The water supply analysis for one of the largest housing developments ever approved in the Central Valley has been rejected by the state Supreme Court. The court faulted the water study in the environmental impact report for the 20,000-unit Sunrise-Douglas community plan outside Sacramento because the study did not adequately describe long-term water sources and the impacts of using those sources. “While the EIR identifies the intended water sources in general terms, it does not clearly and coherently explain, using material properly stated or incorporated in the EIR, how the long-term demand is likely to be met with those sources, the environmental impacts of exploiting those sources, and how those impacts are to be mitigated,” the state’s highest court ruled. The court also rejected the EIR’s analysis of the impacts of groundwater pumping on the Cosumnes River, which provides critical habitat for federally protected steelhead trout and fall-run Chinook salmon. Sacramento County approved the community plan for 6,000 acres of pastureland south of Highway 50 in 2002 (see CP&DR Local Watch , August 2002). The plan calls for approximately 20,000 housing units and nearly 500 acres of commercial and office development. At the same time, the county also approved the 10,000-unit Sunridge specific plan covering nearly half of the community plan site. The property lies within the City of Rancho Cordova, which incorporated a few months after the county approved the plans and zoning. The city has been implementing the plans. Angelo Tsakapoulos’s AKT Development is the primary developer. Residents of the area and environmentalists sued the county (the city has since become the defendant) over the EIR for the plans. The lawsuit centered on the water supply, as local residents feared the impacts of large-scale groundwater pumping. Essentially, the project called for using a well field about four miles south of the plan area for short-term supplies. Long-term, the project would be supplied by the wells and Sacramento County Water Agency’s new diversion of Sacramento River water. A Sacramento County superior court judge ruled against the project opponents. In an unusually terse opinion, the Third District Court of Appeal concluded the opponents were guilty of “misstatements and omissions” and rejected the opponents’ contentions (see CP&DR Legal Digest , April 2005, March 2005). But in a 6-1 decision, the state Supreme Court found it was the county — not the opposition — that was less than forthcoming. “The principal disputed issue,” Supreme Court Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the majority, “is how firmly future water supplies for a proposed project must be identified or, to put the question in reverse, what level of uncertainty regarding the availability of water supplies can be tolerated in an EIR for a land use plan.” Justice Werdegar laid out the evolution of case law at the appellate court level. The first case was Santiago County Water Dist. v. County of Orange , (1981) 118 Cal.App.3d 818, in which the court rejected an EIR for a mining project because the EIR did not address the impacts of supplying the mine with up to 15,000 gallons of water per day. The next case in line was the landmark Diablo Grande decision, Stanislaus Natural Heritage Project v. County of Stanislaus , (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 182. In that case, the court threw out an EIR for the 5,000-unit Diablo Grande project that listed possible long-term water supplies but deferred analysis of the water acquisitions until later phases of project development (see CP&DR Legal Digest , September 1996). The next case was Napa Citizens for Honest Government v. Napa County Bd. of Supervisors , (2001) Cal.App.4th 342, in which the court disapproved an EIR that did not disclose possible alternative water sources and the impacts of using them (see CP&DR Legal Digest , September 2001). Finally, in Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment v. County of Los Angeles , (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 715, the court rejected an EIR that relied on “paper water” from the over-subscribed State Water Project (see CP&DR Legal Digest , April 2003). While these decisions provide no definitive standard, according to state Supreme Court, they provide four principles: • The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is not satisfied unless decision-makers are presented with sufficient facts to evaluate how water will be supplied to a project. • An EIR for a project to be built over a number of years cannot be limited to water supply for the first few years. • Future water supplies must “bear a likelihood of actually proving available.” • When water sources are uncertain, there must be a discussion of possible replacement sources or alternatives, and the impacts of those contingencies. It is not enough to say that development will not proceed if anticipated water fails to materialize. The court also discussed legislation of recent vintage. In 1995, lawmakers approved SB 901 (Costa), requiring cities and counties considering a large development proposal to obtain a “water supply assessment” from the appropriate water supplier. Six years later, the Legislature approved two more bills: SB 221 (Kuehl) requires a city or county considering a residential subdivision of at least 500 units to obtain written verification that adequate water is available for the project and other planned uses for 20 years. Meanwhile, SB 610 (Costa) attempts to close loopholes in SB 901 and emphasizes the importance of 20-year urban water management plans (see CP&DR , October 2001, October 1995). After laying out this background, the court then considered the specifics of the Rancho Cordova project. The community and specific plans contemplate the use of 5,000 to 10,000 acre-feet of water from the well field during the near-term. (These wells are serving the 1,800 houses built since project approval.) Opponents contended the EIR did not adequately describe competing uses for this groundwater, but the court was satisfied with this portion of the environmental study. Long-term supply, however, was a different story. According to the court, the EIR discussed long-term needs — based on the county general plan — within the county water agency’s “Zone 40.” This zone encompasses much of southern Sacramento County, including the project area. The EIR also addressed water sources and the Sacramento Water Forum, a collection of agencies and stakeholders that adopted a plan for competing American River water uses. These estimates of demand and supply, though, were not consistent