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San Diego Eliminates Many Commercial Parking Requirements In an effort to make San Diego less car-centric and more climate-friendly, the city council voted unanimously to eliminate parking requirements for businesses in neighborhoods located near ample transit or in small plazas near dense residential areas. Under the policy, new businesses will not have to account for parking for customers or staff, and existing businesses may use their parking spaces for other purposes, such as outdoor dining or additional retail space. The move finds support from both businesses and environmentalists, who hope that less reliance on cars will help San Diego meet its climate action plan goals. Opponents are concerned that San Diego's transit system is too inadequate, which will just burden people who are forced to rely on cars as well as seniors and disabled people who can't easily take transit or walk places. Federal Infrastructure Act to Bring Billions to California; Transit Funding in Limbo Among the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act bill package passed by Congressed and signed by President Biden, California stands to receive roughly $45 billion in funding over five years, including the following: $25.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $4.2 billion for bridge replacement and repairs; $9.45 billion to improve public transportation; $384 million to support the expansion of an EV charging network; a minimum of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state; $84 million to protect against wildfires; $3.5 billion to improve water infrastructure across the state and ensure clean, safe drinking water for California communities; and $1.5 billion for infrastructure development for airports over five years. The federal government declared that California is ineligible for $12 billion in public transit funding due to changes in state law changes that reduced pensions for employees. Federal law requires state and local agencies to protect employee interests to be eligible for federal public transit grants. The Biden administration disagrees with the changes because they were implemented by law and not determined by public employee unions. This means that the state would be ineligible for the infrastructure bill's $9.5 billion intended for public transit agencies. Critics note that, while California will receive the most funding overall, its per capital share of $1200 is relatively small compared to other states. Hoped-For Bay Area Parkland Purchased by Private Buyer Dashing hopes of conservationists, Danville entrepreneur Bill Brown recently purchased a 50,500-acre property in the East Bay, making it the largest private land listing in California. The property had been eyed to become a future state park. A cattle ranching family from Southern California listed the property, N3 Ranch, that they had owned for 85 years but hadn't used frequently. The property, which was listed for $68 million, stretches across four counties, Santa Clara, Alameda, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus, and features canyons, trout streams, meadows, and oak woodlands. N3 Ranch also includes the 4,089-foot Eylar Mountain and part of Mission Peak and is home to mountain lions, bobcats, foxes and a herd of elk. Brown, founder of Walnut Creek wholesaler Central Garden and Pet Co, identified his commitment to "preserving ranch lands in California." Historic Segregation Persists in Bay Area Segregation in the Bay Area remains high, particularly in neighborhoods populated by people of color as a result of discriminatory policy and in mid-sized to smaller suburbs with a predominantly white population, according to a report released by UC Berkeley's Othering and Belonging Institute. Researchers found that six of the ten most segregated Black neighborhoods and five of the ten most segregated Latinx neighborhoods are in Oakland, while Marin County, the most segregated county in the Bay Area, includes eight of the ten most segregated white neighborhoods. Segregation in large, diverse cities is more neighborhood-specific, while largely white suburbs are more segregated in the context of the entire Bay Area. Neighborhoods with minimal historical and existing exclusionary practices are the most integrated. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton on San Diego's Blue Line Extension Last weekend, San Diego’s Blue Line Extension opened , connecting Downtown San Diego to UC San Diego, 12 miles to the north, for the first time. Despite the amount of rail transit construction in both the Bay Area and L.A., perhaps no rail project in California holds as much potential to reshape a major city. But whether the Blue Line actually will reshape San Diego remains to be seen. The uncertainty arises from a variety of factors, including the uncertain role that downtown San Diego will play in the region’s economy in the future; the fact that the stations themselves are build hard alongside Interstate 5, diminishing the potential for transit-oriented development; and sheer NIMBYism along the line, especially in Clairemont, a traditionally suburban neighborhood that is now in the path of growth. Quick Hits & Updates The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) released its 2020-2021 Annual Report that details its approach to partnering and serving California communities. The report analyzes the SGC's accomplishments over the past year, including funding for Indigenous tribes for clean energy projects, the Transformative Climate Communities framework, and the BOOST Pilot Program. Oakland City Council  approved an exclusive deal to negotiate with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, who wants to redevelop the Coliseum site into a cultural hub with affordable housing, Black-owned sports teams, a Black business district, and some form of an academic center. The group will have 18 months to find an agreement to buy or lease the city's share of the 100-acre site. Clovis City Council rejected a proposal for a 40-unit development near Old Town Clovis due to residents' concerns regarding traffic congestion, excess parking, and the "monolithic" height proposed for the project. Council members denied amendments to the city's general plan and rezoning that would have allowed for the three-story multifamily apartment complex to be built on land zoned for medium density residential single-family homes. Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin is calling for the city's sidewalk repair program to be improved, urging that city workers are finding difficulty making repairs required due to major legal settlements. Galperin asked the Department of Public Works to change its approach to fixing city sidewalks by working on smaller segments of broken sidewalk at a time in order to reduce costs and time spent working. The Transformative Climate Communities Program's (TCC) Draft Round 4 Program Guidelines and updated TCC Mapping Tool is available for public comment until December 15. The Round 4 Program Guidelines will expand eligibility to under-resourced unincorporated communities, California Indigenous tribes, and the top 25% of disadvantaged communities according to CalEnviroScreen. In order to ease its housing crisis, Truckee Town Council voted unanimously to extend its moratorium on new short-term rentals, which will impact housing availability during the Tahoe winter ski season. During the pandemic, many long-time residents and employees were forced to leave their homes due to an increase in wealthy residents in the area. (See related CP&DR coverage .) A Santa Clara County judge denied a petition to preserve San Jose's decades-old CityView Plaza, which will allow for the demolition of an old bank and the construction of a massive office campus that would bring 14,000 jobs. In its petition, the Preservation Action Council of San Jose argued that San Jose City Council's environmental review was flawed and that the new development would not be able to incorporate the "brutalist" architectural style of the original 1973 Bank of California building. Los Angeles is taking an aggressive approach to building affordable housing: by committing to constructing 250,000 housing units over the next eight years. In its "Plan to House LA," the city includes options for how to build the nearly 500,000 units it must meet according to the state Housing Element but believes that only about half of that are likely to be built. Los Angeles, according to LA City Planning Assistant Betty Barberena, is both the most rent-burdened and overcrowded major city, has the fewest units per adult of any domestic region, and features housing costs that surpass income growth. LA Metro is hoping to build new rail and bus rapid transit lines throughout the county using revenue collected through a sales tax approved by voters in 2008 and 2016. Their effort is intended to confront the affordable housing crisis by constructing 10,000 units over the next ten years. The San Diego Association of Governments is proposing to make public transportation free while charging a per-mile fee to drivers as soon as 2030. The $160 billion idea includes sectioning off highway lanes for buses and carpools and expanding a high-speed transit system. Brightline West will add an extension along the Cajon Pass to Rancho Cucamonga to its proposal for a high-speed train route from Victorville to Las Vegas. The new station connects with an existing service between San Bernardino and Los Angeles and would extend along 48 miles within the 15 Freeway. Opponents of a high-speed rail project across California are urging a state appeals court to squash the project by denying billions in bond funds for construction, which has already begun in Fresno County and the central Joaquin Valley. The court will decide if a piece of 2016 legislation contradicts Proposition 1A, which approved a $9.9 billion bond for the project. Los Angeles City Council voted 12-2 to approve a ban on sitting, sleeping, and lying at 54 locations in 3 districts. While officials who voted yes asked for expanded outreach resources near these locations, other council members and advocates for the city's unhoused population are concerned that there are not yet enough resources to help people before ban is introduced.

Bay Area Housing Appeals Fail The Association of Bay Area Governments Administration Committee finalized its denial of 27 out of 28 appeals that through which cities, mostly affluent suburbs, sought to reduce their respective housing allocations based on ABAG's Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Almost all of the appeals claimed that ABAG miscalculated the appropriate number of units based on its methodology and jurisdictions' respective existing conditions. The committee rejected appeals from cities including Tiburon, Sausalito, Palo Alto, and Lafayette, as well as several county-based appeals. The one appeal that was upheld came from unincorporated Contra Costa County but occurred due to a minor error by ABAG staff. In this case, the county will be able to build 35 fewer units, but the city of Hercules will have to plan for 35 more. The committee's decision will be finalized by the Executive Board in December. The denials mirror those of the Southern California Association of Governments from several months ago. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Terner Center Evaluates Promise of Commercial-to-Housing Conversions UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation released two reports that analyze the potential of redeveloping underused commercial properties for residential purposes. In "Strip Malls to Homes," the researchers found that commercial conversions could propel housing growth, but increases in growth are heavily location-dependent, and commercial land will likely not become a significant opportunity for housing production over the next five years. While commercial land conversions encourage progress in the fight against the housing crisis, they are too rare and involve too much demolition to efficiently provide housing. In "Adaptive Reuse Challenges and Opportunities in California," researchers focused on the most impactful ways to involve adaptive reuse and concluded that adapting large-scale buildings like multi-story offices and department stores could bring more growth than new construction. However, adapting existing buildings is typically more costly than new construction, making it difficult to provide a significant supply of housing. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Sacramento Faces Lawsuit over Homelessness Plan A lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court by the Coalition for Compassion is threatening Sacramento's $100 million homeless shelter and tiny home plan to address the homelessness crisis. City resident Michael Malinowski joined the coalition in arguing that the new plan glossed over its environmental review and will also put unhoused communities at more risk by housing them under the W-X freeway, exposing them to heightened air pollution. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District recommends that the city install enhanced indoor air filtration and a greenery barrier due to the threat of fine particulate matter. The city's Comprehensive Siting Plan to Address Homelessness includes 20 sites for shelters, tiny homes, and Safe Ground sanctioned encampments that could serve 2,209 people at a time. San Diego Parks Plan Emphasizes Equity San Diego City Council will make significant changes to the city's Parks Master Plan in order to center equity when improving park quality and investing in park amenities. Because newer and wealthier neighborhoods have typically received the lion's share of park funding, council members will require that a portion of development fees be dedicated to lower-income communities that historically have had few or no parks. The Parks Master Plan also encouragers more affordable housing development, and it will prioritize park quality over acreage expansion in order to give children more spaces to play, make elderly populations feel safer, and enhance green spaces for the entire community. CP&DR Coverage: Sam Assefa Takes Reins at OPR Gov. Gavin Newsom recently appointed former Seattle Planning Director Sam Assefa to lead the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, the in-house think tank that helps cities interpret and implement state laws and guidelines for urban development. Assefa arrives in California amid the passage of a raft of new housing laws and availability of state funding (primarily administered through the Strategic Growth Council), Assefa and his office face abundant opportunities to help California’s cities plan, collectively, for the several million new housing units that the state needs. Assefa spoke with CP&DR’s Josh Stephens about his return to California and his approach to the state’s challenges. Quick Hits & Updates  BART and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority announced their proposal to construct a second Transbay rail tunnel by 2040 and make several rail system upgrades to incentivize public transit use. The program, titled Link21, would run a second rail tunnel between Oakland and San Francisco and collaborate with other regional rail systems to serve Northern California residents. Los Altos City Council has agreed to incentivize the owners of 40 Main Street to look into alternatives to a five-story, mixed-use project, even though the developers still plan to build their approved project. Ted and Jerry Sorensen sued to build their nearly 30,000 square-foot office and housing project, which qualified under SB 35 to expedite housing construction. A federal judge has scrapped a Trump-era water pollution rule that minimizes the regulation of water-polluting projects, which contradicts a Supreme Court precedent and decades of the EPA's reading of the Clean Water Act. Several Native American tribes and conservation groups sued the rule with 18 states and the District of Columbia in a series of lawsuits starting in July 2020 due to the rule's potential to cause environmental damage. The state's draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy is available for public comment until November 24, 2021. The draft strategy, which considers nature-based solutions to confront climate change, will inform the 2021 State Adaptation Strategy and the 2022 Scoping Plan. The California Natural Resources Agency released its Draft Guidelines for the Urban Greening Grant Program for public commentary, which would review proposals for urban greening and forestry to combat greenhouse gas emissions particularly in high-risk communities. The commentary period will end on December 10, 2021 and will include two public hearings on November 19 and November 22. The state  released its 2021 California Climate Adaptation Strategy draft that details how the state plans to tackle the climate crisis, including information regarding expedited regional climate adaptation action, collaboration between sectors, and how the state will learn from previous successes and lessons learned in 2009's climate adaptation strategy. A new poll from Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Bay Area News Group demonstrates that 71% of Bay Area residents find quality of life to be worse than it was five years ago, and 56% are contemplating moving in the next five years. Across all of the Bay Area's five counties, respondents largely cited high housing cots and costs of living in addition to homelessness and climate disasters. The San Diego Housing Commission released a pilot program that will construct five accessory dwelling units in the yard space of five single-family homes owned and rented by the commission's nonprofit affiliate as affordable housing. The program will produce a report designed to help San Diego homeowners who are thinking about building ADUs on their properties. In an effort to incentivize affordable housing construction in Fremont, the city council has launched a program that will make it less expensive for developers who build affordable units and drive up costs for those who do not. Developers who do not build affordable housing will see costs increase from $26 per square foot for houses and $27 for townhouses to $44 for both. Santa Monica councilmembers approved , 5-2, the city's 6th Cycle Housing Element Plan that commits to constructing 8,895 new housing units, 6,186 of which would be affordable, by 2029. Their 180-page plan aligns with numbers required by the RHNA and must be approved by the HCD. While the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to develop the Oakland A's waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, obstacles for completing the project remain. Their 4-1 approval is non-binding, the final environmental report is yet to be completed, and the board and the team still have to agree on a public financing plan and development agreement. Inland Empire held the number two spot on the list of the most popular metros for in-migration, which highlighted the Sun Belt as a hot spot for U.S. residents looking to relocate. Its net population gain of 40,766 people per year is largely due to lower costs of living and transportation and warehouse jobs. United States HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge recently prais ed Oakland's Fruitvale Transit Village as a national model for transit-oriented housing development and confronting California's housing crisis. Fudge toured the BART station, local women-owned restaurants, and nearby affordable housing projects and celebrated the city's proposal to transform hotels and motels into housing. Santa Ana is the first Orange County city to put rent control into law after decades of housing advocacy matched by objections from landlords and developers. Landlords will not be allowed to increase rent by more than 3% each year, and tenants will now be more protected against eviction threats.

Sam Assefa started his planning career in San Francisco in the early 1990s—a postindustrial port city with housing pressures, politically active residents, and the promise of becoming one of the world’s technology hubs (and most expensive cities) and most recently completed a five-year tenure as the planning director of an uncannily similar city: Seattle. In between, he worked in Chicago and Boulder, Colorado. Amid Seattle's dramatic population growth and economic boom of the late 2010s, Assefa led efforts to increase housing supply and empower historically disadvantaged communities, culminating in sweeping zoning changes citywide.

