In the latest legal wrangling over enrollment expansion at UC Berkeley, an Alameda County Superior Court judge has ordered the university to set aside its 2019 approval or a new housing project for students at the Goldman School of Public Policy. According to the local publication Berkeleyside , the city and the university may soon reach an out-of-court agreement on how to handle the impact of expanded enrollment – although a Berkeley residents group may challenge that agreement as well. UC Berkeley’s enrollment has more than predicted in recent years, to almost 40,000 students, leading to a variety of disputes under the California Environmental Quality Act among the university, the City of Berkeley, and Berkeley residents. Last year, for example, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the University must do a CEQA analysis not just on additions to the university’s buildings such as additional housing but also to the mere act of increasing enrollment. Meanwhile, in 2019, the City of Berkeley and a group called Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods sued the University over its CEQA analysis of the Goldman School’s so-called Upper Hearst project , which would provide the Goldman School with additional space of various kinds, including faculty and student housing. The building would be constructed on the site of the Upper Hearst Parking Structure on the corner of Hearst and La Loma just north of the campus. The University did a supplemental environmental impact report tiered off the EIR for its 2020 Long-Range Development Plan, the university’s equivalent of a general plan.

Not unlike the fine vintages that come out of California’s wine-growing regions, real estate development in California takes time. There’s planting, watering, fermenting, and aging in oak barrels, of course. There are also endless discussions with stakeholders, haggling with elected officials, economic cycles that go up and down, CEQA lawsuits, policy changes, alien invasions, and an infinite number of other complications that get in the way of corkage. And, the larger the project, the longer it often takes to get a shovel in the ground. We at CP&DR are used to these long timeframes. Sometimes our biggest editorial challenge is choosing whether to cover a project next month, a year from now, or three years from some. Sometimes, it literally makes no difference, since a story today would end up being the same as a story a year from now. And yet, there are projects that, no matter how important strain even our patience and that illustrate just how creaky California planning can be sometimes. In some cases, we have written about them, written about them again, and then pretty much written them off. In others, we’ve been gratified to see improvements and even completions while also marveling at how many more grey hairs we’ve gained in the interim.  Herewith are California’s biggest, longest-running land use stalemates.  Hollywood Community Plan (City of Los Angeles) The Hollywood Community Plan has been more of a dud than a blockbuster. The planning process started in 2005, and a plan was approved in 2012, only to be sued into submission for reasons too arcane to recount. An organization leading the suit, the enterally piqued AIDS Healthcare Foundation, later sponsored a (failed) citywide slow-growth ballot measure . One of the driving complaints was — wait for it — delays in the city’s community plan update process. A revised plan is wending its way through city commissions now and, predictably, driving all the usual opponents nuts. No one in Hollywood is holding their breath. Keep the fainting couch ready.  San Diego Airport San Diego is, famously, the largest city in the country served by a single-runway airport. San Diego International’s inadequacy is nothing, though, compared to the intransigence of county stakeholders, who have rejected every feasible replacement , including Miramar Air Station, a partnership with Tijuana International Airport, and a floating airport in Coronado Bay called — not kidding — "Euphlotea.”  Suffice it to say, if the airport isn’t going anywhere (in fact, there’s a new proposal for a major multimodal hub on its perimeter and a new terminal), the least the city can do is change its name. It wisely abandoned the name of aviation pioneer and, unfortunately, white supremacist Charles Lindbergh some years ago in favor of its current generic name. But there is a native San Diegan who is a pioneer and champion in his field, a frequent traveler, a (low-altitude) flier, and a generally nice guy. The finest airport name for America’s finest city is, obviously, Tony Hawk International.  California High Speed Rail  In the time since the idea of a statewide bullet train first appeared in the pages of CP&DR in 2001, China has built enough miles of high-speed rail to span the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco 57 times. Meanwhile, California has built zero operable miles. Shortly after California approved bond funding in 2008, we were already thinking about its implications for cities in the Central Valley (especially high-density station-area plans), as if the line might actually get built. In 2013 , we tempered our expectations. In 2019 , we were cautiously optimistic that even a foreshortened HSR system could still benefit the state somehow.  These days, no article could fully capture the mess that is California’s most ambitious project and biggest disappointment. Funding is billions of dollars short. Land has been hard to acquire. The construction schedule for the useless Merced-to-Bakersfield segment is shot. Nobody knows how it’s going to get over, through, or around the San Gabriel Mountains. But, it’s still probably better than a Hyperloop .  Salton Sea Restoration (Riverside County) In 1906, the Colorado River breached some levees to create one of the world’s most godforsaken bodies of water at 220 feet below sea level. After a brief turn as the site of some short-lived Rat Pack-era resorts in the 1950s, the sea has threatened to dry up and blow toxic dust all over Southern California. The trouble is, nobody has the money or the water to do anything about it, and environmental engineers can’t even agree on how to fix it. Not long ago, someone proposed a new development near the sea. That proposal turned out to be little more than a mirage. Today, the sea continues to shrink, leaving behind a hellscape of dead fish, foul odor, and unbearable heat that is nobody’s version of the California dream. Tejon Ranch (Los Angeles & Kern Counties) The property known as Tejon Ranch has existed nearly as long as the notion of private property in California. Dating to the 19th century, it is a nearly intact vestige of a Spanish rancho. Efforts to develop a portion of it into a mixed-use exurb and resort community seemingly date back just as far. For the past 15 years, the Tejon Ranch Company has sought environmental approvals and monitored market conditions. Its development plan was finally approved in 2018. Even with that approval, the 19,000-unit master plan wouldn’t have been built for decades, if not centuries. To make matters worse for the developer, though, a judge recently ruled that the project poses an egregious fire danger, in violation of CEQA. So, it’s back to the drawing board and/or the courtroom. What’s a few more years for a project that’s already over 150 years old?  