throughout the EIR, the court noted, and it appeared that a supply gap for Zone 40 remained. “The general answer given in the EIR, and echoed by real parties and Rancho Cordova, is that the new surface water supplies are to be used conjunctively with groundwater supplies. But this explanation is vague and unquantified,” Werdegar wrote. “How much groundwater, existing and new, will be used with how much new surface water? In what combinations will these sources be used during wet and dry years, respectively? No such description of planned future water use appears in the FEIR.” The EIR appeared to tier off of a future analysis of what was at the time a pending water agency plan for Zone 40. But an EIR may not tier of off a document that doesn’t exist. The Rancho Cordova project EIR, the court ruled, could have tiered off of an earlier analysis for the Water Forum proposal. However, the EIR’s relationship to the Water Forum proposal was unclear, even though the EIR included a discussion of impacts and mitigations in the Water Forum EIR. “The reader attempting to understand the county’s plan for providing water to the entire Sunrise Douglas development is left to rely on inference and speculation,” Werdegar wrote. Developers pointed to a condition of project approval that prohibits approval of entitlements if water is not available. But the court dismissed the argument and cited Stanislaus Natural Heritage: “‘It must be borne in mind that the EIR must address the project and assumes the project will be built.’” As for impacts of groundwater pumping on the Cosumnes River, the court found that the EIR’s brief dismissal of concerns expressed by environmentalists and wildlife agencies was not supported by substantial evidence. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Marvin Baxter said the majority was imposing requirements beyond those contained in CEQA or the Water Code. “Under the majority’s new rule … once a city or county approves a general plan, it could not approve a project in furtherance of that plan unless or until it had secured water sources for build out of the entire general plan. Northing in CEQA requires such a result,” Baxter wrote. To this, Werdegar responded, “ong-term local water planning is not a burden that must be taken up anew, for CEQA purposes, each time a development is proposed; rather, cities and counties may rely on existing urban water management plan’s future demand accounting.” The Case: Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova , No. S132972, 07 C.D.O.S. 1131, 2007 DJDAR 1453. Filed February 1, 2007. The Lawyers: For Vineyard Area Citizens: Stephan Volker, (510) 496-0600. For the city: Julia Bond, Meyers, Riback, Silver & Wilson, (510) 808-2000. For Sunrise Douglas Property Owners Association: James Moose, Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley, (916) 443-2745.

Parking is the demon of urban design. Like a gargoyle on a tower thumbing its nose at passers-by below, California’s inflexible parking requirements seem to mock developers, housing advocates and city officials alike. “Whatever it is you want to build — affordable housing, shopping centers, hospitals, hotels — you can’t build it, because you can’t park it, ha ha ha!” chants the demon. Is there no sorcerer strong enough to kill the monster of parking codes? The near-impossibility of meeting present-day parking requirements came to mind recently, when I was watching presentations by graduate students in planning at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. The students were required to propose theoretical projects for an actual site in Beverly Hills, following the zoning rules of that city. Not a single one of the teams could make the parking work; all of them invented pretexts that the city would somehow “waive” or forgive some of the parking, which is not a realistic expectation in Beverly Hills. All of this is preamble to the subject of automated parking structures. The good news about automated parking is already known in Europeans and some Asian cities. Californians are only now beginning to learn that mechanical parking systems — involving lifts that pick cars up from the ground and hide them underground or in the air — can make otherwise unfeasible building projects work financially. That’s a very big deal. But this technology begs the question: Will solving the parking problems of some buildings actually lead to a worsening of traffic congestion? Conventional parking structures, as nearly everyone knows, are space consuming because cars need wide turning radii and room for two-way traffic. A well-known urban designer told me that San Francisco was a better city for development than Portland, for example, because the classic “Vara” block of San Francisco – roughly 350 by 250 feet – is ideal for parking structures, while the much smaller block of downtown Portland – about 200 by 200 feet — was too tight for a standard parking structure. With automated parking, sites with comparatively small “footprints” can now accommodate parking in a much narrower compass. In some cases, the footprint of parking can be as small as 8 feet by 24 feet, or roughly the same size, in square feet, as my living room. While this may sound banal to some, the implications are almost revolutionary for areas like downtown Portland and perhaps our bedeviled site in Beverly Hills. It means, among other things, that some sites with comparatively small “footprints” can now become commercially feasible development locations because they can be “parked.” For a Washington, D.C., demonstration project built in 2002, SpaceSaver Parking Company of Chicago installed a four-level, 74-stall automated parking system in the Summit Grand Parc Apartments, a building with a dainty footprint of only 60 feet by 106 feet. The economics of automated parking varies on the type of unit. The most economical unit – and the system most common in San Francisco – is a simple, hydraulic ramp that lifts a car six feet above street level, allowing another car to park beneath. These low-end units cost about $12,000 to $15,000 per parking space. (These figures are supplied by Rob Bailey, president and owner of SpaceSaver Parking Systems.) That makes the units a good deal cheaper than the average parking stall, which can cost up to $40,000 to $45,000, a figure that reflects the recent run-up in the cost of construction materials. The most expensive model — a “fully automated,” key-card operated system that allows car owners to retrieve their vehicles immediately — costs about $30,000 to $35,000 per stall. In other words, it is not cheap, but it is comparable to the cost of building a garage. And