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Although SB 79 and the big infill housing exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act got all the headlines this year, the Legislature was active on a variety of planning and development bills this, with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing more than 40 bills into law. Unlike last year, Newsom vetoed no bills on CP&DR ’s list.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . Cleanup of Destroyed Blimp Hangar Renews Redevelopment Plans in Tustin The US Navy and the City of Tustin have completed an environmental cleanup of the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station's north hangar site, which was destroyed by a fire in November 2023. City officials are now focused on plans for redeveloping the remaining 500 undeveloped acres of the former base and completing Tustin Legacy, a mixed-use project already spanning 1,600 acres of the decommissioned base and consisting of 4,200 homes in addition to shopping centers, schools, government buildings, and 95 acres of public parks. Local officials emphasized the "tremendous opportunity" presented by such a large contiguous parcel of land, but Tustin Mayor Austin Lombardi cautioned that redevelopment would be complicated since some of the land is still owned by the Navy. Under the current arrangement the city must adopt a reuse plan for the land, which the Navy would then act on. Santa Ana Approves Major Mall Redevelopment Santa Ana City Council approved a proposal from developers Hines and C.J. Segerstrom and Sons to redevelop the 17-acre South Coast Plaza Village mall into a mixed-use project named The Village Santa Ana. The plan calls for replacing 100,000 square feet of existing commercial space with 1.9 million square feet of new development including 1,583 homes, 300,000 square feet of offices, 80,000 square feets of restaurants and shops, 13.8 acres of open space, 7.5 of which will be publicly accessible, and parking for 3,500 vehicles. In exchange for the entitlements, the developers will make $9.3 million in community benefits payments and pay $7.1 million of in-lieu fees for affordable housing development. The development is planned for five phases spanning twenty years. Report: Dearth of Condominiums Exacerbates Housing Shortage According to a new report by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation out of UC Berkeley, California's housing shortage has been compounded by a sharp decline in condominium construction and is linked to the state's construction defect liability laws and the resulting surge in insurance costs. Developers of condos pay three to four times more for insurance than rental builders, partly because insurers assume most condo projects will face lawsuits during the state's unusually long ten-year liability window. Broad definitions of “defects,” aggressive solicitation by trial lawyers and rules that let HOA boards file lawsuits without member approval have created a litigation-heavy environment, further discouraging construction. The report highlights that insurance requirements such as costly “wrap” policies add millions to project budgets, limiting condo development to only the wealthiest markets. To revive condo production and expand homeownership options, the report suggests reforms like shortening the liability period, strengthening HOA accountability, protecting developers who follow repair procedures, capping attorney fees or adopting warranty systems that shift focus from litigation to maintenance and quality assurance. SGC Provides Updates on AHSC Housing Program, SALC Conservation Program The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program and Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program have contributed to the development of over 1,200 affordable units in 13 projects statewide and permanent conservation via easements in 13 counties of 8,880 acres of working agricultural land in the first half of 2025. This is according to figures recently released by the Strategic Growth Council. In total, the programs have constructed 22,000 affordable homes with climate-friendly transit options and conserved over 240,000 acres of farmland determined to be at risk of pollution-heavy development. Governor Newsom praised the programs as examples of the state's agricultural and environmental leadership. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Four Decades of CP&DR As CP&DR enters its 40th year, Editor and Publisher Bill Fulton looks back on a quirky idea -- a newsletter dedicated to nothing but urban planning, covering nowhere but California -- that turned out to have serious staying power. Bill writes, "At the time I was a fledging land use journalist freelancing for a wide variety of publications, including APA's own Planning magazine, as well as California Business (now out of business) and California Lawyer . Industry newsletters - printed and mailed - were all the rage in those days, and I figured that if I compiled all the interesting stuff that crossed my desk each month, at least my friends would pay to read a newsletter." Contributing Editor Josh Stephens, who has been around for 15 of those years, reflects on CP&DR's place in a media landscape that looks very different from what it did in 1986 -- with social media commentary on the rise and traditional news lamentably on the wane. Quick Hits & Updates After a court ordered a new environmental review, Metro and Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) have revived plans for a $500 million gondola linking Union Station to Dodger Stadium. The newly released supplemental environmental impact report addresses potential construction noise. It details a 1.2-mile system capable of carrying 10,000 passengers per hour round-trip. However, the project continues to face legal challenges, local opposition and scrutiny from city officials before any construction can proceed. According a loan request published by the Department of Transportation, the cost of the Brightline high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas has increased from $16 billion to $21.5 billion. Brightline West, the private company responsible for construction, requested a $6 billion loan to help cover the cost increase, which Brightline West attributes to increasing raw material and labor costs. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The California State Auditor removed the high-risk designation from the cities of Richmond and Calexico, and kept it for Compton in a report released last week. The report found that Richmond and Calexico took satisfactory action regarding their financial and administrative conditions. The State Auditor noted that Compton took steps to improve their operational health, but not enough to remove the designation. The LA City Council advanced a plan for zoning exemptions for Olympic games-related construction including public bathrooms, fan zones, broadcast centers, training facilities, transit infrastructure. Under the proposed ordinance, temporary structures and projects would be required to be removed six months after the games conclude. The Planning Commission is expected to review the draft ordinance ahead of a full council vote. The California Department of Housing and Community Development warned the Patterson City Council that the Stanislaus County city may have violated the state's Housing Accountability Act when it blocked the 95-acre Keystone Ranch Project. The city said its decision was guided by new water restrictions, and that it is caught between conflicting state directives. The city is required to respond by the end of October. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife secured a 6-month extension from the California Fish and Game Commission to complete its review of a petition to list the western burrowing owl under the California Endangered Species Act. The CFDW will now recieve public comments and scientific data until April 25, 2026. Mack Real Estate Group has withdrawn plans for a 60-story, 713-unit tower in Downtown Los Angeles, shelving what would have been its largest South Park project. While the developer still holds approvals for a nearby 51-story residential tower and a 16-story hotel, neither has advanced to construction, reflecting a broader trend of stalled or abandoned high-rise proposals in DTLA. Hermosa Beach's Planning Commission unanimously approved a scaled-down apartment project at 3415 Palm Avenue after the developers dropped their original 50-foot, five-unit Builder's Remedy plan to a 35-foot, four-unit design in response to community opposition.