Needless to say, many land use bills introduced in Sacramento do not lend themselves to elevator pitches. They are complex, bureaucratic, and filled with clause after clause of minutiae. The 2022 session features plenty such bills (e.g. Assembly Bill 2234, which concerns "post-entitlement phase permits"). But many other bills this year are unusually likely to capture the average Californian's imagination--especially if that Californian is looking for a place to live.

The long-running Fanita Ranch battle in Santee has reached a new crescendo, as a judge in San Diego has struck down the project’s environmental impact report – the latest in a series of decisions that focuses on wildfire evaluation routes as part of environmental analysis. The battle over Fanita Ranch goes back more than 40 years, when a 1980s developer proposed 14,000 houses on the ranch. In 1999 , Santee voters rejected a 3,000-home project . In 2012 , an appellate court shot down the EIR for a 1,380-home development proposal. In 2020, the City approved a new proposal for 3,000 homes, designed by DPZ , by a 4-1 vote. Environmentalists again sued, challenging the EIR on a number of grounds. In her tentative ruling , San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal upheld the EIR on many grounds but struck down the EIR largely over the wildfire evaluation route analysis. Bacal is the same judge who found fault last year with the City of San Diego’s EIR on the proposed height increases in the Midway district.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed  the Berkeley enrollment problem created by a judge’s ruling under the California Environmental Quality Act: Pass a law giving the University of California 18 months to comply with the judge’s order.

State Housing Plan Envisions 2.5 Million New Homes by 2030 State housing officials have released a new plan that calls on cities to build a combined 2.5 million homes by 2030, which amounts to more than double the goal from the previous target set four years ago. Additionally, at least one million must be affordable, according to the RHNA. Of the 2.5 million, six southern California counties must produce over half. Officials cited years of under-supply and rising house and rental costs that have exacerbated the housing crisis and reduced ability to afford childcare, transportation, food, and healthcare. They have also said that cities now have access to better tools to meet requirements and will face consequences if they don't, including less time to rezone land for the future and legal and financial penalties. Supreme Court Rejects UC Berkeley's Appeal in CEQA Case UC Berkeley will not be allowed to postpone an order to cap its enrollment for the fall and must reduce its incoming class size by 3,050 students after the state Supreme Court rejected UC's appeal of a lower court ruling. As a result, the university will send 5,000 fewer admission letters this month. To alleviate the burden of the court order, the UC may increase online opportunities and ask incoming first-year students to delay enrollment. Celebrating the court decision is organization Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods, which filed the lawsuit with the argument that UC propelled a housing shortage in Berkeley. The university continues to work with state officials to bypass the cap, a move supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín, who believe the decision exploits CEQA. (See related CP&DR analysis .) San Jose Faces Lawsuit over Open Space Three San Jose families who purchased a total of 126.5 acres of open land in North Coyote Valley over 50 years ago are suing the city, which made plans to protect the space from development into an industrial park. The landowners will argue that the city's proposal is "unfair," as they planned to sell and capitalize off of their properties. Edward Burg, the attorney representing the families, noted that the issue isn't about preservation but rather fairness and that the city should compensate the landowners with a fair market value, considering San Jose and environmental group partners purchased 937 acres across the street for $96 million in November 2019. SPUR Analyzes Inequities of Prop 13 SPUR released a report that analyzes Proposition 13's inequitable impacts on Oakland residents, finding that white homeowners were more likely than homeowners of color to save more on property taxes. Notably, white neighborhoods saw an average of $10,000 in savings per home compared to $3,000 for homes in Latinx neighborhoods. Prop. 13 then causes the city to lose out on $400 million in annual tax revenue, which harms residents who could benefit from government investment in goods and services. Researchers ultimately found that Prop. 13 isn't meaningfully beneficial for most Oakland homeowners, and the law widens the Bay Area's racial wealth gap. CP&DR Coverage: Oakland & Sacramento Contemplate Obsolete Arenas Sacramento and Oakland have been struggling for years over what to do with outdated professional sports arenas. In Sacramento, it’s the Sleep Train Arena, which was a mid-’80s greenfield development on the north side of the city. The NBA’s Kings abandoned it for a downtown arena in 2016. In Oakland, it’s the entire 120-acre Coliseum complex, including Oracle Arena, which the Warriors left in 2020, and the Oakland Coliseum. Comparing the two cities, Sacramento is out ahead, and is about to turn the land around Sleep Train Arena into a mixed-use development with a medical school campus. Oakland is still trying to come up with a plan that re-uses the Oakland Coliseum. Quick Hits & Updates California Northstate University, the Elk Grove-based medical school with a proposal to build a $1 billion hospital and medical university at Sacramento's old Sleep Train Arena Site, has been placed on probation The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) . This will not alter the school's operations or its proposal for North Natomas. Reasons for the probation were not disclosed. The Sacramento City Council in February approved a zoning plan for the project, which would include 11 to 14 stories and 200 to 500 patient beds. (See related CP&DR coverage .) The largest dam demolition project in U.S. history may move forward after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found in its draft environmental impact report that knocking down four dams along the Klamath River would prompt meaningful benefits of migratory salmon. Public hearings on the draft now await for the $500 million habit restoration project. Oakland and Alameda County property owners are legally challenging a pandemic-induced, 2-year-old eviction moratorium, arguing that the local governments are violating their property rights. They also believe that tenants are taking advantage of the policy. The Sacramento Kings have put most of the former Sleep Train Arena property on the market. The organization is searching for a master developer to execute plans for a commercial and residential property in Natomas. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Construction on the Terraces of Lafayette has been halted again after grassroots organization Save Lafayette appealed a judge's ruling that approved the project's environmental review, further delaying the decade-long project. The development would hold 315 apartments with 63 affordable units and 550 parking spaces across 14 buildings on 22 acres. (See related CP&DR coverage .) L.A. Controller Ron Galperin submitted his third review of Los Angeles's performance of Prop. HHH, the $1.2 billion bond program aimed at reducing homelessness by producing as many as 10,000 housing units and interim shelters. According to the review, homelessness has increased over 45% since Prop. HHH passed, and pacing and funding problems overshadow progress, with one project costing over $830,000 per unit. The first headquarters of the Black Panther Party, now home to It's All Good Bakery in Oakland, might get demolished and transformed into a five-story, 20-unit mixed-use housing development. Many Oakland residents have voiced concerns about the potential project's erasure of Black history and the impact on the city's Black community.