any premium that a developer might pay for an automated system, of course, may be justifiable if an unfeasible project suddenly becomes workable. Bailey says he has “five or six” systems currently in place in San Francisco, and a 12-level system — possibly the largest of its kind yet built in California — is scheduled for installation this month at a new luxury building at 418 Jesse Street. In Bailey’s view, on-site parking is a sine qua non for high-end multi-family buildings. “For well-off people to move downtown, you’ve got to be able to give them parking, because they are not going to get rid of their cars,” Bailey said. He also contended that automated parking has some social benefits: With the systems, “you can eliminate a lot of on-street parking, and get a lot of congestion off the street.” The parking-systems executive also said – and I agree – that parking systems will have an impact on urban land economics and even architecture. Small urban parcels that currently have relatively little value because of their limited development potential will quickly jump in value as automated parking becomes accepted. And the impact also goes to architecture: The design of buildings may also change, if and when architects decide to build narrow parking elevators instead of garages or parking structures. Even UCLA urban planning Professor Donald Shoup, scourge of parking, sees a number of positives in the automated structures, including greater security from theft and damage. However, Professor Shoup — who opposes parking requirements because free parking is an invitation to car use (see CP&DR Q&A, May 2005) — said automated parking is no panacea. Great downtown areas, such as downtown San Francisco and Chicago, benefit from expensive parking that discourages people from using their cars, says Shoup, who argues that the high cost of parking is the right policy to induce people to find other ways of getting around, such as transit. In this light, automated parking is a symptomatic treatment of our chronic car disease. Hurrah for automated parking systems that can spare worthwhile projects from the demon of parking requirements. But increased parking capacity could lead to more congestion if no policy comes forward to discourage the use of cars altogether.

As the Legislature prepares to convene in January, another round of changes to the California Environmental Quality Act seems likely. The question is whether the 2026 changes will be incremental – clarifying, among other things, some of the “Swiss-cheese” holes punched in CEQA in 2025 – or whether someone in the Legislature will attempt a more comprehensive attempt at reform.

Huntington Beach has lost around round in its seemingly endless legal battle with the state over housing law.

Nearly five million Californians live in high fire hazard severity  zones , and the year’s disasters in Los Angeles County are only the most recent examples of just how severe California’s wildfires can be. For planners in the hundreds of cities and counties that touch on the wildlands-urban interface, fire hazard planning, via safety elements and other initiatives, is literally a life-or-death matter. Meanwhile, firefighting agencies face increasing urgency to fight and prevent wildfires in urban and semi-urban settings.

A few blocks south on Grand Avenue from Bunker Hill a titanium dagger protrudes over the sidewalk. The blade captures the sunlight and hints at something terribly interesting, beckoning you to walk closer and find out about the carcass into which it is plunged.

CP&DR Vol. 40 No. 11 November 2025 Report

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 . San Diego Prevails in Five-Year Legal Battle over Tax Measure Five years after its approval by voters, litigation over San Diego's Measure C hotel tax has concluded with California's Fourth District Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the measure. Plaintiff California Taxpayers Action Network electing not to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Measure C, which raises hotel tax rates to fund homeless services, road repairs, and a convention center expansion, passed with 65.24% support in 2020, but spent years tied up in a legal battle over whether the measure needed a supermajority to pass. San Diego began collecting the new tax in May, and has raised $35 million so far. The City anticipates $1.04 billion in additional revenue from the measure in the next ten years. Measure C raises San Diego's transient occupancy tax from 10.5% to 11.75 - 13.75%, with properties closer to downtown seeing the largest increases. The prospect of expanding the convention center is now in doubt, with construction cost increases pushing the price of such a project much higher than the $850 million that was projected when Measure C went on the ballot in 2020. The City also lacks control over a waterfront property seen as key for expansion, and a settlement with the leaseholder prevents progress on an expansion plan through the end of 2026. City officials are discussing modernization of the existing facility, and the convention center has already identified $400 million worth of investment needed over the next twenty years. Nonprofit Launches Tech Portal to Support Wildfire Rebuilding in L.A. County Builders Alliance, a not-for-profit organization formed in response to the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires, has launched a first-of-its-kind, tech-enabled portal to support fire survivors’ rebuilding efforts. The portal offers a robust library of homes, with pricing up front, filtered by specific lot, zoning, the owner’s preferences and price range. The portal is initially supported by 10 participating homebuilders dedicated to achieving significant time and cost savings and end-to-end project management, making rebuilding do-able for as many homeowners as possible. Participants are experienced, licensed homebuilders, ranging from small boutique firms to larger companies. The no-charge Builders Alliance Portal is a digital representation that maps every residential parcel in the Palisades and Eaton fire areas. Employing AI technology, the map is trained on local zoning regulations and pairs each lot with extensive menus of designs and costs. Establishment of this Builders Alliance is a key recommendation of Project Recovery, the plan offered by ULI Los Angeles, UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and USC Lusk Center for Real Estate in response to the Los Angeles wildfires. Menlo Park Moves toward Ballot Measure to Determine Fate of Downtown Development Menlo Park is weighing a citizen initiative that would give voters