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . Fresno Wins Federal Lawsuit over Diversity Language in Planning Documents A federal judge ruled in favor of the City of Fresno, allowing the city to keep more than $250 million in federal grants threatened by the Trump administration over diversity-related language in city planning documents. The ruling ensures Fresno can move forward with major development efforts like the Fresno Yosemite International Airport expansion and affordable housing projects without risking the loss of federal support. The judge's injunction found the executive branch could not revoke funds already approved by Congress, protecting the city's autonomy in integrating DEI principles into planning and infrastructure initiatives. With these funds secured, Fresno's planning and public works departments can continue long-term efforts in housing, transportation and economic revitalization without diverting local resources. City officials emphasized the decision safeguards equitable, locally driven growth and shields municipal development from politically motivated federal interference. Draft Guidelines for Major State Sustainability Programs Open for Comment The Strategic Growth Council has released draft guidelines for two major grant programs — the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program Round 6 and the Community Resilience Centers (CRC) Program Round 2 — and is inviting public comment from September 29, 2025, through January 2, 2026. These updates, informed by community feedback, legislative changes and lessons from prior funding rounds, aim to make the programs more accessible, inclusive and responsive to evolving climate and community needs. The draft guidelines incorporate input from previous applicants, new policy research and a spring 2025 request for input on a revised grant application process. SGC will host virtual community input sessions and small focus groups—including sessions specifically for Tribal and rural communities—to gather detailed feedback on proposed changes. Written comments are encouraged, and updated materials, including comparison sheets and key changes summaries, are available on the TCC and CRC program webpages for public review. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Quino Butterfly Gets Candidate Status Under State Endangered Species Act The California Fish and Game Commission has granted the Quino checkerspot butterfly “candidate” status under the California Endangered Species Act, giving it temporary legal protections while the state evaluates whether it should be formally listed as endangered. Once widespread across Southern California, the butterfly's range has severely contracted due to habitat loss, with remaining populations limited to parts of San Diego and Riverside Counties. The designation prohibits any unpermitted “take” of the species—such as capturing, harming, or killing—during the 12- to 18-month review period conducted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This review will assess scientific data on the butterfly's population and habitat needs and recommend long-term recovery and management actions. Depending on CDFW's findings, the Commission may permanently list the butterfly as endangered, potentially influencing land use, development and conservation planning across Southern California. State Leases 13 Geothermal Sites in Auction Federal officials held the first geothermal lease auction in nearly ten years, selling all 13 available parcels across 23,000 acres in California. Most sites were in Imperial County's Salton Sea Basin, with winning bids ranging from $2 to $247 an acre, reflecting interest in new geothermal technologies. New technologies create underground reservoirs instead of relying on natural hot water pockets, making the industry less risky and more appealing to developers and investors. Although geothermal remains more expensive than solar or wind, demand is growing due to its reliability and potential role in California's push for carbon neutrality by 2045, with interest from companies like Google and Microsoft. The $2.75 million generated will be split between the state of California, the counties where leases are located and the U.S. Treasury, reinforcing both federal and state support for the sector despite concerns about seismic risks and regulation. CP&DR Legal Coverage: Huntington Beach Housing Element; Norwalk Homeless Housing Huntington Beach's status as a charter city doesn't get it out from under state housing law, including the provision that the city must adopt a compliant housing element within 120 days of a court order to do so. That's the decision of an appellate court in the latest battle in Huntington Beach's long-running war with the state over the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and the Housing Element. The Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal, who has been overseeing the case, erred in her ruling by not requiring that Huntington Beach follow the 120-day rule. As part of a settlement agreement with the state, the City of Norwalk has repealed a moratorium on homeless shelters and similar facilities. The city must also establish a housing trust fund and file regularly reports with the Department of Housing and Community Development. The state promised to recertify Norwalk's housing element, which was revoked after the city adopted the moratorium. Quick Hits & Updates The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments has introduced a new Housing Data Dashboard, centralizing local housing, demographic, workforce and homelessness information into a single online platform. Designed to replace multiple disconnected data sources, the dashboard has interactive maps, charts and downloadable workbooks for tracking housing production, affordability, commuting patterns and regional trends by city or county area. The Santa Clara County Planning Commission rejected , on a 5-2 vote, appeals for two South County housing projects that sought approval under California's builder's remedy, citing missed deadlines and incomplete applications. The decision requires the developer to follow local zoning and density rules, while environmental advocates warned of potential impacts to nearby wildlife habitats and commissioners debated the county's strict interpretation of the law. Environmental groups Comite Civico del Valle and Earthworks have filed an appeal with California's Fourth District Court of Appeal challenging the environmental review of the Hell's Kitchen lithium project near the Salton Sea, after a lower court dismissed their lawsuit earlier this year. The appeal argues the project's environmental impact report failed to fully address potential effects on air quality, water resources, hazardous materials and tribal cultural sites. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Los Angeles County supervisors sharply criticized a $1.9 million investigation into the Eaton fire, saying it failed to explain why evacuation alerts were delayed for residents of west Altadena, where most of the 19 deaths occurred. The report, mainly based on county data after several outside fire agencies declined to participate, was described as incomplete and lacking accountability. However, officials agreed to implement its recommendations to clarify evacuation authority, improve coordination and strengthen emergency management systems. The City of San Jose and PG&E have entered a seven-year infrastructure and energy partnership designed to meet the region's surging power demand, particularly from new data centers and manufacturers. The agreement commits $2.6 billion in grid upgrades, streamlined permitting and workforce training, aiming to add capacity, improve reliability and lower energy costs while generating tens of thousands of jobs, new tax revenue and supporting San Jose's goal of becoming a leading hub for clean energy and data-driven growth. Richmond's long-struggling Hilltop Mall site is set for transformation under the proposed Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan, which outlines new housing, commercial space and transit-friendly design across 143 acres. The plan has sparked debate between city officials, who favor a high-density, mixed-use vision to guide decades of growth, and property owner Prologis, which supports a lower-density approach aligned with current market conditions; final consideration of the plan is expected in summer 2026 following technical studies and further community input. Oakland has introduced a faster approval process for single-family homes and multifamily projects of up to 30 units, allowing them to move forward automatically if they meet clear design standards. By shifting these proposals to ministerial review, the city eliminates public hearings, appeals and environmental reviews, aiming to cut costs and speed up housing production. Los Angeles has slipped to 90th place in a national ranking of city park systems, reflecting decades of underinvestment, aging facilities and a $2 billion maintenance backlog. With the 2028 Olympics approaching, city leaders are exploring lower-cost solutions such as opening schoolyards on weekends to expand access, though funding and staffing remain major hurdles. San Diego officials are facing backlash after documents revealed a proposal to redevelop Marina Village on Mission Bay into a hotel-and-housing complex, even as the mayor insists housing is not allowed on parkland. The city wants to declare three parcels of Mission Bay property “surplus” under state law to seek new leaseholders, but critics fear the designation could legally force the city into negotiations with developers proposing housing, potentially opening the door to privatization of public parkland.