Concord Naval Weapons Station (Contra Costa County) On the one hand, the development of thousands of acres on the urban fringe has pretty intense implications for urban sprawl. On the other hand, the Bay Area needs housing, and the 2005 closure of the Concord Naval Air Station made it ripe for redevelopment. Lennar’s proposal for a 13,000-unit, roughly 2,000-acre smart growth redevelopment for the portion within Concord city limits seemed like a done deal. Then last year, the Concord City Council unexpectedly bailed out on a development deal with Lennar’s successor, FivePoint, over a technicality involving labor contracts. The project could yet be revived, but it’s hard to imagine how any developer will be willing to take the risk, no matter how great the Bay Area’s demand for housing is.  Hunters Point (San Francisco) Apparently every imaginable type of pollutant has been detected at San Francisco’s moribund shipyard at Hunters Point : chemicals, petroleum, radiation, bacon grease, the remains of Jimmy Hoffa — you name it. A master plan for 10,000 units of housing and 5 million square feet of commercial space was approved in 2016. Since then, after lawsuits and rulings and dissembling and promises, the toxins are expected to be remediated, and the project will move forward because it’s the largest housing development in the most housing-starved city in the country.  Brightline West (San Bernardino County) A strong contender for the title of most expedient high-speed rail project to be built in California, Brightline West (formerly known as DesertXPress), which would link Victorville with Las Vegas, has seemingly gone bust more times than a convention-goer at a Caesars Palace blackjack table. As a result, it bears the distinction of one of the most frequent guest stars in CP&DR’s news briefs for all the times it has received regulatory approvals, announced new rounds of funding, and threatened to shut down. And yet, the train appears to still have life in it; developers have announced a ground-breaking scheduled for in 2022. No matter how many fits and starts lie ahead, the smart money in Vegas is to bet on Brightline and anxiously wait for California HSR to go bust. Oakland Coliseum / New A’s Stadium (Bay Area) The Oakland A’s have been caught in a squeeze play of their own making, scampering back and forth between the decrepit Oakland Coliseum, several sites in San Jose, Jack London Square, and a community college campus. Now, they’re looking at a waterfront site at Howard Terminal in Oakland representing a total development budget of up to $12 billion. In the process, they’ve jilted San Jose and kicked dirt in the face of the City of Oakland, which is eagerly awaiting the redevelopment of the Coliseum. Ultimately, the A’s might end up in Las Vegas, Portland, or Montreal, thanks to a recent announcement by a clearly fed-up Major League Baseball that the team is now allowed to explore alternative markets.  Orange County Great Park  Shortly after the Wright Brothers took flight, Orange County voters rejected a ballot measure to establish an international airport at the site of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in part because of the promise of turning the base into a  massive park , funded by a housing development. Seventeen years later, the park has a few baseball and soccer fields — which are not exactly in short supply in Orange County — and thousands of feet of runway that have yet to be demolished much less redeveloped.  Klamath Dam Removals Disputes over the Klamath River date back over 150 years, when white settlers first displaced and subjugated the Indigenous Klamath peoples and claimed dominion over the river that sustained the tribe. Among the gravest insults is a series of dams that have alternated the river’s flow, disrupted the salmon population, and otherwise adulterated the landscape. In 2020, utility PacifiCorp reached an agreement with the tribe and nearby farmers to remove two dams in order to return the river to some semblance of its natural state. Recently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission threatened to undo the deal by refusing to indemnify the dams’ previous owner. That appears to have been resolved and the dams may yet come down, brick by brick. Honorable Mentions  Sometimes patience pays off. Any of the following projects could have made the list had we published it in years past, except that each has — praise to the CEQA gods — actually broken ground or, in one case, been put out of its misery. Grand Ave. Project (Los Angeles)  Back in the early 2000s , a multi-tower complex designed by quintessential starchitect Frank Gehry was supposed to revitalize downtown Los Angeles. Over 15 years and one massive recession later, downtown Los Angeles is pretty much revitalized. And the Grand Avenue Project is, finally, a steel skeleton rising over Bunker Hill.  Sacramento Railyards   It’s hard to call the Sacramento Railyards redevelopment a stalemate when the project is, finally, proceeding. Any project covering 244 prime urban acres with mixed use development is bound to take a while. But the rail yards  redevelopment, dating back to the early 2000s, has been particularly vexing for the flirtations of professional sports. Initially, the Sacramento Kings planned to build a new arena at the rail yards, but they pulled out in favor of a downtown site. Then an expansion Major League Soccer team was set to build a stadium. Just weeks ago, MLS announced that the Sacramento franchise was in jeopardy. The rail yards will get built, little by little, but it’s a slow train.  Los Angeles Football Stadium  The drama surrounding the development of a new stadium for a mythical NFL team was, generally, much more exciting than an actual football game. Proposals cropped up for stadiums in Irwindale, Carson, the City of Industry , and downtown Los Angeles , practically on top of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Then there were fleeting murmurs about renovating the Los Angeles Coliseum or maybe trying to convince Pasadena to let a team play in the Rose Bowl. Through it all, CP&DR was both amused and skeptical — surely LA has better things to do than get drunk and watch helmets clash on a beautiful, sunny Sunday? Ultimately, the City of Inglewood told everyone to holds its beer. It rammed through approvals for a massive stadium complex, partly thanks to the infamous “Tuolumne Tactic.” Lo and behold, the Rams and Chargers played full seasons at SoFi Stadium this year… in front of zero fans.  Cargill Salt Flats (Redwood City, San Mateo County) Developing an enormous parcel of ecologically sensitive wetlands in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world should be a piece of cake, right? Only for the delusional. In the early 2010s, the Cargill Salt company and developer DMB advanced a plan to build 12,000 homes on 1,400 acres in Redwood City. Facing opposition, the plan was withdrawn in 2012 only to resurface years later. Adding to the complexity have been rulings and regulatory changes surrounding the Clean Water Act and the definition of "Waters of the United States.” While the Trump administration was friendly to the project, the Biden administration’s more expansive definition, designed to protect more wetlands, may finally mean that the project is dead in the (salt) water.  Tell Us About Your Favorite Endless Stalemates! Catharsis is a group endeavor. CP&DR wants to hear from you . Tell us your favorite/least-favorite land use stalemates from your city or county. We’ll post them in a future blog. 