the power over approval for redeveloping city parking into affordable housing. The measure stems from a fight over a city plan to turn three downtown parking lots totaling 556 spaces into at least 345 affordable housing units. The community group Save Downtown Menlo opposes the project, arguing that the loss of car access could significantly hurt local businesses, and gathered signatures to place the initiative on the ballot. Advocates for the project say it is essential to meeting housing needs in the community and staying on track with state housing mandates to avoid harsh penalties. The city commissioned urban planning firm M-Group to study the measure's impact on the city. The report will cost the city $164,000, and is required to be completed in 30 days. Major Infill Development Proposed for San Francisco A developer is proposing to replace a closed Safeway grocery store in San Francisco's Western Addition that would add more than 1,800 homes to the city, representing the largest housing push the area has seen in decades. Align Real Estate’s plan leverages recent state laws that permit significantly higher density in exchange for affordable units, with approximately 15% of the homes reserved at or below market rate. The project envisions a mix of mid- and high-rise buildings up to 300 feet tall, along with a large underground garage and phased construction. Because Safeway’s departure left the neighborhood without a full-service grocer, the developer also intends to include a smaller grocery store and is seeking a tenant while exploring whether the existing building can be temporarily reactivated. City officials see the proposal as aligning with San Francisco’s broader push to accelerate housing approvals, even as other large projects have stalled amid economic headwinds. Community leaders and the district supervisor have expressed cautious support, noting the project’s potential to restore services, reconnect parts of the Fillmore and contribute significantly to the city’s long-term housing goals. CP&DR Coverage: Housing Element EIRs Could Get More Complex Under New Law Under a new state law, rezonings related to the housing element aren’t subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. But UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf says there’s a tradeoff: environmental impact reports will almost certainly be required for all housing elements, putting more pressure on cities and counties to identify the environmental impact of every possible housing site at the housing element level. Elmendorf also pointed out that the new statutory exemption for infill housing is “cleaner” and more expansive than the so-called Class 32 exemption, a categorical exemption that has been widely used in recent years. SB 131 – one of the budget trailer bills – contained a provision exempting from CEQA upzonings to implement the housing element. This provision was paired with the infill housing exemption in AB 130, which essentially exempted projects that implement the housing element. Quick Hits & Updates  Fresno's Planning Commission approved the highly controversial 9,000-acre, 45,000-home Southeast Development area (SEDA) by a vote of 4-3, despite intense opposition from a broad coalition of residents. Citizen groups who oppose the project say they are prepared to gather signatures for a ballot measure that would subject development on agricultural lands to direct voter approval. During the public comment session, residents expressed strong opposition to taking on the $3 billion budget shortfall SEDA would create, plus concerns about pollution from the new development.  The Perris City Council has requested the city attorney to draft a moratorium on new warehouses, potentially becoming the latest of several Inland Empire cities to impose such a measure as the logistics industry explodes in the area. Perris currently has the third highest warehouse prevalence among Inland Empire cities, and its logistics space per resident could increase from 1,000 sqft to 2000 sqft if every project in the planning pipeline were approved and constructed. The governing board of Los Angeles International Airport approved new $1.5 billion construction project, which will replace 4.4 miles of roads entering and exiting LAX and create new elevated roadways to separate airport-related and local traffic and reduce congestion. Critics questioned the need for the new roadway in light of the impending opening of the airport's automated people mover and new transit connections.  San Diego’s Planning Commission unanimously endorsed a proposal to boost housing production by loosening rules governing historic preservation. The plan would give the City Council more authority over historic designations, allowing it to overturn decisions by the Historical Resources Board based on judgment rather than procedural mistakes. The California High-Speed Rail Authority will issue a request for qualifications for private investors to build, operate, and maintain sections of the state's high speed rail project. HSR CEO Ian Choudri said private investment, enabled by the state's new $20 billion funding guarantee, could speed up construction and lower the taxpayer burden, but would require changing a state law mandating the first section built be from Bakersfield to Merced. Choudri says the line to Merced will still be built, but the initial focus would shift to a Bakersfield to Gilroy line that promises to be more financially appealing to investment according to a report from this August. Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board approved a 20-story student housing project with 137 market-rate units and 32 affordable units, using California’s density bonus law to bypass local labor rules, including the HARD HATS ordinance and Southside prevailing wage requirements. Local construction unions have appealed the project, arguing the concessions misuse the state law and undermine worker protections, while developers say complying with the labor mandates would significantly increase costs and delay construction, which is slated to start in January 2028. An LA County Superior Court judge denied a request from the Rose Bowl Operating co. and the City of Pasadena for a temporary restraining order in the legal fight to keep UCLA football games at the Rose Bowl. Attorneys for the Rose Bowl and Pasadena accused UCLA of conducting back-room discussions to move home games to SoFi stadium, which would breach a lease signed in 2014 with no opt-out clause to keep UCLA home games at the Rose Bowl through 2044 in exchange for the stadium making $200 million worth of renovations funded with public bonds.

