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For all the jurisdictions in California that are upset about the invocation, or potential invocation, of the now-notorious "builder's remedy" provision of the Housing Accountability Act, the City of Huntington Beach has protested most emphatically. In its shadow, however, are several cities that appear no less determined to retain local control and oppose proposed housing projects to which they object. Whereas Huntington Beach is actively suing the state to exempt itself from the builder's remedy (and other housing laws), the Town of Los Altos Hills and the City of Sonoma are relying on technicalities to essentially wish their housing elements into compliance and therefore assert that the builder's remedy is moot. Both jurisdictions are part of the Association of Bay Area Governments region, whose deadline for certification and adoption of housing elements was January 31. Sonoma has thus far blocked the builder's remedy application for The Montaldo, a multifamily development slated for a two-acre site that currently contains only a single-family house. The Montaldo was previously proposed for 55 units. The builder's remedy version calls for 64 units, all of which would be designated for middle-income residents. But Sonoma gave two different reasons why the builder’s remedy application should be rejected. According to a statement from Sonoma planner Alaina Lipp, the application for the larger version of The Montaldo, submitted February 6, was deficient. "The Planning Department evaluated the SB 330 preliminary application against statutory requirements and the City’s checklist and found that several elements were missing from the preliminary application package," said Lipp. "The Planning Department did a courtesy review and notified the applicant that an SB 330-compliant preliminary application had not been submitted due to the missing elements." City spokesperson Sarah Tracy said, though, that the city's housing element is in fact compliant -- meaning that a builder's remedy application would be moot, regardless of how complete or incomplete it is. The city's position is based not on HCD approval but rather on what amounts to "self-certification." "The City of Sonoma approved its 6th Cycle Housing Element as required by the State on January 31st and is prepared to maintain that its housing element is substantially compliant, and that California Dept. of Housing and Community Development certification is not required for a housing element to be found substantially compliant with state law," wrote Tracy in an email to CP&DR. "State law provides that a city may adopt its own findings explaining why its housing element is substantially compliant with state law (Section 65585(f))." HCD's database of housing elements lists Sonoma's as "under review." Officials from HCD have rejected the notion of self-certification. A March 16 memo by HCD Deputy Director Megan Kirkeby suggests that the adoption of a housing element that HCD has not explicitly approved is, essentially, a pointless exercise. Kirkeby's memo states, "a jurisdiction does not have the authority to determine that an adopted element is in substantial compliance by may provide reasoning why HCD should make a finding of substantial compliance... HDC recommends that a jurisdiction adopt only after receiving a letter from HDC finding the draft meets statutory requirements." Los Altos Hills is taking a similar approach. It faced builder's remedy applications for three relatively small projects (including one project with two variants) and determined that all four applications were "incomplete." In a recent online town hall meeting, the city attorney explained that, despite being considered out of compliance by HCD, he believes the recent draft of the housing element submitted to HCD satisfies the department's comments on a previous draft and will be found in compliance and certified, thereby retroactively exempting the city from the builder's remedy. "The Los Altos Hills Housing Element not only addresses all of the required components under state housing element law, and incorporates and addresses all of HCD’s findings received, it also addresses issues raised by the public during the public review period," wrote Mayor Linda Swan in a recently published opinion piece. Swan cites several programs designed to satisfy HCD's housing element requirements, including the town's first multi-family overlay zone; support for accessory dwelling units and SB 9 units (such as duplexes); and several measures to streamline housing approvals. A press release dated March 15 touts the town's promotion of housing in the 5th RHNA cycle (the previous cycle), in which it permitted 241 units, compared to its RHNA requirement of 121. According to the press release, "the accomplishment demonstrates the Town’s commitment to addressing the critical housing shortage in California and providing more affordable housing opportunities for its residents." Ultimately, however, jurisdictions' self-satisfaction may not shield them form legal action. In collaboration with HCD, Attorney General Rob Bonta has indicated that he is willing to sue willfully noncompliant jurisdictions. He recently announced a suit against Huntington Beach and has threatened to file more. This is in addition to suits filed by nonprofit and advocacy groups. (Previous CP&DR coverage of the Huntington Beach situation can be found here .) "Sonoma and Los Altos Hills are almost definitely breaking the law, as certified by HCD," said Matthew Lewis, spokesperson for California YIMBY. "I think these smaller towns think they can get away with it and are daring the attorney general to sue them."