A's Attempt to Reach Agreement with Alameda County over Oakland Coliseum Site Questions hang over the future of the Oakland A’s ballpark and mixed-use development proposal at Howard Terminal due to disagreements between the A’s and the city council over commitments to community benefits and affordable housing. The city also argues that insufficient funding from Alameda County will threaten the future of the $12 billion development and necessitates that the A’s agree to a 45-year non-relocation agreement. A’s President Dave Kaval would not commit to any of those requirements. Meanwhile, Kaval has publicly considered moving development to Las Vegas or another city that he believes will welcome and approve their plan. Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena to be Redeveloped into "Hub of innovation" The Sacramento Kings, City of Sacramento, and California Northstate University announced their plan to build a hospital and medical complex on the southwest portion of the Kings’ former Sleep Train Arena site in North Natomas. CNU will convert 35 acres of land into a teaching hospital, trauma center, and medical school, with demolition starting as soon as the end of this year. In addition to building 400 hospital rooms in the trauma center, the project could bring 3,000 jobs and housing to the area. Officials believe that the medical center will be a source not only of community care and health but of economic prosperity. CNU originally hoped to build its medical complex near I-5 in Elk Grove, but the proposal failed amid disapproval from the local community and environmental groups. CNU, the Kings, and the city champion project construction in this location, emphasizing that the medical complex will become a “hub of innovation.” Southern California Agencies Dominate APA National Sustainability Awards The American Planning Association celebrated multiple projects and agencies in California among its 2021 Awards for Excellence in Sustainability. Los Angeles County received the award for a Municipal, State, or Regional plan for its 2019 OurCounty Sustainability Plan, which prioritizes environmental justice in its approach. The APA honored the community-based program for its comprehensive and multifaceted goals, which include fast-approaching renewable energy and urban forestry deadlines as well as housing, clean water, and waste regulations. Meanwhile, the Southern California Association of Governments received the award for a Policy, Law, or Tool for its four-phase Regional Climate Adaptation Framework that centers public outreach and engagement. The APA honored the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation for its storm water project at Roosevelt Park designed to both enhance water quality and further engage community members in recreation. USC, PolicyLink Identify U.S. Metros Furthest Behind on Rent New data from national research institute PolicyLink and the University of Southern California Equity Research Institut e shows that, while California does not rank highly among states with the highest shares of households behind on rent, the state does have two metro areas --Riverside-San-Bernadino-Ontario (22 percent) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (16 percent)--with high debt percentages. Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Alaska and Georgie have the highest share of renters with debt, each at 20 percent or more. At the opposite end of the spectrum, only 6 percent of renters and Utah and Maine are behind on rent. Coastal California residents, particularly in Central and Southern California, fared the worst. In Orange, Ventura, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Cruz counties, the average estimated rent debt per household all surpassed $5,000. Households in Santa Clara and Marin counties owned an average of $6,000. San Mateo county residents were hit hardest, with an average of $6,774 in rental debt per household. Data is available via USC's National Equity Atlas . CP&DR Podcast: Cole to Lead Congress for New Urbanism Rick Cole served as city manager in Azusa and Ventura (where he collaborated with CP&DR Publisher Bill Fulton), and in the past decade he served in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office and, most recently, as city manager in Santa Monica, from 2015 to 2020. The consummate Californian and longtime proponent of New Urbanist is now taking on a formal, national role, as the leader of the Congress for the New Urbanism itself. Cole official became CNU's executive director in May. CP&DR's Josh Stephens spoke with Cole about New Urbanism's influence on California, California's influence on it, and its prospects here and around the country now that it has gone from a radical upstart theory to a motivating force among many progressive planners, designers, and developers. Quick Hits & Updates  July 1, 2020 population estimates from the US Census Bureau indicate the pandemic trend of residents’ moving away from California’s biggest cities; throughout the year, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco all experienced population decreases, while San Diego’s population grew at a mere 0.2% in the past year, down considerably from its 9% growth during the decade. San Francisco, San Jose, and Long Beach were all members of the “largest one-year percentage losses.”  A report from TransForm proposes a roadmap for BART officials on how to most effectively supply affordable housing and decrease traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. The report stresses that the most effective strategy for BART, which could transform about 250 acres of land across 27 of its 50 stations, is to not overbuild parking. A study by American Forests proves a disparity in tree coverage in San Diego neighborhoods, with wealthier and whiter communities having more trees than low-income communities and communities of color. The study determines that the city would need to plant 4 million more trees in order to achieve tree equity, as trees provide shade, act as a carbon sink, and can minimize heat-related illnesses. On June 2, Rancho Cucamonga City Council enacted a 10-month moratorium on new gas stations to contemplate the future of the city’s sizable number of gas stations considering the boom in electric vehicles and environmental justice concerns. San Diego City Council will consider a proposal that would allow some businesses to use their parking spaces for other purposes and eliminate parking space minimums for businesses, which currently pay up to $25,000 per stall. The proposal, which officials hope will encourage walking, biking, and transit use, will only concern businesses located within a half-mile of a major transit stop. On September 30, 2021, the suspension of public agency requirements associated with the filing and posting of CEQA notices implemented due to COVID-19 will come to an end as the pandemic tapers off. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order will, by the same deadline, end the 60-say suspension of time frames for tribal consultation when drafting environmental impact reports, negative declarations, and mitigated negative declarations. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a proposal to construct new office, apartment, and retail developments on the site of the city’s Flea Market, known as La Pulga to Spanish-speaking residents, that includes a plan to sustain the jobs of current market vendors who feared displacement. The agreement ensures that vendors will be able to operate on 5 acres within the new development and will receive a $5 million security fund when the current market closes for construction, though many believe that these protections are inadequate. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is proposing a “right to housing” ordinance that would both require the city to house its growing number of residents living on the streets and require homeless individuals to accept housing if it is offered. Housing advocates have voiced concerns that the law, which is awaiting approval from Sacramento City Council, does not center individual dignity and could escalate tent sweepings due to its obligatory nature. The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation is monitoring the progress of California’s Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC) through annual reports on five sites receiving TCC funding: Fresno, Ontario, Northeast San Fernando Valley, Stockton, and Watts. The reports will share how TCC funding has impacted communities, evaluate the success of TCC-funded projects, determine which policies should be implemented in the future, and consider how communities have changed independently of TCC investment. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Proposed changes to the City of Long Beach’s zoning code intended to increase affordable housing development have been approved by the Planning Commission and will head to the city council for review. The regulations would incentivize developers to build affordable units by loosening other requirements, including those related to parking and height. The changes will only concern neighborhoods zoned for at least five housing units and will be key in constructing the 15,346 affordable units required by the Community Development’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment from 2021 to 2029. The Animal Legal Defense Fund and three California residents sued the National Park Service in San Francisco federal court for its construction of a decades-old fence at Point Reyes National Seashore that is responsible for the death of 152 tule elk — over one-third of the their population — who lacked access to food and water. The fence was intended to prevent resource competition with nearby cattle, but, with harsh drought conditions, the activists ask that the National Park Service provide food and water to the native elk species.