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . Court Rules Do or Die for Dormant Hawthorne Mall A judge has ordered the owners of the long-abandoned Hawthorne Plaza Mall to either redevelop or demolish the 35-acre property by August 2026, after decades of failed plans and community frustration. Once a large shopping center, the mall has sat vacant since the late 1990s, though it has occasionally served as a backdrop for major films. While developers once pitched a large-scale mixed-use project with a proposed 600 units in 2017, those plans never came to fruition, leaving residents frustrated by decades of inaction. If the current owners fail to act by the court's deadline, officials have warned that a receiver could be appointed to seize control and determine the mall's future. City officials say the move is critical to revitalizing downtown and addressing safety concerns. New Housing Approved at Anemic Pace Statewide California jurisdictions' issuance of new housing permits has fallen to one of the lowest levels in more than a decade, excluding the early pandemic slowdown. The state approved about 49,400 units in the first half of 2025, marking a modest decline from last year and well below both the recent building surge and the long-term average. Rising borrowing costs, leftover unsold units from the pandemic construction boom and broader economic uncertainty have limited builders' willingness to start projects. Single-family homes have seen the sharpest pullback, while apartment construction has held steadier, but still fall below peak activity. The national picture shows a similar trend, but overall permitting remains stronger than California's. Bay Area to Face Regionwide Vote to fund BART California lawmakers have approved SB 63, clearing the way for a 2026 ballot measure that would raise sales taxes in five Bay Area counties to stabilize struggling transit systems like BART, Muni and Caltrain. The proposal would form a new regional district under the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and could generate up to $1 billion annually for 14 years, though the tax rate would vary between counties. Supporters argue the revenue is necessary to avoid steep service cuts, while critics warn the measure could burden low-income residents and question whether agencies have done enough to control costs. To address concerns, the bill requires efficiency audits and directs agencies to explore redeveloping land around stations for housing or mixed-use projects. If approved by voters, the sales tax would take effect in 2027, pushing some Bay Area cities' tax rates to the highest in California. Threat of Lawsuit Scuttles Logistics Plan in San Bernardino The board of the Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) voted to scrap its Inland Valley Infrastructure Corridor project--a master plan for logistics around San Bernardino Airport--to avoid a lawsuit from the People's Collective for Environmental Justice Action. Community groups argued the plan violated California's environmental disclosure laws and would have displaced residents while increasing polluting warehouse and industrial development. This marks the third time in recent years that residents have successfully blocked similar IVDA proposals, including the controversial Airport Gateway Specific Plan. Local advocates celebrated the cancellation as a major environmental justice win but urged the agency to engage communities more meaningfully in future planning. Court Non-Ruling on Palm Springs Project Strengthens Prevailing Wage Law The California Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal over wage requirements tied to a $175 million redevelopment in Palm Springs, effectively upholding a lower court decision against the project's developer. Palm Springs Promenade LLC, backed by Grit Development, must now comply with state prevailing wage laws and may owe workers back pay for construction on the former Desert Fashion Plaza site. The company had argued that the project was exempt under the city's charter authority, but appellate judges concluded the developer controlled how construction funds were spent. The dispute began in 2017 after a labor compliance group sought a state review, and the case drew attention from the League of California Cities, which supported the developer's position. The ruling sets a precedent that developers in public-private projects cannot sidestep wage rules by invoking municipal exemptions when they retain primary control over construction. CP&DR Coverage: The (Potential) SB 79 Revolution Of all the land use and housing bills passed in California over the past decade, none has ever received as much hoopla as SB 79, the legislation that would essentially upzone all property. Mear major transit stops around the state and give transit agencies more power over zoning and developing their own property. Many years in the making, SB 79 passed the legislature on the last day of the session and is expected to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Supporters - largely from the YIMBY movement - hail the bill as the biggest step forward yet in the effort to increase housing production in California. It includes a two-tier system in which allowed housing densities depend on quality of nearby transit service. Quick Hits & Updates Measure ULA, Los Angeles's real estate transfer tax, has dampened luxury property sales and slowed housing development even as it channels money into affordable housing programs, according to a report from the UCLA Lewis Center. The study also pushes back on claims of widespread job creation, concluding that the measure has so far generated only a small number of construction jobs rather than the thousands touted by supporters. San Francisco voters recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio after he backed the conversion of the Great Highway into Sunset Dunes, a car-free coastal park that many Sunset District residents opposed despite citywide approval. While Engardio defended the project as worth the political cost, his ouster highlights broader Bay Area discontent with local leaders and divisive development decisions. Santa Clara County's $950 million Measure A bond has nearly run out of funds but exceeded expectations, supporting close to 6,700 affordable homes, far above its original 4,800-unit goal, while also enabling projects like Mountain View's La Avenida Apartments for low-income and formerly homeless residents. Despite successes, rising costs and shortfalls in rapid rehousing units leave questions about future funding, with advocates calling for continued public and private investment to maintain momentum. Santa Ana approved The Village, a redevelopment project near South Coast Plaza that will replace an underperforming retail center with nearly 1,600 homes, along with new shops, offices, bikeways and acres of public open space. The project is expected to generate about $5.5 million annually in tax revenue and create roughly 9,000 jobs, positioning the city to meet state housing goals while transforming the area into a mixed-use community hub. Los Angeles Metro released a draft EIR for a 4.5-mile C Line extension from Redondo Beach to Torrance, adding two new stations and providing a direct 19-minute rail connection to LAX and nearby Inglewood venues like SoFi Stadium. Expected to open in 2036, the project incorporates community feedback, trench designs to reduce noise and traffic impacts and is projected to draw more than 11,500 daily riders while cutting millions of vehicle miles each year. Kilroy Realty is moving to revive its long-delayed redevelopment of the former San Francisco Flower Market site in Central SoMa, filing new applications that present four possible versions of the project ranging from office-heavy towers to high-rise housing, mixed-use or institutional space. The redesigned proposals increase building heights and parking while dropping earlier promises of childcare and community space, reflecting the developer's attempt to stay flexible in a shifting market where both housing and office demand remain uncertain. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is proposing to dissolve the city's four community parking districts after an internal review found contract violations, questionable reimbursements and spending on overhead instead of neighborhood improvements. If the City Council approves, the city would redirect $1.8 million in annual parking meter revenue to fix sidewalks, streetlights and other infrastructure, though district leaders argue the mayor is exaggerating problems and trying to grab funds to cover budget gaps. Oakland-based nonprofit PSE Healthy Energy released an interactive map of methane leaks across the country from 2016 to 2025, including 32 occurring in California, all in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Associated with oil and natural gas production, almost all the methane leaks also included other dangerous chemicals such as benzene in concentrations hundreds of times higher than the state's short-term limits. The nonprofit said most people effected by leaks never know they are happening, and they hope to provide communities with a better understanding of how methane leaks affect health and air quality. Capitola city leaders are preparing to redevelop 46 acres of empty space at Capitola Mall into up to 1,700 housing units. Capitola City Council will need to make major zoning decisions before the project can begin. Community Development Director Katie Hurley says the council will choose between updating existing objective standards, fast-tracking updates, or adopting a form-based code. The California Department of Housing and Community Development awarded $52.6 million to two housing projects in Atascadero and Ojai, two of the areas most severely impacted by the winter storms of 2022 and 2023. These grants seek to jumpstart construction for 91 affordable rental homes, using the federally funded Distaster Revovery Housing Accelerator Program (DR-ACCEL).

