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The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released three reports of interest to planners in March. The reports address housing supply, the link between water and planning, and planned developments. The housing supply study surprised many people because it reported a statewide shortage as of 2000 of only 138,000 units, when interest groups and other analysts have pegged the shortage at 500,000 to 1 million units. Authors Hans Johnson, Rosa Moller and Michael Dardia identified a shortage of 168,000 units in the Bay Area, 146,000 units in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and 87,000 units in San Diego County. However, they found that housing was abundant everywhere else in the state, especially in the Inland Empire and Central Valley, a situation that forces long commutes and traffic congestion. Housing construction dropped from 2.1 million units during the 1980s to 1.1 million units during the 1990s. The researchers reported that macro economic trends — such as employment levels, U.S. economic policy and private investment strategies — and demographic factors — including a slowing of population growth during the 1990s, and more immigrants and children — accounted for 80% of the construction decrease. "These findings do not mean that there are no hardships with respect to housing supply and new construction in California," the report states. "There may be serious problems in markets for low-income housing, and there is evidence of a housing shortage in the state’s largest metropolitan areas. However, they do suggest that the supply crisis may be overstated, and that our position in 2000 was perhaps better, and certainly not much worse, than in 1990." The survey on water supply and growth found that most jurisdictions coordinate the two in some fashion. The survey by Ellen Hanak and Antonina Simeti found that 62% of cities and counties participate in the planning activities of their local water utilities. The survey also found that 55% of cities and 83% of counties require some sort of assessment of water availability before approving new housing, although the level of assessment varies greatly. About half of cities and counties also have policies that link new homes’ locations with considerations of stormwater management and groundwater recharge. The survey also found that half of counties and one-quarter of cities have conducted reviews under 2001 legislation (SB 610 and SB 221) that requires assurances of water availability for large developments. The study of planned developments found that they are not the evil, walled compounds for the wealthy that some commentators have described. The study by Tracy Gordon found the percentage of middle-income people living in planned developments is the same as in similar areas. Gordon did find that planned development residents are more likely to be white, and less likely to be Hispanic or African-American, than in the community as a whole, but she said planned communities have a minimal impact on overall segregation in the state. The study also countered the belief that planned development residents withdraw from the larger community. Gordon found higher percentages of voter registration and turnout in planned developments, and voting preferences that matched similar neighborhoods. All of the PPIC studies may be found at www.ppic.org THE SAN DIEGO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY did not provide replacement housing for units demolished as part of redevelopment projects, double-counted housing units and spent an inordinate portion of housing funds on planning and administration, according to a Department of Housing and Community Development Department audit released in March. Auditors identified one project that removed 24 housing units that were not replaced. Two other projects that involved demolition of 137 and 19 units, respectively, relied on replacement units that had been built four years earlier and may not have been available to displaced residents. Auditors also identified four instances in which the redevelopment agency counted units as both replacement housing and toward low- and moderate-income housing production requirements. Additionally, over the three years audited, from 21% to 44% of low- and moderate-income housing fund expenditures were for planning and administration, HCD reported. In response, the agency differed with HCD’s interpretation of state law regarding replacement units. The agency said that under state law, it may count units built as much as four years before demolition of existing units as replacement housing. Officials at HCD appeared to agree but only if the units were built or rehabilitated in anticipation of removal of the existing units. The agency did not do this, according to HCD. As for double-counting of housing units, the agency said it would review its implementation plans and work with HCD. The agency contended that its planning and administrative expenses were justified and, because of accounting techniques, appeared exaggerated. The state also knocked the redevelopment agency for counting ineligible units toward housing production requirements, not keeping bond proceeds for housing in a separate account, and filing inadequate reports. THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS did not adequately analyze alternative sites for constructing a new death row, according to a report issued in March by the California State Auditor. Corrections is in the planning stages of a $220 million overhaul of the condemned inmate facility at San Quentin. "Relocating San Quentin’s activities elsewhere and allowing Marin County to develop the property would provide an opportunity for the state to help Marin County address some of its housing and transportation concerns," State Auditor Elaine Howle reported. But Howle also concluded that relocating death row could cost $300 million more than the state would receive from the sale of the property. Corrections officials said the report justified their decision to go forward at San Quentin. Developers and some Marin County officials have eyed the San Quentin site — overlooking San Pablo Bay, near San Rafael — for years. Howle’s report is available at www.bsa.ca.gov THREE BALLOT MEASURES that would have allowed development on small parcels of agriculturally zoned land in Napa County were rejected by voters in March. Voters said no to a proposal to expand a restaurant in Oakville (Measure Q), a plan to expand the Pope Valley Market (Measure R) and rezoning for a commercial establishment near Cuttings Wharf (Measure S). The elections were required under 1990’s Measure J. Since then, voters have rejected seven of eleven measures to rezone agricultural land. THE TOWN OF LOOMIS joined the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society in filing a lawsuit over the City of Roseville’s recent approval of the 3,100-acre west Roseville specific plan (see , March 2004; , August, 2003). The suit alleges Roseville did not adequately address traffic congestion, air quality degradation, the loss of farmland and impacts to wildlife habitat. REUSE OF THE FORMER NORTON AIR FORCE BASE in San Bernardino advanced in March, when Stater Bros. Markets announced it would move its headquarters from Colton to 160 acres at Norton and build a 2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center. As many as 2,000 people could work at the new Stater Bros. facility, which could break ground this summer. Stater Bros. would join Kohl’s, which has already opened a large warehouse at Norton, and Mattel, which is planning a facility of its own. The Inland Valley Development Authority, which is responsible for base reuse, continues to negotiate its assistance for Stater Bros.

Lots going on in California planning and development this week ...  Central Valley's Growth War Gets the Governor's Attention Fresno Bee Governor Brown intervenes to help resolve debates over how the central valley should grow. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research is currently overseeing the meetings between the city of Fresno and its neighboring counties to help reach a mutual understanding for how to sustainably grow and develop the region. With recent state projections showing that the valley is growing at a faster rate than anywhere else in CA, the policies that regulate its growth and development will significantly impact where its growing population will be able to live and the extent to which the region will physically grow.  Hot in CA: Plans to Improve Biking and Walking... SFStreetsblog In response to MAP-21, a bill passed by Congress last year that cut federal funding for biking and walking programs, advocates like the League of American Bicyclists and the California Bike Coalition are urging the Brown administration to prioritize walking and biking in the state budget.  �California Bike Coalition's goal to influence the state budget and CEQA reforms� LAStreetsblog Gov. Brown's budget proposal combines funding for pedestrian and bicycle programs into one category, cutting "active transportation" funds 10% from last year. Additionally, CalBike wants CEQA reforms to include a streamlined process for projects that improve bicycle infrastructure and better-connect bicycle networks.   �SF's Bicycle Strategy could be a model for the nation, now they just need the funding� SF Streetsblog SFMTA proposes three strategies to effectively improve bike mobility in the city.   Despite the city's historic record of underfunding bicycle projects, officials are on board with advocates for an increase in bicycle funding.  Specific Plan in LA Sets Smart Development Model for the City Los Angeles Times Cornfields Arroyo Seco Specific Plan seeks to revitalize neighborhoods and industrial areas by proposing new urban zones. The plan was approved on Tuesday by the City Council planning commission and needs to go through the City Attorney's office before the full council can approve the plan.  LA Community Parks Risk Closing Without Redevelopment Dollars L.A. Downtown News Two parks in Skid Row, Gladys Park and San Julian Park, were at risk of closing last week.  With the end of Redevelopment in CA, the nonprofit, SRO Housing Corp, who has long maintained both parks with annual CRA payments have been looking for support elsewhere. When the funds to operate the park ran out in June, Councilwoman Jan Perry helped secure funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority that would keep the park operating for another six months. Those six months have passed and redistricting has handed this issue over to Councilman Jos� Huizar. With the risk of the parks closing on February 1st, Huizar allocated $50,000 of discretionary funds to aid SRO with San Julian Park's maintenance and operation costs and the city's Department of Recreation and Parks will now maintain Gladys Park. City officials are currently working on a long-term solution that will hopefully prevent the risk of closure in the future.  Berkeley Greens Its Downtown The Downtown Streets and Open Space Improvement Plan was unanimously approved by Berkeley's City Council on Tuesday night.  The plan follows Berkeley's Downtown Area Plan that was approved last year. The provisions aim to create a more pedestrian-oriented downtown and better design for its streetscapes, plazas and parks.