Orange County Cities Proceed with Lawsuit Over Housing Allocation The Orange County Council of Governments filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Community Development over its housing requirements for the upcoming Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle. The HCD determined that Southern California will have to build 1.34 million homes by 2030, while Orange County cities believe that the department severely overestimated the amount of new housing required and believes that 651,000 new housing units is more accurate. In its lawsuit, the council of governments maintains that the HCD did not follow appropriate guidelines to provide a correct estimate and used inaccurate population forecasts and vacancy rates for the region. Meanwhile, the cities must submit their updated general plans by October to accommodate the housing requirements set by the HCD. New Lawsuit over Toxins Threatens to Stall Hunters Point Redevelopment A group representing 9,000 environmental justice advocates in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of 12,000 new homes proposed for Hunters Point shipyard and its surrounding Candlestick Park over concerns about gentrification and the health impacts of toxic pollutants. The group asks that Lennar Corporation and FivePoint Holdings press pause on the current construction unless the developers prove their commitment to preventing a major release of toxic pollutants at the site contaminated from Cold War ships carrying atomic-bomb fallout. The Navy, which is in the process of cleaning up the shipyard, and public health officials have previously rejected the claim that the site’s toxicity is connected to community health inequities in the area that is predominantly home to people of color and working-class residents. A hearing is scheduled for July 29, but the San Francisco Department of Public Health stated that freezing construction due to dust release is unlikely because the developers must already adhere to city health codes.  Proposed Passenger Train Route from Los Angeles to Coachella Valley Moves Forward The proposed development of a 144-mile train route from Los Angeles to the Coachella Valley looks promising after having gone through environmental review, which officials consider to be a meaningful achievement for the rail service’s progress. The estimated $1 billion plan--sponsored by Riverside County Transportation Commission, in collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration and Caltrans--would have stops in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties and make two round-trips per day. If completed, the rail service would not only expand public transportation options and increase access to jobs but also save over 107,000 car trips per year, limiting both traffic and pollution. Moving forward, the project must go through an additional review of the proposed station locations and existing infrastructure along the route, and it will require federal funding. Report Cites Role of Greenbelts in Mitigating Wildfire Damage A new report from the Greenbelt Alliance, The Critical Role of Greenbelts in Wildfire Resilience Today , presents the case for protecting and growing greenbelts in areas threatened by wildfires. The report recommends to legislators the expansion of four types of greenbelts: open space and parks, agricultural and working lands, zones placed inside communities, and recreational greenways. The group’s research suggests that strengthening greenbelts will protect wildlands from wildfires, increase wildfire resilience and defense, protect biodiversity, and foster green spaces inside urban areas. Their approach also includes concentrating growth in existing cities and towns in order to limit wildfire risk to residents and confront the housing crisis. CP&DR Commentary: Multiple Cities Embrace Multi-Family CP&DR’s Bill Fulton parses the numbers on California’s recent housing production statistics. California’s four largest metropolitan areas – with a population of approximately 30 million people – produced about 76,000 new housing permits during the pandemic year, down about 5% from the year before. For the four largest metro areas in Texas – with a population of 20 million, or about two-thirds of California’s – the total number of new housing permits during the pandemic year was about 190,000 or almost 2 ½ times as much. In the three coastal metros, more than 60% of new housing construction is now multifamily. Quick Hits & Updates In an effort to increase available and equitable housing, the City of Oakland will participate in a nationally-funded program that provides services to address the housing crisis in cities with populations under 500,000. The city’s Housing and Community Development Department will share its ideas with several other smaller cities throughout the US to increase resource availability and innovation knowledge. Northern California has borne the brunt of the state’s extensive wildfire damage, totaling over 4.2 million acres in 2020 due to an extreme fire season, according to an analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle. Siskiyou County and Shasta County were the hardest hit areas, losing 540,000 and 420,000 acres in the past decade, respectively. California is home to 31.6 million acres of forestry, but the reciprocal relationship between climate change and deforestation threatens the state’s expansive tree cover, and hot, dry conditions are in place for an unrelenting 2021. The Center for Biological Diversity is urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service to consider California’s Santa Ana speckled dace and Temblor legless lizard for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The fish, which is native to Southern California streams, and lizard, which lives in a small area of the San Joaquin Valley, face several threats, including dams, invasive species, oil and gas drilling, and climate change. The White House released a statement that details the legacy of systemic racism in the housing market and emphasizes the evils of exclusionary zoning laws, which are to blame for over 30% the racial wealth gap, helped form “heat islands,” increase housing prices, and jeopardize children’s health and well-being. The authors communicated that existing policies are embedded with discriminatory practices that particularly harm Black families and wrote that the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan would tackle these inequities by expanding affordable housing, implementing a community-based approach, and reforming exclusionary zoning. Malibu Coast Vintners and Grape Growers Alliance Inc. filed a lawsuit alongside John Gooden, president of Montage vineyards, in response to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ decision to ban all new vineyards located in the Santa Monica Mountains. The petitioners argue that the ordinance has legal faults and hope that the California Environmental Quality Act will be considered in court to protect the area that has faced extensive damage from the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Los Angeles and San Jose were two cities considered in research from the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies on the amount of space occupied by roads in US cities. Researcher Adam Millard-Ball, in considering how public space could be reimagined due to and following the pandemic, determined that US roads — which average 55 feet wide — composed an average of 18% and up to 30% of city land area. The San Diego Association of Governments is considering a road charge for each mile driven within California that would replace its gas tax, whose effectiveness is diminishing due to the rise in electric and fuel-efficient vehicles, and fund part of its $160-billion plan to develop public transit. SANDAG expects that the plan, which reflects proposed statewide initiatives, would produce $34 billion for transportation infrastructure improvements but is still contemplating how to charge drivers. The electric bike share company Bcycle will expand its operations in Santa Barbara and establish docks and two kiosks along the waterfront, in the Funk Zone, and on Coast Village Road. The Coastal Commission voted unanimously to reject an appeal filed by a local