1986 was a lousy year for urban planning but a relatively great year for journalism. Back then, when I was growing up in Los Angeles, my family received daily deliveries of the  Los Angeles Times , the Herald-Examiner , and even the Santa Monica Evening Outlook , which, as its name implied, was quaintly printed during the day and distributed in the evenings—often by teenagers on bicycles, the newspapers hand-wrapped with rubber bands. I am not sure that truth has ever fully been spoken to power in Los Angeles—the metropolis being the city of noir, deceit, and scandals aplenty—but there was no shortage of outlets, reporters, and discussion fostered by what was then an incredibly healthy journalism industry. California Planning and Development Report was but one specific, unusual, and much-needed addition to this thriving ecosystem. At the time, those mainstream outlets seldom covered land use, a subject that was hardly an object of discussion the way it has become today. At a time when the state and much of the country was sprawling at a steady, inexorable pace y, there wasn’t much in the way of intrigue. Under the legacy media’s watch, sprawl crept across California’s landscape, smog alerts remained common, BART was the state’s only major rail system, and downtowns were as dead as disco. In November 1986, Los Angeles voters passed Proposition U , a slow-growth measure that haunts the city to this day.  That very same month, Bill Fulton had the radical idea of covering land use and planning as a serious journalistic endeavor, and he has done so ever since. Indeed, when Bill founded CPDR , he did so in part because planning was in such a sorry and beleaguered state.  Back then, I was not remotely attuned to the niceties of urban planning and policy. But, by coincidence, I lived (part-time) in the exact same city as Bill did: West Hollywood. While my parents dragged me to stores at the Beverly Center and the theater performances on Melrose Ave, Bill was plugging away at his newsletter. I was 11 years old, but I intuitively appreciated living in a dense, lively area, compared with the dullness of the suburbs or the Valley, where many of my friends lived.  How times have changed—in both urban planning and journalism. We celebrate the 40th volume of CP&DR at a time of relative triumph for the approaches and values Bill has long promoted. What were once fringe ideas—smart growth, new urbanism, and transit-oriented development—have now themselves become the dominant ethos of planning. The rapidity with which modernist planning took over in the 20th century has been rivaled only by the glacial pace  at which we have attempted to undo the problems it introduced. But undo it we must. The smart-growth build-out is far from complete. Still, we hope our state is better for these efforts. Perhaps we can credit some of the changes to this newsletter, to Bill, and certainly to Bill’s contemporaries, colleagues, and students. I wish we could say the same for journalism.  As cities have come roaring back, their nerve centers have atrophied and disappeared entirely. You don’t need to be a journalist to know that newspapers have folded at a staggering rate: 3,200 since 2005. Some of the influences are obvious: they did not keep up with the transition to digital media and did not figure out how to monetize it. Their ad revenue was siphoned away by sites like Craigslist. They competed for attention with social media. Much of these journalists’ hard work was given away for free. Most nefariously, many papers have been eviscerated by private-equity schemes that view newsrooms not as civic resources but as distressed financial assets—worth more dead than alive. They are taking a wrecking ball to public discourse—not unlike what planners did to American cities after World War II.  We are now accompanied by many other urban-related media services. Entire websites are dedicated to urbanism, among them Planetizen and Next City, while sites like  Atlantic Cities and Curbed have come and gone. Many journalists—not just one or two—have made urbanism their beat. We have Substack newsletters ( Bill’s included ), Twitter/X feeds, and impressive citizen journalists use social media to cover and comment on urbanism Despite traditional journalism’s decline,  urban planning and the new media ecosystem surrounding it are arguably healthier than ever.  In the next 10 or 40 years, I don’t know how  that combination will play out. Where was once Bill’s humble newsletter, CP&DR has aged into a vital legacy publication--that’s good for us, I suppose. And yet,I fear the loss of civic discourse, investigative reporting, and placemaking expertise that come only with robust papers of record. Sniping on Nextdoor and holding hands on Bluesky will not suffice.   What I do know is that Bill and I, supported by our talented contributors, are going to keep trying. We e want our readers to keep trying as well. What does that mean? It means reading actively. It means participating in discussions. It means making the time to be interviewed, sharing tips when something is newsworthy, and doing all the things required to facilitate a civil society, even if other venerable institutions have failed to step up. So, while we celebrate this 40-year milestone for CP&DR and all of the great city-building that has taken place during its watch, let us redouble our dedication to a free, fair, and vibrant press -- for the sake of cities and of democracy itself.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . Lawmakers Reach Deal to Fund High Speed Rail through 2045 Governor Newsom and California lawmakers struck a deal to dedicate $1 billion annually from 2030 to 2045 for the state's high-speed rail project, the largest guaranteed funding commitment in its history. The money is enough to finish the 171-mile Central Valley segment between Merced and Bakersfield, slated for completion in 2033, but not enough to extend the line to San Francisco or Los Angeles, and more funds will be needed to reach population centers like Gilroy and Palmdale. The commitment is tied to an extension of California's cap-and-trade program, which generates billions annually for climate and infrastructure projects. Supporters say the investment will create jobs and reduce emissions, while critics call it wasteful spending after years of delays and ballooning costs. 15 Jurisdictions Receive Prohousing Designation California has added 15 jurisdictions to its list of communities with the Prohousing designation. They include the cities of Adelanto, Bishop, Campbell, Chula Vista, Hayward, Indio, Lancaster, Los Altos, Santa Ana, Sunnyvale, and Woodland; the counties of Nevada, San Luis Obispo, and Tuolumne, and the town of Moraga. This status is given to local governments that adopt policies aimed at increasing housing production, such as streamlining permitting, updating zoning rules and reducing certain fees. The newly added communities are taking varied approaches, including supporting accessory dwelling units, making use of public land and adjusting regulations to encourage affordable housing. To keep the designation, jurisdictions must maintain certified housing plans, complete rezonings, comply with state housing laws and submit regular progress reports.(See related CP&DR coverage.) Los Angeles County Light Rail Extension Pushes Toward Inland Empire; Next Phase Faces Funding Troubles Los Angeles Metro opened its long-awaited A Line extension from Azusa to Pomona, a $1.5 billion project adding four new stations and expanding the world's longest light rail line to 58 miles. The nine-mile addition improves access to colleges, medical centers and the Pomona Fairplex, which will host Olympic cricket matches in 2028. Construction began in 2020 and required relocating freight tracks, with Metro now overseeing operations after the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority completed major work. While the project was originally planned to continue east to Claremont and Montclair, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority recently withdrew $37 million in funding, halting the Montclair extension for now. Officials say the Claremont extension remains on track, but the Montclair segment and eventual hopes of reaching Ontario Airport faces major delays. San Francisco Zoning Reform Advances, with Opposition Heating Up The San Francisco Planning Commission approved Mayor Dan Lurie's 'family zoning' plan after a contentious ten-hour long hearing that highlighted increasing division over the plan to add 36,000 new homes to San Francisco's west side and southern neighborhoods. Opposition groups said the zoning changes would displace small businesses and tenants and lead to uncontrolled real estate speculation, while Lurie says the plan is critical to make San Fransisco affordable for families and viable for small businesses. Supervisors Myra Melgar and Chyanne Chen have both introduced legislation to protect small businesses and tenants, with Lurie supporting. The group Neighborhoods United brought opposition to the plan on the grounds it never received an Environmental Impact Report from the city. The Planning Commissioners who voted against the plan criticized a lack of funding mechanisms to ensure affordable housing can be funded sufficiently, and said mere upzoning, rather than a comprehensive urban development plan, would be insufficient to tackle the city's problems. CP&DR Coverage: American Planning Assoc. Conference Preview The City of Monterey and the surrounding urban area is likely the smallest region to host the conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, but it punches above its weight in terms of the complexity of urban planning challenges and issues. The region lies on the border between the Central Coast and the Bay Area, hemmed in by mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In preparation for this month's conference, which starts September 28 at the Monterey