Environmental Analysis Must Cover Everything

Attorney General Launches "Strike Force" to Enforce Housing Laws To confront California's affordable housing crisis, Attorney General Rob Bonta will form a 12-member "strike force" that would support tenant protections and challenge local governments that do not adequately adhere to state housing laws. Members of the strike force will include attorneys who are already employed by the state Department of Justice; hold experience in land use, environmental law, and civil rights; and will seek public commentary. Bonta also indicated that the strike force clarifies his power to require local authorities to follow state housing law, including the ability to file lawsuits. The announcement is expectedly receiving varying feedback, from Gov. Gavin Newsom's celebration of the move to League of California Cities CEO Carolyn Coleman who believes that Bonta is unreasonably faulting cities for the housing shortage. Proposed San Diego Regional Plan Inadequate for Curbing Emissions, Report Claims San Diego's regionwide plan to improve public transit will not significantly reduce car travel and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released by the Climate Action Campaign. The San Diego Association of Governments' transportation goals call for 50% of all commuters to walk, bike, or ride public transit by 2035, but only an estimated 27% would do so. This estimate may be optimistic because voters must approve new taxes to fund SANDAG's transit plan. Transportation is San Diego's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but the report suggests that SANDAG would have to change much more besides transit to meet its climate goals. SANDAG will vote on the transportation plan in December, which would invest tens of billions of dollars in new bus and rail lines, safer conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians, and freeway toll lanes. Sacramento Arena Redevelopment to Include 3,000 Housing Units The redevelopment of Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena site into a hospital will also include over 3,000 housing units, retail space, bike trails, and an amphitheater. California Northstate University is already planning to construct a 14-story teaching hospital, trauma center, and medical school, which should employ 3,000 people, but is also proposing to add high-density apartments, town homes, and single-family homes to the development, named "Innovation Park." About 600 units would be designated for students and faculty, and it's unclear if the rest of the units on the 183-acre North Natomas property will be affordable. CNU is also planning for an "urban plaza" with space for group fitness classes and other events, a 4.5-acre park, and an outdoor, 2,000-seat amphitheater. Currently, no city funding has been approved for the project. Language Released for Anti-SB 9 Ballot Measure Californians for Community Plan, the group organizing to introduce a ballot measure against SB 9, released its entire proposed ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to push for local zoning control. The group argues that, across California, land use decisions should be locality-specific because their environmental impacts, required infrastructure, and community needs vary by region. They also believe that it will heighten gentrification and reduce affordable housing construction opportunities. The ballot calls for requiring that local general plans, ordinances, and voter initiatives always prevail over conflicting state general plans, with few exceptions related to coastal land use initiatives, large energy facilities, and water infrastructure. (See related CP&DR coverage .) City of Fresno Faces Lawsuit from Disgruntled Developer Downtown Fresno developer Cliff Tutelian is suing Councilmember Miguel Arias and the city of Fresno for breach of contract, fraud, and more after his mixed-use development project was not fully realized. Tutelian, who owns The Grand Tower and Kepler Neighborhood School, entered a deal with former Mayor Lee Brand to build 160 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail space, largely a CVS store and neighborhood market. He filed the lawsuit after the risk management department rejected his damages claim and argues that Arias asked for a campaign contribution to approve construction. Tutelian blames Arias for the project's failure and is seeking $12.45 million in damages plus legal costs, while Arias has denied all Tutelian's claims, and Fresno no longer enters exclusive negotiating deals. Quick Hits & Updates On October 19, the city of Chino, which is home to several large industrial projects, enacted a 45-day moratorium on future warehouses and logistics centers located north of Schaefer Avenue. In the meantime, officials will study the impact of truck traffic and air pollution on Chino residents and consider if northern Chino should welcome other purposes. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Labor and environmental groups filed a ballot initiative in San Diego County that would raise taxes to fund a $160 billion public transit expansion, including building a rail connection to the downtown airport and a new line between South County and Kearny Mesa. If passed, the plan would increase the regional sales tax by half a cent. Community group Downtown Crenshaw is fighting a plan to redevelop the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, a historically Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, after Harridge Development Group, known for its high-end housing projects, bought the property. While Harridge purchased the plaza, which has long been a part of the predominantly Black community of South Los Angeles, for $111 million, Downtown Crenshaw's $115 million offer to grow co-ops, green space, and small businesses on the property was rejected, signaling that systemic racism will propel gentrification in the area. Oakland City Council will begin negotiations with the Black Cultural Zone Collaborative and its partners, Community Arts Stabilization Trust and Curtis Development, over a long-term lease of the city-owned Liberation Park in order to increase affordable housing availability and increase commercial and creative space. The 1.2-acre property is currently used as a community hub for shopping, free-meal distribution, outdoor movies, COVID-19 services, and more. Climate change is 66% to 88% responsible for increased wildfire risk in the western United States, according to a team of California researchers. The researchers found that the severity of global warming's impact on atmospheric conditions has occurred much faster than expected, and their estimate is likely conservative. Construction on a $1.3 billion plan to introduce rail service from Sacramento to the Central Valley and San Jose is already three years behind schedule and over budget. Officials are now discussing plans to let go of some of the 16 train stations that would have been part of a larger regional expansion of rail service until they can get additional funding. The Cupertino City Council is attempting to complicate the process of allowing property owners to build additional units on their single-family lots under SB 9 by enacting strict design standards. The city council opposed the law before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law and plans to take advantage of a section of the law permits cities to set their own design and zoning standards. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The University of California Board of Regents voted 17-1 to approve a $312 million project that would add 1,100 student beds at Berkeley's People's Park to house the university's growing population. One park preservation group is already planning to file a lawsuit, stating that, though the plan will still keep 1.7 acres of park space, that is not enough to protect its legacy of political activism. San Jose City Council approved a resolution to issue a formal apology to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the government's role in the destruction of the city's Chinatown, once a hub of life for Chinese immigrants, in 1887 when arsonists burned it down. San Jose is the largest US city to formally apologize to the Chinese community and acknowledged their advancement of "systemic racism, xenophobia, and discrimination." A Fresno County Superior Court decision that disallows the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District from excusing oil refineries from air monitoring requirements. The air district formed its own regulations distinct from the California Legislature in 2019 that allows the four refineries in Kern County to avoid air monitoring requirements, but refineries will now have to monitor their impact in predominantly low-income communities and communities of color. San Bernardino is moving forward with the redevelopment of its boarded-up and closed Carousel Mall after entering an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with the developer, Renaissance Downtowns USA and ICO Real Estate Group. The ENA includes the developer's proposed plan, proposed zoning changes or changes to the city's General Plan, a list of potential users, a proposed time schedule with cost estimates, and a proposed financing plan for the 43-acre site. (See related CP&DR coverage .)