The Santa Monica Mountains coastal area, one of the largest still under direct Coastal Commission permitting authority, on April 10 won Commission approval of a Land Use Plan, which was the most significant step toward final certification of its Local Coastal Program (LCP). The Commission will take up the interpretive Local Implementation Plan separately, probably at its June meeting. The LCP plan area covers a broad swath of the Santa Monica Mountains inland from the Malibu city limits and Pepperdine University, running approximately five miles to the crest of the mountains and covering 50,000 acres. A further mountainous "North Area" is subject to similar planning approaches but is inland of the Coastal Act's jurisdiction. The area under the Santa Monica Mountains LCP touches the coast only briefly on either side of Malibu's long, narrow strip of coastline. The traditionally fractious City of Malibu has had its own separate LCP since the Legislature forced it to adopt one in 2002. Final Commission approval for an LCP would delegate coastal permit approval powers to the county, removing a layer of regulatory process from most construction approvals but requiring the county to operate per the Commission-approved plan. The plan passed the Commission with environmental groups generally in favor and mixed positions by affected property owners, with farmers and vintners most strongly in opposition. A brief political season leading up to the meeting included a letter-writing campaign against the plan's agriculture restrictions. After a long history of past false starts, the LCP project was reportedly restarted by LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, in order to wrap up the matter before the end of his last term as Supervisor. He vigorously cheered the county and Commission efforts to completion. A statement on his weblog after the Land Use Plan certification called it "a vote that will resonate for generations". Richard Bruckner, director of the LA County Department of Regional Planning, said the Santa Monica Mountains LCP policies, crafted mainly by the County, took a new approach to the usual starting binary for a Coastal Commission permit discussion: whether land qualifies as "Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas" (ESHA) or not. He said they worked out "a much more nuanced plan where there are gradations of habitat." Bruckner said previously each permit application began a negotiation over the extent to which development on a property could be limited without effecting a taking. The new approach would be clearer, hence less time-consuming, he suggested. The new plan classifies land in three categories of sensitivity, H1 through H3, ranging from severe limitations on development in H1 to relatively relaxed standards in H3 zones that are already developed. Long-term Commission watcher Susan Jordan, director of the California Coastal Protection Network, said the H2 standard applied development restrictions that would be typical of restrictions on development in ESHA areas. Don Schmitz, an organizer of opposition to the plan who frequently represents permit applicants before the Commission, said "I understand it was a hard-fought compromise that was hammered out with the Coastal Commission staff." The plan allows existing farming and vineyards, and new or old personal gardens. However, it creates a heavy presumption against "new crop-based agricultural uses" and prohibits new vineyards outright, based on concern about runoff, erosion, pesticides, and habitat disruption, especially on steep slopes. Initial drafts would have prohibited all new "crop-based" uses, but in light of the pro-agriculture campaign, the Commission approved an addendum whose major provisions clarified that not all new crops were prohibited, and described small-scale gardening and farming that could still be allowed if organic and biodynamic methods are used. Yaroslavsky wrote on his weblog that the Commission added the additional wording about authorized agriculture due to "misinformation" from opponents including Schmitz, whom he singled out by name. In the earlier of two weblog posts focused on the April meeting, he gave a heated defense of the LCP against claims that it would unreasonably restrict property use, especially with respect to crops and animals. Schmitz in turn accused the plan's creators of failing to observe protections for agriculture that he argued were centrally enshrined in the Coastal Act, and of moving the approval process too fast. He said the original proposal was for an "outright and complete ban on any agriculture in the Santa Monica Mountains," but that he and other opponents were "chastised" for saying so because the proposed rule "magnanimously" would allow existing agriculture to continue. Schmitz described himself as a farmer and vineyard owner and a spokesperson for a new group, the Coastal Coalition of Family Farmers, which was the plan's most visible opponent as of April. Schmitz said this group was newly formed in response to news of the plan proposal. He said the proposal took farmers by surprise and did not leave much time for them to organize a response. In an email Jordan wrote, regarding opposition complaints on timing, "all legal time requirements were fulfilled, all sides -- supporters and opponents -- had the same access to information, and were well informed of the direction it was going." A Change.org petition bearing the logo of Schmitz's group is still posted at http://www.change.org/petitions/local-coastal-program-protect-the-future-of-farming-in-the-santa-monica-mountains. The page introducing the petition refers to "Banning future agricultural land use". The petition had received 922 signatures as of this writing, many added after the April meeting, some from as far away as Nevada, Ohio and Italy. The Commission staff's 179-page addendum, containing last-minute responses and revisions to the proposal, included letters showing a mix of strongly held local sentiments: support from environmental and community groups and some landowners, and opposition from other local landowners, the Farm Bureau, Pacific Legal Foundation and Malibu Chamber of Commerce. The opponents' letters contained varying phrasing about whether what was to be banned was new farms and vineyards, or agriculture in general. Bruckner and Jordan said the many established equestrian facilities in the Santa Monica Mountains would be helped to come into compliance before they faced hard-edged enforcement actions. Jordan, herself an equestrian, said descriptions of the help with compliance as an "amnesty" program were, however, inaccurate. The Santa Monica Mountains LCP process has spanned most of Yaroslavsky's long-running political career. He was first elected to the LA City Council in 1975. The LA County Supervisors took the first step toward an LCP in 1982 by approving a Land Use Plan for the Malibu area. The Commission certified that plan in 1986 but because the Supervisors had not passed zoning and planning ordinances to implement it, the Commission could not approve the whole LCP. The Supervisors partially restarted the process in 2007, then stalled, then recently redid the whole package. And now, at last, the plan is headed toward final certification, with only the meeting on implementing details to get through, presumably at the meeting scheduled in Huntington Beach in June. Looking toward June, Bruckner said, "It's the details, but I'm very pleased that... we've got agreement on the policies between the Commission and the County. And I think we can work through the details with the Commission staff. They've been very generous with their time and we've had a good dialogue with them." The lack of a Santa Monica Mountains LCP was recently an issue in Hagopian v. State of California , discussed at http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3440, in which organic farmers at the top of Topanga Canyon attempted to develop their property based on county approval without going to the Commission. Participants on all sides of the LCP debate declined to comment on the Hagopian matter, all distancing themselves from the Hagopians' position that the LCP had not been needed at all. Bruckner said he anticipated the LCP would bring the county about 30 to 40 new permitting cases a year, depending on economic conditions, and then there would be work to do with nonconforming property owners. He said "by the commission staff's own reckoning there are as many violations or unpermitted improvements in the Santa Monica Mountains as in the ... rest of the coastal areas combined." While the new Santa Monica Mountains LCP may transfer that much workload off of the Coastal Commission, it won't be as much of a change as in 2002. That was when the Commission, under orders from the Legislature's AB 988, created and approved an LCP for the City of Malibu, ending a long tradition of extended fussing over Malibu local issues at meetings of the statewide body. Some of the history is explained in Malibu's LCP, as created in 2002, appearing as an attachment to the September 2002 agenda at http://coastal.ca.gov/meetings/mtg-mm2-9.html. Conoisseurs of legislative dudgeon may appreciate the last three staff analyses on the 1999-2000 session's AB 988, available at http://bit.ly/PK0b0V. Links: Malibu Times : http://bit.ly/1p0Wg0a Thousand Oaks Acorn : http://bit.ly/1lZfLR5 LA Business Journal : http://bit.ly/QTS4Qn LA County LCP planning page: http://planning.lacounty.gov/coastal Yaroslavsky's weblog: http://zev.lacounty.gov/news/a-high-note-for-mountain-protections For a list of coastal segments where Coastal Commission permit authority had not yet been transferred as of November 2013 see http://www.coastal.ca.gov/lcp/LCPStatusSummFY1213.pdf. Coastal Commission April agenda, annotated with results, LCP documents attached: http://coastal.ca.gov/meetings/mtg-mm14-4.html Monterey Bay Shores Resort The Coastal Commission approved developer Ed Ghandour's proposal for the 39-acre, 368-unit "Monterey Bay Shores Resort" in Sand City, which has been before the Commission intermittently since 1998. The decision overrode intense objections from environmental groups and agencies that had sought stronger habitat protections for species including the Western Snowy Plover, Smiths Blue Butterfly and Monterey Spineflower. The approval used a special procedural double play to wrap up the case both in an appellate court and at the Commission. At the start of the three-day session, the Monterey resort proponents -- formally, Security National Guaranty, Inc., or SNG -- were close to settling 13 years of litigation with the Coastal Commission. SNG had won a ruling in San Francisco Superior Court that the Coastal Commission appealed. Before going forward with appellate briefing, the parties agreed to seek resolution of the matter in a hearing of the Commission with the option to return to court. The matter was set to recur on the April 9, 10 and 11 agendas so the Commission and courts could act in correct order to sew up the settlement. The Commission heard environmental