate housing production. In addition, Newsom plans to continue funneling money into programs designed to accelerate housing production, including another $500 million for the Infill Infrastructure Grant program, $300 million for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities run by the Strategic Growth Council, $100 million to accelerate housing development on state-owned land, and another $100 million to incentivize adaptive reuse of older buildings for housing. Quick Hits & Updates  Orange County Superior Court Judge James Crandall ruled that Mission Viejo City Council members acted in accordance with transparency law in their private negotiations surrounding the purchase and redevelopment of the Stein Mart building in the city's downtown shopping center. The property owner who filed the lawsuit argued that the City Council violated the Brown Act. Under its Universal Basic Mobility pilot program, the Oakland Department of Transportation has issued 500 debit cards to residents and employees of East Oakland who may spend the uploaded $150 on public transit, bike share, and e-scooters. The program, with funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and assistance from community organizations to increase awareness about transit options, is intended to minimize financial obstacles to accessing public and shared transit. Once residents complete a survey this month, the city will approve an additional and final $150 upload. The Rename S-Valley Fresno County coalition, founded by Roman C. Rain Tree, is proposing to replace the derogatory term for Indigenous women with "Nuum," meaning "the people" in Western Mono language. Just before, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland required the Board on Geographic Names to begin removing the term from federal use. While several states have outlawed its use in place names, 650 federal pieces of land still include the term in its name. Environmental groups that filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of hundreds of two-story tract homes along Alameda County's wetlands lost after a state district court ruled that the the City of Newark's and developer The Sobrato Organization's Sanctuary West plan with 469 single-family, market-rate homes may move forward. While the groups argued that the city and developer did not sufficiently consider the impact of rising sea levels in the next decades in their environmental review, the court maintained that environmental conditions decades from now should not be accounted for in this current decision, and the developer agreed to raise homes above predicted sea level heights. The 72,000-acre Frank and Joan Randall Preserve's 13-year effort to form a $65 million wildlife conservancy between the southern Sierra Nevada and Tejon Ranch has been completed after it acquired its last property. Nine Kern County ranches will form an expanse of biodiverse land intended to protect mountain lions, California condors, and other species, producing the largest project assembled in the state by The Nature Conservancy. To help protect California’s natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the California Strategic Growth Council approved over $65 million in grants to protect agricultural lands on the outskirts of cities from development and support for local governments to develop regional agricultural land conservation strategies. The funding will help the state avoid an estimated 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) announced plans to prioritize the establishment of a Racial Equity Resource Hub that would amend the SGC's Racial Equity Resolution to allow more state, regional, and local access to resources that would promote racial equity in policy and practice. The SGC recommends reestablishing its commitment to confronting racism by improving resource access, outreach, and data analysis within the Resource Hub. While the Oakland A's have been flirting with a plan to develop the team's waterfront ballpark project in Jack London Square for years, the team has officially placed an offer to purchase a piece of land in Las Vegas to potentially host the ballpark site. Though negotiations are still underway, news broke the same day that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff confirmed that the city would receive federal funds for infrastructure improvements at Jack London Square. As part of Arcata's Strategic Infill Redevelopment Program intended to reduce building sprawl by taking advantage of underused land, the city has released its draft plan for developing housing in the 138-acre Gateway area. The Gateway Area Plan draft will be available for public commentary for about a year before the City Council votes on it. About 600 San Francisco neighborhoods and 289 neighborhoods in the San Jose metro area have low food access, according to data analysis from ABC7. According to the analysis, 65% of neighborhoods lack access to easily accessible grocery stores, while 18% of the two metro areas both have limited food access and are low-income.