Bay Area Adopts $1.5 Trillion Regional Vision for 2050 The Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission adopted Plan Bay Area 2050 and its associated Environmental Impact Report. The unanimous votes by both boards cap a nearly four-year process during which more than 20,000 Bay Area residents contributed to the development of the new plan. Defined by 35 strategies for housing, transportation, economic vitality and the environment, Plan Bay Area 2050 lays out a $1.4 trillion vision for policies and investments to make the nine-county region more affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and economically vibrant for all its residents through 2050 and beyond. Housing strategies would produce roughly 400,000 new permanently affordable homes by 2050 and seeks to preserve another half-million permanently affordable homes. Transportation strategies include transit-fare reforms that would reduce cost burdens for riders with low incomes, and the plan's economic development strategy seeks paths to economic mobility through job training and a universal basic income. With a focus on climate change, strategies also are crafted for resilience against future uncertainties, including protection from hazards such sea-level rise and wildfires. Among the features that distinguish Plan Bay Area 2050 from previous regional plans is an associated Implementation Plan that details the specific actions ABAG and MTC can take in the next five years to put the new plan into action. (See related CP&DR coverage .) S.F. Supervisors' Rejection of Apartment Complex Draws Criticism, Investigation The Department of Housing and Community Development is looking into the legality of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' decision to deny a previously approved 495-unit apartment complex, with 118 affordable units, in the city's SoMa neighborhood near the Powell Street BART station. The property is currently a department store parking lot. The board upheld, 8-3, an appeal of the proposal, maintaining that the project's 1,129-page environmental review was inadequate and needed to be revised. Critics have called the development "a monster" and claim that it does not include enough affordable housing and that it will cast unduly intrusive shadows at certain times of day. These arguments have been lambasted by many supporters of HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez is considering whether the board violated the Housing Accountability Act or the California Environmental Quality Act. The city is divided on the project, with Mayor London Breed criticizing the board's decision, while numerous community members are concerned that the project will drive gentrification in the low-income neighborhood because most of the units are market-rate. Concord Approves Developer for Massive Base Redevelopment Concord City Council unanimously approved to make the Seeno family's Discovery Builders the new developer of the Concord Naval Weapons Station's redevelopment project. The group will now be in charge of constructing 13,000 homes and millions of square feet of office and retail space on the 2,300-acre property. Moving forward, Seeno companies and the city will decide on finances and a more specific plan for the site's redevelopment, which could span the next few decades. If the environmental report shows no major concerns, the Navy will likely transfer the land to the city in the next two years. Meanwhile, environmental groups and housing advocates are continuing to fight the proposal and the council members who approved it. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Judge Blocks Housing Developments in Fire-Prone Area of San Diego County A series of rural housing developments planned for areas at high risk to wildfires in San Diego County will not move forward after a San Diego superior court judge blocked the proposal. Judge Richard S. Whitney sided with the Sierra Club and many other environmental organizations with the support of California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The Jackson Pendo Development Company submitted a plan to construct 1,119 upscale homes, retail shops, an elementary school, and a fire station on multiple unconnected parcels on Proctor Valley Road, east of Chula Vista and south of Jamul. Judge Whitney found that the development, named Adara at Otay Ranch, raised greenhouse gas, wildfire, and affordable housing concerns. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors originally approved the plan in 2019 alongside local firefighters. CP&DR Coverage: Cities Look to Commercial, Mall Conversions to Meet Housing Goals Cities, developers, and lawmakers are trying to figure out whether there might be a common solution to the housing crisis and the pandemic-related work-from-home phenomenon: Can excess office and retail space be used for housing? Many cities in California’s major urban areas, where housing pressures are most acute, are being required through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation program to zone for significant numbers of additional units. This year, lawmakers advanced several bills meant to promote the use of property currently zoned for commercial uses. The American Planning Association endorsed those bills in part because they would help cities meet those RHNA goals. Mapping and research firm Urban Footprint estimated that SB 6 – which would have allowed for residential development on virtually all commercial properties statewide – would have created a zoned capacity for 14.2 million units and that 14% of those units would be market-feasible, for a potential 2 million units. Quick Hits & Updates  While the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to develop the Oakland A's waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, obstacles for completing the project remain. Their 4-1 approval is non-binding, the final environmental report is yet to be completed, and the board and the team still have to agree on a public financing plan and development agreement.Santa Ana is the first Orange County city to put rent control into law after decades of housing advocacy matched by objections from landlords and developers. Landlords will not be allowed to increase rent by more than 3% each year, and tenants will now be more protected against eviction threats. (See related CP&DR coverage .)The Palo Alto City Council voted 5-2 to increase the cost of building commercial and research and development projects in order to pay for affordable housing construction. The city's impact fees will increase from $39.50 to $68.50 per square foot.Opponents of California High Speed Rail are urging a state appeals court to squash the project by denying billions in bond funds for construction, which has already begun in Fresno County and the central Joaquin Valley. The court will decide if a piece of 2016 legislation contradicts Proposition 1A, which approved a $9.9 billion bond for the project.The San Diego Association of Governments is proposing to make public transportation free while charging a per-mile fee to drivers as soon as 2030. The $160 billion idea includes sectioning off highway lanes for buses and carpools and expanding a high-speed transit system.A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from UC Berkeley School Professor Joshua Apte proves that air pollution levels between city blocks vary depending on proximity to emission sources, including automobiles, factories, and power plants. Their findings further understandings of an intersection between racial and environmental injustice, as high air pollution levels are found not just in communities but city blocks primarily populated by people of color.New research published by Patrick Adler and Richard Florida that analyzes the geographic origins of "urban tech" start-up enterprises suggests that their locations depend on both the amount of existing tech action and the size of metro areas. According to "The Rise of Urban Tech: How Innovation for Cities Come from Cities," urban tech firms are largely concentrated in specialized tech hubs, like San Francisco, or large cities, like New York and Beijing largely because of their potential for expanding innovation.Proposed walls to protect residents from sea level rise in San Mateo County might cause severe floods , according to a new study from the Stanford Natural Capital Project. As sea levels could rise by 7 feet in the next 80 years in the Bay Area, many officials are looking to walls or levees as a defense mechanism. Researchers found that building a seawall might just cause more water to flow into communities that are not protected.The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board notified Mark West Quarry that it may have to pay a $4.5 million fine for multiple violations of the Clean Water Act because they are further endangering salmon populations in tributaries of the Russian River. The operator of Mark West Quarry allegedly allowed 10.5 million gallons of highly turbid stormwater from its operations flow into Porter Creek from September 2018 through May 2019. Young renters' real estate decisions depend heavily on price, not location, according to an analysis of a Lending Tree compilation of Census Bureau housing demographics for 50 large metropolitan areas. Young renters are more attracted to living inland, where it's about 14% less expensive to live compared to Los Angeles-Orange County. Environmental advocates are celebrating initiatives in Sonoma County aimed at minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and urban sprawl by stopping the construction of new gas stations. The Regional Climate Protection Authority, which organizes climate goals in Sonoma County, approved a resolution asking officials to ban new gas stations, and an application for a new gas station in Santa Rosa has been withdrawn.

As CP&DR has reported in the past, local governments are using exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act far more than they used to and now use exemptions more often than the use mitigated nergative declarations. Agencies now use exemptiosn more often partly because of new exemption opportunities, such as the Class 32 infill exemption , and partly because of more favorable rulings, such as the California Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in the Berkeley Hillside case . Nevertheless, exemptions can still prove controversial, generating significant pushback even in situations that would seem relatively straightforward. One example is the current blow-up over use of an exemption to permit a new Costco gas station in Tustin. Neighbors have ferociously opposed the gas station, but so far they’ve been shut down by the courts – most recently by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The facts of the Tustin case are pretty straightforward, though there’s one definitional wrinkle – the geographical size of the project – that the neighbors keep bringing up. The Tustin Costco is located on an old Kmart site near the interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 261, which is part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor toll road. Unlike most Costcos in the United States, it doesn’t currently have a gas station. (Costco gas stations are extremely popular, often with long lines, because Costco negotiates low prices for gas.) There’s another Costco with gas pumps three miles away. Costco argued, among other things, that the new gas station would reduce lines at the other Costco gas station.

