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Last week, CP&DR covered what was, for many, a shocking rejection of a 495-unit housing development in the heart of San Francisco by the city's Board of Supervisors. It was shocking for any number of reasons. Pragmatically, it calls into question the city's ability to meet its state-mandated housing goals. Politically, it was a rare abandonment of aldermanic privilege. Perhaps most notably, it demonstrated that, ideologically, progressivism is now officially, unambiguously at odds with the provision of housing. In many ways, the denial of 469 Stevenson was a long time coming. The "radical left," as I have called it, has been protesting capitalist developers for years. In part because of the influence of self-described Democratic Socialist Dean Preston, the current Board of Supervisors has waded deeply into radical territory and into anti-developer activism. Of course, by many accounts, the provision of housing aligns squarely with progressive values: housing is a human right, and governments ought to protect, and even further, that right. A diversity of housing typologies and price points, especially in dense, diverse cities, is the epitome of inclusiveness. San Francisco doesn't seem to get this. But some other cities do -- and not necessarily the ones you'd expect. Though I wrote about San Francisco this time around, the real progressive stories are in San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento -- to name a few. Let's start with San Diego. The city, which has a heavy military influence, has traditionally worn its conservatism as a badge of honor. It gave us Republican standard-bearer Pete Wilson, and, as recently as last year, it was run by a Republican mayor, Kevin Faulconer (who also made a go at the governor's office). Appropriately, San Diego's urbanism comes straight from the 20th century: single-family homes on subdivsions served by commercial strips, a relatively small downtown, and not much in between. And yet, in just the past few years -- under Mayor Faulconer and now under his successor, Todd Gloria -- the city has aggressively and exuberantly taken measures to promote urbanism, increase its housing supply, and, ultimately, make the city more affordable for people at many income levels. In 2019, it eliminated parking requirements for housing near transit. Just last week, it did roughly the same for businesses. It's trying to redevelop its sports arena, with thousands of units of housing. It just welcomed a major light-rail extension (developed by the county Metropolitan Transit System). Much the same is happening in San Jose. Though not exactly a hotbed of political activism, partisan or otherwise, San Jose's pattern mirrors that of San Diego. It's largely suburban, and it's largely business-focused. Its civic culture and urban fabric couldn't be more different from San Francisco's legacy of hippies and Victorians. And yet, it too is slashing parking requirements, embracing public transit, promoting mega-developments (including 4,000 units associated with a new Google headquarters). Even prior to the passage of Senate Bill 9 , it had signaled a willingness to embrace duplexes on single-family lots. Mayor Sam Licardo has spoken unabashedly about his enthusiasm for housing production. Just the other day, the city confirmed that duplex redevelopment would be allowed in traditionally sacrosanct historic zones. In Sacramento -- which has typically maintained a low political profile, perhaps in deference to state politics -- the council and stakeholders alike have embraced reduced parking requirements, and it was the first city in California to legalize duplexes citywide. On that count, Sacramento vastly out-progressive'd San Francisco, declaring by-right -plexes to be a matter of social justice, reversing the segregation that implicitly accompanies exclusionary zoning. Berkeley -- staying true to its liberal values -- did much the same around the same time, and for the same stated reasons. As Bill Fulton reported a few months ago, production of multifamily housing in both cities is already way up, and that's before many of these new policies have kicked in. Beyond those cities, we have Los Angeles, which is politically too much of a mess to characterize as progressive or conservative but has, nonetheless, accepted its 560,000 RHNA number without protest and recently adopted a housing element accordingly. And we have Oakland, which is, arguably, the country's strongest bastion of social justice. It has embraced thousands of downtown units -- dating back to Mayor Jerry Brown – and its 26,000-unit RHNA goal. Now that it's been chastened by just about everyone short of Karl Marx's ghost, how is San Francisco following up its decision on 469 Stevenson? Well, Supervisor Ahsha Safai just introduced an ordinance that lets homeowners build fourplexes as long as two of the units are deed-restricted affordable. This approach essentially ensures that zero such units will be built in the city, since no one is going to build four units just so two of them can operate at a loss. To top it off, San Francisco is doing something similar with pandemic-inspired parklets: "allowing" them de jure, but imposing regulations so burdensome that they are, de facto, impossible to get permitted. San Francisco is thus living up to the traditional definition of "conservative": it doesn't necessarily mean that you vote MAGA, but it does mean that you value the status quo above all else. So, what's going on here? Broadly, these trends illustrate that political ideologies that inhabit manifestos, speeches, and lawn signs have yet to catch up with the reality of actual bodies occupying actual built environments. Much (though not all) of progressivism in city politics comes from older Californians and, in particular, older homeowners. These are people who came of age in the 1960s, when urban development looked very different than it does today. At the time, cities were emptying out. Many of the hippies who lived in the Haight probably replaced residents who had decamped for the Peninsula, Marin County, or Contra Costa County, leaving abundant vacancies and low rents. Meanwhile, the state government, led by Gov. Pat Brown, was spending money on all sorts of projects, most notably the expansion of the University of California and building of interstate and suburban highways. That's probably one reason why many people assume that the public sector can and should pay for affordable housing. Fast forward to today, and those two historical trends give rise to the progressive assumption that government can and should provide affordable housing--market-rate, for-profit developments be damned. Ideology aside, many of these people are in a personal bind. If they've owned property for years, they've enjoyed the twofold benefit of appreciation and Proposition 13 protections. And, of course, geographically constrained cities, like San Francisco and Santa Monica, make real estate development feel (correctly or not) like a zero-sum game. Conversely, I can't help thinking that the San Joses and San Diegos of the world want to get in on the fun. For pretty much as long as California has existed, they have been considered less urbane, less fun, and less attractive than rivals like San Francisco and Los Angeles. They missed out on the dense urbanism that developed before World War II and then contentedly took advantage of suburbanization in the latter half of the 20th century. Now that urbanism is back -- because of the creative class, antipathy towards long commutes, revolts against suburban living, or what-have-you -- they're grown tired of their own dullness (one of the more outlandish examples: San Jose's proposal for a weird monumental tower ). And, importantly, they have relatively more land with which to try new things and seem unafraid of welcoming new residents. When a Navy town, a state capital, and the world's largest suburb are all leading the way on housing, you know it's probably time to retire political labels, at least as they relate to housing. Pro-business vs. anti-capitalism; social justice vs. freedom; incumbent tenants vs. aspiring residents; density vs. open space; my property rights vs. your property rights; local control vs. sharing responsibility -- it's all just a mess. For those of us who need labels, at least as shorthand, there is an alternative. A few years ago, when (super-progressive) Santa Monica was deep in a battle over a slow-growth ballot measure, opponents of the measure put it best: the question is not "liberal vs. conservative" but rather "open vs. closed." Cities can be open to change and open to new residents, in whatever configuration suits them best. Or they can be closed, choosing to serve their own and hope that other people will find refuge in other places. Neither position bears on a city's attitude towards peace and love--just on the number who can be loved. In San Francisco, 495 more was, apparently, 495 too many. Image credit: Jerome Strauss, via Flickr .