Convention Center, CP&DR's Josh Stephens spoke with Monterey Community Development Director Kim Cole; Marina Planning Manager Alyson Hunter; and Salinas Planning Division Manager Grant Leonard. CP&DR is a media sponsor of this year's conference. Quick Hits & Updates The California Supreme Court is being asked to decide who controlled $51 million in public funds used in Palm Springs' $175 million downtown redevelopment, a key factor in whether the project must pay prevailing wages. The case has broader implications for charter cities' authority in public-private partnerships, with municipal leaders warning the appellate court's ruling could undermine local fiscal autonomy while state regulators argue the private developer, not the city, controlled the construction. The Richmond City Council will weigh a sweeping plan to redevelop the 143-acre Hilltop Mall site into a mixed-use district, with new housing, retail, parks and transit links, aiming to help the city meet its housing goals. While planners and officials support the vision, residents remain split over density levels, and environmental review is expected to begin before final hearings in 2026. According to long-range projections from the University of Illinois Chicago, Fontana and Moreno Valley in the Inland Empire are among the California suburbs expected to see major growth this century. Fontana's population is forecast to rise by about 99,000 residents to more than 308,000 by 2100, while Moreno Valley could add over 104,000 residents, reaching more than 314,000. Home hardening and defensible space can cut destruction rates nearly in half, dropping losses from 80% to as low as 52%, according to a UC Berkeley-led study of five major California wildfires found that. Researchers said survival depends most on spacing between homes, siding materials and building age, but stressed that community-wide adoption of mitigation strategies is key to saving lives and homes. The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-2 to approve a $2.6 billion Convention Center expansion, despite warnings it could drain over $100 million a year from the city's general fund and threaten basic services. Supporters, including Mayor Karen Bass, argue the project will create thousands of jobs, boost downtown's recovery and prepare L.A. to host Olympic events in 2028, while critics warn it could worsen the city's budget crisis and leave a gleaming facility surrounded by deepening homelessness. A large majority of Los Angeles residents support building more affordable apartments, even in neighborhoods now zoned for single-family homes, according to a UCLA Lewis Center poll. The study suggests many Angelenos are willing to allow higher-density housing across typical single-family streets to help ease the city's housing shortage and expand affordable options. The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted to support state legislation that would allow California Forever to construct a shipbuilding facility in Collinsville. The legislation would override voter approval for development, and public comment before the vote was highly critical of the plans, which opposing residents said would eliminate local control over development and the environment. Researchers at Occidental College released a report on Los Angeles's Measure ULA, the "mansion tax" passed by voters in 2022. In April 2025 the UCLA Lewis Center released a report titled Taxing Tomorrow which found that the tax was hurting the real estate market. The report found that Taxing Tomorrow came to "premature conclusions" based on "questionable methodology, limited data, and flawed analysis". Los Angeles has launched its largest affordable housing funding round ever, offering $387 million to developers, most raised through Measure ULA's “mansion tax” on property sales over $5 million. Unlike past funding cycles, the city will now award money based on a percentage of project costs, covering anywhere from 30% to 100%, to accelerate construction, preservation and adaptive reuse projects. California lawmakers are considering paying Valero between $80 and $200 million to cover maintenance costs for the Benicia refinery near San Francisco. The plant is scheduled to close in April of next year, and would be the latest refinery closure in California. Over the past year Governor Newsom has encouraged California regulators to work with oil companies to prevent closures in an effort to contain fuel costs which are already the highest in the country. The California Theatre in San Diego has been listed for sale as an immediate redevelopment opportunity. The half-acre property has fully satisfied historical requirements for redevelopment, and listing agent Jason Kimmel described the property as a key component San Diego's long-term plan for the civic center area.

In November of 1986, I showed up at the California Chapter, American Planning Association, conference ; maybe the second one I had ever attended ; with the pilot issue of four-page newsletter that no one had ever heard of or seen before called California Planning & Development Report. I thought it filled a need but I wasn’t at all sure it would last. At the time I was a fledging land use journalist ; an occupation that most people thought was a hilariously unlikely proposition ; freelancing for a wide variety of publications, including APA’s own Planning magazine, as well as California Business (now out of business) and California Lawyer. Industry newsletters ; printed and mailed ; were all the rage in those days, and I figured that if I compiled all the interesting stuff that crossed my desk each month, at least my friends would pay to read a newsletter. Which is pretty much what happened first. Our first regular issue in December of 1986 was launched with 15 subscribers. Although I had only lived in California for five years, I was fortunate enough to have several advantages in undertaking this work. I had worked my way through UCLA planning school by working at the L.A. Daily Journal, a newspaper for lawyers ; and I still use the skills I learned there in writing up court cases for CP&DR. I also attended a huge number of continuing education programs dealing with land use then offered by UCLA Extension, which proved to be my true education in the California land use system. I also had two incredible pieces of luck. Vicki Torf, my wife at the time, happened to be a graphic designer. In those pre-desktop publishing, pre-internet days there is no way I could have launched CP&DR without her. And I happened to live in West Hollywood, which had just incorporated amid national publicity. At a time when most of my planning school classmates were interning somewhere, I wound up as chair of the West Hollywood Planning Commission. That gave me even more of a real-time education in how land-use decision-making actually worked. Preparing CP&DR before the internet was a tough job. To gather material, I subscribed to so many newspapers that we had to get a much larger rural mailbox at our home in Ventura. I spent endless hours reading and clipping articles from around the state, often enlisting others to help, including Steve Svete, later one of the founders of Rincon Consultants. (As a toddler, my daughter often imitated this work, sitting on the floor of our living room and furiously throwing random papers around into different piles.) Shortly after I started CP&DR, I got a call from Warren Jones, who had founded Solano Press Books. He told me he had always wanted to write guide to planning in California but realized he would never get around to it and asked me if I wanted to do it. I turned him down flat. But after a couple of years of writing CP&DR ; and lecturing in planning at Cal Poly Pomona ; I realized I had the material and I told him yes. Since then, CP&DR and Guide to California Planning, now in its seventh edition, have really been one project, not two, with CP&DR providing the week-by-week update and GTCP the comprehensive overview. But CP&DR has never been a one-person effort. Along the way, I’ve worked with some great journalist. In the ‘90s and early ‘00s, Morris Newman ; trained as an urban designer but a real estate journalist at heart ; wrote an endless number of wry columns and hard-hitting analyses of public real estate deals. From 1999 to 2009, Paul Shigley ; an extraordinary journalist ; served as editor of CP&DR, bringing insight, diligence, and great reporting to the publication; he also co-wrote three editions of GTCP. For many years, Larry Sokoloff ; a Bay Area journalist that I originally worked with at the Daily Journal ; covered a wide range of land use stories from around the state. And since 2010, Josh Stephens has brought both solid reporting and a clever eye to California land use issues. I’m grateful to all of them for their commitment. Of course, the role of CP&DR has changed since the pre-internet era. At the beginning, when my rural mailbox was stuffed with newspapers, CP&DR simply brought news to planners, developers, and land use lawyers that they couldn’t otherwise access. Today, our role has changed. Everything is out there on the internet ; even videos of Planning Commission and City Council meetings. There are plenty of free sources of information that we compete with, including the many fine summaries of legal rulings published by prominent law firms. And of course AI allows people to do their own research. But CP&DR still plays an important and, I hope, essential role. We still scour the internet to find land use news that nobody else brings to a statewide audience. And we try to bring perspective, context, and analysis that California land use practitioners can’t find anywhere else. Today we have hundreds of paying subscribers and thousands of folks who read our weekly e-newsletter. I’m grateful to every one of you for sticking with us and seeing value in what we do. We’re charging full steam ahead and we hope to keep at this for a long time to come.