objections, centered on the plover habitat issue, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Parks & Recreation Department, environmental organizations and individual objectors, while local officials praised the project's design and potential economic benefits. Other issues included measures to reduce bluff erosion; provide stability for the structures, which would be built on a dune field; preserve views from Highway 1, and protect surrounding sand dunes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had called for SNG to prepare a habitat conservation plan and apply for an incidental take permit. The primary environmentalist objection was that instead the final plan called for created a "habitat protection plan" with fewer enforceable specifics. Having reached a settlement, the parties dismissed the court cases and returned Friday, April 11 for an approval decision. When it was time for the approval, the Monterey Herald said it took four minutes. Links: Monterey Herald on the start of the debate: http://bit.ly/1qu4jzR Monterey Weekly blow-by-blow on the marathon April 9 debate: http://bit.ly/1klDagR and on the outcome: http://bit.ly/1gXQu5A Monterey Herald looking toward the April 11 post-settlement approval: http://bit.ly/1hEpbgG Herald on the final approval: http://bit.ly/OZbodM Audubon Society "displeased" with the habitat provisions: http://bit.ly/1qW4F0E The Sierra Club likewise: http://bit.ly/1enOKb2 Appeal of Security National Guaranty v. CA Coastal Commission , settled April 10, as shown on the online docket at http://bit.ly/1kVsyUh Related San Francisco Superior Court dockets; many more recent papers are downloadable: http://bit.ly/1lYcVgb; http://bit.ly/1lYg5AC. ( Disclosure: the judge in the San Francisco Superior Court case, Harold Kahn, heard an unrelated matter in March in which Martha Bridegam participated as an attorney. ) Paradiso Del Mare approval disappoints Surfriders The Commission approved the Paradiso Del Mare proposal for two large private homes on Brooks Street in Santa Barbara County west of Goleta, sought by CPH Dos Pueblos Associates. The approved proposal provided for coastal trail and habitat restoration mitigations including $500,000 "for public access trail implementation" and $20,000 for a new "Seals Watch" volunteer group, but local environmental activists condemned them as insufficient or even harmful. The 454-page official record includes statements that 137 of 143 acres on the project site would be "preserved as permanent visual open space," of which 117 acres would be preserved as habitat, with "substantial public access and recreation easements on the property representing the first phase for implementation of the California Coastal Trail along the 20-mile Gaviota Coast." Local Surfrider Foundation chapter chair Mark Morey wrote indignantly to supporters that the 7-4 vote to approve the project "was a vote against you, the community, nature, and the Gaviota Coast." He wrote that surfers and the larger public would lose beach and trail access, a white-tailed kite nesting tree would be affected, and other private development projects would likely follow these first two. (Objections to the project in the prior record include arguments that although the project was approved to include only two residences only, it would create conditions that make nearby land easier to develop.) In an email exchange, Morey and fellow Santa Barbara Surfrider members wrote that the construction would block a trail that "has been used by the public across private land for around 50 years" and would replace it with an access easement that, to become a trail, would depend for its construction costs on county or other third-party funds. (Objections noted in the record said a trail on available easement routes would call for a stairway costing $750,000 or more.) Further, the Surfriders objected that the project would be built close to a seal rookery, and the expected easement route would likely run so close to the seals that it might have to be closed during the season when both seals and surfers traditionally used the area. The chapter's Bob Keats wrote that future occupants of the project would have access to the seals' area any time, "in contrast to the infrequent access to the beach by surfers, as the surf, although high in quality, does not occur very often." Keats questioned whether adequate notice had been given of amendments to the commission's settlement with the developer that, when they were discussed at the meeting, seemed to persuade some commission members toward approval. An account posted April 15 by the Santa Barbara Independent said some Commission members were startled to be presented with revisions to the settlement agreement during the meeting and that Commissioner Mary Shallenberger raised questions about notice. Surfrider and the Gaviota Coast Conservancy are plaintiffs in a pending court challenge to the EIR. On the case, Morey wrote, "every option is on the table." Keats wrote that the suit would now name the Coastal Commission as well, "and we will continue to pursue the litigation." Santa Barbara Independent reports: April 8: http://bit.ly/RgI7gF; April 15: http://bit.ly/1kXRMWx The local Noozhawk site on the court case: http://bit.ly/1kmfWa9 In other Coastal Commission news: The Commission unanimously disapproved the Beach Plaza Motel teardown and reconstruction on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach. The Long Beach Press Telegram reported the Commission found the proposed swankier replacement would violate a Local Coastal Program provision "to "protect access to the coast for people of low and moderate incomes."" The plan had been opposed by UNITE HERE Local 11, environmentalists and neighbors. For the Press Telegram report see http://bit.ly/1khfQk8. The Long Beach Post has more at http://bit.ly/1m59CUD. Santa Monica received Coastal Commission approval, with conditions, to replace the deteriorated 84-year-old California Incline Bridge, Ocean Avenue to PCH, with bluff stabilization, better structural stability and improved sidewalks and bike lanes. The project is expected to close that heavily used link between the PCH and Ocean Avenue for 12 to 18 months. The Commission approved revised findings in a staff report in support of a disputed athletic fields renovation in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Some neighbors have opposed the use of artificial turf, bright lights for night games, and the resulting loss of informality at that end of the park. Others have endorsed the same choices. The City Fields Foundation, which supports the renovation, posted on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1eo8Txv, "Though just an administrative action, this vote was critical if we are to start construction this spring." As reported in the San Francisco real estate blog Socketsite at http://bit.ly/1hDliOM, the Coalition to Protect Golden Gate Park is gathering signatures for a ballot measure against the renovation. To the Surfrider Foundation's joy, the Commission approved a proposal to truck in extra sand to replace erosion at Broad Beach in Malibu. Malibu Times: http://bit.ly/1kVNpGW; Surfrider Foundation: http://bit.ly/1m0NahW Items noted at the meeting as not requiring a coastal permit included an emergency dust control project at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area.

An Oregon property rights initiative has been upheld by that state’s Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision issued February 21, the court ruled that Measure 37 did not violate equal protection and due process rights, and did not improperly restrict state lawmakers’ land use authority. The decision overturned a trial court ruling issued last fall that found the initiative violated the federal and state constitutions. The ruling could provide a boost to similar proposed ballot measures elsewhere, including California. Approved by 61% of Oregon voters in November 2004, Measure 37 requires the government to either compensate property owners for land use regulations promulgated after the owner acquired property or not apply the regulations. The initiative backed by a group called Oregonians in Action was a direct attack on the state’s 30-year-old planning law that many planners see as a national model. The law prohibits most development outside of urban areas. Within months of Measure 37’s passage, landowners filed at least 2,500 applications for development in rural areas. With no money to compensate landowners, counties took many different approaches to the applications. Everything froze, however, when a Marion County Circuit Court judge invalidated the initiative. The state Supreme Court did not find constitutional flaws in Measure 37. The court rejected the argument that Measure 37 violated equal protection rights by establishing classes of people that others could not join, and that the measure violated due process rights by favoring certain property owners over others. “Although it is true that neither the state nor the federal constitution compensation to individuals who suffer any loss in property value as a consequence of land use regulation,” the court ruled, “it is equally true that neither constitution requiring such compensation in the manner provided for in Measure 37. The people, in exercising their initiative power, were free to enact Measure 37 in furtherance of policy objectives such as compensating landowners for a diminution in property value resulting from certain land use regulations or otherwise relieving landowners from some of the financial burden of certain land use regulations.” The case is , Oregon State Supreme Court No. S52875. Only days before the ruling, the farm bureau in the state of Washington filed an initiative similar to Measure 37. A local, California version of Measure 37 is scheduled to be on the ballot this June in Napa County, which currently bars most development in agricultural and watershed areas. The “fair pay” initiative would require compensation for land use regulation similar to Measure 37. A city charter amendment in Chula Vista that would limit the city’s eminent domain authority has been placed on the ballot by the City Council. The measure would prohibit the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes and would require the city to own for at least 10 years property it acquires via eminent domain. A group called Chula Vistans for Private Property Protection submitted about 14,000 signatures on the ballot measure in January. The group appeared to lack the number of signatures required to place a charter amendment on the ballot. But the City Council, without endorsing the amendment, voted unanimously in late February to put the measure on the ballot anyway. Exactly how the measure would affect the city’s redevelopment agency is unclear because the agency is not bound by the city charter. The state attorney general’s office revealed in February that it is continuing to monitor three redevelopment agencies that were cited last year for major violations of the Community Redevelopment