Agreement Paves Way for "Net-Zero" Mega-Development North of Los Angeles Tejon Ranch Co. and environmental group Climate Resolve have come to an agreement on the construction of a "net-zero" greenhouse gas community with 19,300 homes located along the southern rim of the Tehachapi Mountains bordering Kern County. The agreement will make it easier to construct the 6,700-acre Centennial project, which faced several economic obstacles and environmental concerns, including wildfire risk and vehicle-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Going forward, Climate Resolve has committed to dismissing its legal argument that Los Angeles County violated the California Environmental Quality Act when it voted for the project because they believe the new development will both minimize climate risk through fire-resilient planning and help tackle climate change by installing 30,000 electric vehicle chargers and powering buildings with solar energy. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) San Francisco Considers Competing, Complex Schemes for Upzoning Single-Unit Lots The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan that will authorize fourplexes to be built on over 110,000 sites that are currently intended for either single-family homes or duplexes. Going forward, 75,000 single-family and 36,000 duplex parcels on both corner and mid-block lots could be rezoned, and the Planning Commission is hoping that the city will permit six-unit complexes on corner lots. About 80% of residents at the meeting voiced their support for the plan, hoping that it would increase housing stock through a medium-density approach. The Planning Commission has recommended a few amendments to Supervisor Rafael Mandelman's legislation, though city planners are hoping to pass the legislation before SB 9 goes into effect in order to supplement the state policy with provisions that it lacks. Supervisor Gordon Mar announced an alternative ordinance that would require new units produced by upzoning to be both larger and affordable to middle-income households. Mar plans to expand on fourplex legislation by ensuring its affordability to households earning less than 100% of area median income and to have at least two bedrooms. However, the housing would not be set aside for the "missing middle," allowing anyone to move into the units. Meanwhile, Supervisor Ahsha Safai is proposing an ordinance that would require two out of every four units and one out of every three units created by upzoning to be affordable. Report Gives California Cities Low Marks for Affordable Housing Production The Southern California News Group's third annual housing report card found that California is struggling to build state-mandated affordable housing, and authorized projects are largely unaffordable to a majority of residents. The report card grades all California cities and counties on their housing achievements. The group found that only 16% of approved homes were affordable to the state's low-income households, and 73% of the 109,000 housing permits issued in 2020 that would help build homes are only affordable to high-income residents or would contribute to rent burdens for everyone else. In the grading system, most areas earned C's or D's, and twice as many areas earned F's than they did A's. Additionally, only 20 out of 538 jurisdictions with housing mandates were on track to meet their housing and affordability goals. Los Angeles Approves Housing Element for Half-Million New Homes The Los Angeles City Council approved revisions to the city’s Housing Element that would establish one of the most ambitious rezoning programs in the nation and address systemic inequity in planning and land use policies that has contributed to the city’s current housing crisis. The rezoning program plans to allow for over 250,000 new housing units within three years of the plan's adoption and would put the city on track to meet the state’s request for nearly 500,000 new units by 2029. The Housing Element also includes anti-displacement strategy studies, eviction defense programs, inclusionary zoning studies, a Citywide Housing Needs Assessment, and a focus on rezoning in higher opportunity areas near jobs and transit. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton on Effectiveness of New Housing Laws CP&DR’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s survey of building permits suggests that new housing laws are making a difference, albeit a small one. New housing has been stuck in the range of 100,000 to 110,000 per year for the last several years and actually declined in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first year in office. But the trend line for 2021 suggests that new housing could hit 120,000 this year, which would be the most since 2006. That’s a long way from the 200,000+ that experts say the state needs in order to catch up to the deficit created over the past 30 years, but it’s a start. Quick Hits & Updates  The Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium, LLC, a subsidiary of the non-profit Tenants and Owners Development Corporation (TODCO), filed a petition to block the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Plan Bay Area 2050. TODCO is arguing that the plan does not align with the CEQA. (See related CP&DR coverage .) YIMBY Law has filed its petition to challenge Los Angeles County's interpretation of the Housing Accountability Act that rejects the HAA's approval of housing developments constructed at the density that is permitted in the General Plan, even if zoning only authorizes lower densities. The county believes that a project located at 5353 Del Moreno Drive should adhere to zoning requirements. A state appeals court rejected a lawsuit intended to cease plans for California's high-speed rail project, finding that the project does not violate the state constitution in its piecemeal approach to constructing the project. While the project has made it through multiple legal challenges, it has been impacted by several issues regarding financing, permitting, engineering, and land acquisition. A federal judge is requiring that all seven Richmond City Council members appear in court to respond to allegations that they attempted to undermine a settlement agreement by complicating efforts to redevelop the 193-acre Point Molate site, even though they had already approved the project. The Guidiville Rancheria of California tribe and Upstream Point Molate LLC believe that Richmond is violating a legal ruling that requires the city to respond to environmental groups that have sued Richmond. The pandemic has impacted Californians' vision for the state's future workforce, as 42% of Californians noted their preference to work full-time outside the home, 24% wanting to work full-time remotely or from home, and 33% interested in a mix, according to a statewide survey from the Public Policy Institute of California. Analysis also found that preferences are region- and demographic-dependent, and those working remotely full- or part-time experience slightly higher job satisfaction. Los Angeles City Council is looking to prevent tech companies like Zillow from purchasing single-family homes in the city and flipping them for profit. The motion, co-authored by Nury Martinez and Nithya Raman, claims that "iBuying" is making housing more expensive and displacing city residents. California metros earned all five top spots on the list of the least affordable major housing markets. In order, Los Angeles-Long-Beach-Glendale, Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine and San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, San Diego-Carlsbad, and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura were the most expensive markets for purchasing a home. A new report from the NRDC examines the environmental impacts of Uber and Lyft in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. to understand the place that transportation network companies (TNCs) hold in sustainable futures. The report found that TNCs contribute to a car-reliant city with significant greenhouse gas emissions, but equitable road pricing, low-carbon transportation construction, car electrification, and fair labor could give TNCs a place in our future. In San Diego's next move to call off the lease-to-own deal for the Sempra Energy headquarters, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who advocated for the lease, has been subpoenaed to appear for a deposition next month. While Faulconer claimed that the deal would save the city $44 million by providing a 19-story offie space for hundreds of city employees, the building cost the city tens of millions of dollars to maintain a vacant tower troubled by asbestos and other issues. According to new data, Sacramento residents are enjoying their time out on the town, as vaccine availability and reduced COVID-19 cases has led to increased foot traffic in almost all area ZIP codes over the last 18 months. Safe Graph's interactive map tracks foot traffic's changes since the beginning of the pandemic, including one ZIP code that saw a 369.01% change. Four conservation groups have sued the US Forest Service over its gold drilling operation in California's Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains after the agency approved Canada-based Kore Mining Ltd.'s proposal to drill for gold and build roads on public land. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Watersheds Project, Friends of the Inyo, and the Sierra Club are arguing that the drilling could devastate local ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey released a report detailing the impacts of a hypothetical 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the Bay Area that suggests 1.45 million people will be removed from their homes, and 500,000 jobs will be lost. The Hayward Fault earthquake would impact the Bay Area for months or even years due to extremely minimal preparedness. Palo Alto City Council voted 5-2 to increase the cost of building commercial and research and development projects in order to pay for affordable housing construction. The city's "impact fees" will increase from $39.50 to $68.50 per square foot. The Hayward City Council issued an apology for its decision in the 1950s that redeveloped a 12-block area known as Russell City that flourished as a near-shoreline space for Black and Latino residents into an industrial park. City council members apologized to Russell City residents, their descendants, and those impacted by the city's forced displacement of residents and racist policies. Thousands of California State University students may lose access to affordable housing due to a system error that misunderstood the fine print of the new student housing program. While Cal State thought that it could only use $2 billion in funds that Gov. Gavin Newsom reserved for student housing, the school system can actually use the money alongside outside funds that would contribute to more affordable student housing construction. The Watsonville Pilots Association (WPA) filed a lawsuit against the city of Watsonville over its approval of a 21-condo project located across the street from the Watsonville Municipal Airport. The WPA is arguing that the city did not adhere to CEQA guidelines, the State Aeronautics Act, and a court order from a previous lawsuit in order to push the project through. A Bay Area school district is hoping to increase funding by finding a developer who will build over 1,100 apartment units on one of its campuses. The Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City is imagining a large multifamily housing project that would stand alongside retail, restaurants, parks, and trails on the 22-acre Serramonte Del Rey campus.

Los Angeles Adopts Housing Element to Accommodate Quarter-Million New Units The Los Angeles City Council approved revisions to the city’s Housing Element that would establish one of the most ambitious rezoning programs in the nation and address systemic inequity in planning and land use policies that has contributed to the city’s current housing crisis. The rezoning program plans to allow for over 250,000 new housing units within three years of the plan's adoption and would put the city on track to meet the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirement for nearly 500,000 new units by 2029. The Housing Element also includes anti-displacement strategy studies, eviction defense programs, inclusionary zoning studies, a Citywide Housing Needs Assessment, and a focus on rezoning in higher opportunity areas near jobs and transit.  Plan to Upzone Single-Unit Lots in San Francisco Moves Forward The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan, authored by Sup. Gordon Mar, that will authorize fourplexes to be built on over 110,000 sites that are currently intended for either single-family homes or duplexes. Going forward, 75,000 single-family and 36,000 duplex parcels on both corner and mid-block lots could be rezoned, and the Planning Commission is hoping that the city will permit six-unit complexes on corner lots. About 80% of residents at the meeting voiced their support for the plan, hoping that it would increase housing stock through a medium-density approach. The Planning Commission has recommended a few amendments to Supervisor Rafael Mandelman's legislation, though city planners are hoping to pass the legislation before SB 9 goes into effect in order to supplement the state policy with provisions that it lacks. 11-Mile Trolley Extension Serving Northern San Diego Opens San Diego launched its 11-mile trolley line that connects Old Town to La Jolla, for the first time connecting La Jolla, UC San Diego, Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach, and Clairemont via light rail. The $2.2 billion project is the most expensive infrastructure endeavor in the region's history. City officials are celebrating its potential to connect jobs, homes, and access to education and healthcare, specifically through its stops near UC San Diego; the region's largest employment center, University City and the Golden Triangle; and other popular destinations. Local leaders agreed to make all rides free for the new system's first day in an effort to convince San Diegans to use the new system and witness its quick commute times. (See related CP&DR commentary .) Developer Sues Santa Clara over Blocked Housing Project Developer Republic Metropolitan filed a claim against the City of Santa Clara, claiming that the city violated state housing laws after it deferred plans for a mixed-use project near El Camino Real. The developer was supposed to build housing, 12,000 square-feet of retail, and 32,670 of recreational space on the parcel owned by the city and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Of the 240-units proposed on the 2.6-acre site located between the CalTrain Station and Santa Clara University, 170 would have been for students and workers, and 70 would have been affordable. The developer argues that its $3.5 million and lengthy time investment in the project was wrongly and unjustifiably terminated in October 2020 when Republic Metropolitan met with the city council