In response to the Berkeley enrollment case, the Legislature is likely to do something. Exempting student and faculty housing would weaken CEQA -- but Justice Goodwin Liu laid out another path that could truly reform it.
The University of California tried to finesse the fact that Berkeley had blown past its enrollment target without doing additional CEQA analysis. And maybe the judge didn't have to "go nuclear" on this case. But the question of whether population growth in and of itself demands lengthy environmental analysis holds major implications for general plans in cities and counties throughout California.
As a recent San Diego ruling reveals, cities have no choice but to defend their decisions to abide by statutes like the Density Bonus Law. At the same time, they are trying to "thread a needle" to challenge those laws in court.
It ends single-family zoning and clips the wings of local governments. But the bottom line is probably thousands of units, not hundreds of thousands of units.
In turning down a 48-unit condominium project near Beach Boulevard, did Huntington Beach violate the Housing Accountability Act's requirement that findings be based on objective standards? Or will a fire expert's 11th-hour conclusion that one standard was violated be enough to save the city's case?
In exchange for vested rights from the City of San Jose, Google has committed to an unprecedented investment in infrastructure, affordable housing, and community benefits.
Progressives who have long protected community power over developers are praising Biden's proposed new program, while Republicans are calling it a war on the suburbs.
For Sacramento and Berkeley, the hard part is still coming: How to create a development code that will encourage rather than block other small-scale housing products.