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 . Los Angeles to Tighten Rent Increases for Rent-Stabilized Units With a city council vote last week, Los Angeles will reduce its cap on annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments from 3-8% to 1-4%, the first change to rent stabilization in LA in 40 years. Applying to units built before 1978, the change affects nearly half of the city's residents. According to the LA housing department, over 60% of LA residents are renters. The LA times says more than half LA renters qualify as rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 1 in 10 LA residents spend more than 90% of their income on rent. Proponents of the change say it will help provide desperately needed relief to vulnerable renters and improve affordability in the city. Council members John Lee and Bob Blumenfeld, who voted against the cap change, criticized the move as discouraging development and investment and making it more difficult for landlords to maintain buildings. The pro-housing group YIMBY Action highlighted the change's potential harm to the city's housing supply by causing developers to avoid building on rent-controlled lots. Councilmember Nithya Raman, who introduced the proposal, affirmed the importance of increased housing supply as the ultimate solution to the affordability crisis, and vowed to work to ensure the rent changes do not slow new production. Newsom Defies Trump's Reported Plans to Open California Coast to Oil Drilling The Trump administration has proposed a plan to open six lease sales for oil drilling off the coast of California between 2027 and 2030, as part of a wider proposal to also open new oil operations in the eastern Gulf Coast and the High Arctic north of Alaska. Governor Newsom condemned the plan, saying it would "never happen", saying “as it relates to offshore oil drilling, it’s overwhelmingly opposed by members of all political parties in the state of California,” during a press conference. Experts noted that California does not have the same existing infrastructure for offshore drilling as many states on the Gulf of Mexico, and there is uncertainty if companies would be interested in new projects in California. Critics contend that the proposal is driven as much by politics as by energy policy, especially as Trump has repeatedly targeted California’s environmental agenda and received significant industry support. Although oil companies have shown some interest, analysts note that the region’s limited reserves, strict state regulations and global low oil prices make large-scale investment unlikely, and any new activity would face California’s extensive legal and political barriers to onshore infrastructure. Malibu Declares Entire City to be in Fire Danger Zone The Malibu City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance designating the entire city as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, based on the State Fire Marshal's severity map released in March. Malibu is now one of a very small number of cities in California to be entirely designated Very High Fire Hazard. The universal designation could help the city adopt more aggressive fire regulations. The move comes amidst growing debate over "Zone Zero" regulations stemming from Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-18-25, which would require no trees within 30 feet of houses in the highest-risk areas. Critics argue these rules could be environmentally detrimental and counterproductive for safety, as the right species of trees can actually help shield homes with the right placement. Tule Tribe to Regain Control of 17,000 Acres of Ancestral Land California will return over 17,000 acres of land to the Tule River Indian Tribe, according to a recent announcement by the governor's office. The nonprofit Conservation Fund purchased the two cattle ranches in Tulare County, and the state helped fund and facilitate the transfer to the tribe. Situated east of Porterville and west of Giant Sequoia National Monument, the land is mostly undeveloped and adjoining to the south end of the tribe's existing 55,000 acre reservation. Governor Newsom hailed the transfer as a step towards restoring the Tule Tribe's stewardship of their ancestral lands, and acknowledged the tribe's historical mistreatment by the state. At a land return and tule elk reintroduction ceremony marking the transfer, Tribal leaders emphasized how the return will help the tribe maintain access to food and medicinal resources, preserve cultural sites, and further stewardship and wildlife reintroduction efforts. The Tule River Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe whose members descend from many different Yokut-speaking communities originating from all across Tulare Lake basin and the southern Sierra foothills. Fresno Development Plan Faces Fierce Opposition A broad coalition of Fresno community members gathered last week to demand that Mayor Jerry Dyer kill the controversial Southeast Development Area (SEDA) megaproject and start a comprehensive process to create a new general plan for the city. If Mayor Dyer refuses, the coalition said they are prepared to gather signatures for a ballot measure establishing an urban growth boundary for Fresno, which would effectively strip the mayor and city council of approval power for fringe developments and hand it directly to voters. The ultimatum comes after a city report estimated that developer fees would cover at most just 20% of the project's infrastructure expenses, leaving taxpayers responsible for a $3 billion funding gap. The coalition against the 45,000-home plan area spans across Fresno's political spectrum, and the most recent press conference included representatives from the Central Labor Council, which represents 105,000 workers, former Mayor Ashley Swearengin's DRIVE initiative of the Central Valley Community Foundation, as well as neighborhood and community groups from across the city. For the time being, Mayor Dyer has continued to push SEDA forward, and presented phase 1 to the city council last week. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Lawsuit to Block La Jolla Cityhood Thrown Out The acrimonious battle between the City of San Diego and La Jolla citizens who want a separate city continues in court – with the citizens recently winning a battle to throw out a lawsuit from the city on anti-SLAPP grounds. The city sued the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission over the incorporation attempt, saying the LAFCO acted improperly in certifying that the incorporation proponents had gathered enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. In a ruling issued October 24, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judy S. Bae granted ACLJ its request for an anti-SLAPP motion. The judge in the case essentially concluded that the citizens’ attempt to move the La Jolla incorporation attempt forward constitutes free speech. Quick Hits & Updates National City’s council unanimously rejected a proposed biofuels rail transfer station, signaling a break from the heavy industrial uses that have long polluted the community and limited access to the bay. Leaders and residents framed the decision as the beginning of a broader push toward environmental cleanup and waterfront revitalization. The Menlo Park City Council is commissioning a study on a ballot initiative that would require voter approval before converting downtown parking lots into affordable housing, a plan that has split residents between concerns over lost parking and the need for more housing. Supporters want a special election to decide the measure, while councilmembers emphasized the importance of meeting state housing requirements to avoid penalties or loss of funding. The Link Union Station project, which will add run-through tracks to Los Angeles Union Station and allow direct Metrolink and Amtrak service across Southern California, has advanced with Metro’s approval of a supplemental environmental study. The updated $3 billion plan streamlines earlier designs to cut costs, including reducing the number of raised platforms, narrowing the passenger tunnel expansion and scrapping a full rail yard canopy, while facing funding gaps and possible legal challenges from the City of Vernon before construction begins in 2026. A long-awaited 25-acre park in San Diego County's Alpine community has been delayed indefinitely after a judge ruled that San Diego County’s environmental review failed to address impacts on local wildlife, wildfire risks and traffic. Conservation groups want the court to revoke the project’s approvals, leaving residents divided between those seeking long-promised recreation space and others who say the park would harm Alpine’s character. Santa Clara's Measure A, a tax increase proposed as a counter against Trump administration healthcare cuts, was passed by voters earlier this month. The measure will raise county sales taxes by 5/8ths of a cent, which is estimated to generate $330 million per year to offset federal funds lost by the county hospital system through cuts to Medicaid in the GOP-led Big Beautiful Bill. Critics pointed out that the money will go into the County's general fund, with no legal mechanism to ensure it is spent on hospitals. A tax increase with a specific allocation would have had to pass with a two thirds majority. The Strategic Growth Council awarded $128 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) grants in Round 10 of the program for the permanent protection of 40,000 acres (62.5 square miles) of croplands and rangelands, including returning 11,000 acres to California Native American Tribes. 48 of the 52 projects funded are acquisition grants for deed restrictions preventing the conversion of agricultural land to development. A new report on housing development in Palo Alto found that none of the multifamily development prototypes examined are economically viable in current conditions. The report attributes the lack of feasibility to rising construction costs and interest rates, some of the highest local fees in the region, and demand for higher returns from investors. The study found that removing affordable housing requirements and local fees, which help fund essential city services and affordable housing, improved feasibility substantially. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved the new Regional Housing Incentive Program. The program allows developers to earn "incentive points" by adding affordable units to developments or paying in-lieu fees, which they can then spend on a variety of zoning exceptions including incentives for parking, design standards, floor space and land uses, and density. Critics on the Board said the program may not accomplish much as it only targets to raise around a third of the funding needed for the county's minimum target for affordable housing, while proponents lauded the program as a step in the right direction which would not be the last incentive for affordable housing.

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 . Los Angeles Mayor Lifts Emergency Declaration that Facilitated Affordable Housing Development Mayor Karen Bass announced that Los Angeles will lift its homelessness state of emergency on November 18, marking the end of the executive powers that enabled rapid action through measures like Inside Safe and Executive Directive 1 (ED1), which expedites the development of affordable housing developments. While homelessness has declined modestly for two consecutive years, City Council members pushed to end the emergency to restore transparency and formalize successful programs, including efforts to codify ED1 into permanent law. If that language is not finalized before the deadline, the city will temporarily halt accepting new affordable housing applications under ED1. Bass emphasized that lifting the emergency does not signal the end of the crisis but a transition toward long-term, sustainable systems. Meanwhile, Bass issued a separate executive order, EO10, to accelerate post-fire commercial rebuilding in Pacific Palisades, focusing on targeted, expedited recovery efforts even as the homelessness emergency winds down. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Shafter Protests At-Grade Alignment of High Speed Rail Frustrated by a new California High-Speed Rail proposal that would run the train through town at ground level, Shafter's City Council voted to reject the plan, with the mayor saying he'd rather see the project “go around the city” than tear up local streets. The revised design, meant to cut costs and shorten construction by two years, would replace elevated tracks with a network of underpasses and overpasses, but residents argued it would harm small businesses, disrupt schools and divide neighborhoods. Rail officials said the change reflects “lessons learned” from earlier construction in Fresno and would reduce community disruption, emergency access issues and the need for millions of cubic yards of fill dirt. Despite those claims, Shafter leaders say the city won't benefit economically from a system that doesn't include a station and only brings local impacts. Report: Los Angeles County Lost Half-Million Residents since 2015 Neighborhood Data for Social Change at USC Lusk Center for Real Estate released its State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN) report, presenting detailed data on the region's housing, demographics and affordability. The report found that, since 2015, LA County's population has decreased by over 500,000 people, including a loss of 280,000 foreign-born residents, despite the number of households continuing to increase. The report found that housing production has fallen from over 70,000 new units per year