in closed session. HCD Names Head of Housing Accountability Unit The California Department of Housing and Community Development has named David Zisser as the new leader of its new Housing Accountability Unit. The new unit will play a critical role in ensuring that local leaders fulfill their legal responsibility to plan, zone for, and permit their share of the state’s housing needs. HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez hopes that Zisser, formerly associate director of advocacy group Housing California, will promote housing policy accountability. Zisser will, going forward, lead a team dedicated to generating prohousing incentives and planning grants supporting local jurisdictions to comply with state housing laws, education and technical assistance to help jurisdictions understand state law, and accountability actions for non-compliance as needed. (See related CP&DR coverage .) CP&DR Coverage: Rejection of Tower in San Francisco Sets off Renewed Housing Debates A residential tower of nearly 500 units at 469 Stevenson in San Francisco's South of Mission district had received approval from the city’s Planning Commission. But a neighborhood group called the Yerba Buena Consortium filed an appeal based on the California Environmental Quality Act, leading supervisors to vote the project down, 8-3. The decision has set off renewed debates over San Francisco’s willingness to address its housing crisis and to uphold the city’s famously progressive values. This approach to housing production, to the extent that it represents a widespread view among San Francisco Supervisors, puts the city out of step with other expensive, housing-constrained cities such as Berkeley, San Jose, and San Diego.It has also caught the attention of the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s accountability unit, which is launching an investigation with support of the state Attorney General’s Office. Quick Hits & Updates The Transformative Climate Communities Program's (TCC) Draft Round 4 Program Guidelines and updated TCC Mapping Tool is available for public comment until December 15. The Round 4 Program Guidelines will expand eligibility to under-resourced unincorporated communities, California Indigenous tribes, and the top 25% of disadvantaged communities according to CalEnviroScreen. The Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium, LLC, a subsidiary of the non-profit Tenants and Owners Development Corporation (TODCO), filed a petition to block the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Plan Bay Area 2050. TODCO is arguing that the plan does not align with the CEQA. While the Oakland A's have been flirting with a plan to develop the team's waterfront ballpark project in Jack London Square for years, the team has officially placed an offer to purchase a piece of land in Las Vegas to potentially host the ballpark site. Though negotiations are still underway, news broke the same day that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff confirmed that the city would receive federal funds for infrastructure improvements at Jack London Square. Bakersfield is participating a pilot program that will select 100 vulnerable, young residents to participate in a year-long study that examines how free access to public transit and electric scooters and bikes impacts their lives. The program reflects a nationwide interest in the concept of universal basic mobility, which would guarantee a minimum level of transportation accessibility. The Wildlands Conservancy closed escrow on a 26,600-acre ranch in Northern California and will transform the space with a 10-bedroom lodge into an open space with mountains and valleys for the public. The family of investment giant Dean Witter sold the plot on the Eel River for $25 million to the conservation group that plans to welcome hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, and camping on the site. Burbank City Council is proposing an ordinance that would allow city council to have control over final ministerial design review and approval authority for projects eligible under SB 35. The 2017 housing bill simplifies the process for housing construction, including the review process, if cities do not meet certain RHNA requirements. The Inland Empire city of Chino, which is home to several large industrial projects, enacted a 45-day moratorium on future warehouses and logistics centers located north of Schaefer Avenue. In the meantime, officials will study the impact of truck traffic and air pollution on Chino residents and consider if northern Chino should welcome other purposes. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Diego County released a plan to significantly reduce carbon emissions across the region, the first step of which is its "Regional Decarbonization Framework," which proposes net zero emissions by 2035. The framework is intended to meaningfully change the way San Diego residents power transportation, buildings, and land use. The Institute for Local Government presented  its Platinum 2021 Beacon Vanguard Award to city of Fremont and a Silver to the city of Thousand Oaks for their cumulative success in energy savings, natural gas savings, agency greenhouse gas reductions, community GHG reductions, and sustainability practices. Several other cities, including Piedmont, San Rafael, and Alameda, also received Beacon Spotlight Awards for their triumphs within specific categories. Three people have been charged with counts of fraud and embezzlement for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Los Angeles funds intended to help the city's unhoused population. According to Attorney General Rob Bonta, the three people, two of whom worked for nonprofit People assisting the Homeless, applied for the nonprofit to use fraudulent financial assistance to help people who were not eligible for assistance because they have homes. The Sacramento region has the least affordable new home market in the country, according to a report released Thursday by real estate technology firm Knock. The report found that 80% of households cannot purchase a newly constructed home, which would cost residents $128,447 to afford the down payment, and the median income is $76,706. Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a plan to look into prioritizing 100% affordable housing projects in neighborhoods with abundant public transit, green space, education, grocery store, and health access. The vote comes after a report presented in front of the council found that 14% of affordable units approved in the last decade are located in high-resource areas, while the remaining 86% are in low-resource and low-income communities. Implementation of a $1.3 billion plan to introduce rail service from Sacramento to the Central Valley and San Jose is already three years behind schedule and over budget. Officials are now discussing plans to let go of some of the 16 train stations that would have been part of a larger regional expansion of rail service until they can get additional funding. Community group Downtown Crenshaw is fighting a plan to redevelop the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles after Harridge Development Group, known for its high-end housing projects, bought the property. While Harridge purchased the plaza, which has long been a part of the predominantly Black community of South Los Angeles, for $111 million, Downtown Crenshaw's $115 million offer to grow co-ops, green space, and small businesses on the property was rejected, signaling that systemic racism will propel gentrification in the area.