Law by the state controller’s office. In a letter responding to an inquiry by state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), Attorney General Bill Lockyer said redevelopment agencies in Calapatria, Hawaiian Gardens and Santa Ana remain under scrutiny. In Calapatria, the redevelopment agency used low- and moderate-income housing funds to purchase 29 acres that the agency intended to sell to a developer for a market-rate housing project. The city said the developer would fully reimburse the low/mod housing fund. In Hawaiian Gardens, the controller questioned the redevelopment agency’s acquisition of 17 properties. The attorney general’s office demanded more information but has not received it. In Santa Ana, the redevelopment agency sold a parking lot to a commercial developer for $1 and then leased back 150 spaces for $15,000 per month, with the city subleasing parking spaces from the agency for $6,000 a month. Low/mod housing money is involved in the deal. “The arrangement appears to be problematic, and we anticipate taking further action in the matter, including the possibility of litigation,” Lockyer wrote. As expected, the Western Riverside Council of Governments increased a development mitigation fee for regional transportation to nearly $10,000 per house, effective in July. The Western Riverside COG has been a leader in the growing statewide movement to assess new development for regional highway, road and transit projects. The group claims that its transportation uniform mitigation fee (TUMF) is the largest, multi-jurisdictional transportation development fee program in the country. Since it was implemented in July 2003, the fee has generated about $800 million for projects. However, transportation officials said rising construction costs and faster-than-anticipated growth forced a fee revision. The new fees are $9,639 per single-family home (up from $7,247), $6,806 per multi-family unit (up from $5,021), $12.49 per square foot for retail development (up from $8.51 per square foot), $2.27 per square foot for industrial development (up from $1.58 per square foot) and $6.33 per square foot for services (up from $5.28 a square foot). The nonresidential fees will be phased in over three years. Some development interests and city officials argued against the fee hike, saying the charges would hinder needed growth and send desirable projects to neighboring San Bernardino County, where fees are lower. A new federal Environmental Protection Agency “smart growth” report on balancing parking needs with broader community goals highlights planning for two projects in California. The report, called “Parking Spaces/Community Places,” provides an extensive review of the proposed NASA Research Park (NRP) at the decommissioned Moffett Field Navy base in Mountain View. Using typical parking ratios, the 2-million-square-foot research park would need about 7,500 parking spaces. But a transportation demand management plan instead calls for only 5,200 spaces on the site. The reduction in parking spaces is made possible by the overall development’s inclusion of nearby housing with sidewalks and bike paths, shuttle busses and bus passes, charging tenants and lessees for parking, and forcing different users to share parking spaces. The second project profiled is a proposed 162-room hotel in downtown Long Beach. Under the city’s ordinance, the hotel and accompanying 35,000-square-foot retail project would have had to provide 302 parking spaces. That was neither financially feasible for the developer, nor preferable to the city, which wants to encourage pedestrian activity. The on-site parking requirement was eventually knocked down to 162 spaces through a hotel valet parking system, relaxed parking standards, and the payment of in-lieu fees to the city, which will provide public parking spaces. Parking Spaces/Community Places as well as a new report on best management practices for stormwater and two reports regarding water and high-density development are available on the EPA’s smart growth website, www.epa.gov/smartgrowth . The Department of Water Resources has completed an overhaul of the California Water Plan. Unlike previous state water plans, which forecast large deficits in the amount of water that would be available, this plan says needs can be met through 2030 through more efficient water use, underground water banking, recycling of treated wastewater, desalination projects and a relatively small amount of new surface storage. The complete report is available at www.waterplan.water.ca.gov .

California city councils may be in a short time window when it's to their advantage to pass local bans on plastic bags. They became more safely able to do so as of April 16 when the state Supreme Court declined to review the ruling by California's First District that upheld San Francisco's ban on plastic bags last winter. That decision was ordered published in January. At the other end of their time window is a deadline that could be imposed if the Legislature passes SB 270, proposed by State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima. The Contra Costa Times , reporting on Pleasant Hill's proposed ban at http://bit.ly/1haLlbd, noted that, if passed, the Padilla bill would grandfather plastic bag bans imposed before September 1, 2014 but would impose a uniform ban statewide for areas that by then had not yet passed their own plastic bag laws. For SB 270's text and legislative progress see http://bit.ly/1o0lkjH. As of this writing it had passed the Senate and was on its third bounce through policy committees in the Assembly. Links: Bill Fulton's detailed account of the appellate decision for CP&DR is at http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/node-3426. The appellate court's online docket on the San Francisco case is at http://bit.ly/1tRLtoW. The advocacy site "Plasticbaglaws.org" provides a usefully thorough picture of plastic bag ban litigation around California, with links to official sites, at http://plasticbaglaws.org/litigation/ (In addition to the Marin chronology shown there, the state Supreme Court review was denied in the Marin case in October.) The Grist Web site, writing from an advocacy perspective, provides a national picture of plastic bag bans, in which California cities are prominent: http://grist.org/article/plastic-bag-bans-spreading-in-the-united-states/ Huntington Beach, which previously banned plastic bags, recently allowed the sale of reusable paper bags: http://cbsloc.al/POIIEz The Encore Recycling Company of Salinas, which recycles agricultural plastic into bags, was preparing to capitalize on a provision being considered for the statewide law that would favor use of recycled plastic bags: http://bit.ly/1hQnXzj EPA map focuses environmental attention by census tract A visually stunning and socioeconomically telling map project by CalEPA's CalEnviroScreen 2.0 project (http://oehha.ca.gov/ej/) has drawn Southern California papers' attention to the unequal distribution of pollution hot spots. Many of the most pollution-burdened areas are low-income communities of color in southern and central California. The LA Times provides the map -- which extend statewide -- and links to interpretive news reports at http://graphics.latimes.com/responsivemap-pollution-burdens/. (The city of Burbank and the report's authors disputed whether notably poor scores on water contamination were derived from tests of treated drinking water or untreated groundwater: http://bit.ly/1nYsEMO.) CalEnviroScreen, which is part of CalEPA's Environmental Justice Project, maps cumulative effects of separately measured pollution burdens and compares them to socioeconomic data, seeking "portions of the state that have higher pollution burdens and vulnerabilities than other areas, and therefore are most in need of assistance." In a statement at http://bit.ly/1pJ5PkR, Assemblymember V. Manuel P�rez, D-Coachella, said his AB 1329, passed by the Legislature last year, instructed the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to prioritize enforcement in the hot spots that CalEnviroScreen identified -- and that the tool showed areas of serious concern in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys. AB 1329 is at http://bit.ly/1fLOfmo. Drought proclamation suspends HOA landscaping rules The Governor's April 25 emergency drought proclamation includes a declaration that homeowners' association rules and policies are unenforceable where they conflict with the proclamation's calls for water-saving measures. The order's phrasing is a more generic echo of provisions in the proposed AB 2104, by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, which has been approved by the Assembly and as of late April was pending in its first State Senate policy committee. AB2104 would permanently invalidate HOA rules that impose landscaping standards: http://bit.ly/1k9b1r3. At a macro level, the proclamation's effects include suspending competitive bidding for several state agencies' drought projects. For details and the full text see http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18496. The Sacramento Bee 's Matt Weiser has the proclamation's highlights at http://bit.ly/1hEL93o. Bergamot development will be on Santa Monica's November ballot A challenge to the proposed large Bergamot-area development in Santa Monica, also known as the Hines project, has qualified for the November ballot, according to the local Santa Monica Lookout : http://bit.ly/1iqOQj2. The paper reports the Bergamot measure won its signatures with the help of project opponent Residocracy.org, an organization and multi-topic petition Web site founded by former City Council candidate Armen Melkonians. Other opponents include the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, at http://www.smclc.net/, which filed suit against the project in March. PG&E fights cities and neighbors on trees PG&E has temporarily suspend a newly draconian vegetation removal program that could cut thousands of trees from areas around its gas pipelines. The utility has cited safety as its reason for the program but faces strenuous objections from cities and residents. The Contra Costa Times (reprinted in the Mercury News ) has more at http://bit.ly/1nxDTOI. Earlier this month PG&E was indicted on federal charges in connection with the 2010 gas pipe explosion that killed eight people in a residential neighborhood of San Bruno. For details in the SF Chronicle see http://bit.ly/1jyjPIK. San Francisco prepares to add local well water to Hetch Hetchy supply San Francisco's famous mountain-clear tap water, all the way from Hetch Hetchy, could have less clean local water blended with it as of 2016 in much of the city. Chris Roberts of the San Francisco Examiner reports the city is preparing to dig four wells this summer in the western part of the city, creating an emergency supply and a supplemental source that could provide up to 5% of city water regularly. There's concern, however, about contamination from bacteria and nitrates in the local groundwater. See http://bit.ly/1jZ0oXv.

