Articles

President Bush's signature on the federal transportation bill in August opened the spigot for $21.6 billion in federal money for California. The bill funds hundreds of specific projects, ranging from a $25 million "non-motorized transportation pilot program" in Marin County to carpool lanes on the San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles to a study of a new transportation corridor between western Riverside County and Orange County. >>read more

The next round of housing element updates will be delayed by two years for all of Southern California outside of San Diego County and for the Bay Area. The two-year postponement might be extended to all jurisdictions except San Diego, although state officials have not made that decision. >>read more

The U.S. Supreme Court's controversial decision backing the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes is creating a backlash in California that could have significant ramifications for redevelopment. A state constitutional amendment to limit the use of eminent domain has been introduced in Sacramento with both Republicans and conservative Democrats as co-authors. Meanwhile, local redevelopment agencies are having to defend their practices from questioning by board members and the public. >>read more

Development activity in San Bernardino County's high desert is as hot as a mid-summer afternoon. With miles of wide-open spaces, the Victor Valley has become an affordable housing relief valve for Southern California. The area's four incorporated cities and half a dozen unincorporated communities will see about 7,500 new housing units this year alone. >>read more

California appears to be headed slowly away from the carbon age. However, the experience at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area - California's oldest and one of the world's largest wind farms - suggests that the move to renewable energy sources could have consequences. >>read more

The City of Oceanside, which has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, is preparing for a major civic improvement: rehabilitation of a 465-acre former sand quarry for parkland and public buildings. However, financing for the project - estimated to cost more than $100 million over 25 years - is far from certain. >>read more

A convergence of money, technology and landscape has given rise to a project that is both understated and remarkable. However, the set of forces, circumstances and personalities behind the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco is unlikely to be matched in the Bay Area or anywhere else. >>read more

In commodity futures markets, investors agree to pay a price today for the unknown cost of goods some time in the future. The City of Beverly Hills does not play the futures market, at least to my knowledge. >>read more

The Supreme Court's closely divided decision backing the use of eminent domain for economic development gives state and local governments a qualified boost in what property rights advocates promise to be continuing challenges to the practice in state courts. >>read more

A proposed golf course and housing development amid the imperiled Monterey pines of Pebble Beach's Del Monte Forest has set up a confrontation between Monterey County and the California Coastal Commission. >>read more

Property owners who contend that the government has taken their property without just compensation must press their monetary claims in state court and might never get to argue in federal court.

For nearly seven years, the controversy over school impact fees has appeared to be an issue of the past. However, skirmishes have broken out in Merced County that could presage an end to the statewide peace regarding school fees. >>read more

The California Coastal Commission has survived one of most direct assaults on its existence since the Commission's establishment in 1976. Property owners, who have chafed for years at the Coastal Commission's land use restrictions, had hoped to have the Commission's makeup declared unconstitutional, but the California Supreme Court unanimously upheld the current system in a ruling issued June 23.

If an oil company wants to build a service station in California, it typically needs a permit from the local air pollution control agency, which has the authority to consider whether vapors released during fueling might harm neighbors. If the station is a big one and has been proposed for a vacant lot next to a day-care center, the oil company might never get that permit. >>read more