If you read CP&DR on a regular basis, you know that we’ve been trying to cover individual situations where developers are using the state’s new housing production laws to push through projects that might previously been denied by local officials. Like the clever L.A. developer who got an affordable housing project in Marin County approved using SB 35 and AB 1763. Or the developer that forced Los Altos to fold its opposition to a five-story downtown building. Or the so-far-successful legal challenge to Huntington Beach’s denial of a 48-unit condo building just off Beach Boulevard. So the anecdotal evidence is coming in. But does that mean more housing is being built – in particular, more multifamily housing, which is the main target of the housing production laws? CP&DR ’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s survey of building permits suggests that it is making a difference, albeit a small one. New housing has been stuck in the range of 100,000 to 110,000 per year for the last several years and actually declined in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first year in office. But the trend line for 2021 suggests that new housing could hit 120,000 this year, which would be the most since 2006. That’s a long way from the 200,000+ that experts say the state needs in order to catch up to the deficit created over the past 30 years, but it’s a start. Yes, single-family permits are up about 10%. But units in apartment projects (5+ units according to the Census) are up 20%. And new apartment projects are up 35%. It’s impossible to determine from these statistics whether the new laws are playing a role, but the jump in apartment buildings suggests that something is going on. In both 2020 and 2021, single-family units account for about 57% of all new housing. That’s a long-term trend, as both single-family stock and home ownership rates have been in the high 50s for a long time. At the same time, construction of “plexes” – duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes – has been bumping along at about 3% of total production. (We’ll see if that changes with the passage of SB 9 .) But the real action is with the apartment projects – the housing type that developers are advancing most frequently using SB 35 and other new state laws. There a lot of ways one could slice the numbers, but the bottom line is this: Something changed in the Fall of 2020. The number of multifamily projects and multifamily units being permitted went up significantly – and has stayed up.

CP&DR Vol. 36 No. 11 November 2021

The approval of a 495-unit, 27-story high-rise apartment building—with roughly 25% deed-restricted affordable units--by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco was assumed to be a sure thing in the famously expensive, housing constrained city. Except San Francisco has become equally famous for rejecting projects, including, recently, everything from a branch of a locally beloved burrito restaurant to a 13-story, 316-unit building in the Tenderloin. The apartment building, at 469 Stevenson, met the same fate—for now—on a 8-3 vote in late October. Developer Build, Inc. had proposed 422 market-rate and 73 deed-restricted affordable units (plus several dozen off-site affordable units) on a prime site of roughly 25,000 square feet is located one block from Market Street, the city’s main transit artery, and is surrounded by high-rises and next door to a steam plant. Its current use: an overflow parking lot for a Nordstrom department store. “Five-hundred units is…huge, especially considering the existing conditions of the parking lot. It’s much, much needed,” said Nicholas Foster, senior planner at the San Francisco Planning Department. The project would have represented a full 10% of the city’s housing annual production goals.

Last weekend, San Diego’s Blue Line Extension opened, connecting Downtown San Diego to UC San Diego, 12 miles to the north, for the first time. Despite the amount of rail transit construction in both the Bay Area and L.A., perhaps no rail project in California holds as much potential to reshape a major city. But whether the Blue Line actually will reshape San Diego remains to be seen.

San Diego Eliminates Many Commercial Parking Requirements In an effort to make San Diego less car-centric and more climate-friendly, the city council voted unanimously to eliminate parking requirements for businesses in neighborhoods located near ample transit or in small plazas near dense residential areas. Under the policy, new businesses will not have to account for parking for customers or staff, and existing businesses may use their parking spaces for other purposes, such as outdoor dining or additional retail space. The move finds support from both businesses and environmentalists, who hope that less reliance on cars will help San Diego meet its climate action plan goals. Opponents are concerned that San Diego's transit system is too inadequate, which will just burden people who are forced to rely on cars as well as seniors and disabled people who can't easily take transit or walk places. Federal Infrastructure Act to Bring Billions to California; Transit Funding in Limbo Among the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act bill package passed by Congressed and signed by President Biden, California stands to receive roughly $45 billion in funding over five years, including the following: $25.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $4.2 billion for bridge replacement and repairs; $9.45 billion to improve public transportation; $384 million to support the expansion of an EV charging network; a minimum of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state; $84 million to protect against wildfires; $3.5 billion to improve water infrastructure across the state and ensure clean, safe drinking water for California communities; and $1.5 billion for infrastructure development for airports over five years. The federal government declared that California is ineligible for $12 billion in public transit funding due to changes in state law changes that reduced pensions for employees. Federal law requires state and local agencies to protect employee interests to be eligible for federal public transit grants. The Biden administration disagrees with the changes because they were implemented by law and not determined by public employee unions. This means that the state would be ineligible for the infrastructure bill's $9.5 billion intended for public transit agencies. Critics note that, while California will receive the most funding overall, its per capital share of $1200 is relatively small compared to other states. Hoped-For Bay Area Parkland Purchased by Private Buyer Dashing hopes of conservationists, Danville entrepreneur Bill Brown recently purchased a 50,500-acre property in the East Bay, making it the largest private land listing in California. The property had been eyed to become a future state park. A cattle ranching family from Southern California listed the property, N3 Ranch, that they had owned for 85 years but hadn't used frequently. The property, which was listed for $68 million, stretches across four counties, Santa Clara, Alameda, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus, and features canyons, trout streams, meadows, and oak woodlands. N3 Ranch also includes the 4,089-foot Eylar Mountain and part of Mission Peak and is home to mountain lions, bobcats, foxes and a herd of elk. Brown, founder of Walnut Creek wholesaler Central Garden and Pet Co, identified his commitment to "preserving ranch lands in California." Historic Segregation Persists in Bay Area Segregation in the Bay Area remains high, particularly in neighborhoods populated by people of color as a result of discriminatory policy and in mid-sized to smaller suburbs with a predominantly white population, according to a report released by UC Berkeley's Othering and Belonging Institute. Researchers found that six of the ten most segregated Black neighborhoods and five of the ten most segregated Latinx neighborhoods are in Oakland, while Marin County, the most segregated county in the Bay Area, includes eight of the ten most segregated white neighborhoods. Segregation in large, diverse cities is more neighborhood-specific, while largely white suburbs are more segregated in the context of the entire Bay Area. Neighborhoods with minimal historical and existing exclusionary practices are the most integrated. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton on San Diego's Blue Line Extension Last weekend, San Diego’s Blue Line Extension opened , connecting Downtown San Diego to UC San Diego, 12 miles to the north, for the first time. Despite the amount of rail transit construction in both the Bay Area and L.A., perhaps no rail project in California holds as much potential to reshape a major city. But whether the Blue Line actually will reshape San Diego remains to be seen. The uncertainty arises from a variety of factors, including the uncertain role that downtown San Diego will play in the region’s economy in the future; the fact that the stations themselves are build hard alongside Interstate 5, diminishing the potential for transit-oriented development; and sheer NIMBYism along the line, especially in Clairemont, a traditionally suburban neighborhood that is now in the path of growth. Quick Hits & Updates The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) released its 2020-2021 Annual Report that details its approach to partnering and serving California communities. The report analyzes the SGC's accomplishments over the past year, including funding for Indigenous tribes for clean energy projects, the Transformative Climate Communities framework, and the BOOST Pilot Program. Oakland City Council  approved an exclusive deal to negotiate with the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, who wants to redevelop the Coliseum site into a cultural hub with affordable housing, Black-owned sports teams, a Black business district, and some form of an academic center. The group will have 18 months to find an agreement to buy or lease the city's share of the 100-acre site. Clovis City Council rejected a proposal for a 40-unit development near Old Town Clovis due to residents' concerns regarding traffic congestion, excess parking, and the "monolithic" height proposed for the project. Council members denied amendments to the city's general plan and rezoning that would have allowed for the three-story multifamily apartment complex to be built on land zoned for medium density residential single-family homes. Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin is calling for the city's sidewalk repair program to be improved, urging that city workers are finding difficulty making repairs required due to major legal settlements. Galperin asked the Department of Public Works to change its approach to fixing city sidewalks by working on smaller segments of broken sidewalk at a time in order to reduce costs and time spent working. The Transformative Climate Communities Program's (TCC) Draft Round 4 Program Guidelines and updated TCC Mapping Tool is available for public comment until December 15. The Round 4 Program Guidelines will expand eligibility to under-resourced unincorporated communities, California Indigenous tribes, and the top 25% of disadvantaged communities according to CalEnviroScreen. In order to ease its housing crisis, Truckee Town Council voted unanimously to extend its moratorium on new short-term rentals, which will impact housing availability during the Tahoe winter ski season. During the pandemic, many long-time residents and employees were forced to leave their homes due to an increase in wealthy residents in the area. (See related CP&DR coverage .) A Santa Clara County judge denied a petition to preserve San Jose's decades-old CityView Plaza, which will allow for the demolition of an old bank and the construction of a massive office campus that would bring 14,000 jobs. In its petition, the Preservation Action Council of San Jose argued that San Jose City Council's environmental review was flawed and that the new development would not be able to incorporate the "brutalist" architectural style of the original 1973 Bank of California building. Los Angeles is taking an aggressive approach to building affordable housing: by committing to constructing 250,000 housing units over the next eight years. In its "Plan to House LA," the city includes options for how to build the nearly 500,000 units it must meet according to the state Housing Element but believes that only about half of that are likely to be built. Los Angeles, according to LA City Planning Assistant Betty Barberena, is both the most rent-burdened and overcrowded major city, has the fewest units per adult of any domestic region, and features housing costs that surpass income growth. LA Metro is hoping to build new rail and bus rapid transit lines throughout the county using revenue collected through a sales tax approved by voters in 2008 and 2016. Their effort is intended to confront the affordable housing crisis by constructing 10,000 units over the next ten years. The San Diego Association of Governments is proposing to make public transportation free while charging a per-mile fee to drivers as soon as 2030. The $160 billion idea includes sectioning off highway lanes for buses and carpools and expanding a high-speed transit system. Brightline West will add an extension along the Cajon Pass to Rancho Cucamonga to its proposal for a high-speed train route from Victorville to Las Vegas. The new station connects with an existing service between San Bernardino and Los Angeles and would extend along 48 miles within the 15 Freeway. Opponents of a high-speed rail project across California are urging a state appeals court to squash the project by denying billions in bond funds for construction, which has already begun in Fresno County and the central Joaquin Valley. The court will decide if a piece of 2016 legislation contradicts Proposition 1A, which approved a $9.9 billion bond for the project. Los Angeles City Council voted 12-2 to approve a ban on sitting, sleeping, and lying at 54 locations in 3 districts. While officials who voted yes asked for expanded outreach resources near these locations, other council members and advocates for the city's unhoused population are concerned that there are not yet enough resources to help people before ban is introduced.

Bay Area Housing Appeals Fail The Association of Bay Area Governments Administration Committee finalized its denial of 27 out of 28 appeals that through which cities, mostly affluent suburbs, sought to reduce their respective housing allocations based on ABAG's Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Almost all of the appeals claimed that ABAG miscalculated the appropriate number of units based on its methodology and jurisdictions' respective existing conditions. The committee rejected appeals from cities including Tiburon, Sausalito, Palo Alto, and Lafayette, as well as several county-based appeals. The one appeal that was upheld came from unincorporated Contra Costa County but occurred due to a minor error by ABAG staff. In this case, the county will be able to build 35 fewer units, but the city of Hercules will have to plan for 35 more. The committee's decision will be finalized by the Executive Board in December. The denials mirror those of the Southern California Association of Governments from several months ago. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Terner Center Evaluates Promise of Commercial-to-Housing Conversions UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation released two reports that analyze the potential of redeveloping underused commercial properties for residential purposes. In "Strip Malls to Homes," the researchers found that commercial conversions could propel housing growth, but increases in growth are heavily location-dependent, and commercial land will likely not become a significant opportunity for housing production over the next five years. While commercial land conversions encourage progress in the fight against the housing crisis, they are too rare and involve too much demolition to efficiently provide housing. In "Adaptive Reuse Challenges and Opportunities in California," researchers focused on the most impactful ways to involve adaptive reuse and concluded that adapting large-scale buildings like multi-story offices and department stores could bring more growth than new construction. However, adapting existing buildings is typically more costly than new construction, making it difficult to provide a significant supply of housing. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Sacramento Faces Lawsuit over Homelessness Plan A lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court by the Coalition for Compassion is threatening Sacramento's $100 million homeless shelter and tiny home plan to address the homelessness crisis. City resident Michael Malinowski joined the coalition in arguing that the new plan glossed over its environmental review and will also put unhoused communities at more risk by housing them under the W-X freeway, exposing them to heightened air pollution. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District recommends that the city install enhanced indoor air filtration and a greenery barrier due to the threat of fine particulate matter. The city's Comprehensive Siting Plan to Address Homelessness includes 20 sites for shelters, tiny homes, and Safe Ground sanctioned encampments that could serve 2,209 people at a time. San Diego Parks Plan Emphasizes Equity San Diego City Council will make significant changes to the city's Parks Master Plan in order to center equity when improving park quality and investing in park amenities. Because newer and wealthier neighborhoods have typically received the lion's share of park funding, council members will require that a portion of development fees be dedicated to lower-income communities that historically have had few or no parks. The Parks Master Plan also encouragers more affordable housing development, and it will prioritize park quality over acreage expansion in order to give children more spaces to play, make elderly populations feel safer, and enhance green spaces for the entire community. CP&DR Coverage: Sam Assefa Takes Reins at OPR Gov. Gavin Newsom recently appointed former Seattle Planning Director Sam Assefa to lead the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, the in-house think tank that helps cities interpret and implement state laws and guidelines for urban development. Assefa arrives in California amid the passage of a raft of new housing laws and availability of state funding (primarily administered through the Strategic Growth Council), Assefa and his office face abundant opportunities to help California’s cities plan, collectively, for the several million new housing units that the state needs. Assefa spoke with CP&DR’s Josh Stephens about his return to California and his approach to the state’s challenges. Quick Hits & Updates  BART and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority announced their proposal to construct a second Transbay rail tunnel by 2040 and make several rail system upgrades to incentivize public transit use. The program, titled Link21, would run a second rail tunnel between Oakland and San Francisco and collaborate with other regional rail systems to serve Northern California residents. Los Altos City Council has agreed to incentivize the owners of 40 Main Street to look into alternatives to a five-story, mixed-use project, even though the developers still plan to build their approved project. Ted and Jerry Sorensen sued to build their nearly 30,000 square-foot office and housing project, which qualified under SB 35 to expedite housing construction. A federal judge has scrapped a Trump-era water pollution rule that minimizes the regulation of water-polluting projects, which contradicts a Supreme Court precedent and decades of the EPA's reading of the Clean Water Act. Several Native American tribes and conservation groups sued the rule with 18 states and the District of Columbia in a series of lawsuits starting in July 2020 due to the rule's potential to cause environmental damage. The state's draft Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy is available for public comment until November 24, 2021. The draft strategy, which considers nature-based solutions to confront climate change, will inform the 2021 State Adaptation Strategy and the 2022 Scoping Plan. The California Natural Resources Agency released its Draft Guidelines for the Urban Greening Grant Program for public commentary, which would review proposals for urban greening and forestry to combat greenhouse gas emissions particularly in high-risk communities. The commentary period will end on December 10, 2021 and will include two public hearings on November 19 and November 22. The state  released its 2021 California Climate Adaptation Strategy draft that details how the state plans to tackle the climate crisis, including information regarding expedited regional climate adaptation action, collaboration between sectors, and how the state will learn from previous successes and lessons learned in 2009's climate adaptation strategy. A new poll from Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Bay Area News Group demonstrates that 71% of Bay Area residents find quality of life to be worse than it was five years ago, and 56% are contemplating moving in the next five years. Across all of the Bay Area's five counties, respondents largely cited high housing cots and costs of living in addition to homelessness and climate disasters. The San Diego Housing Commission released a pilot program that will construct five accessory dwelling units in the yard space of five single-family homes owned and rented by the commission's nonprofit affiliate as affordable housing. The program will produce a report designed to help San Diego homeowners who are thinking about building ADUs on their properties. In an effort to incentivize affordable housing construction in Fremont, the city council has launched a program that will make it less expensive for developers who build affordable units and drive up costs for those who do not. Developers who do not build affordable housing will see costs increase from $26 per square foot for houses and $27 for townhouses to $44 for both. Santa Monica councilmembers approved , 5-2, the city's 6th Cycle Housing Element Plan that commits to constructing 8,895 new housing units, 6,186 of which would be affordable, by 2029. Their 180-page plan aligns with numbers required by the RHNA and must be approved by the HCD. While the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to develop the Oakland A's waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, obstacles for completing the project remain. Their 4-1 approval is non-binding, the final environmental report is yet to be completed, and the board and the team still have to agree on a public financing plan and development agreement. Inland Empire held the number two spot on the list of the most popular metros for in-migration, which highlighted the Sun Belt as a hot spot for U.S. residents looking to relocate. Its net population gain of 40,766 people per year is largely due to lower costs of living and transportation and warehouse jobs. United States HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge recently prais ed Oakland's Fruitvale Transit Village as a national model for transit-oriented housing development and confronting California's housing crisis. Fudge toured the BART station, local women-owned restaurants, and nearby affordable housing projects and celebrated the city's proposal to transform hotels and motels into housing. Santa Ana is the first Orange County city to put rent control into law after decades of housing advocacy matched by objections from landlords and developers. Landlords will not be allowed to increase rent by more than 3% each year, and tenants will now be more protected against eviction threats.

Sam Assefa started his planning career in San Francisco in the early 1990s—a postindustrial port city with housing pressures, politically active residents, and the promise of becoming one of the world’s technology hubs (and most expensive cities) and most recently completed a five-year tenure as the planning director of an uncannily similar city: Seattle. In between, he worked in Chicago and Boulder, Colorado. Amid Seattle's dramatic population growth and economic boom of the late 2010s, Assefa led efforts to increase housing supply and empower historically disadvantaged communities, culminating in sweeping zoning changes citywide.