CP&DR Vol. 36 No. 10 October 2021

California Planning Directors Sign on To Statement Acknowledging Systemic Racism Several big-city California planning directors signed a joint statement alongside 17 other planning officials from around the country acknowledging city planning's significant role in exacerbating systemic racism and segregation. Los Angeles City Planning Director Vince Bertoni, San Diego Planning Director Mike Hansen, and San Francisco Planning Director Rich Hillis all committed to reversing years of racist, exclusionary, and inequitable planning decisions and are pushing for more planning directors to sign the statement. In their dedication to systemic change, the signatories plan to rebuild government trust, tackle environmental injustice, amend exclusionary zoning policies, increase housing affordability, invest in BIPOC communities and businesses, minimize displacement, address biases, encourage public dialogue, and more. Google Conveys Properties to City of San Jose for Affordable Housing Google has handed three contiguous parcels in downtown San Jose over to the city to build affordable housing without charging municipality. The three parcels total 0.8 acres, which could hold 240 affordable homes, and Google plans to add 1,000 affordable units to the market on its own. The sites are located near the SAP Center and Google's Downtown West, a mixed-use proposal for transit, homes, retail, restaurants, cultural hubs, and entertainment spaces next to Diridon train station. Going forward, the city will now draft its design plan, decide on a developer, and choose how many units will be affordable and to what extent. Developers Compete for San Diego Arena Redevelopment Brookfield Properties and the Midway Sport and Entertainment District are still fighting over a chance to redevelop the 48-acre Midway District area, including the San Diego Sports Arena (Pechanga Arena). In the past, then Mayor Kevin Faulconer decided on Brookfield, while the public was interested in MSED, but the decision process will start all over again since the city's process contradicted the Surplus Land Act. Now, the developer must make at least 25% of the housing affordable and will change its design based on the approval of Measure E, which removes the 30-foot height restriction. While both will consider these new guidelines, Brookfield Properties' proposal, "Discover Midway" is said to differ from MSED's, "Midway Village+," which has committed to 50% affordable or available to middle-income residents. CP&DR Coverage: Land Use Legislation Roundup In addition to dozens of housing bills passed and signed this year, the legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom were busy with 60-odd bills related to other aspects of land use that were signed into law (plus a few notable vetoes). New laws cover wildfire risk and other hazards, conservation of open space, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and many bureaucratic changes to planning and zoning regulations. Quick Hits & Updates Chevron and other oil and gas companies will be able to continue fracking in Monterey County after a California appeals court found that state law overrules a measure intended to ban fracking in the region. Monterey County residents passed Measure Z in 2016 after concerns about fracking's impact on the region's water supply and its tourism and agriculture industries. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative introduced a pilot program in Oakland intended to help Black homeowners receive financing to construct ADUs on their properties. The organization hopes to increase affordable housing availability and property values and promote economic prosperity for Black residents who have been systemically excluded from homeownership and wealth-building. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing regulations that would ban oil and gas wells located within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, and healthcare facilities and would demand emissions monitoring within buffer zones in an effort to protect public health and environmental justice. The move will likely see significant pushback from the oil industry but could impact over 2 million California residents and predominantly communities of color. San Mateo will adhere to a decision by the California Court of Appeals that will require a $450,000 payment to the California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, which argued that the city violated the Housing Accountability Act when it rejected a 10-unit market-rate development. The city denied the development due to neighbor concerns and multifamily design discrepancies and asked the developer to resubmit its application with an amended design plan. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors, alongside the county's Housing Authority board, approved a new policy that will expand affordable housing construction through a voucher program. The Health and Human Services Agency will be in charge of analyzing voucher attrition rates and transfers, projected fair market rents, voucher availability, and a waitlist system as well as giving voucher priority to projects near high-transit areas and that use sustainable construction materials and design principles. Researchers at the UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation collaborated with non-profit think tank Next 10 to release a report titled Rebuilding for a Resilient Recovery: Planning in California's Wildland Urban Interface , which determines that, if the state does not reimagine how it rebuilds after wildfires, costs and housing supply setbacks will amplify. Researchers found that state and local land use policies encourage rebuilding in the high-risk wildland urban interface, which exacerbates safety, economic, and climate risks as wildfires surge. Irvine city officials are hoping to include 4,400 units of currently existing housing for UC Irvine graduate students, families, and staff as part the city's housing requirements set by the HCD. The city has to provide at least 23,600 units over the next eight years and are hoping to significantly lower their requirement by counting these homes. Caltrans' construction of a $87 million wildlife bridge above the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills is set to begin in late January of 2022. The 200-foot-long, 165-foot-wide crossing is intended to protect mountain lions at risk of extinction as they cross a freeway used by 300,000 vehicles a day and would be the largest of its kind globally. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Bridge Development Partners is proposing a large industrial park open 24/7 for a 32-acre parcel in San Jose. The project would entail demolishing three existing buildings to construct a four-building modern development that functions similarly to those that Amazon has historically been interested in. In an effort to care for the city's low-income and older residents, San Francisco's Planning Commission is proposing to change the planning code to ban the demolition of laundromats without conditional use authorization and prohibit ADU construction that would reduce on-site laundry availability. Over the past eight years, one-third of the city's laundromats have closed. Alameda County launched a program that will add 18 affordable housing units, streamline the process of constructing ADUs, and offer assistance to homeowners who want to build ADUs on their properties. Homeowners are invited to apply to the program, which reflects pilots proposed in San Francisco and San Diego, by November 27.

Among all the urban-related effects of the pandemic, the future of office work surely ranks among the most uncertain and, potentially, the most significant. In the depths of the pandemic, downtowns turned into ghost towns. The efficiencies of Zoom and the comforts of home may yet render many offices obsolete.