Environmentalists have stopped the a controversial 760-home project in Martis Valley near Truckee – at least for the moment.

So, the Berkeley enrollment case has stirred more concern about the California Environmental Quality Act than any other situation in recent memory – more, it seems, than all of the stalled or killed housing projects California has seen over the past 30 years. The question now is whether the Legislature will act – and, if so, will CEQA be truly reformed or merely weakened.

If stadium redevelopment was a baseball game, Sacramento would be on third base. Oakland would still be trying to get a hit.

Los Angeles's Widely Lauded Housing Element Rejected by State The Department of Housing and Community Development has rejected Los Angeles's Housing Element and ordered the city to rezone to add over 250,000 new homes by mid-October 2022. Per state law, cities with noncompliant housing elements must rezone in one year rather than three years. While it's unlikely the city will be able to meet the HCD's requirement under the deadline, failing to amend the zoning plan may result in a loss of billions of dollars in affordable housing grants, significantly hindering the development of new housing for low-income and unhoused residents. While state officials have praised L.A. for its dedication to rezoning wealthier neighborhoods and adding more affordable housing, they say the city hasn't done enough to increase access to green spaces or economic development in low-income communities. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Sacramento Gains State's First "Prohousing" Designation Sacramento became the first city in California to achieve the state Prohousing designation that identifies the city's dedication to streamlining and advancing housing production. Going forward, this means that Sacramento will earn added points when competing for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program funding for low-income housing, transportation, and infrastructure. The Department of Housing and Community Development announced the award when visiting On Broadway, a proposed affordable housing development that received AHSC funds. Benefits to Sacramento may include waiving construction fees, approving housing by right in commercial corridors, streamlining approvals for ADUs, and reducing parking requirements. Sacramento will also have a greater competitive edge when applying for the Infill Infrastructure grant, the Transformative Climate Communities grant, the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, and federal tax credits. (See related CP&DR coverage and analysis .) New Business Plan Anticipates Higher Costs for High Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail Authority released its Draft 2022 Business Plan that details the estimated $5 billion cost increase for its bullet train, bringing the total to $105 billion. When voters approved a bond for railroad construction in 2008, the estimated cost was $33 billion. While officials could have saved money by building a single track for a 171-mile system between Bakersfield and Merced, they decided in their newest blueprint that they will continue with a two-track operation. The authority also must pay more to avoid burdens on San Joaquin Valley communities. The authority expects to have environmentally cleared 422 miles by mid-2022 and in the meantime will seek public review and comment until April 11. Contested Point Molate Development in Richmond Prevails in Court A mixed-use development proposed for Richmond's northern shoreline will move forward after a judge tossed an environmental lawsuit and found that the city adequately considered the project's environmental impacts. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Edward G. Weil ruled that city officials did comply with CEQA; state planning, zoning, and open meeting laws; the state constitution; and Richmond's general plan when it approved Winehaven Legacy LLC's proposal for a 193-acre space with 1,425 housing units and 400,000 square feet of commercial space. For years, the future of Point Molate has been a point of contention between those who believe the site should be a place of economic and housing revitalization and those who find that development will lead to environmental ruin. CP&DR Analysis: Fulton on UC Berkeley Enrollment Freeze At its core, the Berkeley CEQA case has everything a critic of the law would want: First, a university that tried to move forward with a project while finessing the required environmental review. Second, a city and a sophisticated group of neighbors who know how to use the law to gum up the works. And third, a judge willing to go nuclear in response to a flawed environmental impact report. The question that the Berkeley case raises is one that all planners and CEQA practitioners grapple with: Is an increase in the number of people an environmental impact – or, at the very least, a state of affairs that requires constant and renewed environmental assessment? More to the point, the Berkeley case highlights CEQA’s bias toward the status quo – the idea that, whatever is being proposed, it will probably only make things worse. Quick Hits & Updates San Francisco has become the first major U.S. city to propose an 18-month moratorium on new parcel delivery stations in order to limit Amazon's recent expansion of delivery operations. The bill will likely be unanimously approved, laying the groundwork for other decision makers to limit Amazon's influence in their own cities. California YIMBY and State Senator Scott Wiener have proposed a new policy, the Student Housing Crisis Act, that would streamline the production of student housing at all University of California and California State University campuses and properties. SB 886 would recognize student housing projects as environmentally beneficial and seek to house the 5-10% of students who experience homelessness. The bill is considered to be a response to a legal ruling that may curtail UC Berkeley's student population. (See related CP&DR analysis .) Hollywood Burbank Airport filed an environmental lawsuit that requests that the state's bullet train be put on hold for the rail authority to reimagine designs and produce a new environmental impact report. The suit suggests that the 13.7-mile L.A.-to-Burbank segment would impact the airport's operations and safety. The most recent quarterly auction in the cap-and-trade carbon market did not sell out, suggesting that a pandemic-induced increased surplus of banked credits may be obstructing the state's greenhouse gas reduction plan. UC San Diego has a plan to house 3,310 students in new dorms in the context of a housing shortage and a quickly growing student population. The UC Board of Regents approved two housing projects, Pepper Canyon West and Thurgood Marshall College Undergraduate Student Housing, which will be 22 or 23 stories tall and feature retail space. The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously decided to oppose a proposal that would cease freight service on the Felton and Santa Cruz Rail Lines and give up plans to make essential repairs. While the decision has no actionable power, it alerts the council's position, in alignment with Roaring Camp Railroads, to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. The Department of Housing and Community Development launched the Prohousing Designation Program through emergency regulations onJune 30, 2021 and must go through a regular rulemaking process to make it permanent. Emergency regulations will remain in effect throughout the regular rulemaking process. HCD has submitted proposed regulations for the Prohousing Designation Program and is accepting public comments through March 23. A new report from the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation and its partners details the potential impacts of transforming land owned by school districts into faculty and staff housing. The report identifies tens of thousands of sites that could serve to promote education workforce housing and provides recommendations for reinventing underused school lands. If the "Emergency Temporary Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022" gathers enough signatures, Sacramento voters will consider an initiative that would establish over 3,000 shelter beds and Safe Ground sanctioned camping spaces for people experiencing homelessness. L.A. Metro, in collaboration with San Gabriel Valley officials, presented 15 proposals to the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments' Technical Advisory Committee that would address long-term transit in place of the extension of the Eastside branch of the Gold Line. Metro has $2.7 billion to spend on improvements to existing services or north-south and east-west bus and rail services that could connect to other transit lines. A new study evaluates the impact of concentrated Ellis Act eviction notices in the city of San Francisco from 1997 to 2016 and analyzes the law's role in allowing for tenant displacement to further gentrification. L.A. Metro approved a 19.3-mile light rail line from Artesia to Union Station, going through Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Bell, Huntington Park, and Vernon. The project will cost an estimated $8.5 billion, propelling officials to construct the project in two segments, and will be completed as soon as 2043. Los Angeles City voters may have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the Healthy Streets L.A. initiative if proponents obtain enough signatures. The initiative would require Los Angeles to implement its Mobility Plan every time the city repaves or works on other street improvements.