in the 1950s to fewer than 15,000 per year in the 2010s, with only 10% of recent rental units affordable to lower-income households while permitting timelines triple the national average. Homeownership has also dropped to 45% of residents, its lowest level in more than 50 years, with Black and middle-income households seeing the largest declines. The report found over 90% of renters earning under $50,000 spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Despite a 57% increase in permanent housing beds for unhoused residents, and the number of unsheltered residents dropping 15% in two years, 66% of people experiencing homelessness in the county remain unsheltered, the largest percentage in the country. CP&DR Coverage: San Diego Midway Project; Referendum Nixed in Livermore San Diego's Midway redevelopment project has been held up by litigation again, as an appellate court has ruled - for the second time - that the city did not prepare adequate environmental documents in preparation for a ballot measure lifting the city's 30-foot coastal height limit. In reversing a lower court ruling, the appellate court also concluded that the state's reforms of the California Environmental Quality Act adopted back in June do not apply to the Midway plan. The effect of the ruling is to invalidate the ballot measure lifting the coastal height limit -- for the second time. Eden Housing has been trying to build an affordable housing project in Downtown Livermore since 2018. Two local groups with the same backer have gone to court with different lawsuits to stop the project - or at least move it. One legal skirmish got caught up in the underbrush of referendum law, specifically the question of whether the city's approvals were administrative or legislative. In a second decision on that case, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that Livermore's latest approvals were entirely administrative - and therefore a referendum on the project can't go forward. The published ruling reversed the decision of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael M. Markman. Quick Hits & Updates The San Francisco Arts Commission voted 8-5 to temporarily dismantle the Vaillancourt Fountain in San Fransisco's Embarcadero Plaza, the latest development a fight over the monuments fate sparked in 2024 by the announcement of plans for an overhaul of the plaza and a new park. The Recreation and Park Department called for the removal, saying the city could not afford the estimated $29 million for a full restoration. The owners of a five-acre property near the Santa Barbara Mission, who plan to build an eight-story housing project under builder's remedy, are suing Santa Barbara County over nearly $200,000 in property taxes. The Mission LLC claims the site is exempt because it hosts religious services by the Unitarian Universalist Mission, but the county argues the property does not qualify since it has been largely vacant and not used exclusively for worship. The state's Court of Appeals has allowed preliminary geotechnical work to proceed on the $20 billion Delta Conveyance Project, reversing a lower court injunction blocking the work pending additional environmental certification. The project, aiming to transport water from the Sacramento River to southern parts of the state, remains controversial due to the environmental concerns, local opposition, high costs and ongoing legal and funding roadblocks. Jim Wunderman, 22-year veteran CEO of the Bay Area Council, is leaving to become head of public affairs for California Forever, a billionaire-backed plan to build a new city of 400,000 residents in Solano County with dense housing, middle-income jobs and a large advanced manufacturing campus. The former-CEO's departure comes as California Forever submits a revised plan to extend Suisun City, amid criticism from environmental groups and local ranchers concerned about agricultural impacts, traffic and sprawl. San Diego's Coastal Resilience Master Plan (CRMP) outlines a citywide approach to adapting to rising sea levels with dune restoration and dynamic shoreline design as opposed to seawalls, as coastal squeeze threatens 70% of the state's beaches by 2100. The plan emphasizes community engagement, with workshops, volunteer restoration events and partnerships with loca organizations hopes to protect beaches, habitat and public access.

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 . Supervisors Amend San Francisco's "Family Zoning"; Plan May Produce Far Less Housing than Intended San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's proposed "Family Zoning," intended to meet state housing mandates by allowing taller, denser construction in the city's north and west sides, has sparked debate and a number of last-minute amendments from the Board of Supervisors. The plan aims to add up to 36,000 homes, although a new analysis projects that the number would likely be half that by 2045 due to high construction costs and a weak market. Supervisors have enacted measures to protect rent-controlled tenants, exempt historic buildings, and ensure that development on public lands is 100% affordable, while offering incentives for family-sized units and small businesses. According to a recent analysis by the City Controller's office, the plan, despite upzoning 92,000 parcels, is likely to produce at most 14,646 actual new units in the plan area. The discrepancy between the city's goal and the controller's estimate stems from the controller's economic analysis, which considers projects that are likely to pencil out for developers, based in part on an 8% increase in construction costs and 25% decrease in sale prices for condos since 2019 (adjusted for inflation). Study Finds Exorbitant Housing Development Costs in California A report out of RAND compares the cost of building market-rate and subsidized affordable apartments across California, Colorado and Texas, using data from over 140 projects and found that California has the highest production costs in every category, largely due to longer development timelines, higher fees and strict design and labor requirements. Notably, multifamily housing in California can cost more than twice as much per square foot as in Texas, with wide variation even within the state. The findings suggest that reducing delays, streamlining permitting and inspections and revising fee structures could significantly lower costs and boost housing supply. If California matched the efficiency and cost levels of states like Texas or Colorado, it could produce far more affordable housing with the same public investment. Los Angeles County Lost Half-Million Residents since 2015 Neighborhood Data for Social Change at USC Lusk Center for Real Estate released its State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN) report, presenting detailed data on the region's housing, demographics and