Voters in Monterey County may be closer to deciding two land use ballot measures after a 15-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an unrelated case that recall petitions need not be circulated in multiple languages. Last year, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that petitions in a Santa Ana Unified School District recall were invalid because they had been circulated only in English. In March, a federal district court judge, relying on the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, declared invalid an initiative to overhaul the Monterey County general plan because initiative backers printed petitions only in English. After the general plan ruling, the county Board of Supervisors pulled off the ballot a referendum of a proposed 1,100-unt housing project for the same reason (see , May 2006). Under the Voting Rights Act, the government must publish election materials in other languages if more than 5% of voters speak a language other than English. However, the panel that reheard the Santa Ana school district case voted 14-1 that the multi-lingual requirement does not apply to citizen petitions. Requiring translation of citizen petitions “is very likely to have a chilling effect on the petition process itself,” Judge William Canby wrote for the court. “A requirement of translation for recall petitions is far more likely to be used as a sword than as a shield.” Exactly what will happen with the Monterey County land use measures is unclear. Proponents said they would push for a special election because it is too late to get the initiative and the referendum on the November ballot. But county officials said they were still studying the situation and noted that a U.S. Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit decision is possible. Additionally, litigation over the two ballot measures is pending in federal court. The Ninth Circuit case is , No. 03-56259, 06 C.D.O.S. 8808, and was filed on September 19. While growth control votes in Monterey County remained in question, the county and the City of Salinas reached a settlement in the city’s lawsuit over county plans for the 2,500-acre Rancho San Juan. The county has been planning for growth on the ranch just north of Salinas for some time, but the city sued over a specific plan, which includes the 1,100-unit Butterfly Village project for which a referendum is pending (see above.) The city agreed to drop its California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit when the City Council and Board of Supervisors approved an 18-point “Greater Salinas Area Memorandum of Understanding.” The document permits the city to annex about 3,000 acres north of town, designates land to the north and east of the city for development while preserving farmland to the west and south, requires imposition of a countywide traffic impact fee, and calls for county-city cooperation on issues such as affordable housing and infrastructure improvements. Salinas officials said the city needs room to grow because of severe overcrowding and a lack of affordable housing. Rancho San Juan growth opponents immediately seized on the settlement and closed-door negotiations behind it, and the opponents hinted they may file a suit insisting that the settlement should be subject to environmental review. A referendum contesting adoption of a redevelopment plan for the Bayview Hunters Point district in San Francisco has been blocked by City Attorney Dennis Herrera. He declared the referendum petitions were invalid because they did not contain the entire redevelopment plan. The city adopted the plan, which emphasizes development of 3,700 new housing units in the 1,300-acre project area, earlier this year (see , September 2006). Fearing gentrification, opponents gathered enough signatures on a referendum petition to force an election. But Herrera determined on September 19 that the petitions were invalid without the plan itself. Opponents said they would likely sue over Herrera’s decision. A controversial proposal by Santa Clara County to build a 7,000-seat concert hall at the county fairgrounds in San Jose is apparently dead after the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 not to pursue the project. The decision came shortly after county analysts revealed that rising construction costs would require at least a $15 million county subsidy. The county began pursuing a concert hall at the aging fairgrounds in 1998, shortly before the City of San Jose and downtown advocates began talking about building a similar hall in downtown. Eventually, the county decided on a plan in which it would issue about $80 million in bonds to pay for the fairgrounds facility and hire the House of Blues to run it. The city sued and lost one round in court before paying to settle the lawsuit (see , May 2006; , December 2004). Backers of the county project said it could generate tens of millions of dollars for the county over the next three decades. But when it came time to move forward, three supervisors said the project was too risky, especially when the county already has a $200 million budget shortfall. The county’s decision may give new life to the proposed downtown concert hall, which has languished. Yolo County has dropped its eminent domain action to acquire 17,300 acres of farmland and open space in a triangle between the cities of Woodland, West Sacramento and Davis. Instead, the county reached an agreement with the property owners that limits development and water sales. The county commenced eminent domain proceedings on the Conaway Ranch more than two years ago because of concerns about the loss of farmland, endangered species habitat and water (see , August 2004). After eminent domain proceedings began, a collection of Sacramento area developers acquired the ranch, which has 50,000 acre-feet of water rights. Under the settlement, the owners may sell up to 1,500 acres of land in small parcels. For sales of parcels larger than 250 acres, the county will have the right of first refusal. All land remains subject to the county general plan, which currently permits virtually no development. The agreement calls for water to be used first to satisfy farming, habitat and recreation needs on Conaway Ranch. Surplus water could be sold but the county would have the first right to negotiate a water purchase and would receive a cut of proceeds if another entity buys the water. Property owners said they may use the land as a mitigation bank and sell conservation easements. On-the-ground restoration of San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar began in September after 15 years of planning, permitting processes and litigation. The restoration plan by the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority calls for creation of a 115-acre saltwater marsh, construction and rehabilitation of nesting sites for endangered birds, and permanently reopening the mouth of the river (see , September 2003). Construction is expected to take two years. Southern California Edison is paying for the project as mitigation for ongoing operation of the San Onofre nuclear power plant about 30 miles to the north.

Post-redevelopment plans for downtown San Diego The San Diego Foundation is teaming up with the Downtown San Diego Partnership business group to frame a  new vision for San Diego's downtown. With the end of redevelopment agencies in the state, San Diego can no longer depend on the $125 million dollars a year to subsidize these types of projects.  SF redesigns Castro Street to better accommodate pedestrians  San Francisco's famous Castro Street is undergoing a design makeover to transform the street into a better environment for pedestrians. Castro Street, with its narrow sidewalks and busy intersections, is not suitable for the heavy foot traffic that dominates the area. The Castro Street Design Plan builds upon previous efforts to improve the street's conditions for pedestrians and enhance the street's capacity to serve as a local hot spot and tourist destination.  Realigning High Speed Rail may compromise SF freeway San Francisco officials explore alternative High Speed Rail alignments, including the removal of the I-280 viaduct. The proposal could benefit both the city and Caltrain, though details for how this proposal would align with Caltrain's electrification plans still need to be worked out. Stakeholders agree: Modernize CEQA ... After 40 years, stakeholders agree that the time has come to modernize CEQA. Governor Jerry Brown and other political coalitions have made strong commitments to CEQA modernization in the upcoming year.  ... But Enviros Aren't On Board Bruce Reznick and David Mogavero of Planning & Conservation League say that the call for CEQA reform is much ado about nothing. LA publishes DEIR for 5-year bike plan and the "My Figueroa Project"  The Draft EIR encompasses 39.5 miles of bicycle lane projects that require the removal of street lanes and promises streetscape improvements and better accessibility for bicyclists. The city is using Governor Brown's new law (A.B. 2245) that allows certain bicycle projects to be exempt from the CEQA process to opt-out of the EIR certification process.   Metro unveils study on how to close the 710 Freeway gap The final five recommendations on how to close Los Angeles's 710 Freeway gap were released by Metro last Friday. Options include: do nothing, traffic management systems, light rail, bus route and freeway tunnel.  Metro will host open houses starting this week to discuss its findings.