SGC Announces Major Funding Opportunities for Planning and Development The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) announced $99.2 in funding opportunities for neighborhood-serving capital infrastructure projects in historically underserved communities. These projects must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve both public and environmental health, and create economic opportunities for community members. The funding and program entitled the Transformative Climate Communities Program hopes to allocate funds for communities to decide what projects, goals, and strategies best serve their individual neighborhoods. In this fifth round of the Transformative Climate Communities Program, three Implementation Grants are available totaling $29.5 million each. Multiple Project Development grants are awarded at up to $5 million each. Three Planning Grants total $300,000 each. There is an additional new Advance Pay Program and a new Project Development grant to fund pre-development projects. Additionally, California Indigenous tribes are eligible for a subsection of application for Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities and Rural Applications. The application is online to gauge interest in available funds and connect applicants with Technical Assistance providers. The application is also a link to an online submissions folder to upload materials. Final applications are due August 1. San Francisco to Investigate Influential Housing Nonprofit A San Francisco Supervisor is calling for hearings to probe the business operations of the nonprofit Tenants and Owners Development Corp., also known as TODCO, claiming the nonprofit has dramatically increased spending on lobbying while ignoring the needs of its buildings and tenants. The supervisor is requesting the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and Mayor Breed's Office of Housing and Community Development to report on their contracts with the nonprofit. She is also requesting the Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department to present previously-filed complaints against TODCO buildings. TODCO has about $50 million in assets and multi-million dollars worth of contracts with both the city of San Francisco and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The nonprofit has a long history of controversy and criticism for funding certain ballot measures and opposing other housing developments in the city. It was reported that TODCO's spending $473,000 in 2020-21 on lobbying in comparison with its previous $5,000 spent in 2012-13. TODCO is one of a number of local nonprofit building contractors facing pushback against spending and business operations in the Bay Area. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Newsom Celebrates Incremental Progress on Homelessness Governor Newsom announced both that the state is on track to reduce the number of unsheltered people by 15% in the next two years in addition to the statewide construction of 1,200 tiny homes. 350 of those tiny homes will go to the city of Sacramento, 500 to Los Angeles, 200 to San Jose, and 150 to San Diego. The cities will be responsible for finding a location for the homes and funding the upkeep. The homes themselves are as small as 120 square feet, equipped with electricity but not plumbing, water, or cooking capabilities. Some critics state this is a “bandaid” by Newsom on a larger issue only building in severity. Since 2020, homelessness in the state has risen 6% compared to a nationwide increase of only 0.4%. But San Jose, where 500 tiny homes were constructed in the last three years, has seen a 9% drop in the number of unhoused people without shelter. Newsom's announcements come during the first stop of his four city State of the State tour, where he has promised to announce major changes on issues like housing, health care, and public safety. Symptoms of Climate Change Growing More Severe in California The fourth edition of "Indicators of Climate Change in California," published by Cal EPA and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, details the severe increase in climate crisis impacts throughout the state. According to state scientists, the dangers of fossil fuel dependence are abundantly clear and worsening; wildfires, drought, and excessive heat have intensified, placed human health in increased danger, and created irreparable damage to landscapes and communities. Notably, annual average air temperatures have increased by 2.5 degrees since 1895, and eight of the 10 hottest years took place in the last decade. The report, which totals nearly 700 pages, suggests that the state has taken meaningful action in terms of coastal protection, renewable energy, and electric vehicle use, but initiatives must involve stronger actions to prevent the most catastrophic impacts. CPD&R Coverage: Court Nixes Re-Litigation of Entitlements; CEQA Requires Air Pollution Analysis In a very strongly worded published opinion, the Second District Court of Appeal has rejected all the arguments of a neighborhood group opposed to an eldercare facility in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles. The three-judge panel shot down the neighbors' arguments about the project's incompatibility with the neighborhood's park-like setting character and current architecture in the strongest possible terms. In so doing, they reiterated the idea that the neighbors cannot re-litigate the permit approval process in court and that the role of the courts is to defer to the city's judgment when substantial evidence exists. If you're going to build housing close to a highway, you ‘d better analyze the air pollution impact on the residents. That's the lesson from a situation in Grass Valley, where an environmental impact report on a mixed-used project 170 feet from State Route 20/49 didn't pay much attention to the air pollution impact of the project. The other lesson - one that has come up in innumerable cases under the California Environmental Quality Act - is to bring up every issue you can think of during the administrative process. The plaintiffs' wildfire arguments fell flat because they were only brought up on appeal. Quick Hits & Updates Los Angeles is the most recent city to receive a prohousing designation from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the city and Mayor Bass's urgent and proactive action to build new housing in the city, working to address the housing crisis in the area. Los Angeles joins 10 other cities across the state in the designation an d is the first city in the Southern California Association of Governments region to earn the designation. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The California Department of Housing and Community Development is soliciting ideas and input from the public for ways to improve the upcoming Regional Housing Needs Allocation process and address the housing shortage. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation process determines housing needs for the state on a region-by-region basis. In a new federal budget proposal, the Biden Administration announced a $500 million funding uplift for a Bay Area BART line through San Jose. The Bay Area transit system was previously facing a large funding dropoff as pandemic-era federal funding came to a halt. Two environmental groups filed suit against the city of Desert Hot Springs, claiming a recently -approved large multi-use development plan violates CEQA by excluding an environmental impact report. Sacramento city officials are looking into a vacancy tax on empty lots, stores, and potentially homes. The City Council is in the early stages of drafting a tax ordinance, which would appear on ballots for voters to ultimately decide. With the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, over 500 units of affordable housing in San Francisco expect a delay . Many loans through Silicon Valley Bank will be transferred to the city, but developers are wary of extended delays in production through that process. Pasadena City Council voted to phase out its planned development zoning designation, ridding the city of a method of accelerating large project approvals, citing concerns of ungovernable projects. A study by San Francisco think tank SPUR and Concord Group economics firm shows that Bay Area apartments became more affordable between 2010 and 2021 when compared with changing median income. At the same time, wealth discrepancies between white collar employees and blue collar employees has worsened, with middle-income jobs now making generally 80% below the region's median income. The Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Committee named Andrew Fremier as the new executive director. Fremier previously served seven years on the Federal Transit Administration's executive team and three years as Planning Chief for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Palo Alto Unified School District Board voted on and approved a new affordable housing project for 29 subsidized units for school district faculty and staff meeting qualifying income levels. The project faced four years of negotiations before finally securing land and a vote of approval. The proposed 250 apartment project adjacent to San Quentin State Prison cleared its environmental analysis. Half of the proposed apartments will be for Marin County educational staff and employees, and the project will be owned by Marin County and the Marin County Department of Education.