This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR 's free weekly newsletter here . State Reaches Agreement with Artesia to Update Housing Element The Attorney General's Office and the Department of Housing and Community Development reached a settlement that will bring the Los Angeles County city of Artesia into compliance with Housing Element law. In 2023, HCD found Artesia to be out of compliance with the Housing Element Law. HCD issued a letter of inquiry, inviting Artesia to explain its non-compliance in May 2023. The city responded with a proposed timeline for compliance, but then failed to meet its own deadline. HCD issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) in October 2024. The agreement, which is in the form of a proposed stipulated judgment and must be approved by the court, lays out deadlines for the city to revise the housing element. Under the settlement, Artesia will take several required actions to adopt a compliant housing element no later than January 2026. The housing element will plan for 1,069 new homes, including 608 that will be affordable for very low-, low-, and moderate-income Californians. Artesia will face civil penalties of at least $10,000 per month from January 1, 2025 to the compliance deadline of January 2026. Artesia must acknowledge that the “Builder's Remedy”— a provision in the Housing Accountability Act that requires local permitting authorities to process certain housing project development applications, regardless of zoning or general plan consistency — is in effect until the City has an updated housing element. Bill to Soften Los Angeles "Mansion Tax" Dies When Mayor Unexpectedly Revokes Support Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass worked with state lawmakers to draft a bill that would scale back Los Angeles' “mansion tax,” arguing it discouraged housing construction, but the plan collapsed when she withdrew it hours before a key vote. The proposal, known as SB 423, would have reduced taxes on recently-built apartments, shopping centers and warehouses, while maintaining higher rates on luxury homes, with the aim of stimulating development. Supporters of Measure ULA, the voter-approved tax on property sales over $5.3 million, denounced the move as an attempt to undermine voters' will and warned it could slash revenue for affordable housing and homelessness programs by up to 30%. Business groups and real estate advocates were split, with some calling the changes insufficient and others viewing them as a necessary correction to keep projects viable. Bass and the bill's co-authors vowed to revise the legislation and bring it back in January, while opponents of ULA continue on with a separate statewide ballot measure that could nix the tax entirely. (See related CP&DR coverage .) California Rep. Liccardo Co-Sponsors Federal Housing Bill U.S. Reps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Mike Flood, R-Neb., introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for cities to use federal money to build affordable housing. The Unleashing Needed Local Options to Construct and Keep Housing (UNLOCK) Act would loosen restrictions on how municipalities spend Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Efforts stem from feedback gathered by the House Subcommittee on Housing, which sought input from local governments on ways to reduce red tape in federal housing programs. “When Mountain View shared their idea, I jumped at the chance to bring this idea to fruition in Congress,” Liccardo said — referring to the city in his district that recommended expanding CDBG flexibility. “As Mayor of San Jose, I saw firsthand how cities are forced to face the brunt of the housing crisis without the federal money to match the magnitude. Easing restrictions on municipalities' use of CDBG funds will help us meet our communities' growing needs faster.” Mountain View, Calif., officials said the city has five affordable housing projects in its pipeline that could benefit from the change. Flood said the measure would also help communities in his state: “This targeted legislation would give communities across the state the flexibility to use CDBG dollars to directly address housing supply needs.” The bill has backing from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities and other national housing organizations. Federal Land Management Rules Could De-emphasize Conservation The Department of the Interior may repeal a Biden-era land management rule that had elevated conservation to the same priority as development on federal lands. The 2024 rule allowed public property to be leased for ecological restoration, but critics in industry and agriculture argued it threatened energy production, grazing and recreation. Burgum and other opponents said undoing the policy would preserve access for multiple uses and safeguard local economies, while environmental groups countered that the move undermines federal law and favors extractive industries. The proposal aligns with broader Trump administration efforts to expand drilling, mining and logging across Western states. Once formally published, the rollback will undergo a 60-day public comment period, setting up a clash between conservation advocates and industry supporters over the future of public lands. CP&DR Legal Coverage: Judge Sides with HCD in Beverly Hills Builder's Remedy Case A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the addition of a hotel and the subtraction of some affordable housing units doesn't cause a Beverly Hills developer's vested rights under the builder's remedy law to expire. Rather, he wrote, the two changes fall - just barely - within the law's provision that a developer can change both affordable housing and square footage by 20% without surrendering the vested rights. This marks the second time in recent months that an L.A. judge has relied heavily on interpretations from the Department of Housing & Community Development on the vested rights question. Judge James Chalfant recently ruled a 90-day window to respond to incompleteness letters resets each time a new letter is received, based in part on HCD's interpretation. Quick Hits & Updates San Diego's Metropolitan Transit System voted to postpone a proposed 2026 sales tax measure until 2028, opting instead for its first fare hike since 2009 and other stopgap measures to address a projected $250 million deficit. The plan includes raising fares by up to 20%, diverting $225 million from capital funds to operations and considering service cuts and pension payment adjustments. President Trump issued an executive order to establish a “National Center for Warrior Independence” on the West L.A. VA campus, calling for up to 6,000 housing units for homeless veterans by January 2028, but the details of the plan are being developed largely behind closed doors, with nondisclosure agreements, lack of public input and blocked access for veterans and Congress. A Los Angeles City Council committee voted to move forward a plan that could end mandatory parking requirements for new housing, giving developers the option to build with little or no parking. Santa Monica City Council approved a one-year pilot program letting developers meet affordable housing rules by building units off-site, rehabbing old ones or paying fees, in hopes of jump-starting stalled projects amid high costs and interest rates. Supporters say it could unlock thousands of units, but critics, including the mayor, warn it risks reinforcing segregation and weakening the city's commitment to integrated affordable housing. Anaheim officials are in early talks with startup Swyft Cities about a $125 million gondola system that could connect Disneyland with major destinations like the Honda Center, Angel Stadium, ARTIC and the Anaheim Convention Center. The 3.8-mile route under discussion would run along Katella Avenue with a five-minute end-to-end trip. The Trust for Public Land's 2025 ParkScore index ranked Irvine second place nationwide for park acreage, access, amenities, investment and equity, credited largely to its Great Park project. San Francisco also placed near the top, ranking in the top ten for its strong park access and sustained investment, and San Diego ranked 22nd. A federal judge in San Francisco ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide within nine months whether the San Francisco Estuary's white sturgeon population should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The agency had sought until 2029, citing staff cuts and a backlog, but the presiding judge ruled that its delays were partly self-inflicted and couldn't override statutory deadlines. The estimated price of a planned expansion and refresh of the LA Convention center has risen to $2.7 billion, up $483 million from six months ago, intensifying uncertainty about whether the center will be ready in time for the 2028 Olympics. The city is counting on two planned digital billboards to contribute revenue, but approval is uncertain and the city would have to come up with $111 million a year through 2058 to cover expansion costs. Most of the increase comes from the Department of Water and Power, which issued higher estimates for relocating utilities. LADWP also warned that the project would likely cause delays to the planned rail line to the San Fernando Valley and other projects as staff would have to be diverted. A new study found San Diego has the second-oldest homeowners in the nation, with an average age of 54, just behind Los Angeles at 55. Despite the metro area's median age of 39, high housing costs, stagnant wages, and policies like Prop. 13 have kept older homeowners in place while younger residents leave or continue renting, making nearly half of San Diego households renters. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments announced that the region constructed 12,500 homes in 2024, the highest in a year since 2005 and surpassing current annual targets. To meet the current goals, the region will need to add 278,000 new housing units by 2050. SACOG pointed to policies such as removing parking mandates, streamlining approvals, and more flexible zoning as key to the increased construction.