A “preliminary master plan” for the Orange County Great Park has been approved by the park board. The plan for 1,655 acres of the former El Toro Marine Corps base divides the park into a series of “activity levels,” ranging from nature areas with wildlife viewing to a large sports park. There would be a “lifelong learning district,” a botanic garden, a conservatory that spans a manmade canyon, air and military museums, 50 miles of trails and an orange hot-air balloon rising 500 feet to serve as an icon. During a presentation to the Irvine City Council, park designer Ken Smith called the release of the preliminary plan “momentous,” but he emphasized that the plan is a work in progress. Councilwoman Christine Shea, who helped lead the fight against a proposed airport at El Toro, said it was “amazing” to see the park vision come to light “after so many years of struggle.” While the early park plans have earned high praise, some Irvine residents are urging caution. After Smith made his presentation to the City Council, one resident said he was concerned to see the estimate of park attendance rise from 1.2 million to 5 million visitors per year. The Great Park board is scheduled to adopt a comprehensive master plan in early 2007, with construction to follow. The preliminary master plan is available at www.ocgp.org All 23 Enterprise Zones scheduled to expire this year have been given an additional 15 years by Gov. Schwarzenegger. New or existing businesses in Enterprise Zones are eligible for tax credits for hiring certain employees or purchasing equipment, and may take advantage of other financial incentives. Analysts have given Enterprise Zones mixed reviews during recent years, with some questioning the benefits of a program that costs the state tens of millions of dollars annually (see , June 2006; , February 2002). But Schwarzenegger cited a report released in August by the Department of Housing and Community Development that asserted poverty and unemployment rates declined faster in Enterprise Zones than statewide from 1990 to 2000, and that income increased faster than the state average. The extended Enterprise Zones are: City of Arvin, Delano, Fresno-City, Fresno-County, Merced, North Sacramento, Yuba Sutter, Calexico, City of San Bernardino, Coachella, City of Los Angeles-Central/Hollywood, Compton, Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Pasadena, City of Southgate/Lynwood, San Diego, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, Shasta, Eureka and Oroville. for a Highway 50 freeway interchange in El Dorado County that would serve a controversial Indian casino has been upheld. Last year, the Third District Court of Appeal rejected an EIR for the Shingle Springs interchange because of the analysis of air quality issues (see , January 2006). However, a revised version survived the scrutiny of Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly, who in November ruled against the citizens group Voices for Rural Living. The group promised to appeal the ruling, but it is the second major blow to the group’s efforts to halt the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians from building a casino resort. In September, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors agreed to drop its litigation over the project in exchange for the tribe’s payment of up to $190 million over 20 years for law enforcement, and transportation and other projects. An environmental impact report offering 10 alternatives for the future of the Salton Sea has been released by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR). The alternatives range from doing nothing to making a smaller lake to devising a series of lakes and brine ponds, with costs ranging from about $1 billion to $6 billion over 75 years. State officials have yet to embrace an alternative, and neither environmentalists nor local farmers appear thrilled with any of the ideas. But nearly everyone says the state needs to chose a course of action quickly because the 360-mile lake will lose about half of its water flow starting in 2017 due to water diversions from Imperial County farms to the San Diego region. An important resource for migratory birds, the lake is experiencing rising salinity, fish die-offs and other ecological problems. With less runoff from farms, the Salton Sea could become a hazard to animals and humans. The Salton Sea Authority, a local joint powers authority, called the state’s EIR “obsolete.” The authority supports a plan to create a separate “salt sink” next to a much smaller lake with better water quality. The Resources Agency anticipates recommending a preferred alternative to the Legislature in the spring. The EIR is available on a DWR website: www.saltonsea.water.ca.gov . The state budget situation is not as big a problem for local governments as it was two years ago, according to a recent survey of city officials. In the survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, the League of California Cities and the National League of Cities, 66% of respondents said the state budget is a “big problem” for cities. That percentage was down from 76% in 2005 and 90% in 2004. In addition, the percentage of city officials who said California’s system of public finance needs “major changes” dropped from 76% in 2005 to 45% in 2006. Not surprisingly, city officials also said their local budgets are in better shape this year than during the recent past. The complete survey regarding local government finance and infrastructure is available at www.ppic.org

Although many land use bills failed to avoid Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto pen, the governor did sign some pieces of land use legislation this fall. One approved bill, SB 1535 (Kuehl), increased the filing fees for environmental documents to be reviewed by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). The bill bumps up the cost of filing an EIR from $800 to $2,500, and boosts the negative declaration fee from $1,250 to $1,800. According to environmental groups that supported the bill, DFG reviews only about 10% of the environmental documents it receives because of funding and staff shortages. The DFG fees for reviewing environmental documents prepared by other agencies are unique in state government; no other agency has such a fee. Developers have chafed at the fees and local governments have complained about having to collect the money, but courts have upheld the fees (see , May 2000). The fees had gone unchanged for years. The additional revenue should enable DFG to review all environmental documents it receives, according to bill supporters. While the DFG fee bill affects the entire state, another bill signed by the governor, AB 1457 (Baca), impacts only one dark corner of San Bernardino. The legislation is a creative attempt to revitalize a troublesome park, decrease criminal activity and provide new housing. The legislation permits the City of San Bernardino to give 14 acres of the 43-acre Seccombe Lake Park to the city’s redevelopment agency, which must come up with replacement parkland nearby. The redevelopment agency wants to sell the property for private development of up to 80 houses and town homes in a new, gated community. The city acquired the downtown parkland through purchase and eminent domain after World War II and deeded it to the state about 25 years ago for development of a regional park. That plan died, though, and the state returned the park to the city. For years, the park has been the site of homeless encampments and criminal behavior — and not much baseball or recreational fishing. Earlier this year, though, the city began removing walls and overgrown vegetation to open up sight lines. City officials hope the cleanup and planned housing project will entice more people to recreate in the park. A bill that would give property owners with land use disputes direct access to federal court has passed the House of Representatives and could be taken up by the Senate this month. The proposed Private Property Rights Implementation Act, HR 4772 by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), would permit property owners to bypass state courts and take claims over local land use regulation directly to federal court. As it now stands, federal courts generally require property owners to go to state court first with claims that regulation has deprived them of property rights or civil rights. However, at least in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, federal courts have been reluctant to consider claims that have been decided in state court. Thus, it is difficult for property owners to get heard in federal court, which many people believe would be a more favorable venue for property owners than state court. Although passage of HR 4772 is a long shot during the lame-duck congressional session, local governments are worried. The bill would undermine local zoning authority and “create greater federal intrusion into local land use decisions,” according to the National League of Cities. In one of the more lopsided land use elections in state history, Glendora voters rejected an elaborate rezoning initiative that would have permitted development of 338 houses on the site of a private country club and construction of a new golf course in the rugged hills above town. The developer-written “Glendora Hillside Protection Ordinance” received only 9.4% of the 12,455 ballots cast during the special election on October 3. Developer NJD, Ltd., for years has been attempting to build houses on about 400 acres in the hills of Glendora and the neighboring city of San Dimas. But those efforts have gone nowhere at City Hall and in court. So the developer went directly to voters. Under the initiative, NJD would have essentially swapped its 400 acres in the hills for the 107 acres owned by the Glendora Country Club. The developer would build the country club a new golf course and other facilities in the hills. The developer would also build 338 houses on the relatively flat land now occupied by the 50-year-old country club. The initiative proposed amending the city’s general plan, and city zoning and grading ordinances to permit the new golf course and homes — although part of the golf course would have been built in San Dimas, which has not consented to the project. Country club members agreed to the land swap earlier this year. NJD spent more than $1 million on the campaign and went as far as offering people grocery and gasoline gift cards if they agreed to fill out absentee ballots. After the overwhelming defeat, NJD representatives said they would again try to receive city approval for building up to 53 houses in the hills. El Dorado County officials have reached an agreement with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians regarding a long-discussed casino just off Highway 50, a few miles west of Placerville. The agreement calls for the tribe to pay $104 million over 20 years for construction of carpool lanes on Highway 50, at least $78 million over 20 years to mitigate impacts on the community and $500,000 annually for local law enforcement, and for the tribe to offer hiring preferences for construction and casino jobs to El Dorado County residents. The tribe has talked about building a 200,000-square-foot casino and 250-room hotel since 1998, but the county and landowners in the rural residential neighborhood next to the tribe’s 160-acre reservation have fought the project. Late last year, the Third District Court of Appeal threw out the environmental impact report for a freeway interchange that would serve the casino (see , January 2006). The citizens group involved in that litigation, Voices for Rural Living, filed a new lawsuit in September over the proposed interchange, which is vital for the casino. A Superior Court judge has thrown out an environmentalists’ lawsuit that contends the continued operation of windmills in the Altamont Pass area violates the state’s unfair competition law and the public trust doctrine. The Center for Biological Diversity argued that the windmills — located along Interstate 580 between Livermore and Tracy — are illegal because they destroy wildlife, which is a public trust. However, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw ruled that harm to wildlife does not equate to the destruction of property under the unfair competition law. Environmentalists filed the creative lawsuit after failing to convince Alameda County and power companies to close down older windmills that state officials blame for killing about 1,000 raptors annually, including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and burrowing owls (see , August 2005). Environmentalists say operation of the windmills violates federal and state wildlife protection laws. An appeal of Judge Sabraw’s ruling is possible, according to Jeff Miller, of the Center for Biological Diversity. Under a county-approved plan, power companies have closed some old power turbines and are supposed to replace the rest over 13 years with fewer, larger models that are expected to be safer for birds. The case is , Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG04183113.