In denying a housing project on the parking lot of well-known Spengler’s Fresh Fish Grotto, the City of Berkeley violated not only SB 35 but also the Housing Accountability Act’s requirement that affordable housing projects can be denied only if certain narrow findings are met.

In a very strongly worded published opinion, the Second District Court of Appeal has rejected all the arguments of a neighborhood group opposed to an eldercare facility in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles.

APA Legislative Platform Calls for Housing Development The American Planning Association of California released its 2023-2023 Legislation Platform outlining priorities in the next two years of statewide city planning issues, offering a resource to APA members, policymakers, advocates, and the public. The Legislation Platform is organized by seven sections ranking by priority, including housing, equity, climate resilience and hazard mitigation, infrastructure, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), healthy communities, and community planning. Planning principals and actions are highlighted under each of the seven sections. Their highest prioritized housing section stresses evaluating existing housing resources, locating and designating appropriate sites for all types of housing, and encouraging "objective development standards" and infrastructure plans for affordable housing. APA also stresses the flexibility of zoning in denser areas. Action items include supporting legislation, projects like multi-family housing units in single-family zones, and advocating for new state funding for housing. High Speed Rail Authority Lowers Ridership Estimates Plans for the nation's largest infrastructure project are facing setbacks as the California High-Speed Rail Authority decreased expected their ridership rates between Merced and Bakersfield by 25%, outlined a general schedule setback, and estimated a much higher cost of entire production than originally anticipated. Following slow economic and population growth in the state, the rates of expected ridership went from 8.8 million in a 2019 forecast to 6.6 million in the project's update. The entire length of the high-speed railway now exceeds secured funding by $10 billion due to higher inflation, a decision to elevate stations and lines, and a new contingency plan. Transportation experts cite the urgency over these decisions, stating the project's future is at risk due to the change in ridership and increased costs. Additionally, Republican House leader McCarthy states federal funds will no longer finance the project's additional costs due to the project's missed deadlines and looming engineering obstacles, including the tunnels needed to build through state mountain ranges. The state will know whether or federal funds are approved by next year. The project may again turn to voters to subsidize the additional costs of the Bakersfield-Merced line. San Francisco, Los Angeles Score Highly among Walkable Cities A new report from Smart Growth America ranks the nation's 35 largest metro areas by walkable urbanism. The report takes into consideration multi-family rental rates, for-sale home prices, and premiums in commercial rents. Four California cities, San Francisco (6), Los Angeles (8) fared well while Sacramento (24), and San Diego (28) ranked in the bottom half. The same four cities performed entirely differently on the Social Equity Index. Despite being ranked eighth in walkable urbanism, Los Angeles ranked 35th on the Social Equity Index (SEI), from a combination of low rankings on affordability, transit systems, and proximity to walkable areas. Sacramento was the highest performer of the California cities on the SEI rankings at 20, with San Francisco close behind at 22. The report also found that 6.8% of the US population and 19.1% of the total US real GDP is contained in 1.2% of the landmass of the top 35 U.S. metros. Online Dashboard Illustrates Impacts of Housing Policies Researchers at UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation released a new Housing Policy Dashboard tool intended to allow elected officials, planners, and the public to access data regarding housing policy impacts in Los Angeles. The tool builds on an earlier system, the Housing Development Dashboard, which targeted Bay Area cities. Now, researchers hope that Los Angeles decision makers will better consider the feasibility of policy ideas before implementing them, therefore leading to greater housing supply. Primarily, the tool registers on which parcels of land housing complexes can be built and how much, depending on each policy filter. Researchers' takeaways include that each policy leads to more housing but has different impacts in terms of equity and sustainability, signaling the importance of a comprehensive solution with several policies involved. State Auditor Identifies Cities Financially at Risk For the fifth year in a row, the City of Compton has landed the number one spot on the state auditor's office list of the most financially at-risk cities. Other cities that made the list's top 20 include San Gabriel, which improved slightly from second to third place; Montebello, which regressed from seventh to fifth place; Torrance; Redondo Beach; West Covina; and Los Angeles. Compton, San Gabriel, and Montebello were classified as "high risk," meaning they are vulnerable to waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Meanwhile, Torrance's ranking improved, and the city is no longer in the high risk zone. The report considers the status of reserves, debt burden, liquidity, revenue trends, and more and found that many cities have been impacted by low reserves and high pension liabilities. CP&DR Coverage: Huntington Beach Battles State over Housing Laws Rankled by state efforts to promote housing development, the City of Huntington Beach has sued the state to opt out of SB 9, SB 10, and the builder's remedy--and the state has sued back. The city's complaint, filed in federal court, claims that the state's enforcement of housing laws “will continue with an unbridled power play to control all aspects of the City Council's land use decisions in order to eliminate the suburban character of the city and replace it with a high-density mecca.” Some Huntington Beach officials claim that the city's RHNA numbers are unfairly high and therefore "fraudulent." The state filed a countersuit and a motion for preliminary injunction against the City of Huntington Beach for violating state housing laws. In the complaint, the state argues that the city's ban on approval of certain affordable housing projects is illegal under the HAA, SB 9, the ADU law, and the Housing Crisis Act, and must be struck down. Attorney General Rob Bonta and HCD have both separately sent letters warning the city that the proposed ordinance violates the Housing Accountability Act and would harm the public by illegally blocking affordable housing projects for low- and middle-income residents. Meanwhile, over two-dozen builder's remedy projects have been filed in Southern California, with others pending in the Bay Area. Quick Hits & Updates A new housing development at the Ashby BART station in Berkeley is stalled by negotiations between the city and BART. City officials want a portion of the development to serve the community, including affordable housing and space for a market, which would prove less profitable to BART. BART is already undergoing a record high financial crisis as federal pandemic funding dwindles. Google, amid layoffs and downsizing office space, is reassessing the construction timeline of planned San Jose transit village. Although emphasizing the company's commitment to the project, Google warns of delays to develop the site. The Culver City City Council voted this week to ban camping in public spaces in a highly-criticized move to address the homelessness crisis in the area. City officials responded by saying the ban will not go into effect until several plans - including a "designated safe" camping site and 73 additional units of shelter - find footing in the city. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to grant PG&E an exception to seek a 20-year permit on Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County. The decision only allows the power plant to remain in operation through 2023, though, to smooth a transition from nuclear to renewable energy in the state. The California Air Resources Board, the state's emissions regulations agency, added a community in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles to its emissions-reduction program. The program is the first of its kind, offering top down solutions from the state agency to address communities disproportionately impacted by greenhouse emissions. Stanford University filed suit against Santa Clara County arguing that faculty homes fall under a "college interest" and therefore should be exempt from the same property ownership taxes. San Diego officials are solidifying plans for a Mission Bay redevelopment, including a wetlands restoration project as part of a climate action plan set, a small golf course, and a camp site. Stakeholders are adding amendments to the project plans, but have until April 20 to do so. In the wake of population loss in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and more generally in the state, inland suburbs like Menifee are seeing huge population boons. Coastal cities are increasing in price of living, so many families are choosing to move to smaller towns. The Winnemem Wintu people are warning that sacred Indigenous lands are at risk of submersion if Shasta Dam is enlarged. They oppose the project as many of the last remaining sacred sites of the tribe would be flooded. Abundant Housing LA released a housing element quality map this week, scoring areas of Los Angeles based on not only housing element but also HCD certification, number of single-family housing and previous performance in housing development. An appellate court has denied a rehearing request by Save Livermore Downtown. The group hoped to move a 130-unit affordable housing development to an undetermined location and instead use the area for a public park. The court upholds the affordable housing development. California state Department of Toxic Substances Control, after citing a deficit of funds to address lead removal in Los Angeles County, missed a spending deadline and forfeited more than half of their $6.5 million budget set aside for testing for lead and cleaning up lead contamination in neighborhoods.

It’s probably safe to say that, among the dozens of California cities that failed to adopt state-certified housing elements on time in the past few months, very few of them like the builder’s remedy. But, there’s dislike, and then there’s outright revolt.