The City of Monterey and the surrounding urban area is likely the smallest region to host the conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, but it punches above its weight in terms of the complexity of urban planning challenges and issues. The region lies on the border between the Central Coast and the Bay Area, hemmed in by mountains and the Pacific Ocean.  In preparation for this month’s conference, which starts September 28 at the Monterey Convention Center, CP&DR spoke to local planners involved in conference planning to give conference-goers a preview of what they might observe on the ground in mobile workshops and in sessions influenced by the host region. Fittingly, we spoke on Admission Day, which commemorates the date when California was admitted to the Union. As the former capital of Spanish and Mexican Alta California, Monterey is the only city in the state that takes Admission Day as a holiday.  CP&DR’s Josh Stephens spoke with Monterey  Community Development Director Kim Cole ; Marina Planning Manager Alyson Hunter; and Salinas Planning Division Manager Grant Leonard .  How do you characterize your cities? Alyson Hunter, City of Marina: We're a small city. We're about 22,000 people, and we've got about 3 miles of coastline on Monterey Bay. One of the most interesting and fascinating, and, from a planning perspective, challenging parts about working for the City of Marina is that geographically, half of our city is the former Fort Ord Army Base. In the mid-’90s it was closed down, and several cities and other public entities got the land.  Historically, we've been a bedroom community, both to the base and to the other larger cities around, like Salinas and Monterey. But we are trying to create some job-producing development here. We've got exciting Joby Aviation happening at our little Marina airport, manufacturing EVTOL flying machines. We're trying to grow both residentially and commercially, with niche manufacturing to keep up with our big neighbors to the north and south. Kim Cole, City of Monterey: Monterey is a historic town. We were the capital of Alta California, and the State of California constitution was written in Monterey. And before all of that, we were a Native American village. We have layers of history. Building on that today, I think about our town as being focused on the environment and education. I think when you hear the debates in our town, a lot of it centers around how to preserve the National Marine Sanctuary and the city's relationship to the sanctuary. And in terms of education, we have the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a junior college, and two of our three military bases are focused on education: the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute for the Army. That creates a really dynamic environment to work in. Grant Leonard, City of Salinas: We're the largest city on the Central Coast and in Monterey County. We're an ag town, principally, also a bedroom community. We actually contribute commuters to the Bay Area. Many residents leave as early as 5 a.m. to get to work in San Jose. But we're enjoying a moment of revitalization in our downtown, which is really thriving. We're expanding our industrial and business parks, including a new Amazon warehouse and distribution center. We're also, like Marina, trying to maximize the use of our airport through new aviation technologies. And we're a growing city. We have three future growth areas with 10,000-15,000 homes. Two of the three planning areas are entitled, and we’re currently doing the specific plan for the third one. Those are all based on New Urbanism: more walkable communities, balance of shops and commercial and recreation opportunities, schools, but also principally housing.  Our main priorities continue to be, from the community and council, economic development and housing. We're the first city in the area to have a certified housing element this cycle. A major right now is on rent stabilization, tenant protection rights, and then “expanding the pie,” as the politicians like to say, for economic development. How do the state’s housing shortage and affordability constraints play out in your region and cities? Hunter: Like Salinas, Marina was also certified early for this cycle, because we are one of the few cities on the peninsula proper that has actually built a couple thousand homes over the last 15 years. Our RHNA number was very low because we're already building a ton of housing. We're trying to encourage commercial development to help meet the job–housing balance. We have our third big master plan project just coming online under construction right now. But our number one constraint is water. We're all under different water rules, even in this small geographic area, which is another planning challenge/nightmare. Coastal cities have had particular challenges with RHNA because of geographic constraints. How has RHNA treated Monterey?  Cole: The city has a current housing stock of about 13,000 housing units. We received a RHNA allocation of 3,654 units. We're working on implementation of all our programs, but despite all that, we're not really seeing housing growth. The reason is infrastructure constraints. The City of Monterey and a couple of our adjacent jurisdictions are subject to a cease-and-desist order from the State Water Resources Control Board. It's been well over 20 years of our region trying to find water. We are not part of the State Water Project. There's no importing of water from outside the region. Our region has been looking at recycled water. And we're actually importing water from the Salinas Valley, cleaning that water, and ultimately injecting it into our aquifers. The first round was successful. Our local water district is trying to expand that service.  The third arm to that is a very controversial regional desal plant in Marina. The Coastal Commission has approved it. The PUC recently made a big decision. What our region has to show is that it produces enough water over a two- or three-year period that survives drought conditions that the State Water Resources Control Board will lift the water moratorium. What has it meant for the last few years? Monterey cannot set a new water meter in our city. Every sink and toilet in our city for residential construction is counted by our regional water district, and other uses, like commercial, typically are limited to square footage. If you have an existing retail space, you're limited to that square footage. You can't increase. So the only development we've really been doing is where they can squeak out an additional bathroom from a house, maybe take out some other extra fixtures and build ADUs. Our big project is converting an old office building on Garden Road from office to 64 residential units, 12 of which are dedicated towards our inclusionary housing program.  So, even though we received a very large RHNA number, we're unable to produce housing because of the cease-and-desist order. So every glass of water at the conference is precious. Cole: Yeah, so you better drink it! How different, or similar, is the situation in Salinas? Leonard: Kim mentioned Monterey has about 13,000 housing units total. Our future growth area has 12,000 to 15,000 housing units yet to be built, so quite a different scale. Housing in Salinas is really a story of one farm field conversion to a subdivision after another. And home values are a little lower—you can get a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home here for probably 50 to 70% of the cost of what it is on the peninsula. So instead of a million, it'll be $700,000 over here. What we have a real issue with is overcrowding and habitability. Our lower-income community members end up doubling up, tripling up.  I think one thing that's maybe not talked about enough in California, is people are retiring, and they're holding on to their houses when their kids move out. You have a lot of housing stock built for families that now has one or two people in it. In Salinas there are neighborhoods that are much less populated and have very nice homes, and then you have neighborhoods that are really overcrowded. One of the things we're working on with our general plan update, Salinas 2040, is increasing the allowed density throughout the city, so everywhere can basically be upzoned. That'll speed forward some redevelopment projects that we're looking at. Our revitalization plans for East Salinas and also Chinatown all have housing as a key component. Are you going to be annexing at all to accommodate those 13,000 units, or can it all be done by upzoning and infill? Leonard: The future growth areas are already annexed. They were identified in the late 1980s with a memorandum of understanding with the county. They were then annexed in 2008, right as the Great Recession was happening. The planning for them for two of the three locations was finalized in 2019 and 2020, just before COVID. So, it's been a series of planning steps, and each one has seemed to be hit with a large outside factor that delayed it, whether it was no savings and loans in the 90s, and then the recession in 2008, and then COVID. But they're already annexed into the city, and we don't have plans for any future annexations, except for one business park on the north side of town. Our main focus with the new general plan for 2040 is infill and upzoning. Is HCD sympathetic to Monterey’s water constraints?  Cole: HCD has been very proactive in their enforcement of the housing element. They’re reviewing all of our rezonings, and they’ve already required one amendment.  As far as sympathy goes, RHNA doesn’t look at water supply. The City of Monterey received more units because of socioeconomic factors. Our original allocation was about 1,600 units, but when the regional government looked at equity issues, we got double that number. Everyone knows Monterey, Pacific Grove, and nearby cities can’t build that  many units until the cease-and-desist order on water is lifted. The real issue is environmentalism. Our region is very environmentally forward, and there’s strong concern about desalination in the National Marine Sanctuary. Desal would give us a stable water supply and allow us to lift the cease-and-desist order. But politically, it’s controversial. Many people want to protect the bay and live only on our existing water resources. In the next two years, we’ll likely see whether desal is constructed or not.  