resident over worries about the docks’ interruption of ocean views. The Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista approved essential documents for the Gaylord Pacific resort and its nearby convention center, two parks, and streets, paving the way forward for a huge, $1.23 billion waterfront project proposed for completion as early as 2025. After this step, the port, city, and the authority must file a Validation Action and then issue Authority Bonds to begin construction, which is projected to take place by late 2022. The final environmental impact report for the Bakersfield to Palmdale section of California’s high-speed rail project is complete and will be submitted to the High-Speed Rail Authority’s Board of Directors for review starting on August 18. If approved, the 80-mile segment will be the first in Southern California to be environmentally cleared and will bring the statewide approval total to 300 miles. Results from a public opinion poll about California’s high-speed rail project evidence weakening public support for the transit system. While 41% of voters voiced their support for continuing construction, 42% expressed that resources should be dedicated elsewhere, such as to local rail projects in dense city centers. The results act as reasoning for state legislators who are challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to use $4.2 billion in voter-approved bond funding for the first segment of the system from Merced to Bakersfield. Community group Save Livermore Downtown is suing the city for its approval of a 130-unit affordable housing development, maintaining that the city’s proposal does not align with its Downtown Specific Plan and needs a more comprehensive environmental review to consider existing contamination at the location. Save Livermore Downtown requests for the court to negate the city’s approval of the Eden Housing development until it resolves the issues raised by the lawsuit. The group also believes that the project will increase traffic congestion, produce insufficient parking, and change neighborhood character. Union City City Council approved a proposal by Newport Beach-based developer Integral Communities to construct nearly 1,000 apartments and condominiums, including affordable units, on 26.5 acres near BART’s Union City Station. The development aligns with Union City’s attempt to transform the industrial area into a neighborhood with high-density housing and commercial development. The city has conducted toxic cleanups and approved multiple policy changes to accommodate this project, such as raising the average density in the area. The City of Oakland could sell its 50% share of the Oakland A’s current Coliseum site to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, an Oakland-based developer that prioritizes economic prosperity for the Black community. While the A’s hope to purchase the city’s share for full ownership to develop housing, offices, retail, and parks, the AASEG wants to work with the A’s to build a Black business district and bring a Black-owned football team to the city. The San Diego Association of Governments is prioritizing high-speed rail and high-density housing in its $160 billion long-range transportation plan. Simultaneously, four cities — Coronado, Solana Beach, Imperial Beach, and Lemon Grove — are suing SANDAG for its existing housing requirements, though housing expansion would be central to forming the denser, walkable neighborhoods promoted by the transportation plan.

The Permit Streamlining Act – designed to force public agencies to make decisions quickly – requires some kind of notice before a project is “deemed approved” because the agency missed the deadline. But what kind of notice?

In a case from San Francisco, the U.S. Supreme Court has punched another hole in the “ripeness” requirement for a taking, saying that a property owner doesn’t have to seek all administrative remedies if the government “has reached a conclusive position”.

One industry that didn’t slow down during the pandemic was construction. Even as office-based businesses went remote and retail businesses shut down, construction activity forged ahead. But given California’s housing crisis, did housing construction actually increase during the pandemic?

HCD Rolls Out "Prohousing" Designation for Cities and Counties The state Department of Housing & Community Development will give some cities and counties preference for housing, infrastructure, and community development programs if they adopt certain housing production strategies. The so-called "Prohousing Initiative" will favor jurisdictions that promote duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, upzone near jobs and transit, and put more low-income housing in "high opportunity' neighborhoods. Jurisdictions receiving the Prohousing designation will receive bonus points for Infill Infrastructure Grants administered by HCD and Transformative Climate Communities and Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grants administered by the Strategic Growth Council. TCC is expected to receive a massive infusion of cash from the current California budget surplus. New Developers Submit Proposals for Concord Naval Weapons Station After a deal to redevelop the Concord Naval Weapons Station fell apart last year, three development teams are competing to revive the mixed-use development, which would be the largest of its kind in the Bay Area. The plan would turn out 13,000 housing units, 2,700 of parkland, and 6 million square feet of office space in the site still filled with toxic material. Lennar Corporation and FivePoint Holdings were the original developers, but disagreements over labor requirements set by the Contra Costa Building Trades Council ended the agreement. The new potential developer — Brookfield Properties, City Ventures, or a collaboration between Seeno/Discovery Companies, Lewis Group of Companies, and California Capital Investment Group — will have to make at least 25% of its homes affordable, ensure that 40% of the workforce is local, and provide reliable, living wages to workers. The city will likely endorse a developer in the next five weeks before the city council makes its final vote as soon as late August. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Surplus Land Act Complicates Mixed-Use Development at Angel Stadium The City of Anaheim’s redevelopment of property surrounding Angel Stadium may be in violation of the Surplus Land Act, according to a letter composed by the Housing and Community Development Department. The city sold the 150-acre property to SRB management, a company associated with Angels owner Arte Moreno, for $150 million in cash, while an additional $170 million would be put toward community benefits, such as 466 affordable housing and a public park. In its letter, the HCD maintains that the city violated state law because it did not contact affordable housing developers before entering its excess property deal with SRB management, while the city believes that the Surplus Land Act does not apply in this case because they entered negotiations before its enactment. The HCD is considering the city’s response before moving forward with further action, and the consequences could range from a forced resale to a monetary penalty. If the sale moves forward, Moreno proposes a site with 5,175 residential units, two hotels, shops, offices, and a new baseball stadium. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Report Puts $11.8 Billion Price Tag on Solving Bay Area Homelessness The Bay Area Council believes that $11.8 billion is required to solve homelessness entirely in the Bay Area. The majority of their calculation is devoted to creating adequate housing for the (typically underestimated) 35,118 people living on the streets, and the rest would be used to maintain that infrastructure. Considering 73% of the area’s unhoused population lives without any form of shelter, the infrastructure plan includes both constructing emergency shelter and converting existing buildings into housing to minimize costs. Their recommendations and calculated budget is significant, as more state leaders are announcing plans to spend billions of dollars on homelessness programs and housing. Los Angeles Planning Department Seeks Equitable Distribution of New Housing The Los Angeles Department of City Planning released a report outlining strategies to distribute affordable housing more equitably throughout the city. The report proposes the establishment of an equitable Housing Element rezoning program, the establishment of housing targets by community, and other strategies to ensure that equity is at the forefront of future land use considerations. City Planning is proposing a structural change that will require every neighborhood in the City to do its part to address the housing crisis. The department is also proposing new rezoning strategies that will focus additional housing capacity in high-opportunity areas with good access to jobs and/or transit, while protecting tenants and vulnerable communities as well as environmentally sensitive areas. In the coming weeks, City Planning will unveil a comprehensive suite of policies and programs as part of the Housing Element Update. CP&DR Coverage: Major Land Use Bills Stay Alive in Legislature The deadline for bills to move out of their houses of origin passed in early June. Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, to eliminate single-family zoning and allow cities to up-zone around transit hubs, have gotten buzz around the state. They remain alive , as do many other housing and land use bills. The preliminary success of AB 1401 has cheered housing and active transportation advocates alike. It would prohibit cities from imposing parking minimums in areas near transit, discouraging the use of single-driver automobiles and facilitating denser development. Unusual for a land use bill, AB 1401 has been endorsed by the California Restaurant Association, on the premise that parking requirements are often burdensome for restaurants. Despite vehement opposition from other groups, AB 1401 passed the Assembly 51-17 on June 1 and is now sitting in the Senate Government & Finance and Housing Committees. Quick Hits & Updates While many transportation officials have criticized plans to widen the 710 Freeway due to concerns over air pollution and displacement, Caltrans has not completely killed the project yet. The current plan, which seeks expansion under environmental regulations for the heavy truck traffic, seems unlikely to move forward but could return in a less aggressive form. Los Angeles Metro approved plans for the North Hollywood Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project, giving the green light to narrow down the most impactful route designs. In Pasadena, the BRT is proposed to operate within mixed flow travel lanes along Colorado Boulevard instead of one dedicated lane. The San Clemente City Council voted to leave the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency following a history of tension about the agency’s plan to extend the 241 Freeway through the city. The lawsuit surrounding this controversy remains in progress, and the city’s exit is already forming disagreements about remaining fees owed to the agency. In its Westchester/Veterans and Crenshaw/Imperial TOD Plans, the City of Inglewood hopes to adopt new zoning rules that will introduce over 4,000 homes, nearly 6,000 jobs, and extensive commercial space near Metro transit stops. The proposals, whose environmental impact report is now available for public review, also include plans to increase urban forestry, public parks, and pedestrian mobility. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust purchased its first conservation easement that covers aquaculture and will allow the Hog Island Oyster Co. to operate a sustainable shellfish farm on part of its 250-acre Leali Ranch. MALT believes that the easement will contribute to cleaner air and water and restore nearby ecosystems. Anti-gentrification activists in San Francisco recently invoked the California Environmental Quality Act to challenge a tech-hub coffeeshop’s conditional use permit. The Board of Supervisors denied the appeal, likely allowing The Creamery to move into its 14 th and Mission Street location. Officials noted that they understood community members’ concern over displacement but that a CEQA appeal was legally irrelevant in this case. The Oakland City Council will consider an ordinance designed to increase affordable housing availability on private property, including tiny homes, manufactured homes, and RVs. The ordinance will update building and zoning laws to address the rising cost of housing production in a market where affordable housing is extremely limited: construction costs have increased by 119%, while no minimum-wage earning residents can afford the Bay Area. A report on nationwide apartment rental and single-family housing market trends by Hillgard Analytics affirms that, due to the pandemic, many California residents are moving away from large, high-cost cities to nearby, cheaper areas. Apartment rental prices in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan areas saw some of the greatest national decreases, while Riverside-San Bernardino saw an 11.6% year-over-year increase in rent costs, though these trends might reverse as cities reopen. The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy purchased 117 acres of land overlooking Lake Hodges in Escondido to protect the biodiverse region from the area’s increasing development. The $3 million purchase contributes to the conservancy’s plan to create a 70-mile Coast to Crest Trail along the river valley. The Sonoma Land Trust purchased a conservation easement that will permanently prohibit any development of the expansive Russian River ranch outside Healdsburg, an area of particular interest for the construction of large estate homes. The easement will protect the region’s extensive biodiversity and deliver multiple benefits to nearby residents, including potable water filtration, groundwater recharging, and greenhouse gas storage. Accessory dwelling units may increase the number of available rental properties, but they are not a solution to LA’s housing crisis, according to a report by UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs researcher Rebecca E. Crane. In her study, which responds to 2016 state legislation focused on stimulating ADU construction, Crane determined that too few homeowners are converting their ADUs into low-cost, long-term housing to advance affordable housing accessibility. The City of Fresno hopes to gain oversight of mobile home park health and safety after Ronald Richardson passed away in a fire in Trails End Mobile Home park, which did not have a permit to operate. Officials state that local control over safety inspection will require the city to inspect at least 5% of the parks and ensure that the city is aware of any threats to the lives of park residents. The Inland Empire is the fourth-riskiest housing market nationwide, according to the Bubble Watch Index, which evaluates pricing, sales speed, inventory, and rents in 47 of the United States’ metropolitan areas. The index determined that the Riverside-San Bernardino metro ranked first in rent change, exhibiting an annual rent increase of 15%.  Oakland’s I-980 and San Francisco’s Great Highway were included among the Congress for the New Urbanism’s 15 “ Freeways without Futures 2021 ,” which lists the country’s most destructive highways. The CNU proposes that these sites are ideal for meaningful infrastructure transformation due to their expansive damage and includes campaigns for each location that would advance health, equity, and community strength. Pony.ai became the eighth company to obtain a driverless testing permit in California and will begin to test self-driving cars in Fremont, Milpitas, and Irvine. Local residents may see these on the road on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. given safe weather conditions and in areas with a speed limit below 45 miles per hour. Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit announced plans for its gondola route from Union Station to Dodger Stadium to pass above Alameda Street and through Chinatown with a station at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Officials at LA ART noted that this route will allow the gondola’s thousands of riders to view the city’s local culture, and the plan is now under environmental review.