Builder's Remedy Applications Represent 8,600 Units in Southern California Developers in Southern California filed 26 builder's remedy projects as of late January, allocating 1,795 of the 8,642 new homes as low-income housing, according to analysis by the Orange County Register. Builder's remedy fast tracks projects as cities cannot deny a project with at least 20% low-income units, even if the plans do not align with the city's general plan or zoning restrictions.The builder's remedy applies in 251 of the 539 state municipalities as none have a state-approved housing plan. Eight San Diego jurisdictions do not have a state-approved plan; 108 jurisdictions in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Imperial also have yet to establish plans. Additionally, 103 Bay Area jurisdictions have not adopted the required housing elements. Builder's remedy projects are slated in the cities of Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Del Mar, La Cañada Flintridge, La Habra, and Orange as of the end of January. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Diego County Climate Plan Faces Lawsuit The Protect Our Community Foundation, an environmental nonprofit in San Diego, is suing the county over its climate-change plan. The lawsuit alleges the county wrongfully awarded a no-bid contract to the University of California, San Diego, concealing ties between UCSD and utility companies. Furthermore, the claimants said they uncovered a donation of $840,000 from San Diego Gas & Electric to UCSD the same year UCSD was awarded the bid by the county. The climate-change plan itself includes a mass "regional decarbonization framework," outlining solar fields and wind power projects requiring new, multi-billion dollar power line investments. The claimants request the judge require the county to rescind the plan and release a competitive bid for a researcher for the plan, as the research unfairly skews towards projects requiring massive utility upgrades, as opposed to local rooftop solar panels. Bills Seek to Ease Office Conversions, Allow Single-Stairway Apartment Buildings Assembly Bill 532 , or the Office to Housing Conversion Act, if approved will pay developers to convert offices into housing and streamline the construction process. Using a Calgary program as a framework and inspiration for the bill, Assembly Member Matt Haney hopes the bill will stop cities from stonewalling any potential office-to-housing conversions by making the project approval automatic with strict time limits on obtaining building permits. The bill would also create a fund - the California Downtown Recovery Catalyst Fund - in the form of project grants, while also capping fees and design requirement costs. This is where the bill could lose public support, as taxpayer money would fund the grants and the approval process could be seen as lenient. The bill has already seen support by YIMBY Action, the executive director stating its potential to create "vibrant, mixed-use communities."ousing advocacy group Assembly Bill 835 , the single stair reform bill, which would require the State Fire Marshal to research and propose standards to permit multiunit buildings over three stories to use single-stairways for egress. Current regulations require buildings over three stories to have at least two stairways, to facilitate escape in the event of fire. . Many architects and developers have criticized double-stair requirements, calling them unnecessary, costly, and constraining. Study: Downtown San Francisco Languishes; Central Valley Downtowns Boom Downtown San Francisco has the slowest COVID-19 recovery of 61 cities in North America studied by the University of Toronto's School of Cities think tank, reporting 31% of activity compared to fall 2019. Using cell phone data as a measurement of activity in the area, a recent study determined Downtown San Francisco to be relatively empty. One of the causes of such a shift is believed to be the housing market pushing residents out of the Bay Area, those seeking cheaper housing. Another is the downtown area's prevalence of jobs that are now worked remotely, composing 31% of the workforce in the area. Much of the area's office buildings (65%) lie vacant. Officials are seeking to remedy the issue by proposing alternative land use and diversifying the area, but the city is facing economic barriers to changing the downtown office spaces to better suit the current in-person workforce — or even into new housing. In contrast, inland cities with relatively affordable housing like Bakersfield and Fresno, where activity has reached 125% and 121% of 2019 levels, respectively. They ranked second and third in the study, behind only Salt Lake City. CP&DR Coverage: Will People's Park Case Spark CEQA Reform? More homeless people isn't an environmental impact, but noisy drunken students are. Gov. Newsom wants to do something about that. The final First District of Appeal ruling in the UC Berkeley People's Park case was different from the tentative ruling in December, which also said displacement leading to more homeless was an environmental impact. Nevertheless, the final ruling - which also cut back on detailed arguments about the noise and was written by a different judge - struck a chord with Newsom, who said on Twitter that the California Environmental Quality Act process is “broken” and promised to make reform of the law a high priority this year. CP&DR's Bill Fulton considers how the judiciary and the legislature have thus far failed to do anything but make CEQA more complicated--and whether that trend will finally reverse this year. Quick Hits & Updates The Little Hoover Commission - an independent citizens commission working to improve state government - will hold a series of hearings this spring to examine the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The first of three hearings will be held in person on Thursday, March 16, with the option for remote participation. This hearing will focus on the debate over CEQA and give the Commission the opportunity to hear different perspectives on CEQA and on CEQA's impact and effectiveness. The second and third hearings will be held virtually April 13 and April 27. The new Select Committee on Reconnecting Communities in the California Legislature will investigate methods to repair damages to communities segmented by highways in the 1950s and ‘60s, focusing particularly on the communities of color impacted by racist land use laws. The Coastal Commission approved a bid by the city of Eureka this week to ban digital billboards. The legislation bans the construction of new digital billboards, with widespread support by city officials and business owners. Already delayed with a lawsuit, the 1,500-home planned development in the Bay Area's Pittsburg Hills faces another obstacle as the Planning Commission turned down the project. The Planning Commission's vote indicates the project should