Search Results

HCD Releases Prohousing Guidelines; Names Six Eligible Cities The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)  released its Prohousing Incentive Pilot Program Final Guidelines, Notice of Funding Availability, and application. Six cities are currently eligible for participation to receive rewards for meeting housing goals. Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Fontana, Oakland, Roseville, San Diego, and West Sacramento are now eligible for community development resources, which offer $25.7 million in additional funding. These cities, in addition to meeting housing goals, have demonstrated that they are prioritizing climate-smart housing by streamlining development, upzoning, or prioritizing affordable housing in neighborhoods that have systemically excluded low-income residents and residents of color. San Diego, for example, amended zoning to allow for 98,000 additional units, establishing an affordable ADU Bonus program, and waived density limitations for affordable housing. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Jose Reaches Agreement to Develop 32,000 Homes in North San Jose After years of threats of lawsuits from the County of Santa Clara, City of San Jose has reached an agreement with the county that will enable the realization of long-approved plans to build thousands more homes in North San Jose, at least 20% of which will be affordable. The move confronts restrictions contained in a 2006 agreement between several local governments that have prevented any housing from being built in North San José for over a decade. Now, the city may move forward with aspects of a 2005 plan to add 32,000 homes, over 25 million square feet of office and industrial space, three million square feet of retail and commercial space, and 1,000 hotel rooms alongside transportation improvements. San Francisco Faces Lawsuits over "Pattern of Delay" in Approving Housing Projects YIMBY Law has refiled two lawsuits against San Francisco after finding additional evidence demonstrating a pattern of behavior wherein the city delays housing projects beyond timelines outlined by state law. The lawsuits argue that this behavior from the city perpetuates the housing shortage and affordability crisis in San Francisco. YIMBY Law filed two lawsuits against the city of San Francisco between December 2021 and January 2022. Each lawsuit alleged that the city illegally denied a housing project, one at 450 O’Farrell Street and one at 469 Stevenson Street. YIMBY Law has since won a demurrer hearing in the O’Farrell case. These claims argue that San Francisco systemically delays housing projects at multiple stages during the permitting process, extending time frames for review and approval well beyond legal limits outlined by state laws such as the Housing Accountability Act. Los Angeles to Phase Out Oil Drilling Los Angeles City Council members unanimously approved a plan to ban new oil wells and phase out all existing drilling throughout the city. Now, oil and gas operations, which include 26 fields and over 5,000 wells, must end production in the next 20 years. The move is historic; though oil tycoons warn against financial troubles and dependency on foreign oil, the plan will significantly improve the health of neighborhoods where drilling pollution has caused severe burdens, particularly for residents of color and low-income residents. As operations begin to phase out, the drilling-heavy locations of Wilmington and harbor areas will see significant change, as well as West Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, and the northwest San Fernando Valley. CP&DR Coverage: Macroeconomic Forces Threaten Statewide Housing Production A likely slowdown in housing development is coming at the most ironic moment possible. Over the past ten years, the state’s economy, and demand for housing, has been robust. But, local opposition to development, coupled with the absence of incentives and policies at the state level, often impeded housing development at a time when capital was readily available. Now, right when the state needs more housing the most—and has taken significant steps to try and increase it—market forces might intervene to impede construction. Bills signed this year include SB 6 and SB 2011, both of which promote conversion of commercial properties to residential, and AB 2097, which reduces parking requirements. Even if these bills aid certain developers on certain projects, their influence is likely to be obviated by economics. Quick Hits & Updates  On her first day in office, newly-elected Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness. Most details about her plan to address the crisis, titled "Inside Safe," are still to come but will include efforts to provide housing near where the unhoused person already lives. Over the past ten years, Los Angeles faced the second-highest number of pedestrian deaths in the country, with 1,133 residents dying in crashes between 2011 and 2020. Though Los Angeles and New York City, which was at the top of the list, both planned "Vision Zero" initiatives for preventing further deaths, traffic fatalities have only worsened, particularly for people of color. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Los Angeles City council members voted unanimously in favor of the Livable Communities Initiative (LCI), intended to create 15-minute neighborhoods where housing, jobs, transit, grocery stores, and other necessities are all in near proximity. Now, the Departments of City Planning, Building and Safety, and Transportation will produce reports on strategies for implementing the LCI. All but one San Bernardino City Council member approved plans for the $8 million demolition of the city's Carousel Mall, which will take place over five years after the mall originally closed. The City of Hesperia and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department must pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit for discriminating against Black and Latino renters. The U.S. Department of Justice found that officials promoted policies that allowed for the eviction or exclusion of tenants with criminal histories, laws that have disproportionately burdened Black and Latino residents. Lyft is ending its shared bicycle and scooter services in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, citing a lack of dedication from local governments. The company plans to seek long term public-private partnerships for future implementation. The San Jose City Council will review a change to a transportation analysis policy that would allow developers to transform the closed 114-acre Pleasant Hills Golf Course into housing, retail, or commercial space. Opponents are concerned about the reduction of open space and a lack of community involvement in the planning process. Alameda is officially the first Bay Area municipality adopt a housing element approved by the state, narrowly passing in a 3-2 council vote. Officials have planned for 5,300 new units created with inclusive neighborhoods, confronting homelessness, and improving transit in mind. Plans to build a wildlife crossing between the Santa Susana Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains are underway, with planners looking for a way to restore habitats across the I-5 corridor. Officials will also consider options for a crossing above the SR 14 Freeway. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Fodor's Travel has recommended against traveling to Lake Tahoe due to the increase in second-home dwellers in the area who have caused traffic and pollution burdens along the trails and beaches. The guide, citing the increase in fine pollution particles, which are now impacting the Lake's clear waters, suggests that visitor interaction with Tahoe needs to become more mindful. A $400 million project to revitalize Dana Point Harbor will include exclusive restaurants and retailers as well as open green areas and spaces for concerts and other events, according to recently-released renderings. Developer Dana Point Harbor Partners intends to begin construction in early 2023.

The City of Los Angeles has defeated the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in yet another land use-related case – this one arguing that the Political Reform Act trumps land use law because L.A.’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee included two city councilmembers who were charged with bribery on certain land use decisions.

Roughly speaking, for every percentage point increase in prevailing interest rates for construction, the collective cost of producing the estimated 2.5 million housing units that California needs, at a conservative half-million dollars per unit, increases by $12.5 billion per year.

Wiener Introduces Bill to Facilitate Housing on Properties Owned by Nonprofits, Faith Organizations With an early kickoff to the 2023 housing legislation season, Sen. Scott Wiener and coauthors have introduced Senate Bill 4, which would allow nonprofit colleges and faith organizations to build more housing by streamlining environmental review processes and reducing zoning restrictions. Under SB 4, churches, mosques, and synagogues would be able to plan for more multifamily housing on their properties with fewer costs and hurdles. Lawmakers and affordable housing proponents celebrate SB 4 since religious and nonprofit institutions often own excess land that is conveniently located near transit and job centers. As a result, the potential for housing is plentiful, with a UC Berkeley estimate suggesting that religious institutions hold 40,000 acres of developable land, and could often be 100% affordable. San Jose Abolishes Parking Minimums San Jose is now the largest city in the state to abolish parking minimums for new developments, aligning with increasing desires to reduce auto-dependency, sprawl, and carbon emissions. The city joins San Francisco in abolishing minimums, and its policy exceeds reductions in Los Angeles, San Diego, Berkeley, and Oakland. Now, the new policy, in slashing requirements to spend tens of thousands of dollars on parking spaces, may improve abilities to build more housing. However, some officials and residents are concerned about the impacts on communities where parking spaces are already a treasure hunt. Meanwhile, those in support stress that the new policy does not prevent developers from accounting for parking spaces; rather, they will be able to choose whether or not parking makes sense for their development. San Francisco Struggles to Draft Approve-able Housing Element San Francisco must supply 82,000 housing units by 2030 under the RHNA, but its recently released draft Housing Element currently only plans for about 60,000 units in the best case scenario. Current proposals would add new units to existing