affordability. The report found that, since 2015, LA County's population has decreased by over 500,000 people, including a loss of 280,000 foreign-born residents, despite the number of households continuing to increase. The report found that housing production has fallen from over 70,000 new units per year in the 1950s to fewer than 15,000 per year in the 2010s, with only 10% of recent rental units affordable to lower-income households while permitting timelines triple the national average. Homeownership has also dropped to 45% of residents, its lowest level in more than 50 years, with Black and middle-income households seeing the largest declines. The report found over 90% of renters earning under $50,000 spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Despite a 57% increase in permanent housing beds for unhoused residents, and the number of unsheltered residents dropping 15% in two years, 66% of people experiencing homelessness in the county remain unsheltered, the largest percentage in the country. Report Blames Slow Transit Development on Permitting & Regulations The nonprofit Circulate San Diego released a report titled "Powerless Brokers: Why California Can't Build Transit", addressing why public transit construction in California is typically very slow and expensive. The report finds permitting and regulation challenges to be the primary culprit: transit authorities do not have the power to construct projects approved by elected officials or ballot measures, and must seek third-party permits from local governments, special districts, state agencies, and public and private utilities. The Powerless Brokers recommends reassigning permitting responsibilities from third parties to the transit authorities, incentivizing local governments to prioritize transit and streamline permitting, extend CEQA exemptions for sustainable transit, and encourage more leadership from Caltrans. CP&DR Coverage: Newsom Signs over 40 Land Use Bills 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. As usual, most of the bills had to do with housing. But the new legislation includes reforms to laws related to accessory dwelling units, general plan law, and the Regional Housing Needs Assessment reporting process, as well as a cleanup bill to last year's controversial warehouse bill. Highlights include SB 79, overrides local zoning to require midrise housing near major transit stations; AB 130 and SB 131 major infill housing and other CEQA exemptions; SB 786 prioritizes housing elements over other general plan elements, while AB 39 requires decarbonization or electrification plans in larger cities, and more. Quick Hits & Updates The San Diego Planning Commission endorsed an update to the College Area Community Plan, last updated in 1989, which would keep most of the area zone for single families while allowing medium- to high-density hosuing adjacent to SDSU and along major arteries like College Avenue, Montezuma Road, and El Cajon Boulevard. The plan would also add protected bike lanes and bus-only lanes. Critics of the plan raised concerns that the area has insufficient parks, fire stations, parking, and other infrastructure to support a substantial population increase. Pasadena City Council revealed two competing concepts for the future of the stub, "Gardens and Terraces" and "Boulevard and Plaza" for the unfinished stub of the 710 Freeway. The stub was relinquished to Pasadena by the state in 2022 after sitting abandoned for nearly fifty years. Both plans call for two-way streets, parks, bike paths, and new housing to revive the area. The Council also heard testimonies from families displaced when construction on the project started in the 1960s and 70s, destroying predominantly African American and Latino neighborhoods. According to a recent audit by the California State Auditor, UC, CSU, and California Community College systems have not done enough to ensure access to affordable housing. The report recommends clarifying state law to assign system offices (Presidents and Chancellors) greater oversight and responsibility for planning campus housing and requiring system offices to biennially assess unmet housing demand on campuses. California's High Speed Rail Authority filed for preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Transportation's transfer of $4 billion in grants frozen by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, alleging that the department unlawfully revoked the money despite the project passing compliance reviews. California Attourney General Rob Bonta wrote that Trump officials were attempting to transfer much of the funds to other projects before the case could be decided. Housing Trust Silicon Valley launched its Building Impact Initiative, a landmark $200 million fund designed to accelerate affordable housing across the Bay Area. Tech giant Apple contributed a substantial but undisclosed sum to the fund. A poll from Bay Area regional think tank Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley suggests in-person work is rebounding, while still below pre-pandemic levels. 63% of Bay Area respondents reported working fully in person, up from less than half of respondents last year, and just 9% reported working fully remotely. The CEO of the think tank called the results "surprising", but pointed to companies wanting to reinforce culture and productivity as reasons for calling people back to the office. The Redlands Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend to the City Council a citywide ban on new warehouse development. The Commission cited concerns about the extensive development of warehouses on already developed sites and ensuring diverse land use. Redlands has seen 28 million square feet of warehouse development in the past quarter century, vastly outstripping every other type of development. Irvine and San Francisco ranked second and seventh, respectively, in safest cities for cyclists in the new Pedestrian & Cyclist Safety Report, which analyzed nearly 300 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000. The report praised Irvine's extensive use of separated bike paths and protected crossings to allow cyclists to go nearly anywhere without entering high-speed traffic, and noted San Francisco's use of slow streets and car-free corridors. The report emphasized that pedestrian and cyclist safety is the result of policy and planning, not luck or statistical variance. The US Senate passed the ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan bill that seeks to tackle the nation's housing crisis through a wide range of provisions that reduce red tape, incentivize housing construction, and streamline federal review procedures. The bill's sponsors, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott, hailed the bill as landmark legislation to combat housing shortages.

by CP&DR Staff Vol. 40 No. 10 October, 30 2025 Report