be reevaluated before approved by the City Council. At their Feb. 9 meeting , a member of Fresno City Council proposed a new fund as part of a settlement to alleviate the impacts of the nearby Amazon fulfillment center on the surrounding community. Certain residents can apply for up to $10,000 to mitigate impacts of noise, traffic and pollution within their homes by installing HVAC air filtration units, double-paned windows, insulation and landscaping, for example. The council member says that residents did not anticipate the Amazon fulfillment center's disruption to a quiet lifestyle. Construction is projected to start this year on a $25-billion freight hub in the Inland Empire. Developer Highland Fairview recently announced the hire of Stantec to lead design and engineering plans. Stantec's principal-in-charge claims the scope of the sustainability plan "has not been tackled on this scale in the U.S." Highland Fairview initially met with pushback from local environmental groups in 2021, and presently stresses the sustainability plan and the project's goal of carbon neutrality. The deal between Highland Fairview and the environmental groups includes rooftop solar generation, electrical vehicle chargers onsite and LEED-Silver certified core and shell of the warehouse. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) One of Los Angeles Skid Row's largest providers of low-income housing is facing financial collapse, and seeking outside sources to maintain funds to keep housing intact for the almost-2,000 units of single residency occupants.The city of Rancho Mirage faces a lawsuit by a lone resident claiming officials are not following through on a promise to adapt a city-owned mobile home park into affordable housing. The commitment dates back to the land purchase in 2009 by the city, when officials claimed the space was soon to be “uninhabitable” and they would adapt the land into affordable senior housing. Using San Francisco's Potrero Power Station as a model, Mayor London Breed is proposing the creation of a new "infrastructure financing district," helping developers borrow against future tax revenues to fund infrastructure development on-site. (See related CP&DR coverage . A tentative decision by a San Diego Superior Court judge could impact San Diego's plans for high- and mid-rise housing. The decision, if it goes into law, will make environmental studies on certain developments much more complicated and unclear. The ruling could also potentially halt current construction on a number of large projects in the city. Brightline West, the company developing a high-speed rail project between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, agreed to build a series of wildlife crossings along the I-15, finding an agreement with both Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. A proposed ordinance in the City of Los Angeles would require restaurants to apply for costly new permits for existing al fresco dining patios, as well as restricting and reversing COVID-related restaurant programs. Many restaurant owners in Los Angeles are concerned about the costs of these new permits as operation costs continue to skyrocket due to inflation. (See related CP&DR coverage .)

In late February, an appellate court in the Bay Area ruled that noisy student parties at UC Berkeley are an environmental impact that must be analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act.

It was probably inevitable that debates over food, writing, and gentrification would collide in what is arguably one the country’s best food cities, richest literary cities, and most out-of-its-gourd land-use cities.  The stew in question comes from Soliel Ho, a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. They recently wrote an essay that asks, "Have I been actively complicit in normalizing gentrification?" The essay answers mostly in the affirmative.  Food and urbanism have been linked since cities were invented. So, Ho’s inquiry is entirely on-point. Ho is correct that, especially these days, real estate agents refer to restaurants as "amenities" and that "neighborhoods get whiter in addition to more affluent." They admit to "passively casting the surroundings of the restaurants we review as 'changing' or 'up-and-coming,'" which is a woefully glib way that many observers of urban development – myself included – sometimes refer to complex neighborhood changes. But here’s where the souffle collapses. There’s an argument to be made that, at the very least, new restaurants signify gentrification, and they have been routinely indicted by anti-gentrification activists . To wonder whether writing about a restaurant – its menu, service, ambience, mouthfeel, whatever – feeds gentrification seems like a new flavor of liberal guilt.  Ho offers a sweeping economic theory of gentrification centering on "neoliberal policies that prioritize more lucrative land use and endless growth over policies that might ensure existing residents’ right to shelter." Never mind that San Francisco has grown anemically, from 775,000 residents in 1950 to all of 874,000 in 2020, or that building anything in the city -- including, say, a residential tower with 73 affordable units -- is nearly impossible. Ho ignores an entire library of academic research on the incredibly complex topics of gentrification and displacement in favor of a verdict rendered by instinct: "Any random person you talk to might not know exactly how gentrification works, but they can probably talk about what it sounds and tastes like." Even if we can define gentrification -- by instinct or (perhaps better?) by professional consensus -- who’s really to blame for it? Do we blame a food writer who probably makes half the city’s average annual income? A chef-entrepreneur who waited 14 months for permits and is probably six-figures in debt? A young couple who bought a starter condo in the only neighborhood they could afford? An incumbent restauranteur or shopkeeper who offers new dishes or products to appeal to new residents? A developer who thinks 100 rental apartments might improve upon a vacant lot?  The ghost of Adam Smith?  One the one hand, there’s nothing wrong with urban theorizing. If you can criticize pork loin for being oversalted, you can criticize a city for being inequitable. And yet, Ho's mea culpa is itself unwitting. They join a long, nearly sacred tradition of bemoaning gentrification and then completely failing to place blame on the people and entities that most deserve it.  