apartments, develop vacant lots, and produce huge developments; planners have mapped the 44,408 projects that could be produced from the residential development pipeline as well as the 11,290 units that would come from underused or vacant sites. Another 3,880 units are "non site-specific" and could be developed if the city makes zoning changes. However, San Francisco must still find ways to provide 22,000 more units, or 34,000 units if the city wants to meet its "target" of 93,500. However, threats of recession, high construction costs, and expensive city fees and requirements are expected to complicate the city's plans. Housing Elements in the Bay Area must be approved by January 15 or else may be subject to state-imposed penalties. Hotly Contested, Litigated Lafayette Development to Move Forward The Terraces of Lafayette project will move forward after a California appellate court sided with the city and against Save Lafayette, a citizens group arguing that the project is out of compliance with CEQA and the city's General Plan. The appellate court relied on the Housing Accountability Act, suggesting that the city could not reject a housing project for low or moderate-income households since it adhered to CEQA and General Plan requirements. Now, over a decade since the city approved the developer's application, the 315-unit apartment building may soon move forward, but several histories of legal challenges suggest that the city and developers might expect more of a fight; Save Lafayette is expected to appeal again. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Court Rejects EIR for Capitol Expansion in Sacramento The environmental impact report for the billion-dollar renovation and expansion of the State Capitol complex in Sacramento has been partially thrown out , mostly because the Department of General Services made changes to the design after circulating the revised EIR. The 63-page ruling, written by Acting Presiding Justice Harry Hull, contained a very detailed analysis of the project’s design, potential impacts, and potential alternatives – down to the point of specifically describing a visual depiction that the state should have included in the EIR and an alternative that the state should have considered but did not.  Quick Hits & Updates  Costa Mesa voters approved Measure K by just 22 votes in November, and now a resident has requested a recount of the results. Measure K would reduce requirements for voter approval of large developments to streamline housing and commercial development, leading to concerns about the silencing of residents' interests. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Los Angeles County Metro's assessment of the NextGen Bus Plan, a bus network intended to increase ridership by growing the number of bus lines, improving frequency, and create safer waiting stops. The assessment found that accessibility improved with the new network, especially for people in Equity Focused Communities. The Guerneville Forest Coalition has filed a lawsuit to prevent logging near a 2,000-year-old redwood tree in Sonoma County. The group is fighting against Cal Fire, which approved a timber harvest plan that could impact the 340-foot Clar Tree that has avoided harm three times in the past 25 years. San Francisco Mayor London Breed's plan to allow the redevelopment of gas stations, parking lots, and other auto-related properties into housing will move forward after the Board of Supervisors approved the legislation following 14 months of delays. The Cars to Casas policy may not result in tangible impacts until the housing market and construction costs improve. BART and San Francisco-based developer Bridge Housing have entered a two-year Exclusive Negotiating Agreement to construct a transit-oriented housing development near the North Berkeley Station. The 5.5-acre site could hold 500 to 1,200 homes, 35% of which would be affordable. The most recent proposal for Redwood City's Sequoia Caltrain station will not lose thousands of square feet of office space, featuring over 1,000 housing units and a new Caltrain station instead. The new transit district will significantly contribute to the 4,588 units required by 2031 according to the city's RHNA allocation. The only three renters among the 120 senators and assemblymembers working at the California Capitol have formed a Renters' Caucus that attempts to increase political power for the 17 million California residents who live in rented units. The caucus could increase leverage for those facing eviction threats, financial difficulties, and rising rents, all heightened throughout the pandemic. A recent report from the Public Policy Institute finds that, as economic inequality expands, low-income Californians remain very concerned about housing costs, with 36 percent of such residents worrying about bills every day. Renters were also much more likely to worry about housing costs than homeowners. Four former Sears stores are now under the ownership of a single seller, with redevelopment plans expected to come. The four locations -- Fairfield, Sacramento, Salinas, and Ventura -- were all facing record low sales. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved plans to pursue an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District that would fund a proposed 130-mile multi-use trail and river park. County staff will next seek approval from the City of San Diego.