CP&DR Vol. 37 No. 2 February 2022

The California Environmental Quality Act stimulates lots of headlines – but nothing in recent memory compares to the uproar in reaction to the University of California’s decision to comply with a local judge’s CEQA ruling that the UC Berkeley must consider reducing enrollment because of a faulty environmental impact report.

Walt Disney Co. to Develop Branded Master-Planned Community in Rancho Mirage Walt Disney Co. is proposing to develop a series of master-planned communities around the country dedicated to what the company describe as "storyliving." "Storyliving by Disney," will begin with a 618-acre project called Cotino in Rancho Mirage, close to Walt Disney's former Coachella Valley home, in collaboration with DMB Development. Mayor Ted Weill noted that, if completed, this would be Rancho Mirage's largest development. Though the complexes will be for all ages, one section will be dedicated to residents aged 55 and older, and options for purchase include estates, single-family homes, and condominiums. The company intends to foster a unique Disney experience while facilitating new connections between residents and plans to provide wellness, entertainment, and philanthropic services. The community will include "access to curated experiences, such as wellness programming; entertainment ranging from live performances to cooking classes; philanthropic endeavors; seminars and much more," according to a company statement . Court Orders UC Berkeley to Curtail Enrollment to Ease Environmental Impacts An appellate court denied a request from the University of California Board of Regents to suspend proceedings to freeze enrollment at UC Berkeley, as ordered by an Alameda County Superior Court Judge in August, while the regents move forward with the appellate process. While the regents also appealed this decision to the state Supreme Court, the move suggests that the university may be forced to reduce its incoming fall 2022 class by 3,050, which would total one-third of the class population and decrease tuition earnings by $57 million. Campus officials say this will reduce financial aid and classroom resources. In August, Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods succeeded in its lawsuit that argued that UC Berkeley's expansion plan would harm traffic, noise, housing prices, and the environment. (See related CP&DR analysis .) Court Strikes Down Attempt to Block Housing in Livermore Affordable housing developer Eden Housing and supporters of a downtown Livermore affordable housing project are celebrating a legal victory after Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch rejected a lawsuit filed by Save Livermore Downtown. Opponents, though, will likely appeal and continue to delay construction for two more years. The judge found that the neighborhood group's attempt to obstruct 130 units of affordable housing had no legal validity, and many believe that the group was leading with racism and classism in its opposition. The original lawsuit has already delayed the project by one year and cost Eden Housing a return of $68 million in low-income housing tax credits. Eden Housing now must reapply for funding to move forward with the project. Report: Lessons from Pandemic-Era Tactical Urbanism in S.F. SPUR published a report titled Temporary to Transformative that considers pandemic-era improvements to San Francisco's city streetscape and how those might be included or expanded in a more equitable and functioning city future with streets as the center of public life and health. The nonprofit determined 4 key strategies that encompass 18 recommendations and consider the benefits of San Francisco's Shared Spaces and Slow Streets programs. The 4 strategies include " a comprehensive and resilient network," improving "the prototyping and feedback loop," securing "equitable and sustainable funding," and streamlining initiatives to reflect the effectiveness of quickly implementing measures to make streets safer and more lively toward the pandemic's beginning. CP&DR Coverage: New Era of Housing Element Enforcement Cities across the state are required to draft and adopt housing elements that not only accommodate, in most cases, significantly higher targets (for both market-rate and affordable units) than ever before but also must do so in greater detail and with a greater level of certainty than ever before. So far, roughly half the participating justifications in the state have submitted draft housing elements to HCD for review and approval. The early results suggest that there are going to be some growing pains. Out of roughly 200 drafts submitted from the Southern California Association of Governments region and the San Diego Association of Governments region, more than 70% have needed revisions—some minor, some not-so-minor—in order for HCD to deem them in compliance. Quick Hits & Updates A new study from researchers at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, "By Transit, By-Right: Impacts of Housing Development Approval Processes on Transit-Supportive Density" found that Transit Oriented Community projects are approved faster than non-TOC projects, and all by-right multifamily developments are approved faster than discretionary projects. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the California Housing Accelerator will award $923 million to affordable housing projects across the state that are ready for construction but could not move forward due to a lack of federal tax credits and bonds. 27 projects have been approved thus far, and most of them will begin construction this summer, generating 2,300 housing units, 500 of which will be for unhoused residents. San Diego has passed San Francisco as the country's least affordable metro area, according to a recent unaffordability report from OJO Labs. The report, which compares median home prices to local incomes, found that San Diego home prices rose 14.3% year over year to $764,000. The Watsonville City Council approved the city clerk's certification of a petition hoping to extend Measure U city boundaries until 2040, which will likely send the decision to voters on the November ballot. In 2002, residents voted to establish urban boundaries that would impact where developers could build. In response to the HCD's finding that Anaheim's sale of Angel Stadium violated the Surplus Land Act, the city wrote back, saying it disagrees with the state's decision and offering no solution or confirmation that it would agree to a potential $96 million fine. Going forward, the state will have to decide if it will negotiate with, financially penalize, or go to court with Anaheim. The gray wolf is back under federal endangered species protections after U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, acting under the Trump administration, chose to remove protections and promote gray wolf hunting, capturing, and poisoning. Developers of One Metro West in Costa Mesa have requested that a special election be held to welcome voter opinion on a city council-approved plan for the 15.320-acre mixed-use development in northwest Costa Mesa that would add 1,057 apartments. Beverly Hills-based Rose Equities has committed to covering the maximum $500,000 cost of the election that would make One Metro West the first major project to be on a ballot under Measure Y. San Francisco developer Republic Metropolitan is suing Santa Clara for violating state housing law and breaching a contract to construct a housing project with 170 units for students and 70 units for low-income residents. The city blocked the project after two years of planning for a mixed-use complex on land owned by the city and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Caltrans is considering solutions to protect the 21-mile State Route 37 Corridor, the North Bay's most heavily trafficked east/west highway, from periodic flooding while also minimizing traffic congestion and creating safe travel options for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. San Diego County Supervisors unanimously approved a master plan for the proposed McClellan-Palomar Airport near Carlsbad and have committed to conducting a sustainability plan for all county airports. The McClellan-Palomar plan includes runway extensions and safety improvements regarding noise and runway configurations. Strada TCC Partners' plan to entirely demolish and redevelop San Francisco's Piers 30-32 and Seawall Lot 330 into 30,000 square feet of retail and 376,000 square feet of office space with floating pools and "wetlands" is generating several concerns. City commissions are worried that water recreation may be an unfair use of land, that the balance between office space and public benefits is uneven, and that pier reconstruction may not even be possible. A 34.5 acre site in Folsom may become home to a micro-hospital, ambulatory surgery center, outpatient medical office building, and hotel if UC Davis Health succeeds with a new development proposal. The health center announced that it would work with AKT Development Corp. and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos on a proposal for a high-technology residential space near the medical campus. The Mid-Sunset Neighborhood Association suffered a loss after San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charles Haines rejected a request for injunctive relief from the association's attorneys who hoped to block a 7-story affordable housing complex in the Sunset District. The group argued that the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation's proposal is unlawful because neither the developer nor the government considered a building with fewer floors and, naturally, fewer units. Mountain View City Council will consider Google's proposal for reimagining a suburban office park into a walkable urban village. Google filed two proposals for two new communities located on 127 acres of office parks that would include 7,000 residential units and 3.1 million square feet of office space, shops, restaurants, and a school.

The layers of bureaucracy that lie between the state’s estimated housing need, as expressed by projections by the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the actual zoning for new units at the local level are seemingly infinite—from the legislature to metropolitan planning organizations to local agencies, with an array of stakeholders and agencies thrown in for good measure.