Former Seattle Planning Director Sam Assefa to Take Helm of OPR Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Samuel Assefa, a Democrat from Seattle, as Director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. Assefa, 63, has been Director of the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development since 2016. He was Senior Urban Designer for the Department of Community Planning and Sustainability for the City of Boulder from 2010 to 2016, Director of Land Use and Planning Policy for the Department of Planning and Development and Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic and Physical Development for the Chicago Mayor’s Office from 2004 to 2010 and Senior Urban Designer for SmithGroup JJR from 2002 to 2004. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $200,004. Court Opens Door for Listing Joshua Tree as Endangered A federal district court judge is asking Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider their rejection of the Joshua tree from protection under the Endangered Species Act. Judge Otis Wright II found that their decision was "arbitrary and capricious" and ignorant of several scientific studies that suggest that, by 2100, key populations of the tree may become extinct. If they do not appeal the order, the federal agency will have to make a new decision within 12 months and consider the impacts that high temperatures, drought, and other climate dangers will have on the species. The Trump administration failed to take action when WildEarth Guardians asked to list the Joshua tree as "threatened," and the group is disappointed in the Biden administration's negligence in protecting the species. Group Sues to Block Development on Defunct Golf Course in San Diego While the City of San Diego is attempting to confront its housing crisis with dense suburban developments, the Peñasquitos-Northeast Action Group is filing a lawsuit to challenge the city's plans. The group, composed of Rancho Peñasquitos residents, hopes to block construction of a 112-acre, 536-unit Junipers project on the unused DoubleTree Golf Course. They believe that the city did not adequately examine how they project will affect traffic, fire safety, and community character. According to the suit, the plan would increase wildfire risk and also violates the city's general plan and the Rancho Peñasquitos community plan. In June, city council approved the plan but required that the developer, Lennar Homes, build an emergency evacuation route before residents move in. California Cities Rank among Least-Affordable for Renters California is the least-affordable state to rent a two-bedroom apartment than a one-bedroom, according to a study published by rent.com . The study considered cities with a population of over 50,000 with at least 10 available one-bedroom and two-bedroom housing units and found that many of these cities, which were smaller in population, were close to larger urban areas with high rent costs. Napa, Fresno, Bakersfield, Rancho Cordova, Ventura, and Temecula all made the list, with the last five appearing in the top ten. In all of these cities, more two-bedroom units were available. Berkeley, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Camarillo, Palo Alto, and Alhambra, meanwhile, were all included as cities with a reversed trend. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton on Housing Legislation Here is a rundown of the important housing bills in the Legislature this year – beyond just SB 9, which essentially ended single-family zoning in California, and SB 10, which allows local governments to allow up to 10 units on parcels near transit. The Legislature has begun to address the question of preserving affordable housing – either by preserving existing income-restricted units or converting market-rate units to income-restricted units. We can expect a lot more activity on that front in the next few years. Quick Hits & Updates The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has talked about reclaiming parts of the forest adjacent to the tribe's reservation with San Bernardino National Forest officials, though neither group mentioned any specific portions of the forest. After Nestlé and BlueTriton took millions of gallons of public water from Strawberry Creek, there have been discussions about whether Strawberry Creek would be included in the agreement. A group of unhoused individuals in San Luis Obispo is suing the city for violating the Eighth Amendment by punishing homelessness, the Fourth Amendment for seizing and destroying personal property, and the California Constitution's banning of cruel and unusual punishment. The plaintiffs are hoping to legally secure the right to camp in tents and vehicles without facing property destruction or fines, as the city council has passed ordinances designed to ban overnight access to parks and public spaces. San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a plan to both address the city's housing crisis and minimize greenhouse gas emissions by streamlining the process for turning properties with automobile-related purposes into housing. The ordinance, titled "cars to casas" would allow housing developers to avoid acquiring a conditional use authorization from the planning commission when building on gas stations, auto body shops, and parking lots and would also loosen density limits. Bridge Development Partners is proposing a large industrial park open 24/7 for a 32-acre parcel in San Jose. The project would entail demolishing three existing buildings to construct a four-building modern development that functions similarly to those that Amazon has historically been interested in. A new poll from Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Bay Area News Group demonstrates that 71% of Bay Area residents find quality of life to be worse than it was five years ago, and 56% are contemplating moving in the next five years. Across all of the Bay Area's five counties, respondents largely cited high housing cots and costs of living in addition to homelessness and climate disasters. Researchers at UC Davis have concluded that nearly 40% of trips made using Sacramento's bike-share system replaced car trips, reducing vehicle miles driven by 2,000 a day and exhibiting significant environmental, climate, and health benefits. Their findings are meaningful because they demonstrate that the bike-share system specifically, not just individual bicyclists, pedestrians, or transit-users, show environmental benefits, which will make it easier to grant the program government support. The Sierra Nevada red fox, which faces threats caused by wildfires and droughts and competition with coyotes, will be protected under the Endangered Species Act after its numbers have significantly diminished to 18 to 39 foxes in Sierra Nevada. The species' population in the southern Cascade Range of Oregon and California will not be protected. Cal Poly Pomona and two real estate development firms, Edgewood Realty Partners and Greystar, are negotiating an agreement to redevelop a controversiat state-owned facility once used to care for people with mental illnesses into a mixed-use community. Redevelopment of the 300-acre Lanterman site near the State Route 57 would include existing historic structures and new construction. San Diego County best reflects California's overall demographic makeup, according to a study based on 2020 Census data from the San Francisco Chronicle. The publication considered five characteristics related to race and age and found that San Diego's share of white, Hispanic, Black, and Asian residents and its number of adults differed by 8 percentage-points or less. Meanwhile, in Sierra County, where 81% of residents are non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic Black and Asian populations are under 1%, data differed the most from the state's. The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Native Americans signed a compact with Gov. Gavin Newsom that will allow the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino to increase its gaming device limit to 3,500 and provide more protections for non-gaming tribes and tribes with smaller casinos. The compact has been sent to the legislature for ratification and would then head to the secretary of the US Department of the Interior for approval.

As in previous years, the legislature passed, and the governor signed, a raft of laws designed to, in various ways, to put more roofs over Californians' heads and to reduce their housing expenses. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed over 30 laws r elated to housing, with laws promoting duplexes and strategic upzoning among the most prominent (and controversial). it's tempting to wonder what a legislative session would be like if California actually had a sufficient number of housing units, at reasonable costs, and didn't have to rely on public policy contortions. Only time will tell.