In a case that could be viewed as an example of judicial micromanagement under the California Environmental Quality Act, the environmental impact report for the billion-dollar renovation and expansion of the State Capitol complex in Sacramento has been partially thrown out, mostly because the Department of General Services made changes to the design after circulating the revised EIR. The 63-page ruling, written by Acting Presiding Justice Harry Hull, contained a very detailed analysis of the project’s design, potential impacts, and potential alternatives – down to the point of specifically describing a visual depiction that the state should have included in the EIR and an alternative that the state should have considered but did not. It would appear as though Justice Hull gave the EIR close scrutiny in part because it involved the State Capitol building, which he called “a treasured historical resource.” Justice Louis Mauro concurred on some aspects of the ruling but dissented on the question of having to provide a specific additional visual representation. Reversing a Sacramento County Superior Court judge, the Third District Court of Appeal found fault with the EIR’s project description, its project description, its analysis of the project’s impacts on historical resources and aesthetics, and its analysis of alternatives. All the EIR inadequacies, however, stemmed from late changes to the design that were included in the final EIR but not the revised EIR that was circulated.

Contaminated Site in Pasadena Cleared For Development

By-Right Projects Approved Faster, Especially With Affordable Housing By-right entitlement, which enables developers to apply for multifamily housing permits directly, leads to faster permitting processes and more dependability in approval time, according to a recently-published study , "Does Discretion Delay Development?" on discretionary versus by-right building processes. A team of researchers from UCLA found that by-right projects saw 28% faster permit approvals compared to discretionary processes, where public entities must first vote to allow the developer to apply for a permit. Due to the delays caused by discretionary review, the authors recommend that planners should encourage by-right permitting, which makes it easier to build multifamily housing and therefore increase housing availability. Additionally, findings suggest that faster approval processes were associated with increases in project size and number of affordable units. $250 Million in Federal Funds Secured for Salton Sea Plans for Salton Sea restoration projects will move forward after the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) voted to enter an agreement with federal and state officials that will contribute $250 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds to minimizing the impacts of severe drought. The agreement includes a commitment from the IID to not use 250,000 acre-feet of Colorado River, itself facing worsening drought. Imperial County farmers and environmental groups strongly opposed the decision, as the IID voted 24 hours after the proposal was made public and right before new board members would be sworn in; groups suggest that the agreement demonstrates little care about community input and is an insulting result when Imperial Valley residents have experienced extreme climate burdens for decades. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Aspects of "Builder's Remedy" Could Impede Development The Housing Accountability Act's complex Builder's Remedy and savings clauses may lead to stalls in housing construction. These problems can be overcome with future legislation to streamline development, according to recent analysis from a researcher at UC Davis. Author Jordan Wright points out that, while builder's remedy prevents cities from blocking affordable housing if the city's housing element is out of compliance, a savings clause secures cities' ability to force development standards on those projects. In this research, Wright proposes that courts either render standards on builder's remedy projects invalid or allow "saved" development standards that can only be applied if they align with the proposed density of the builder's remedy project. The research is intended to prevent the savings clause from obstructing projects and worsening the affordable housing crisis. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Sprawl Increases Flood Risk in Los Angeles Basin The impact of a severe flood in Los Angeles could be harsher than expected and would largely burden Black communities, according to a recent report from UC Irvine. The researchers found that nearly one million Los Angeles residents live in an area at-risk to an extreme flood, a number 30 times the amount currently suggested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In terms of risk, Black residents are 79% more likely than white residents to face waist-high flooding. Latino and Asian residents are, respectively, 17% and 11% more likely. While the Los Angeles Basin may be overwhelmed by a severe storm, researchers cannot anticipate when the next flood will occur. However, they have confirmed that urban sprawl has contributed to a lack of unpaved ground that would absorb runoff and minimize the impact. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton's Take on New Housing Laws  No matter whether they are agree or disagree with the goals of the new laws – and there are plenty of people on both sides – local planners’ heads are spinning trying to keep up with what’s going on. And yet, pro-housing legislators keep introducing new bills, hoping to take credit for any bump in housing production. The truth is that it’s still too soon to say whether these laws are working. But it may be time to consider whether they should be consolidated in a way that simplifies the housing production effort. Consider two possibilities, one involving the newly powerful and controversial “Builder’s Remedy” (see previous  CP&DR  coverage  here  and  here ) and the other involving SB 9. Quick Hits & Updates Fourteen veterans living in West Los Angeles have filed a lawsuit in federal court, asking that the U.S. Department of Veterans provide 1,200 permanent homes. The plaintiffs are also seeking 2,500 units for lease and other supportive services within a five-mile radius of the West Los Angeles veterans campus. Developers' newest plan for San Francisco's Piers 30-32 involves an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a shallow pool, a hot tub, showers and saunas, lockers, and rentals for kayaks and other water-related activities in addition to office space. Strada Investment Group and Trammell Crow hope that their latest waterfront recreation vision will be approved after state agencies rejected their previous prioritization of office space. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti introduced the BLAST initiative, which would implement a Bike Lane Acceleration and Safety Team. BLAST is suggested to collaborate with the Bureau of Street Services and the Transportation Department to contribute 24 protected bikeway projects by July of 2023. While Tesla, Oracle, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have all relocated their headquarters out of California, many other smaller companies are leaving as well, exiting in 2021 at twice the rate than they did in 2020 and 2019. The moves reflect business costs that are encouraging business owners to seek less regulation, lower taxes, and reduced living costs. San Diego's plan to divert developer money rooted in wealthy neighborhoods to infrastructure construction in low-income neighborhoods is facing a lawsuit from Livable San Diego, an anti-density neighborhood group claiming that the city's proposal is unfair and unconstitutional. Thanks to $400 million in city-issued bonds, a mixed-use development project with a hotel, restaurants, and new businesses may soon complement Anaheim's city-owned Honda Center. Officials intend to rely on increased tax revenue generated from the new OC Vibe project rather than Honda Center revenue sharing. (See related CP&DR coverage .) New analysis from the State Auditor on Richmond's financial stability demonstrates that the city remains at high risk due to anticipated deficits, high pension debt, and mismanagement of the housing authority. The audit predicts long-term deficit, with a projection of a $6.7 million deficit beginning in fiscal year 2023-2024.

In the latest twist in the infamous Terraces of Lafayette development project, an appellate court has ruled against a citizen group that sought to shut down the city’s approval of the apartment project under the Housing Accountability Act – a move that took place when the developer asked to revive an old application following approval of a single-family project on the same site. The SaveLafayette group argued that the revived application, while consistent with the general plan and zoning at the time of its submission in 2011, was inconsistent with the general plan and zoning in 2018 – because the city had in the meantime altered those documents to accommodate a smaller project – and for that reason the city could not approve a project that conflicts with the general plan and zoning. But the First District Court of Appeal concluded that the Housing Accountability Act prevails in this case. Despite the intervening approval of a smaller project, the court wrote, the developer “got a complete project application on file in 2011, and the HAA requires that such a project be assessed against 2011 general plan and zoning standards.” (The opinion was written by Presiding Justice Alison Tucher.) The appellate court also ruled against Save Lafayette on a wide variety of issues under the California Environmental Quality Act. The portion of the decision regarding the Housing Accountability Act was published, while the portion regarding CEQA was not. The Terraces saga gained widespread attention early this year when it was recounted in Conor Dougherty’s book  Golden Gates . Over the years, the project’s size has wavered between 44 units and 315 units. Some local residents at one point favored the diminutive version, while housing advocates insisted that the project accommodate as many residents as possible – and famously sued the city, unsuccessfully, to force the larger project. (You can read the whole shaggy-dog story in CP&DR ’s previous coverage here .) The 22-acre parcel of land is located on a hillside near the Pleasant Hill Road interchange on Highway 24 in Lafayette. In 2011, O’Brien Land Company submitted an application to build a 315-unit apartment building. An environmental impact report was completed in 2013 and the planning commission recommended denial of the project.