The fact is, the only people who are not flagellating themselves over gentrification are usually the ones who are actually responsible for it. Here are a few suspects that elude Ho’s grasp: Owners of commercial properties who want to prop up their property values by limiting equitable development Longtime, wealthy residential property-owners who want to restrict the city's housing supply (and, in so doing, inflate property values) Old-timers who reflexively fear change, whatever form it may take Radical leftists and fellow travelers who oppose anything that smells of capitalism Planners who don’t have the fortitude, or the permission, to promote managed, equitable growth Attorneys itching for fights (and fees) Organized anti-growth groups Nonprofit developers who want to protect their turf And, of course, elected officials who are aligned with, or at least afraid to take on, any of these constituencies You don’t see any of them accepting blame in the pages of major newspapers. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it. What that means is that people thoughtful enough to at least ask the question, like Ho, end up holding the bag. The actual proponents of gentrification probably love her essay, because it distracts from their culpability. They get to pile on and blame those bourgeois restauranteurs and precious coffee roasters. And radical activists, many of whom fancifully believe that all residential development should be 100% affordable, probably loved Ho's piece because it conforms with their critique of "predatory" capitalism. Let's also not forget about San Francisco's notorious permitting process. Only the most deep-pocketed restauranteurs can bear the expense, take the time, and weather the uncertainty required to satisfy the city's fastidiousness. The restaurants that open have to be high-end in order to overcome that barrier (not to mention pay the rent). If Ho and other critics want to support new, but presumably modest, restaurants founded by and appealing to longtime residents of the Mission or SoMa, they might turn their eyes toward the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Office of Small Business, the Board of Supervisors, and all the other city offices whose regulations and procedures routinely threaten to choke off the new businesses that they are supposed to support. Until capitalism crumbles, there will be expensive food and cheap food, and expensive housing and really expensive housing. Taking jabs at restaurants or coffee shops or yoga studios won’t change that. The rise of “gentrification,” however defined, does not mean that that restaurants are evil. It means, in part, that there’s not enough housing, and not enough housing for people of all income levels. It means, fundamentally, that the city isn’t functioning properly. It means that it is inequitable in many ways and failing to serve the highest purpose of a city: to uplift diverse people and unit dives people—at Michelin-starred temples, greasy spoons, and everywhere in between. Author's note: This piece has been updated to reflect Ho's preference for they/them pronouns.

If you’re going to build housing close to a highway, you'd better analyze the air pollution impact on the residents. That’s the lesson from a situation in Grass Valley, where an environmental impact report on a mixed-used project 170 feet from State Route 20/49 didn’t pay much attention to the air pollution impact of the project. The other lesson – one that has come up in innumerable cases under the California Environmental Quality Act – is to bring up every issue you can think of during the administrative process. The plaintiffs’ wildfire arguments fell flat because they were only brought up on appeal. The situation involved the Dorsey Marketplace project, a mixed-use project in Grass Valley located on the 27-acre site of a former mine. In 2015, developer Russel Jeter proposed a project with 179,000 square feet of commercial use and 90 multifamily residential units. Subsequently, the project was changed to reduce the commercial space to 104,000 square feet, increase the multifamily residential to 172 units, and add 8,500 square feet of office space. The city approved the project with a mitigations and a statement of overriding consideration in 2020. Subsequently, a group called Community Environmental Advocates sued, claiming a wide range of deficiencies in the environmental impact report. But only the air quality question stuck. The group lost in Superior Court and appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal.

In yet another case suggesting how acrimonious development disputes in California has become, a land-use lobbyist in San Diego have sued each other for libel. The community activist subsequently filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the lobbyist – which has been shot down by both a Superior Court judge an a Court of Appeal panel. The lobbyist’s libel suit will apparently go forward.

Huntington Beach Sues State over Housing Targets, Flouts Builder's Remedy At the authorization of the Huntington Beach City Council, the Huntington Beach City Attorney announced he is preparing a lawsuit to protest the city's Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 13,368 units. At the same meeting, a council member said the city was working with the Department of Housing and Community Development to meet the allocation requirement. Council members said that, while the the city is working on meeting state requirements, they plan to fight the state on the "unfair" attempt to urbanize the city. At the same time, the city's Planning Commission voted this week to reject all “builder's remedy” applications, even if they comply with state law.. On Feb. 25, , the California Attorney General and Department of Housing and Community Development both wrote urging the city reject a newly proposed ban on ADU housing projects and projects that fall under Senate Bills 9 and 10 . "The City of Huntington Beach continues to attempt to evade their responsibility to build housing, but they will simply not win,” said Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement. (See related CP&DR coverage here and here .) State Allocates $2.5 Billion in Transit Funding, Favoring Los Angeles and Bay Area Gov. Newsom announced awards totaling more than $2.5 billion to 16 ongoing public transportation projects in the first wave of an infusion of state funding to expand transit and passenger rail service throughout the state, helping to cut planet-warming pollution. Today's funding announcement is part of a larger, multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to upgrade the state's transit system to enhance mobility options, improve service and reduce overdependence on driving. The grants are administered by the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) as part of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Projects receiving funding include: $600 million for LA Metro's East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor project to complete the 6.7-mile initial segment between Van Nuys/Orange Line and Van Nuys/San Fernando stations, scheduled by 2030. $407 million for the Inglewood Transit Connector, scheduled to be completed in time for service to support the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. $375 million