Articles

I am writing to comment on "North Natomas: Cutting Edge or Only More of the Same?" (CP&DR Local Watch, October 2005), an article that expressed several concerns about development in the North Natomas area of Sacramento. >>read more

When the Army closed the doors at Fort Ord in 1994, Monterey County was presented with an unparalleled opportunity to create a new town out of prime real estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean. >>read more

The Environmental Trust, Inc., (TET) became the first land trust in the nation to declare bankruptcy in March 2005. The San Diego nonprofit organization's bankruptcy raises questions about the long-term stability of land trusts and mitigation banks. >>read more

Making a public park out of a Superfund site is a rarity. If Maywood, a city in the old industrial belt of South Los Angeles County, ultimately succeeds in creating a 7.3-acre park along the Los Angeles River, the result would be inspirational. >>read more

To its supporters, the California Environmental Quality Act is a powerful mechanism for protecting air, water, wildlife, land, public health and safety. Critics, on the other hand, regard it as a powerful mechanism for mischief, allowing activists to delay or halt projects they oppose even if the activists' complaints are without merit. >>read more

Construction is scheduled to begin during the first half of 2006 on what will be, for a short while anyway, the tallest courthouse in California. The federal courthouse at Broadway and State Street in downtown San Diego will reach 22 stories - 407 feet - into the sky. >>read more

State lawmakers are likely to consider numerous bills that could restrict redevelopment authority, require greater state oversight, limit use of eminent domain, ease redevelopment opponents' access to court and impose other requirements on redevelopment agencies. >>read more

Voters in Loma Linda could soon make decisions that greatly affect how the San Bernardino County city of 21,000 people grows. Referendums of two specific plans that call for a total of 2,400 housing units are likely to appear on the June 2006 ballot. And petitions for a general plan initiative are currently circulating.

Slow-growth advocates dominated local balloting during the November special election, winning 16 of 24 easily classifiable local ballot measures. In the northern part of the state, voters rejected large housing projects in Livermore, Davis and Monterey County. Voters did what they could to block redevelopment efforts in Humboldt County and the City of Half Moon Bay. In advisory elections in Amador and Yuba counties, voters said no to Indian casino development. >>read more

Treasure Island has nearly every necessary feature to make it the most exciting new residential development in San Francisco. This 403-acre island between San Francisco and Berkeley has superb views of downtown San Francisco, Alcatraz and Angel islands, and the Bay Area's ridgelines. It has dozens of acres of green fields and an environmentally sensitive coastline, to make it a regional eco-attraction. >>read more

One of the most interesting phenomena of the urban-infill craze of recent years has been the conversion of industrial corridors, such as riverfronts and railroad tracks, into middle-class housing, "creative" office space and touristy retail. >>read more

Rep. Richard Pombo has been trying to revise the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) for nearly a decade, having been handed that seemingly Sisyphean task by the GOP leadership shortly after the party took control of Congress in 1994. The Tracy Republican has never made much headway in what he calls an effort to "improve"- critics typically substitute "cripple" or "gut" - one of the nation's key environmental laws. >>read more

From rural counties experiencing modest urbanization to California's fastest growing areas, regional transportation impact fees are being levied on new development. Nearly unheard of five years ago, the fees are bringing in hundreds of millions a year across the state for road work. >>read more

A state appellate court has thrown out the environmental study for the Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Program. The Third District Court of Appeal found that the study failed to identify what water would be used to carry out the program, did not consider reduced exports of Delta water, and failed to provide known details of an "environmental water account."