Click link to download pdf: CP&DR Vol. 36 No. 6 June 2021

For all the qualitative and quantitative complexity of planning, perhaps the biggest trend facing California in the coming years relies on very simple math: what is one divided by one-half? The answer, of course, is a duplex. But, with variables including everything from lot sizes to neighborhood character to topography to historical patterns of segregation and inequity, the calculation for many California cities is going to be anything but simple. Last week, CP&DR , along with the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley and the California Chapter of the American Planning Association , convened a panel entitled "The -Plex Paradox: Writing the Code to Undo Single-Family Zoning" to discuss exactly what combination of art and science will be required for cities to undo single-family zoning and instead allow small multifamily dwellings -- be they duplexes, triplexes, or more -- to be built, either by conversion or new construction. (A video of the event is available here .) Several California cities, including Sacramento, and Oakland -- which were represented on our panel, have either passed or are considering or have adopted policies to do away with single-family zoning. Senate Bill 9, which made it out of its chamber of origin and is now being discussed in the Assembly, would take the trend statewide. Portland was also represented on the panel – because the Oregon city is far ahead of any California city in adopting a nuanced approach to ending single-family zoning. Portland's Residential Infill Project was adopted in January 2020 and goes into effect August 1. Sandra Wood, a principal planner in the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability shared highlights of the five years’ worth of work -- dating back to the projects’ inception in 2016 -- to draft an effective ordinance that promotes what she described as "missing middle housing." Portland's program includes multiple building categories, which vary according to number of units and the inclusion of accessory dwelling units, and detailed requirements for massing, setbacks, and other design-related elements that will or will not be allowed depending in large part on the size of the lot being developed. Wood offered advice for California planners: minimize the typologies. For instance, the RIP distinguishes between a development of a triplex and a duplex-plus-ADU. She said, "why not just 'three units'? We got too persnickety about the types of units on the sites. In retrospect, I wish we'd been more simple."

In recent years, California courts have wrestled with the whole concept of “CEQA-In-Reverse” – a debate that was seemingly put to rest in 2017 when the California Supreme Court ruled that CEQA can analyze a project’s impact on the environment but not the environment’s impact on a project. Now an appellate court has shut the door on a similar argument, saying that CEQA analysis of the proposed replacement of a scenic 90-year-old bridge in El Dorado County isn’t required to assess temporary safety hazards created by bridge construction – only whether the project will exacerbate existing environmental hazards. The bridge on Newtown Road over South Fork Weber Creek, located a few miles east of Placerville in El Dorado County, was built in 1929. In replacing the bridge, El Dorado County and is proposing closing Newtown Road during construction, instead routing traffic on a parallel route along Old Fort Jim Road. El Dorado County concluded that the “the completed Project will not expose people or structures to a new or increased significant risk of loss, injury, or death involving wildland fires.” The county issued a mitigated negative declaration for the project. Nearby residents organized as the Newtown Preservation Society argued that this proposed re-routing would create a safety hazard, as Old Fort Jim Road increases travel times by six minutes. They argued that an environmental impact report was required and sued. An El Dorado County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the county and a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling. The Newtown Road Bridge The appellate court ruling was written by Acting Presiding Justice Ronald Robie, one of the leading CEQA experts in the state. Robie was a legislative staffer when CEQA was adopted and later served as director of the state’s Department of Water Resources. He did not give much credence to the Preservation Society’s argument. “The question,” he wrote, “is not whether substantial evidence supports a fair argument that the proposed project will have significant impacts on resident safety and emergency evacuation . The question is whether the project may have a significant effect on the environment .” Going into full CEQA-In-Reverse mode, Robie emphasized that the questions on the CEQA checklist about significant risk due to wildfires do not extend the EIR requirement “to situations where the environment has an effect on a project, instead of the other way around.” He emphasized that the concern was whether existing wildfire hazards would cause a risk during construction, not whether the project increased risk of injury or damage from wildfires. He also said the Preservation Society has not presented any factual basis arguing that the risk would be gerater. In an unpublished portion of the case, Robie also rejected the Preservation Society’s argument that the county had impermissibly deferred mitigation to the future, even though the specific mitigation had not been decided upon. This argument also had to do with evacuation in the event of wildfire. The county said a decision would be made at a later time as to whether an evacuation route would need to be constructed, depending on such factors as what time of year the actual construction will take place. “ he agency with the expertise and authority over evacuations approved of the mitigation proposed and would continue to play a key role in determining which mitigation measures to employ in a given emergency,” Robie wrote. “The record also shows that it was impractical and infeasible for the County to articulate which evacuation option would be implemented in a specific emergency.” The Case: Newtown Preservation Society v. County of El Dorado , No. C092069 (June 16, 2021) The Lawyers: For Newtown Preservation Society: Patrick M. Soluri, Soluri Meserve, patrick@semlawyers.com For El Dorado County: Breann M. Moebius, Deputy County Counsel, b reann.moebius@edcgov.us