Endangered species issues became more complicated in the Coachella Valley in late June when the City of Desert Hot Springs declined to participate in a multiple species habitat conservation plan. The city’s decision appeared to force the plan’s author, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, to revise the plan without including Desert Hot Springs, refigure impact fees and — most importantly — revise and recirculate the environmental impact report. All of that could take at least a year, said Jim Sullivan, the association’s director of environmental resources. In the meantime, the region could be without an “incidental take” permit that allows development on habitat for the endangered fringe-toed lizard, which includes much of the valley. The permit was scheduled to expire July 1 and be replaced with a new permit stemming from the habitat conservation plan. Without the incidental take permit for the lizard, “you go from paying a $600 per acre fee to doing a full EIR,” Sullivan said. “It’s very much up in the air.” The species plan has been in the works for more than 10 years. It is intended to provide for conservation of 27 animal and plant species on 1.1 million acres in the Coachella Valley and surrounding mountains (see , April 2006). The plan designates about 750,000 acres for conservation while allowing development to go forward elsewhere. Eight cities in the valley and other public agencies have agreed to participate in the plan. However, the Desert Hot Springs City Council voted 3-2 to opt out, citing concerns about the plan’s impact on private property rights and desired growth in the city. The City of San Diego’s inclusionary housing ordinance has been declared unconstitutional by a trial court judge. San Diego County Superior Court Judge John Meyer ruled that the ordinance resulted in a taking because the law did not allow exceptions for builders who could prove their projects were unrelated to San Diego’s affordable housing shortage. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the San Diego County Building Industry Association, which has fought the ordinance since the city adopted it in 2003. The measure requires builders to designate 10% of new units for low- and moderate-income residents or pay an in-lieu fee. The ruling threw into question the fate of more than $9 million of in-lieu fees the city has collected. More than 100 jurisdictions around the state have inclusionary housing requirements. Meyer distinguished San Diego’s ordinance from a City of Napa inclusionary ordinance that the First District Court of Appeal upheld in , 90 Cal.App.4th 188 (see , July 2001). The Napa ordinance has an exemption for builders who prove their projects have no connection to the city’s affordable housing shortage, while San Diego’s exemption focuses on financial hardship. After the ruling, the city hired outside counsel — Charles Christensen of Christensen, Schwerdtfeger & Spath — and asked Judge Meyer to reconsider his decision to throw out the entire ordinance. In what might be a major victory for environmental activists, the Pebble Beach Company has withdrawn a controversial plan to build luxury and worker housing, a golf course, an equestrian center and additional hotel rooms in the Del Monte Forest. The company backed away from its plan in June, only one day before the Coastal Commission was scheduled to consider the project. County voters cleared the way for the project six years ago when they approved an initiative amending the Del Monte Forest plan. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved the development project in early 2005 (see , July 2005). Environmentalists have bitterly fought the project because of its impact on the Monterey pine forest and coastal habitat. Coastal Commission staff members recommended the panel reject the project. Upon pulling the plan, representatives of Pebble Beach Company (which is owned by Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, Peter Ueberroth and other investors) complained that the Coastal Commission could not provide a fair hearing. The company said it would revise its plans. Plans for a complex of high-rise condominiums in Santa Monica also went by the wayside in June. Macerich Company revealed that overwhelming public opposition had caused the company to scrap its plans to replace the Santa Monica Place shopping mall with high-rise development (see , April 2005; , February 2005). Macerich said it would start over on planning for the site.

To address the state's intensifying homelessness crisis, state senators proposed a $2 billion bill to help provide up to 14,000 units of permanent housing for the state's mentally ill homeless population. California has roughly 116,000 homeless people. The monies, to be raised as bonds, would be repaid over 20 to 30 years with money from the tax for mental health services approved in 2004 (Proposition 63). Backers of the bill say they hope that state funds will encourage local governments to address their respective homelessness problems. The Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Le'n also proposed $200 million from the state's general fund to assist with rent subsidies until the new housing projects are completed. A spokeswoman for Gov. Jerry Brown said, "the administration is supportive of efforts to empower local governments to tackle homelessness, poverty, and mental health issues in our communities and we will take a close look at the proposals in this package." Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that he embraces more state funding, while others criticized the proposal for not allowing local leaders to make financial decisions. Group Files Pair of Suits Against Warriors' Arena A citizens group called the Mission Bay Alliance recently filed suit to halt the development of The Golden State Warriors proposed $1 billion arena in San Francisco's Mission Bay. The arena was recently approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors.  Parents fear that game time traffic to the Warriors arena, located 1,000 feet from UCSF Children's Hospital, could block life-saving care. The lawsuit argues that the plan violates California Environmental Quality Act for failing to consider other locations and for causing significant, air quality, noise, and traffic impacts. It also claims that the area plan violates a 1998 redevelopment plan, which, they say, does not include a sports arena. A separate suit filed by the group argues that UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood signed memorandum supporting the project without authorization from the UC Board of Regents. Sacramento Considers Rails-to-Trails Greenway            Sacramento officials are advancing a proposal for a defunct railroad right of way in the southwestern part of the city to be converted into a 4.5-mile long paved trail for bikes and pedestrians. Dubbed the Del Rio Trail, the project is currently in the planning stages and estimated to cost $17 million; the city recently received a $2.2 million grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments for environmental studies and other preliminary work. Supporters hope it will not only provide recreational space but also become an alternative route for commuters heading into downtown Sacramento. Residents surrounding the right of way, unused since 1978, have expressed support for the proposal, although a few cite concerns about increase in visitors to the area. However, California Department of Parks and Recreation envisions an extension of the Old Sacramento tourist train from downtown Sacramento to the Zoo. There are currently various options and ideas being discussed, and the City will begin community and stakeholder meetings this year. Los Angeles Drafts Regional Strategy to Combat Homelessness The City of Los Angeles released a draft Homelessness Strategy Report, which backers say lays the foundation for a regional approach to addressing the chronic issue. The report calls for expanded staffing, services, rental subsidies, and permanent housing for the city's homeless residents. Its recommendations will guide the Mayor Eric Garcetti's and city council's short- and long-term homelessness policy decisions. The report also identifies potential funding streams and begins to estimate initial costs that will help inform the mayor's proposed 2016/2017 budget. The draft, which is designed to complement a strategy being issued by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, will be heard by the Homelessness and Poverty Committee on January 13, with a follow-up meeting later in the month. It is expected to be considered by the full City Council in February. Garcetti said in a statement that his three top priorities center on "scaling up the Coordinated Entry System; preventing people at-risk for homelessness from landing on the streets; and balancing health and safety concerns with the rights and needs of people who are living in unacceptable conditions." Gas Leak Prompts Proposal to Halt Annexations  Los Angeles city officials are considering placing a moratorium on annexations near Porter Ranch. Since October of last year a gas leak from Southern California Gas Company in Porter Ranch has caused residents to become sick and nauseous while releasing a torrent of greenhouse gases. The SoCal Gas has placed 2,258 people in temporary housing with an additional 3,168 in the placement process. The process has been slow and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer went to court to force SoCal Gas to speed up the relocation process. In response to the crisis, County Supervisor Michael Antonovich asked County Local Agency Formation Commission Director Novak for a temporary ban on annexing unincorporated county areas into the city if they surround Porter Ranch and Chatsworth. At least one project, 188-home development, is currently planned in the area.  LAFCO will consider the moratorium Jan. 13. San Jose Backs Off of Affordable Housing Fee San Jose has approved a fee on new residential projects to support affordable housing and recently discussed a similar fees on commercial developments. The city council voted 7-4 to postpone a nexus study necessary to the implementation of a fee on commercial developments. Citing his desire to support jobs and businesses, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo voted against the study, telling the Silicon Valley Business Journal, "We're the only major city in the United States with a smaller daytime population than nighttime population." The city has a ratio of 0.84 jobs to employed residents, the lowest of any major city in the U.S. One supporter of the fee stated the vote was not on approving the fee on commercial development but only allowing the study to begin. Originally the motion would require the city to achieve a 1-to-1 ratio of jobs to employed residents before implementing the study. This language has been removed, which gives hope to Zwick and other housing advocates that in a few years this proposal will be discussed again. Three NFL Teams Officially Seek Move to L.A. Three National Football League teams have, after years of discussion and speculation, officially filed requests to move to the Los Angeles area. The Oakland Raiders have proposed a move to Carson while the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams submitted papers asking for approval to move to Inglewood, where they would share a stadium. The applications will be reviewed by an NFL committee in New York before a presentation at an owners meeting in Houston. To move a team at least 24 of the 32 owners in the league must approve. CTC Awards $96 Million for Rail Projects Of this sum, the California Transportation Commission announced that it will allocate $96 million to three main rail projects. The first, with $53.4 million will lower Fullerton Road Grade Separation Project, a $145.2 million project in the City of Industry that is in its final engineering and design stages. The second project with $42.2 million will purchase eight new zero-emission light-rail trains for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The last rail project is $1.7 million to the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency for a yearlong demonstration program for the Pacific Surfliner to connect with current transit service providers. The CTC has allocated an additional $1 million to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority for maintenance on its rail lines between Auburn and San Jose. These investments will improve aging infrastructure, alleviate traffic delays and promote biking, walking and public transportation.    Pershing Square Competition Names Finalists In Los Angeles an international design competition to pick the "redesign" of downtown's Pershing Square, long considered one of the worst public spaces in the United States, is down to four finalists. Sponsored by the nonprofit Pershing Square Renew, the competition began with hundreds of architects and designers. The jury, consisting of city officials, development experts, neighborhood stakeholders and the public, voted end of last year. The finalists, chosen from a short list of 10 teams, are SWA with Morphosis, James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher & Partners, Agence TER with SALT Landscape Architects, and wHY with Civitas. Entrants were charged with redesigning the square to make it more friendly to pedestrians and to integrate it better with the surrounding high-density neighborhood. The winner will be announced in March. There is not yet a timeline or budget for build-out. Tribe Proposes Major Casino in Sacramento County In Sacramento County the Wilton Rancheria tribe has submitted documents to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for an environmental review for a 282-acre casino and hotel resort along Highway 99. The 700-person tribe proposes a development with 2,000 slot machines, 84 table games, and a 12-story, 302-room hotel. The tribe has six other proposals including a shopping center, if the gambling development does not get approved. A public hearing will be held January 29th in Galt.  However tribal chairman Raymond C. Hitchcock said the project will take many years to begin because of the many approvals with agencies, Sacramento County, the City of Galt, and an agreement with Gov. Brown. Coastal Commission Withdraws from Landfill Discussion In North San Diego County, a debate over the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill is approaching an unexpected resolution . Though the site is 20 miles inland, the California Coastal Commission became involved in discussions because of a concern with contaminants flowing into the San Luis Rey River, wildlife, water supply and fish. Last month, the Commission withdrew its application in the debate and said "its initial concerns about the effects the proposed trash dump might have on the coast have been eased". The withdrawal is a victory for developers because of less permits required. However native tribes, city of Oceanside, and environmental groups are disappointed in the decision of the Commission.  Anti-Development Referendum Struck Down in Yuba County In Yuba County a petition  for a referendum to overturn approval of the Magnolia Ranch residential and commercial development has been rejected by the county clerk because of a lack of legally sufficient attachments made available to petition signers. The petition claims that Magnolia Ranch would use valuable agricultural land and harm their farming businesses. The referendum supporters received 3,344 signatures and a minimum of 1,242 are needed to rescind approval or call an election. The developers, CEM Investments, filed a formal complaint that the referendum supporters did not attach specific plan and project maps. The county counsel and county clerk agreed. Referendum leader Ernie Ehnisz said Hansen made a rushed decision and that opponents will go to Yuba County Superior Court. HSR Authority Names Contractor for Third Phase California High-Speed Rail Authority named Spanish construction company Ferrovial the winning bidder to construct 22 miles of the California High-Speed Rail. Ferrovial was the lowest bidder, costing $348 million for the job compared to the other three teams with bids between $377 and $582 million. The authority estimated bids for the contract would fall between $400-$500 million. This stretch would be the third section the High-Speed Rail Authority has contracted since 2013, and will begin north of the Tulare-Kings county line and continue south to Shafter.