for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension project, which will bring BART service to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. $367 million for the Peninsula Corridor Electrification project, which is electrifying Caltrain rail service. $142 million for the Valley Rail project, ensuring completion of nine project components stretching throughout the Altamont Corridor Express and San Joaquin service areas. $19 million for the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority's West Valley Connector Bus Rapid Transit and Zero-Emission Bus Initiative, which will introduce a new 19-mile bus rapid transit system. San Bernardino city official claim the awards are biased towards Los Angeles City and County railway projects; the Gold Line Authority, through LA Metro, requested full funding for the project ($798 million) but was denied. In addition to the $2.54 billion announced today for existing TIRCP projects, CalSTA will award another $1.14 billion to new transit projects and improvements at high-priority intersections by the end of April. The recent announcement represents the first round of awards as part of a sixth cycle of TIRCP investment, which will eventually total $25 billion. Berkeley People's Park Ruling Sparks Calls for CEQA Reform In response to a ruling blocking construction of UC Berkeley student housing on the site of People's Park--ruled in part on the grounds that “noisy” college students qualify as an environmental impact under CEQA, Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for wholesale CEQA reform. In a tweet posted on the governor's official Twitter account, Newsom wrote, “Our CEQA process is clearly broken when a few wealthy Berkelely homeowners can block desperately needed student housing for years and even decades. California cannot afford to be held hostage by NIMBYs who weaponize CEQA to block student and affordable housing. This selfish mindset is driving up housing process, and making our state less affordable. The law needs to change, and I am committed to working with lawmakers to making more changes so our state can build the housing we desperately need.” Assembly Bill 1700 , sponsored by Joshua Hoover (AD 7, Folsom), may be a frontrunner for addressing the issues in the People's Park case; it “would specify that population growth, in and of itself, resulting from a housing project and noise impacts of a housing project are not an effect on the environment for purposes of CEQA.” (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Diego Authorizes Taller Buildings Farther from Transit Stations The San Diego City Council voted , 5-4, to enable the construction of taller buildings and more backyard housing units further away from transit lines than was previously allowed. The limit for more backyard units had been one half-mile from a transit station. The loosened regulations allow for denser housing citywide; proponents hope it will help address the housing shortages. With the expansion of the ADU zone to a full mile radius, the total acreage expanding to 5,224 additional acres of homes for a developer density bonus. Another 4,612 acres are now eligible for San Diego's backyard apartment bonus program. But most residents who spoke at the meeting opposed the changes to the ruling, citing people will not walk a mile to transit and will consequently reduce the use of public transit. They also site the lack of city infrastructure plans to match the dense housing, and pointed to wildfire-prone areas where higher density housing can now be built. CP&DR Coverage: Battles Rage over Bay Area Housing Elements No fewer than 12 jurisdictions are facing lawsuits from a loose coalition of housing advocacy groups, and many more--presumably all of the noncompliant cities--were instantly made subject to "Builder's Remedy" provisions, by which developers can essentially force the approval of projects that have a sufficient amount of affordable housing, regardless of the projects' mass and density. Californians for Homeownership, California Housing Defense Fund and YIMBY Law have each filed a handful of suits. Defendants include Santa Clara County and the following cities: Belvedere, Burlingame, Cupertino, Daly City, Fairfax, Martinez, Novato, Palo Alto, Pinole, Pleasant Hill, and Richmond. Five of the twelve jurisdictions are on the San Francisco Peninsula, where resistance to new housing has historically been fierce. Quick Hits & Updates The city of Oakland will turn over 380 loading zones into “smart zones,” using a contactless payment method for commercial deliveries. The housing nonprofit Californians for Homeownership is suing the city of Beverly Hills over its housing policies, hoping to enforce the builder's remedy. Californians for Homeownership believes the city must start approving any housing project with a certain amount of low-income housing, per the remedy. Acrisure Arena in the Coachella Valley city of Palm Desert opened recently as both the home of the AHL's newest Coachella Valley Firebirds and a large music venue, hosting approximately 11,000 concert-goers or 10,500 hockey fans. Riverside-San Bernardino County - in addition to Palm Beach, Tampa, Phoenix and Fort Worth - is now one of the most undersupplied housing markets in the country, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The housing market in the area is measured by vacancy rates as well as overcrowding conditions in family homes. An old Honda dealership on Market street and South Van Ness avenue in San Francisco will be home to a 55 story tower , but the developer, Crescent Heights, was afforded a four-year extension by the City Planning Commission to start construction. Crescent Heights has already spent $40 million to fulfill its affordable housing requirement, and say that they could break ground sooner. The scooter company Bird - previously permitted to operated 1,500 scooters in San Francisco - is now leaving the city, citing low profit in the city and burdensome business regulations.California High-Speed Rail Authority now reports the cost of the bullet train construction between Merced and Bakersfield has increased by billions of dollars due to inflation. The completion of construction is also now estimated between 2030 and 2033.A new study claims that San Francisco is losing billions in economic activity due to work-from-home policies, as workers' spend on average $3,567 less per year per person on businesses near their places of work.The Apartment Association of Orange County, a group of landlords, is set to sue the city of Santa Ana over housing policies first approved in 2021, including protections for tenants against rent increases and evictions.According to a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California, rates of homeless continue to rise throughout the state, particularly in urban areas, with 30% of the nation's homeless population residing in California.