Every single word in your development code counts. Take, for example, the extended controversy in the City of Santa Cruz over 1930 Ocean Street Extension, a project that would build eight fourplexes on hilly terrain near the San Lorenzo River. The project’s been in litigation for years – in part because of the potential impact of a nearby crematorium – but the latest battle basically comes down to this: Do the city’s Planned Development Permit rules require the developer to go through a process to modify slope regulations for the project or do they exempt the developer from that process? A Superior Court judge said one thing and now an appellate court has said the opposite. The project is proposed on a 2.74-acre property that has slopes of up to 30 percent. The developer originally proposed 10 fourplexes but the City Council reduced the project to eight fourplexes. The city’s Planned Development Permit process is intended, according to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, “to allow creative and innovative design to meet the public interests more readily than through application of the conventional zoning regulations, which are more cumbersome. The PDP process permits up to 10 “variations” from the city’s regular zoning, including variations from building standards, street standards, and lot coverages. But variation number 9 allows variation from “slope modifications, pursuant to procedures set forth in Chapter 24.08, Part 9 (Slope Regulations Modifications)”. Santa Cruz’s typical slope regulations require no structures within 20 feet of a 30-percent slope. Hence the confusion. Does the municipal code allow variation from slope modifications that are otherwise pursuant to the Chapter 24.08, Part 9, as the city contends? Or does it allow variation only within the context of the procedures set forth in Chapter 24.08, Part 9, as neighbors contend? Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick admitted the language was confusing, but eventually he sided with the neighbors against the city’s argument. Part of the confusion appeared to be the wording of the development code, but part of the confusion also appeared to be whether any new parcels were being created as part of the project. At the final court hearing, he finally said: “So long as there is no building sited within 20 feet of a 30 percent slope, there is no violation of the zoning ordinance. And that’s the intent of my ruling.” But the Fourth District disagreed, reversing Burdick and ruling in favor of the city. “Had the City intended PDP applicants to comply with the slope modification requirements, it would have achieved that result simply by omitting slope modifications as an area of variation available through the PDP process,” wrote Acting Presiding Judge Richard Huffman for a unanimous three-judge panel. The court also ruled that, though a tentative map was approved to permit possible future condo sales of the 32 units, no new “lot” was created in the process. The appellate court also rejected a wide variety of claims under the California Environmental Quality Act. The Case Ocean Street Extension Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Cruz, No. D079064 (filed December 16, 2021, published January 13, 2022). The Lawyers For Ocean Street Extension Neighborhood Association: Babak Naficy, babaknaficy@sbcglobal.net For City of Santa Cruz: Anthony P. Condotti, Atchison, Barisone & Condotti, tcondotti@abc-law.com For Richard Moe (developer): Christopher L. Stiles, Remy Moose Manley, cstiles@rmmenvirolaw.com

Anticipating the release of a new statewide housing plan early this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised in his proposed budget to redouble efforts to identify land for new housing and further streamline housing regulations in an effort to accelerate housing production.

California planners know that these days they live in a world of “objective standards”. The old world of vague and hard-to-define standards – often defined as “guidelines” – is melting away quickly – partly because of new state laws, but also because vague standards often mean judges believe they have to use their own judgment to interpret the standards. The case of “Trackside,” a proposed 27-unit mixed-use project near the Amtrak station in Davis, is an excellent example. (All of Davis’s documents about the Trackside project can be found here .) Trackside is located on the eastern edge of downtown Davis, adjacent to a single-family neighborhood known as Old East Davis. The project has gotten tangled up in a fight over what an appropriate “transition” project for this area should look like. Using one interpretation, the city approved the project. Using another, the Old East Davis Neighborhood Association sued – and got a Yolo County judge to agree with them, largely interpreting the vague standards himself. “The features relied upon by the City to justify the Project, like the step-backed design, do not really address the larger issue of the mass and scale of the project,” Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam wrote in his ruling in the case. But now McAdam has gotten slapped down by the Third District Court of Appeal, which concluded that the judge had no business substituting his judgment for the city’s. “[I[t is not the court’s role to reweigh the factors unless no reasonable person could reach the same conclusion based on the evidence,” wrote Presiding Justice Harry Hull for a unanimous three-judge panel. “And we see nothing in the planning documents that compels the conclusion that the City’s reliance on the cited factors was inherently unreasonable.” Hull added: “Indeed, if the planning documents were intended to prevent the construction of a mixed use building outside the downtown core that is taller than mixed-use buildings inside the core, the documents could have said so. And where the planning documents do provide quantitative standards (e.g. “Accommodate new buildings with floor area up to three times site area”), there is no indication Trackside runs afoul of them.” The neighborhood activists who opposed the project appear to have gotten the message . In a statement after the ruling , they said: “Neighborhoods must understand, based on the appeals court ruling, that they need to look closely at the specific language in land use plans as they are modified in the coming years. Neighborhoods should require very precise, quantifiable and mandatory provisions in the upcoming plans and implementing codes.” The Trackside litigation got caught up in a debate over which planning documents governed the site and how to interpret the imprecise design guidelines contained in those documents. The project includes a 48,000-square-foot four-story building with about 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 27 housing units above. It is identified as an “opportunity site” by the City of Davis, where density as high as 40 units per acre is encouraged. The project is four stories high on the west side, adjacent to the railroad tracks and nearer to downtown, and two to three stories on the east side, adjacent to the Old East David single-family neighborhood. A 30-foot alley – twice the normal width –separates Trackside from Old East Davis.