Is it time to stop passing new housing production laws and consolidate the ones we already have? No matter whether they are agree or disagree with the goals of the new laws – and there are plenty of people on both sides – local planners’ heads are spinning trying to keep up with what’s going on. And yet, pro-housing legislators keep introducing new bills, hoping to take credit for any bump in housing production. (According to some sources, part of the reason the Legislature has called for increased reporting requirements under the Annual Progress Reports is so that legislators can boast about what the laws they carried are doing. See our recent coverage on APRs here .) The truth is that it’s still too soon to say whether these laws are working. But it may be time to consider whether they should be consolidated in a way that simplifies the housing production effort. Consider two possibilities, one involving the newly powerful and controversial “Builder’s Remedy” (see previous CP&DR coverage here and here ) and the other involving SB 9. Although it’s been embedded in law for more than 30 years, the Builder’s Remedy caught everybody by surprise when it was heavily used in Santa Monica earlier this year because the city’s housing element had not been approved yet by the state Department of Housing & Community Development. But should developers be able to, essentially, build an unlimited amount of housing (assuming affordable housing goals have been met) because the Housing Element hasn’t been approved? After all, there are already other laws that provide the ability to build above allowed zoning while providing affordable housing under certain circumstances – specifically, the Density Bonus Law, which has proven to be very powerful in its own right in recent years. In fact, UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf, perhaps the most insightful analyst of the new housing laws, has proposed rolling the Builder’s remedy into the Density Bonus law. In his invaluable primer on the builder’s remedy , published last spring, Elmendorf proposed eliminating the Builder’s Remedy and replacing it with a 100% density bonus (with some alternatives) in cities that are do not have compliant housing elements. He proposes calling the new option the “noncompliant-city” density bonus. “This reform would reasonably limit the size of builder’s remedy projects, in keeping with the Least Cost Zoning Law’s norm that cities not be forced to zone parcels in already-developed residential areas for more than twice the density of adjoining parcels,” he writes. “This reform would also resolve the conflict between the builder’s remedy and the HAA’s (Housing Accountability Act) savings clause for ‘development standards,’ as the Density Bonus Law has a well-established framework governing which standards may be applied to a density-bonus project. Specifically, cities must waive any development standard that ‘physically precludes’ the density of the project (unless it’s necessary for health/safety) and the developer may claim other incentives and concessions depending on the share of affordable units in the project. (Gov’t Code § 65915(d) & (e).)” Significantly, he adds: “It’s important that the noncompliant-city density bonus be substantially larger than the regular density bonuses available in cities whose housing plans comply with state law. The lawmakers who created the HAA builder’s remedy back in 1990 envisioned it as a powerful inducement for cities to achieve housing-element compliance. It will only have this effect if local officials fear being forced to approve projects they want to deny. In other words, why deal with these two laws when you can combine them, still provide some options for developers in noncompliant cities, and resolve conflicts between the laws at the same time? Then there’s SB 9, the law that makes it easier to build two houses on each single-family lot and split each single-family lot in two. This law really freaked out local governments and local planners when it passed. And there was a lot of analysis, including this report from the Terner Center that says SB 9 would make 700,000 new homes feasible in California that wouldn’t have been permitted previously. But, as far as I can tell, SB 9 isn’t getting a lot of traction. Part of the reason may simply be: Why bother with SB 9 when, under current law, you can drop an accessory dwelling unit in your backyard with ministerial approval? The truth of the matter is that building a duplex or a small-scale multifamily project is way more complicated than adding an ADU – and may not be worth the additional trouble . Indeed, there’s been a lot of talk about how the ADU movement will simply consume SB 9. (This may be especially true in San Diego, where the “endless ADU law” allows, essentially, construction of a small multifamily building on a single-family lot so long as half the units are affordable.) There’s a difference, of course: Building a duplex is not the same as dropping an ADU in your back yard, and the lot split part of SB 9 may have value beyond simply adding an ADU to an individual single-family parcel. But you get the idea. With so many laws having been passed in the last few years, it may be time to stop and take a breath – not just to give locals a chance to catch up, but to streamline the laws so that the whole housing production effort takes on a simpler and more elegant cast.