Leonard: Salinas has similarities to other mid-sized cities and ag towns. Our water issues differ from the peninsula’s—we rely on groundwater and the Salinas River Basin, since we’re not on the state aqueduct system. A new state law created the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency, which must bring our aquifers into balance by 2050. That could mean pumping restrictions, new fees, or an “extraction barrier,” essentially a light version of desal, because seawater contamination is already moving inland. Agriculture uses 90% of the water in the valley; urban areas use 10%. The expectation is that agriculture will take the bigger hit. We face aging infrastructure for stormwater, sewers, and roads. Building new highway interchanges, even for safety, is prohibitively expensive. Economic development is another challenge—we’re working to retain and expand businesses, but there’s uncertainty about federal funds and real impacts on the local economy. In East Salinas, immigrant communities are fearful, which has hurt local businesses. Our United Business Association is really struggling this year.  Hunter: I've been in public planning for 28 years in Coastal California, dealing with the Coastal Commission and their various idiosyncrasies. I'm finding it fascinating now that HCD has grown into this whole different, massive thing that did not exist a few years ago. Housing elements a few years ago were kind of like a checkbox thing, no big deal. And now it is the biggest thing.  I'm observing this clash of the titans between these two state agencies, where previously nobody messed with the Coastal Commission—they were in charge, and whatever they wanted happened. I'm finding this new dynamic fascinating, and I'm curious what this group thinks. Hopefully this will come up at the conference, because it's a critical component for coastal communities trying to deal with their housing requirements. Cole: I would expand it in terms of the clash of the titans at the state level that we're experiencing. It's the Coastal Commission, it's HCD, it's the State Water Resources Control Board, and now it's fire regulations.  If you look at Monterey, we are a heavily forested community. A huge portion of our city is in a very high fire hazard zone, or in a sea level rise zone. And my question is, for the state, who's going to win, or who's going to arbitrate? I don't know if we can achieve it all. Right now, each state agency tries to achieve perfection in their own area, and they all have jurisdiction over Monterey. The question is: how are we going to find some middle ground? Some days the Coastal Commission area may lose out, other days housing may lose out. And the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics. We have an airport in our city. We're 8 square miles, and when you layer and layer and layer, it's really hard to push development forward. There's going to need to be some middle ground. Hunter: That makes me wonder about regional planning, and how we might need to divest ourselves of our small municipal boundaries, and really start—especially with sea level rise, coastal hazards, wildfire—we might need to have that conversation. A lot of planners would not go on the record saying “divest power.” Hunter: Infrastructure-wise, things are regional. Kim's talking about their regional airport. In Marina, just outside our city limits, we have the regional sanitary landfill attached to the regional wastewater treatment facility—a gigantic operation that serves the whole region. I think we're going to have to talk about it eventually. Which new state regulations have affected you?  Leonard: Just on state regulations—where it’s really affected Salinas has been on the housing front. ADUs are being allowed by-right; we’re processing hundreds each year. We’re getting SB 330 applications to streamline or circumvent local regulations, making everything objective design standards, removing discretionary review. We’re even seeing some SB 9 applications. It might have taken a couple years, but we’re seeing the full effect of those 2019–2020 housing laws now. Hunter: For Marina, we’re fortunate. We’re not under the thumb of HCD as much, since we’ve already built our RHNA numbers for this cycle. But it’s still a struggle—there are only two planners in Marina right now, myself included. Staffing is difficult everywhere, and implementing new laws constantly coming at us is very challenging. Cole: ADUs are working because they don’t require new water meters. SB 9—we allow up to six units on a single-family parcel, exceeding state minimums. But we’re not seeing that development because we can’t set new water meters.  You’ve got a couple hundred planners coming to the region, all interested in these issues. What would you like them to notice about your area as a whole and your respective cities? Cole: We've been talking about rough patches, but we've had regional successes too. The groundwater replenishment program is a major success. The busway that's about to start construction, two regional bike paths, the coastal trail, rental assistance programs, historic resources. There’s a lot to see on the peninsula, between all the cities. And then there’s the agricultural powerhouse of the Salinas Valley, plus the military bases. There’s a great classroom for planners to see what has been done. Leonard: There's going to be one mobile workshop to downtown Salinas. Salinas has a lot of history—John Steinbeck, Cesar Chavez, the labor movement. In the 1930s, because agricultural technology advanced, even though it was the Depression, Salinas was a very wealthy city. We've got a lot of architecture from that period—Craftsman, Queen Anne Victorians, Art Deco. We had three movie theaters in a two-block radius downtown, two of which still exist and are designated historic. Plus, we'll present our East Salinas District Identity Master Plan, which combines neighborhood branding, public art, economic development, and streetscape improvements to create a unique feel for the neighborhood. It's not about gentrification—we want to revitalize what’s there so the community stays and benefits.  Hunter: There’s going to be a bus ride mobile workshop through the former Fort Ord, touching on some of the Marina development. Marina is super-interesting. We are a young city, incorporated only in 1975. We came up as a service community to Fort Ord, similar to Seaside but much smaller. After just 20 years, the Fort Ord closure doubled our size and caused tremendous growth. It's safe to say Marina has had some growing pains, but we’re moving forward, modernizing, and getting our feet on the ground with new master plan developments. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.  Contacts   Kim Cole,  Community Development Director, City of Monterey, Alyson Hunter , Planning Manager, City of Marina,  Grant Leonard , Planning Division Manager, City of Salinas,  Image Credits Marina State Beach: California State Parks  Salinas Arch: Wikimedia Commons Monterey Harbor & Downtown: Wikimedia Commons 

Tier 1

How Will SB 79 Affect Local Planning in California?

Eight years ago, the legislature adopted legislation to permit “Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts,” which would have used tax-increment financing to facilitate tricky developments that jurisdictions considered important. Arguably, few infill projects in the state are more important than the Sacramento Railyards, a 220-acre expanse adjacent to the city’s downtown. And yet, when the Sacramento City Council recently tried to expand the boundaries of an existing EIFD it had planned to help finance development of the Sacramento Railyards, it was rejected. State law requires that if more than half of existing local residents object, the EIFD must be abandoned. Frustrating as the vote might be for the project’s boosters, that sort of stakeholder input is an inherent part of EIFD law. The regulations were intended, in part, to counter the opacity of the state’s former redevelopment system. “If anything, this demonstrates that the process works,” said consultant Larry Kosmont, who works on EIFDs and infrastructure financing. “We want full disclosure. This validates that the notification process will result in community input, which is the intent of it.” The main sticking point for current residents seems to be how much affordable housing will be included when the project is completed. The developers plan to have about 6 percent of the total number of units be affordable; residents and a local service workers’ union asked for at least 25 percent. The city’s Housing Element, filed with the state in 2021, states that “the City shall require a 20 percent set-aside for affordable housing in all new enhanced infrastructure financing districts to the extent permissible by State law.” Currently, there are only two housing developments completed within the proposed expanded EIFD boundaries, with a total of about 500 units, but they are not all rented out. The Wong Center specifically offers affordable housing for seniors. The AJ is a mixed-income development that counts 20 percent of its units as affordable. That means that about 45 percent of the housing built so far is affordable. "That's a great ratio," said Unite Here Local 49 representative Sonya Karabel. "But the final plan is that more than 94 percent of the rest will be market rate." "Our members work in the service industry in downtown Sacramento," said Karabel. "They are the low-income workers who need affordable housing near downtown. Six percent affordable housing isn't enough." Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who is head of the Railyards Authority, did not respond to requests for interviews from CP&DR. First envisioned two decades ago, and formalized in a 2007 environemntal impact report, the original Sacramento Railyards development plan had focused on renovating the vintage brick warehouses for big-box retail, and on adding housing as well as a new stadium or arena. State grants allowed that first developer to begin work on some of the extensive environmental mitigation that was needed due to the industrial nature of the area, as well as new roads and bridges and improved stormwater and sewer facilities.