Port of San Francisco Identifies 23 Projects to Respond to Sea Level Rise The Port of San Francisco is considering raising the Ferry Building by several feet in one of its 23 plans for defending the Embarcadero from climate disasters, including earthquakes and sea level rise. Before that, however, the Port intends to retrofit existing wharves and secure sand that lays beneath the dike that protects the bay next to Oracle Park. The Port Commission will review the projects with the understanding that preparation measures for protecting the city with its 3.5-mile seawall between downtown and the bay are critical considering particular vulnerabilities to rapidly-increasing climate impacts. Officials hope the commission will fund the $26 million required for the project's initial designs, while the $650 million to $3 billion cost of the rest of construction would require state and federal funding. Strategic Growth Council Annual Report The California Strategic Growth Council published its Annual Report to the Legislature that considers the year's accomplishments and its basis for proposals in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The SGC highlighted its role in facilitating $2 million in state funding to ten Indigenous tribes for clean energy projects, its analysis of the success of the Transformative Climate Communities Program and the BOOST pilot program, its establishment of an investment framework for the TCC program and a State Metropolitan Planning Organization, its execution of goals within the Racial Equity Action Plan, and its sensitivity to the changes and burdens brought on by the pandemic. The SGC also detailed outlined its criteria for evaluating each program and celebrated its collaborative, community-based approach. Palmdale Establishes Major Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District In collaboration with Los Angeles County, Palmdale City Council approved The Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD), a financing system that will encourage private infrastructure development in areas that the city believes will generate increased property tax revenues in the future. The EIFD would receive an estimated $606 million from Palmdale and L.A. County's property tax increment through bonds, grants, and other sources over a 50-year period. The mechanism could then allow for investment in services, such as sewer and water lines, that would encourage future development. Consulting firm Kosmont found that this initiative is the state's largest EIFD, and its net financial benefit over the next 50 years would total $433 million. League of Cities Adopts 2022 Agenda, Including Promotion of Local Control The League of California Cities Board of Directors adopted the organization’s 2022 Action Agenda that organizes city priorities across the state. Their plan includes securing funding to increase the supply and affordability of housing and reform state housing laws to retain local authority, attaining investments to strengthen and sustain critical infrastructure, increasing funding and resources to prevent homelessness and assist individuals experiencing homelessness, and strengthening disaster preparedness, resiliency, and recovery fro climate change impacts through improved collaboration and resources. With its agenda now set, Cal Cities has voiced its dedication to immediately advancing these objectives in the state capitol. Judge Halts Development of Resort in Lake County over Fire Danger Environmentalists are praising Lake County Judge J. David Markham's decision that developers failed to consider the dangers that residents might experience if a wildfire forced thousands to evacuate their $1 billion resort and housing project. The office of Attorney General Rob Bonta pursued the lawsuit against the developer's resort alongside the Center for Biological Diversity. The Guenoc Valley Resort was intended for construction in a wine region at severe risk to wildfires but included only one evacuation route: a two-lane route through a steep canyon, which was swallowed by a fire originating at the LNU Lightning Complex over a year ago. While officials celebrated the project for its potential to spur housing and job growth, they are also facing the threat of climate crises that threaten the lives of future and nearby existing residents. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Cities Adopt Urgency Ordinances in Response to SB 9 Cities across the state adopted urgency ordinances that, in various ways, place restrictions on potential SB 9 redevelopments.To SB 9’s supporters, the ordinances, especially if they become permanent, threaten to undermine the law’s potential to help ease the state’s housing crisis by providing “missing middle” housing, especially in upscale areas that currently offer few options for middle-income residents. The cities, however, charge that SB 9 is a blunt instrument and that they are well within their rights to regulate for aesthetics and safety so long as they do not make it impossible to build SB 9 units. Quick Hits & Updates A trial court rejected without leave plans to amend the Orange County Council of Governments' lawsuit that challenges the Department of Housing and Community Development's requirement for Southern California Association of Government jurisdictions to account for 1,341,827 homes by 2029. The descendants of Black families who were displaced from Santa