A report by the Los Angeles Times indicates that transit ridership in the Los Angeles area has steadily declined since the Great Recession. Ridership on Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and rail lines dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 2015, to 453 million boardings. Other agencies experienced similar drops Metro has spent over $9 billion on construction of new light rail and subway, more frequent bus times, changing routes, but the ridership has not increased. Orange County bus ridership fell 30 percent in the last seven years. The shift could be because of gas prices, fare increases, changes in job markets, locations of ridership, law that allows illegal immigrants to apply for drivers license, increase in rides by companies like Lyft and Uber, among many others. Metro plans to spend $12 billion over the next decade for new rail lines and three extensions. SANDAG Considers Sales Tax Initiative The San Diego Association of Governments is gathering citizen input  through phone conferences, meetings and online surveys to gauge support for a proposed half-cent countywide sales tax measure . Possible projects, which are all included in the agency's recently adopted Long Range Transportation Plan, range from walkable communities, highway improvements, surface rail, bike lanes and more. SANDAG is seeking public input in order to tailor the ballot measure according to voters' preferences. The proposed sales tax would remain in place for 35 years. Oakland to Allow Transit Oriented Accessory Dwelling Units The City Council of Oakland will now allow construction of secondary housing units or backyard cottages without dedicated parking if the lot is within half a mile of a bus or BART station and relaxing height and setback requirements. As Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a press release, "This will also help preserve the diversity of our communities by keeping renters and owners in the same neighborhoods, while creating income opportunities for homeowners who also feel the pressure our region's high cost of living." Berkeley passed similar rules last year; however it banned the use of these new units for short-term rentals such as Airbnb. Gilroy Revokes Approval of 4,000-Home Development In response to a lawsuit recently filed by the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission, the City of Gilroy has pulled the application to develop Rancho Los Olivos, a 4,000-home project on 721-acres bordering south Gilroy. The $3 billion project has faced two lawsuits and over 2,000 complaints. The land is not inside Gilroy's city limits, and must be annexed first with approval from LAFCO. The project has been shelved until the 2040 General Plan has been completed.  Study: Airbnb Profits Create �Full Time' Hosts in San Francisco A study by Pennsylvania State University shows that profits from Airbnb are prompting landlords to short-term rent instead of long-term. San Francisco is one of the most profitable markets for Airbnb landlords, with 300 "full-time" hosts making a total of $44 million, which is 22 percent of the Airbnb profit across the entire city. Studies estimate that San Francisco has lost between 10 and 12,000 units, which hurts the already suffering housing economy in the city. Airbnb calls the Penn State study flawed as many hosts list their units available for the entire year, but rent out for much fewer days. Fresno Approves Novel Rules for Tiny Homes The City of Fresno has, according to city officials, become the first city in the nation to officially accommodate the emerging trend of tiny houses. The city recently updated its building code to allow landlords to park tiny homes on existing lots as secondary dwellings. These eco-conscious homes can provide homes for caregivers living in the backyard or as rental units for extra income. Fresno's new rules require that tiny houses, which are generally around 300 square feet, to be on wheels. "This is an important step forward for the tiny house movement because it sets a precedent for other jurisdictions nationwide," says Amy Turnbull, one of the directors of the American Tiny House Association, told the Fresno Bee. "This ordinance sends a clear message: we need to adapt our codes to accommodate new housing models and we need to do it quickly and decisively." Sierra Club Files Suit to Block The Edge's Malibu Homes The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit to block development of five homes by U2 guitarist The Edge in Malibu. The homes were recently approved by the Coastal Commission after a long debate.  The Sierra Club contends that the project's full impacts were not assessed in accordance with CEQA and that the EIR must consider alternatives with no homes or a single home. Evans first applied in 2011 and was denied, he then sued along with three other Malibu property owners saying it was an unconstitutional taking without compensation. A compromise was made with a scaled-down version and a farther set back from the ridgeline. The opponents of the project want the area to remain open space. L.A. Launches Comprehensive Transportation App The City of Los Angeles, in collaboration with Xerox, has launched an app that helps commuters choose travel routes while also taking concerns for health and environmental impact into account. The Go LA app provides detailed information on every available mode of getting around the Los Angeles region. Go LA aggregates and calculates the time, cost, carbon footprint, and health benefits from walking, biking, driving your own car, parking, taking public transit, or using transportation network companies. The details provided include length of trip, price, number of calories burned, and how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. As the app learns more about its user's individual preferences, it will eventually recommend and highlight personalized commuting options.  High Speed Rail May Switch First Segment In a reversal of plans announced in 2012, the California High Speed Rail Authority announced that its initial operational segment may be from San Jose to Bakersfield. The first segment was originally to be from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. Crossing the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains is a complicated and expensive segment of tunnels and aerial structures. In a hearing Jan. 27 HSR Chairman Dan Richard said, "It may take us a little longer than we said to do this" but did not elaborate. A business plan update is expected in the next few weeks that will show reductions in cost.  L.A. Abandon's Ambitious Olympic Village Proposal Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced that UCLA will serve as the Olympic Village for the city's 2024 Olympics bid. A projected estimated to cost $1 billion to $2 billion had been proposed for the Piggyback Yard property owned by Union Pacific Railroad, near the L.A. River. Backers hoped that Piggyback Yard site could be converted to much-needed residential housing following the Games. It also would have been a centerpiece of the city's plans to revitalize the L.A. River. (See prior CP&DR coverage .)   Sacramento Considers Upgrades to Downtown Public Spaces Sacramento officials announced plans to rebuild two public spaces adjacent to the capitol building, Capitol Mall and Crocker Park. City Councilman Steve Hansen hopes to turn the Mall into an event and festival space, will bring the topic to the attention of the City Manager to discuss with the City Council in March. Crocker Museum has plans to turn Crocker Park into Sacramento's own "Central Park" with sculpture gardens, art-oriented children's playground, performance area and potentially a parking garage underground. With the new $507 million arena under construction, plans for 10,000 more housing units downtown and others, city officials are calling for a revitalization of the downtown public space.  Group Says San Luis Obispo Can't Handle Student Population A group of San Luis Obispo residents are asking Cal Poly SLO to cap its student body in order to return the city to a "well-maintained family community" instead of the "alcohol-consuming venue for large numbers of students" it has become, according to a petition circulated by the country. In 2015, 7,377 of the university's 20,049 students lived on campus. The group claims that the city cannot absorb so many students living off campus. The petition calls for the university to reduce enrollment to 18,000 in 2017 and 20,800 in 2035, compared to the 25,000 in the master plan. Cal Poly President Armstrong said enrollment would remain steady around 21,000 for the next few years, with 65 percent of students housed on campus. The city council has not yet weighed in on the petition.