Environmental Analysis Must Cover Everything

Attorney General Launches "Strike Force" to Enforce Housing Laws To confront California's affordable housing crisis, Attorney General Rob Bonta will form a 12-member "strike force" that would support tenant protections and challenge local governments that do not adequately adhere to state housing laws. Members of the strike force will include attorneys who are already employed by the state Department of Justice; hold experience in land use, environmental law, and civil rights; and will seek public commentary. Bonta also indicated that the strike force clarifies his power to require local authorities to follow state housing law, including the ability to file lawsuits. The announcement is expectedly receiving varying feedback, from Gov. Gavin Newsom's celebration of the move to League of California Cities CEO Carolyn Coleman who believes that Bonta is unreasonably faulting cities for the housing shortage. Proposed San Diego Regional Plan Inadequate for Curbing Emissions, Report Claims San Diego's regionwide plan to improve public transit will not significantly reduce car travel and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released by the Climate Action Campaign. The San Diego Association of Governments' transportation goals call for 50% of all commuters to walk, bike, or ride public transit by 2035, but only an estimated 27% would do so. This estimate may be optimistic because voters must approve new taxes to fund SANDAG's transit plan. Transportation is San Diego's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but the report suggests that SANDAG would have to change much more besides transit to meet its climate goals. SANDAG will vote on the transportation plan in December, which would invest tens of billions of dollars in new bus and rail lines, safer conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians, and freeway toll lanes. Sacramento Arena Redevelopment to Include 3,000 Housing Units The redevelopment of Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena site into a hospital will also include over 3,000 housing units, retail space, bike trails, and an amphitheater. California Northstate University is already planning to construct a 14-story teaching hospital, trauma center, and medical school, which should employ 3,000 people, but is also proposing to add high-density apartments, town homes, and single-family homes to the development, named "Innovation Park." About 600 units would be designated for students and faculty, and it's unclear if the rest of the units on the 183-acre North Natomas property will be affordable. CNU is also planning for an "urban plaza" with space for group fitness classes and other events, a 4.5-acre park, and an outdoor, 2,000-seat amphitheater. Currently, no city funding has been approved for the project. Language Released for Anti-SB 9 Ballot Measure Californians for Community Plan, the group organizing to introduce a ballot measure against SB 9, released its entire proposed ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to push for local zoning control. The group argues that, across California, land use decisions should be locality-specific because their environmental impacts, required infrastructure, and community needs vary by region. They also believe that it will heighten gentrification and reduce affordable housing construction opportunities. The ballot calls for requiring that local general plans, ordinances, and voter initiatives always prevail over conflicting state general plans, with few exceptions related to coastal land use initiatives, large energy facilities, and water infrastructure. (See related CP&DR coverage .) City of Fresno Faces Lawsuit from Disgruntled Developer Downtown Fresno developer Cliff Tutelian is suing Councilmember Miguel Arias and the city of Fresno for breach of contract, fraud, and more after his mixed-use development project was not fully realized. Tutelian, who owns The Grand Tower and Kepler Neighborhood School, entered a deal with former Mayor Lee Brand to build 160 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail space, largely a CVS store and neighborhood market. He filed the lawsuit after the risk management department rejected his damages claim and argues that Arias asked for a campaign contribution to approve construction. Tutelian blames Arias for the project's failure and is seeking $12.45 million in damages plus legal costs, while Arias has denied all Tutelian's claims, and Fresno no longer enters exclusive negotiating deals. Quick Hits & Updates On October 19, the city of Chino, which is home to several large industrial projects, enacted a 45-day moratorium on future warehouses and logistics centers located north of Schaefer Avenue. In the meantime, officials will study the impact of truck traffic and air pollution on Chino residents and consider if northern Chino should welcome other purposes. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Labor and environmental groups filed a ballot initiative in San Diego County that would raise taxes to fund a $160 billion public transit expansion, including building a rail connection to the downtown airport and a new line between South County and Kearny Mesa. If passed, the plan would increase the regional sales tax by half a cent. Community group Downtown Crenshaw is fighting a plan to redevelop the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, a historically Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, after Harridge Development Group, known for its high-end housing projects, bought the property. While Harridge purchased the plaza, which has long been a part of the predominantly Black community of South Los Angeles, for $111 million, Downtown Crenshaw's $115 million offer to grow co-ops, green space, and small businesses on the property was rejected, signaling that systemic racism will propel gentrification in the area. Oakland City Council will begin negotiations with the Black Cultural Zone Collaborative and its partners, Community Arts Stabilization Trust and Curtis Development, over a long-term lease of the city-owned Liberation Park in order to increase affordable housing availability and increase commercial and creative space. The 1.2-acre property is currently used as a community hub for shopping, free-meal distribution, outdoor movies, COVID-19 services, and more. Climate change is 66% to 88% responsible for increased wildfire risk in the western United States, according to a team of California researchers. The researchers found that the severity of global warming's impact on atmospheric conditions has occurred much faster than expected, and their estimate is likely conservative. Construction on a $1.3 billion plan to introduce rail service from Sacramento to the Central Valley and San Jose is already three years behind schedule and over budget. Officials are now discussing plans to let go of some of the 16 train stations that would have been part of a larger regional expansion of rail service until they can get additional funding. The Cupertino City Council is attempting to complicate the process of allowing property owners to build additional units on their single-family lots under SB 9 by enacting strict design standards. The city council opposed the law before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law and plans to take advantage of a section of the law permits cities to set their own design and zoning standards. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The University of California Board of Regents voted 17-1 to approve a $312 million project that would add 1,100 student beds at Berkeley's People's Park to house the university's growing population. One park preservation group is already planning to file a lawsuit, stating that, though the plan will still keep 1.7 acres of park space, that is not enough to protect its legacy of political activism. San Jose City Council approved a resolution to issue a formal apology to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the government's role in the destruction of the city's Chinatown, once a hub of life for Chinese immigrants, in 1887 when arsonists burned it down. San Jose is the largest US city to formally apologize to the Chinese community and acknowledged their advancement of "systemic racism, xenophobia, and discrimination." A Fresno County Superior Court decision that disallows the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District from excusing oil refineries from air monitoring requirements. The air district formed its own regulations distinct from the California Legislature in 2019 that allows the four refineries in Kern County to avoid air monitoring requirements, but refineries will now have to monitor their impact in predominantly low-income communities and communities of color. San Bernardino is moving forward with the redevelopment of its boarded-up and closed Carousel Mall after entering an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with the developer, Renaissance Downtowns USA and ICO Real Estate Group. The ENA includes the developer's proposed plan, proposed zoning changes or changes to the city's General Plan, a list of potential users, a proposed time schedule with cost estimates, and a proposed financing plan for the 43-acre site. (See related CP&DR coverage .)