News Briefs

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced six new legislative reforms, includeing eliminating the screen or fence requirement for driveways to allow people to park in their own driveways, loosening restrictions on historic building usage to keep spaces occupied and avoid disinvestment, and making it easier to install commemorative plaques

The Yucaipa City Council narrowly approved an update to the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan, clearing the way for the Pacific Oaks Commerce Center, a two-million-square-foot warehouse and office project

The state has adopted its first-ever conservation blueprint to protect the western Joshua tree, hoping to safeguard the species from climate change and development pressures

Philips 66 filed redevelopment plans for its 440-acre refinery in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles, anticipating the plant's closure at the end of the year

A Los Angeles hotel workers union has proposed a ballot measure requiring voter approval for major “event centers,” including sports facilities, concert halls and hotels, which city officials warn could delay or block several 2028 Olympic venues

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is proposing a ballot measure called the "Save Prop 13 Act of 2026" that would reinforce provisions of 1978's Prop 13

The Orange County Grand Jury is investigating why the Santa Ana Streetcar project budget increased to over $150 million per mile

California Forever has reprioritized its plans for a new city in Solano County with an expanded vision that includes a 2,100-acre advanced manufacturing site known as the “Solano Foundry.”

Gov. Newsom announced the creation of the California Housing and Homelessness Agency, consolidating multiple existing departments into a new body

The City of Fresno is working to regain its Prohousing status, which allows access to millions in state housing grants, by passing several housing policy updates aimed at streamlining development

The Berkeley City Council unanimously adopted a landmark Middle Housing ordinance ending a century-old single-family zoning policy, allowing small apartment buildings across most of the city

Senate Republicans have introduced a proposal for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to sell up to to 3.3 million acres of federal land in 11 western states, including parcels near California landmarks

The Sacramento City Council approved key steps to advance a new, privately funded soccer stadium for Sacramento Republic FC in the downtown Railyards

Jan Sramek, founder and CEO of California Forever, revealed a new vision for the company's proposed "new city" in Solano County