Los Angeles County Creates Office to Address Environmental Justice The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has established the Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health intended to support communities, particularly those that are low-income or of color, that face relatively severe burdens from climate change and pollution. The office will tackle issues such as freeway and air pollutants from diesel emissions, industrial polluters such as recycling plants, and heat islands that have harmed communities with less greenery and more asphalt. By collecting data and working with other groups to develop policies and strategies, the agency has committed to ensuring that corporations are responsible for the dangers they have imposed on California residents and that those who have faced the worst impacts will be prioritized. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Feds Grant Permission to Remove Dams on Klamath River After decades of discussion, federal officials approved the demolition of four aging dams along the Klamath River, hopefully restoring hundreds of miles of river water for native salmon and other wildlife and improving water quality across the California-Oregon route. The move allows PacifiCorp energy company to avoid costly facility upgrades while relying on a Proposition 1 water bond that will fund deconstruction, which will mark the first time in over a century that the river flows without interruption once completed. The $500 million demolition process may start as soon as next year, beginning with the smallest dam, and is intended for completion by the end of 2024. Coastal Commission Approves Another Desalination Plant The Coastal Commission approved a plan to develop a desalination plant for Monterey Peninsula, though not without contention about the role of desalination as a solution to worsening drought crises across California. Though the project would transform seawater from off the coast of the city of Marina, the process requires heavy energy use and a high cost, with residents expressing that the $300 million project will increase water rates by about 50%, becoming an environmental justice concern. Meanwhile, California American Water is attempting to minimize the impact on wildlife by treating toxic material produced in the desalination process before it returns to the ocean. If completed, the plant would contribute 40% of the water supply for Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pebble Beach, and other nearby cities. CP&DR Coverage: Local Ballot Measures Among over 50 local land use measures proffered on city, council, and special district ballots on November 8 — the most in recent memory — measures that called for financing and/or development of affordable housing were approved widely and by wide margins. Measures that sought to accommodate more housing via general plan updates and new zoning--changes likely to be palpable to residents--had mixed results. At least ten measures centered on questions that potentially bear on cities’ abilities to adopt housing elements and zoning codes to meet their Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals. In some cases, city councils presented referendums asking voters to ease the way for planners to zone for their respective housing allocations. In other cases, slow- and no-growth initiatives, typically placed on ballots by citizen groups, would limit the densities in key locations. Quick Hits & Updates Decreasing households sizes, prompted by the pandemic and remote work, the dangers of exposure, and increased migrations, have multiplied the number of households, leading to more housing units in demand, according to recent analysis from the Public Policy Institute. With this data, researchers found that new households are outpacing new housing supply. Stanford University has its eyes on a 46-acre property owned by Notre Dame de Namur University with the intention to transform the site for its own use. While its exact plans remain unknown, the university has said it hopes to add 200 housing units and 1,350 parking spaces. Three oil companies must pay the Environmental Protection Agency nearly $50 million for the cost of cleaning up the McColl Superfund Site in Fullerton after a federal appeals court upheld a previous decision. Now, those responsible for the damage, rather than taxpayers, will pay for the EPA's removal of 97,100 cubic yards of toxic waste at the site. The California Air Resource Board will focus a $2.6 billion investment in sustainable transportation in low-income communities and neighborhoods where pollution is disproportionately high. The investment will prioritize zero-emission transportation systems, bike- and car-sharing, and consumer rebates for electric vehicles to help low-income residents purchase clean cars. The Builder's Remedy has been invoked in the small Los Angeles County city of Hawaiian Gardens, as a developer has proposed a 13-unit project that was previously rejected by the city over parking and commercial space concerns. The new application includes three affordable units, in line with the 20 percent affordability requirement. A judge has ruled against a developer who says his real estate companies should have received compensations for payment losses that resulted from pandemic-induced emergency tenant protections in Los Angeles. The judge said that the city did not "take" private property when it approved an eviction moratorium, as suggested by the developer.

CP&DR Vol. 37 No. 11 November 2022

Not long ago, fans of mass transit in California had to be very patient. An entire decade could go by without the opening of a major transit line in California.