San Diego Sports Arena Redevelopment Runs Afoul of State Law The City of San Diego must throw out a development agreement for a large mixed-use residential, retail, and entertainment district on the 48-acre site of the San Diego Sports Arena and start over with an eye toward affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Community Development recently informed the city that the proposed deal, with Brookfield Properties, would likely violate the Surplus Land Act, which requires cities to prioritize affordable housing when they redevelop city-owned properties. The project was to include a new arena, over 2,000 housing units, and 590,000 square feet of retail space. HCD determined that the project violated the SLA on three counts: The city did not make a formal declaration as to whether the property was surplus land or exempt surplus land; it did not properly advertise the availability of the property; and the proposed project does not include enough affordable housing units. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Francisco Outreach Plan Wins National APA Award San Francisco's Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan received the "Building Trust Through Community Voices" award, one of four major National Planning Awards given by the American Planning Association earlier this month. Led by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, in conjunction with community organizations, the plan represents a new commitment to the long-underserved Bayview-Hunters Point community in the southeast corner of San Francisco, California. The planning team developed community engagement efforts like a Youth Transportation Summit and a documentary film created by Bayview youth to give a voice to the needs, challenges, and values of Bayview residents. The planning team agreed to a pilot participatory budget process in which residents control the use of transportation funding. A GIS-based equity index tool to identify concentrations of residents vulnerable to transportation challenges was also brought to the community for recalibration, giving residents even more of a voice in shaping the future of Bayview. The final plan outlines action items for both short and long-term implementation, and the highest priority recommendation — the return of the 15 bus line to downtown San Francisco, 15 years after it was discontinued — has already been implemented. The final plan includes recommendations that expand beyond the scope of the Bayview CBTP to tackle everything from transit service and safety to anti-displacement strategies, further demonstrating the planning team's commitment to centering the voices and needs of the community. Berkeley, Ohlone Tribe Appeal Ruling on Sacred Shellmound Site The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, an Ohlone tribe native to the area, filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court’s ruling to approve of a housing development located on the West Berkeley Shellmound, an Ohlone burial ground and landmark. The petitioners argue that, while a California Court of Appeal approved the project, the proposal, under SB 35, should comply with the city’s typical zoning approval process. Currently, developers plan to convert the surrounding parking lot into a housing complex, with half of the units allocated for affordable housing. While members of the housing project suggest that the Ohlone tribe deserted the Shellmound, the petitioners maintain that the development will disregard the tribe and destroy its sacred landmark. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Study Suggests New Development in Los Angeles Rarely Displaces By linking data from building and demolition permits, UCLA Lewis Center researchers analyzed the locations and impacts of new housing production in Los Angeles, with an eye toward determining whether new housing was being built on underused sites, with minimal loss to the existing housing stock and minimal community disruption. The study found that most new housing does not involve residential demolition. When demolition does occur, most demolitions are of single-unit developments. Cases like the Hollywood Crossroads project—a $1 billion development that demolished 80-unit rent-stabilized apartment building to add 950 mostly high-end units-- garnered a lot of media attention for the project’s obvious trade-offs, but are actually quite rare, the researchers found. In the time period they studied, 88 percent of multifamily building permits and 85 percent of new multifamily units involved no multifamily demolition at all. CP&DR Coverage: San Benito County Grapples with Growth A developer intends to move forward with the formal planning application process for the controversial Strada Verde Innovation Park, a major commercial development proposed in northern San Benito County , that was shot down by the voters a few months ago – and then revived by the Board of Supervisors despite the vote. The project’s resurgence could reignite fierce debate between local slow-growth groups, which have advocated for the preservation of the region’s agricultural land, and proponents of economic development, who say the project would bring in sales and property tax revenue. The development, proposed on 2,777 acres of agriculturally zoned land near Highways 101 and 25, would be one of the most significant in the county’s history. Quick Hits & Updates In alignment with state housing laws designed to protect addicts, Morro Bay City Council denied a citizen appeal to the proposed conversion of Morro Bay’s Rodeway Inn into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, allowing the project to advance. The planning commission approved permitting for the 27-room center intended for operation in 2021. To simplify the facilitation of its cannabis expansion ordinance, San Diego County will complete a full environmental impact report. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve the two-year process, which officials believe will grow the cannabis industry more quickly by minimizing costs and permit requirements and therefore reducing legal challenges. The Los Angeles Unified School District Board is considering a project that would build 2,000 affordable housing units for teachers and other employees in order to prevent shortages in the profession and to address previous conversations about how to make the most of underused land.  San Diego is considering elimination of parking space requirements for businesses located within a half-mile of major transit stops. The move is designed to incentivize expansion of walking, biking, and transit use and minimize expenses for businesses, which could use the extra space to increase profit. A coalition with over 40 environmental activist groups has signed a letter to the Escondido City Council opposing a development annexation proposal on 1,100 acres adjacent to the San Diego Safari Park. The project would remove 1,100 acres of habitat designated for protection under multiple counties, and the developers have yet to secure an annexation agreement. Louise Bedsworth down as executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council after nearly three years. Bedsworth will join the Center for Law Energy and the Environment at Berkeley Law School, where she will direct the Land Use program and support the California-Climate China Institute. The Bay Area's concentration of tech and remote-compatible jobs softened the blow from a slump in tourism, leisure, and hospitality that affected Los Angeles and the state more severely. New analysis from Public Policy Institute of California found that the shift to remote work has also contributed to San Francisco's sluggish recovery. A new plan aims to transform a car-central San Diego boulevard into a series of pedestrian-friendly neighborhood hubs. Called BLVD 2020, the plan envisions the boulevard becoming a model for transit-oriented development, because it already h as a "rapid bus" lane and is located on the planned extension of the San Diego Trolley. The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to allocate $53 million to help develop, in conjunction with BART, hundreds of new affordable homes at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART station parking lots. The $53 million will go towards making the project at least 35 percent affordable, with 298 affordable units. Most of the city funding will come from Measure O, a $135 million housing bond approved in 2018. Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk. Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward. Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk. Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward. Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.