Monica to make way for freeways and other urban renewal projects during the 1950s will be offered priority placement in the city's affordable apartment units. About 600 families were forced to move when the city approved construction of I-10 in addition to those displaced when the city replaced Belmar Triangle with the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Wealthy and white Los Angeles residents have shorter commute times than the city's low-income residents and residents of color, according to Md. Rabiul Islam and Jean-Daniel M. Saphores in their research , "An L.A. Story: The Impact of Housing Costs on Commuting." The researchers analyze the relationship between housing costs and commutes and consider housing, transportation, public health, and climate implications. San Francisco's Embarcadero must be elevated as much as 7 feet to prepare for rising sea levels and protect the blocks behind the Embarcadero that hold some of the city's most valuable real estate. While there is not an exact timeline or analysis of how the changes would impact the waterfront attraction, the shoreline defense report is a precursor to a more detailed survey that will come out next month. A group of Central Valley farmers and desalination supporters are starting to collect signatures to propose a statewide ballot measure that would streamline the process for approving and funding big water projects, which could lead to a big showdown with environmental advocates over the state drought. The measure, "Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022," would require 2%, or $4 billion, of California's general fund to be used for projects that increase water supplies. The city and county San Francisco released an update to its Vision Zero Action Strategy intended to establish a citywide plan that makes crossing streets safer and promotes slower streets. The update brought together multiple government agencies with local advocacy and community groups and residents to more aggressively work to eliminate traffic deaths. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Bay Area developer John Sweeney, who was punished with a $3.6 million fine for polluting Suisun Bay to construct a duck-hunting club and kite-surfacing center on his 39-acre island, Point Buckler. Sweeney now must clean up the soil he deposited into the water. The Oakland City Council approved multiple ordinances that will allow RVs, mobile homes, manufactured homes, and tiny houses on residential properties in order to increasing housing options for the city's residents. The council eliminated a decades-old city law that required all residences to be built on a permanent foundation and placed its amendments under the protection of local rent control laws. A Bay Area school district is hoping to increase funding by finding a developer who will build over 1,100 apartment units on one of its campuses. The Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City is imagining a large multifamily housing project that would stand alongside retail, restaurants, parks, and trails on the 22-acre Serramonte Del Rey campus. A block of closed and unused retail shops near the 16th Street Mission BART Station is getting closer to being redeveloped into low-income housing after Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Hillary Ronen announced a plan for developer Crescent Heights to gift the 57,000-square-foot parcel to the city. If approved, the deal would produce housing for 330 low-income households on a site originally planned for market-rate housing that raised concerns over gentrification and displacement. The Wildlands Conservancy closed escrow on a 26,600-acre ranch in Northern California and will transform the space with a 10-bedroom lodge into an open space with mountains and valleys for the public. The family of investment giant Dean Witter sold the plot on the Eel River for $25 million to the conservation group that plans to welcome hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, and camping on the site. The Mojave Trails National Monument may be designated as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, which defines spaces that are remote, open to the public, and host a particularly good spot for viewing starry nights because they are very dark. Bakersfield is introducing an experimental program that will select 100 vulnerable, young residents to participate in a year-long study that examines how free access to public transit and electric scooters and bikes impacts their lives. The program reflects a nationwide interest in the concept of universal basic mobility, which would guarantee a minimum level of transportation accessibility. The Los Angeles City Council  approved the city's first two Jobs and Economic Development Zones: one on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and another on the Goodyear Tract in South Central. The JEDI Zone incentive program is intended to support small businesses by increasing access to capital, introducing loan program fees and interest reductions, and simplifying compliance and permitting processes. The Biden Administration is working on reversing a Trump-era decision that allowed Cadiz Inc. to pipe water across public desert land for sale. Though Cadiz claims the project will not damage nearby springs, their idea has faced severe opposition from Indigenous tribes, advocacy groups, and environmental organizations.

A major proposed wine resort in Lake County – located about 20 miles north of Napa Valley – has been shut down temporarily by what might be called a “reverse-reverse-CEQA case”.

Compared to, say, a wildfire or a landslide, the prospect of developing two- or four-unit dwellings in residential neighborhoods might not seem super-urgent. But, with the January 1 implementation of Senate Bill 9, the hotly contested bill that essentially allows lot-splitting or conversion of all single-family homes in the state into duplexes, cities across the state adopted urgency ordinances in December that, in various ways, place restrictions on potential SB 9 redevelopments.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sues to Block Los Angeles Housing Plan While the L.A. City Council wants to use the city's Housing Element to rezone and add nearly 500,000 homes by October 2029 (as mandated by the city's Regional Housing Needs Allocation), the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed suit to obstruct its plans, arguing that officials failed to adequately consider environmental impacts. The nonprofit noted in its lawsuit that it will intervene because upzoning for more density without establishing affordable housing requirements would spur displacement and gentrification. The city argues that its plan will provide renter relief by increasing supply, will generate 185,000 units of affordable housing, and adheres to state environmental law. To meet the proposal in its updated Housing Element, "The Plan to House L.A.," the city will need to approve about 57,000 units per year, a significant increase from the 16,700 units permitted annually since 2014. In 2017, AIDS Healthcare previously a defeated ballot measure to restrict development citywide and has filed several anti-development suits in the city. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Caltrans Releases Complete Streets Policy Caltrans announced its new policy for all new transportation projects it funds or oversees to include “complete street” features that provide safe and accessible options for people walking, biking and taking transit. This policy is intended to expand the availability of sustainable transportation options to help meet the state’s climate, health and equity goals, though some advocates remain skeptical considering the department's pro-highway history. As part of the new policy, Caltrans commits to removing administrative barriers and partnering with communities and local agencies to ensure more projects on state and local transportation systems improve the connectivity to pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and accessibility to destinations. If not appropriate to the context or community of the project, projects must receive approval from Caltrans before complete streets features are excluded. State Challenges Anaheim's Plans for Angel Stadium The state Department of Housing and Community Development has issued a Notice of Violation of the Surplus Land Act to the City of Anaheim over its Angel Stadium land sale. While the city has been trying to convince the HCD that its project satisfies California affordable housing law requirements, the state found three violations related to a lack of prioritization of affordable housing developers. Anaheim argued that, in addition to the 466 affordable units promised at the moment, the final project has a goal of 777, and the city will work with Angels owner Arte Moreno's company to provide 518 affordable homes outside of the development. They claim that the state declined their proposal to pair affordable housing with the Angel Stadium project. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Diego May Appeal Ruling Against Midway District Plans In its attempt to move forward with a redevelopment of the sports arena site, the City of San Diego is facing a court ruling that overturned a voter-approved ballot measure that would have relaxed building height restrictions in the Midway District. The city will respond with two approaches: an appeal from the city attorney office and an environmental impact report on tall buildings in the area. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled that the city failed to analyze the environmental impacts of Measure E, which would eliminate the 30-foot height limit, before putting it on the ballot. Since the appeal process may take over a year, the city hopes that conducting an analysis could be an easier path to putting the measure on the ballot again in 2022. Five firms remain in the running for developing the mixed-use site with thousands of new homes. CalEPA Updates CalEnviroScreen The California Environmental Protection Agency finalized the release of an updated version of CalEnviroScreen, a geospatial program first launched in 2013 and designed to identify communities that experience the highest levels of pollution burdens and risks. The tool helps officials make more equitable policy decisions and allows other organizations and individuals to more easily comprehend California's environmental injustice. Environmental justice grants, environmental law enforcement, site cleanups, and sustainable development are all due to the effectiveness of CalEnviroScreen. Also, the program's identification of "disadvantaged communities" allows the state to more easily decide who will receive California Climate Investments from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The newest update analyzes data from 21 indicators of environmental, public health, and socioeconomic conditions in 8,000 census tracts. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Court Rejects Challenge to Controversial Lafayette Apartment Complex Contra Costa County Judge Barry Baskin rejected concerns from opponents of a 315-unit apartment complex that the development would not be environmentally dependable, allowing the project to move forward. Save Lafayette, the group challenging the complex, filed a lawsuit to stop construction of the Terraces of Lafayette after the city council approved the project amongst talk that the project would yield environmental challenges. The apartments are poised to include 63 affordable units across 14 buildings as well as a 2-story clubhouse, a leasing office, and 550 parking spaces on 22 acres. Judge Baskin found that the city's approval of the environmental impacts, including tree removal, is still acceptable, though Save Lafayette is arguing that environmental conditions have since changed. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Quick Hits & Updates Palo Alto is considering what may be the state's first SB 9 project that would build four homes on a single-family, one-acre Barron Park lot. The architect applied for approval just two days after the law took effect and plans to demolish the existing home and storage unit to construct a two-story home, an ADU, and two single-story homes. (See related CP&DR coverage.) To increase affordable housing supply, the San Jose City Council unanimously voted to scrap a policy that requires affordable housing projects located in urban villages or near major transit stops to plan for commercial space on the ground floor. While the policy was originally intended to propel economic growth, the city will instead collaborate with nonprofits to encourage commercial use in buildings instead of requiring it and plans to extend this policy to all affordable housing projects. The Coastal Commission approved Laguna Beach's updated Downtown Specific Plan, which includes relaxed parking requirements and the implementation of permit-by-right for new businesses instead of conditional use permits to simplify the process of establishing commercial spaces in the city's village. The plan will not go into effect until the city council approves the commission's amendments. The state has approved a $30 million grant for the City of Sacramento to help construct The Railyards north of the city's downtown with developer LDK Ventures. The 240-acre site will include a Superior Courthouse, a Kaiser hospital, and a 345-unit housing development with 69 units for affordable housing and retail. Google announced a plan to construct several hundred homes atop the proposed site for a new San Jose BART station near the Diridon transit hub. Public records show that Google's project within its Downtown West Village would include 500 units and 18,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Citrus Heights City Council unanimously approved a plan to transform the Sunrise Mall by reducing retail space by over 1 million square feet and constructing 2,220 residential units, 960,000 square feet of office space, and 480 hotel rooms. The Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan will be revitalized in phases, likely beginning with construction on surplus parking space. San Jose City Council is considering expanding on SB 9 to allow upzoning in historic districts. The policy finds support from city planners and the Planning Commission as an effort to increase the area's housing supply. The state Department of Housing and Community Development is reviewing Oakland City Council's delayed approval of a 222-unit residential project across from the West Oakland BART to decide if the city violated state laws. Their investigation comes a week after announcing their review of San Francisco Supervisors' denial of a 495-unit project. Long Beach will resubmit its plan to meet the state's RHNA requirements with an amendment that allows for more housing to be built on parcels designated as "high resource" areas. The change responds to state demands and should contribute to the requested construction of 26,502 units over the next 8 years. While Gov. Gavin Newsom has committed to ceasing the issuing of new fracking permits by 2024, the state is getting a head start by rejecting permits in areas deemed unfruitful. The state has denied 109 permits since July using references to the environmental and public health dangers of fracking. The latest proposal for the redevelopment of San Diego's Midway District into a new sports arena would include 4,000 new homes and 20 acres of park space. Developer Zephyr and affordable-housing company Chelsea Investment are spearheading the proposal that would reinvest in the 48-acre space surrounding the existing Pechanga Arena. The Clovis City Council voted to reduce its sphere of influence by 1,000 acres northeast in response to a developer's uncovering of a habitat of California tiger salamanders, a species that is either threatened or endangered throughout various parts of the state. Wilson Homes is urging the city to only adopt 155 acres into its sphere of influence, and Wilson Homes would develop 75 acres instead of the originally planned 350 acres.

CP&DR Vol. 36 No. 12 December 2021