Orange County Cities Proceed with Lawsuit Over Housing Allocation The Orange County Council of Governments filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Community Development over its housing requirements for the upcoming Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle. The HCD determined that Southern California will have to build 1.34 million homes by 2030, while Orange County cities believe that the department severely overestimated the amount of new housing required and believes that 651,000 new housing units is more accurate. In its lawsuit, the council of governments maintains that the HCD did not follow appropriate guidelines to provide a correct estimate and used inaccurate population forecasts and vacancy rates for the region. Meanwhile, the cities must submit their updated general plans by October to accommodate the housing requirements set by the HCD. New Lawsuit over Toxins Threatens to Stall Hunters Point Redevelopment A group representing 9,000 environmental justice advocates in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of 12,000 new homes proposed for Hunters Point shipyard and its surrounding Candlestick Park over concerns about gentrification and the health impacts of toxic pollutants. The group asks that Lennar Corporation and FivePoint Holdings press pause on the current construction unless the developers prove their commitment to preventing a major release of toxic pollutants at the site contaminated from Cold War ships carrying atomic-bomb fallout. The Navy, which is in the process of cleaning up the shipyard, and public health officials have previously rejected the claim that the site’s toxicity is connected to community health inequities in the area that is predominantly home to people of color and working-class residents. A hearing is scheduled for July 29, but the San Francisco Department of Public Health stated that freezing construction due to dust release is unlikely because the developers must already adhere to city health codes.  Proposed Passenger Train Route from Los Angeles to Coachella Valley Moves Forward The proposed development of a 144-mile train route from Los Angeles to the Coachella Valley looks promising after having gone through environmental review, which officials consider to be a meaningful achievement for the rail service’s progress. The estimated $1 billion plan--sponsored by Riverside County Transportation Commission, in collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration and Caltrans--would have stops in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties and make two round-trips per day. If completed, the rail service would not only expand public transportation options and increase access to jobs but also save over 107,000 car trips per year, limiting both traffic and pollution. Moving forward, the project must go through an additional review of the proposed station locations and existing infrastructure along the route, and it will require federal funding. Report Cites Role of Greenbelts in Mitigating Wildfire Damage A new report from the Greenbelt Alliance, The Critical Role of Greenbelts in Wildfire Resilience Today , presents the case for protecting and growing greenbelts in areas threatened by wildfires. The report recommends to legislators the expansion of four types of greenbelts: open space and parks, agricultural and working lands, zones placed inside communities, and recreational greenways. The group’s research suggests that strengthening greenbelts will protect wildlands from wildfires, increase wildfire resilience and defense, protect biodiversity, and foster green spaces inside urban areas. Their approach also includes concentrating growth in existing cities and towns in order to limit wildfire risk to residents and confront the housing crisis. CP&DR Commentary: Multiple Cities Embrace Multi-Family CP&DR’s Bill Fulton parses the numbers on California’s recent housing production statistics. California’s four largest metropolitan areas – with a population of approximately 30 million people – produced about 76,000 new housing permits during the pandemic year, down about 5% from the year before. For the four largest metro areas in Texas – with a population of 20 million, or about two-thirds of California’s – the total number of new housing permits during the pandemic year was about 190,000 or almost 2 ½ times as much. In the three coastal metros, more than 60% of new housing construction is now multifamily. Quick Hits & Updates In an effort to increase available and equitable housing, the City of Oakland will participate in a nationally-funded program that provides services to address the housing crisis in cities with populations under 500,000. The city’s Housing and Community Development Department will share its ideas with several other smaller cities throughout the US to increase resource availability and innovation knowledge. Northern California has borne the brunt of the state’s extensive wildfire damage, totaling over 4.2 million acres in 2020 due to an extreme fire season, according to an analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle. Siskiyou County and Shasta County were the hardest hit areas, losing 540,000 and 420,000 acres in the past decade, respectively. California is home to 31.6 million acres of forestry, but the reciprocal relationship between climate change and deforestation threatens the state’s expansive tree cover, and hot, dry conditions are in place for an unrelenting 2021. The Center for Biological Diversity is urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service to consider California’s Santa Ana speckled dace and Temblor legless lizard for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The fish, which is native to Southern California streams, and lizard, which lives in a small area of the San Joaquin Valley, face several threats, including dams, invasive species, oil and gas drilling, and climate change. The White House released a statement that details the legacy of systemic racism in the housing market and emphasizes the evils of exclusionary zoning laws, which are to blame for over 30% the racial wealth gap, helped form “heat islands,” increase housing prices, and jeopardize children’s health and well-being. The authors communicated that existing policies are embedded with discriminatory practices that particularly harm Black families and wrote that the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan would tackle these inequities by expanding affordable housing, implementing a community-based approach, and reforming exclusionary zoning. Malibu Coast Vintners and Grape Growers Alliance Inc. filed a lawsuit alongside John Gooden, president of Montage vineyards, in response to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ decision to ban all new vineyards located in the Santa Monica Mountains. The petitioners argue that the ordinance has legal faults and hope that the California Environmental Quality Act will be considered in court to protect the area that has faced extensive damage from the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Los Angeles and San Jose were two cities considered in research from the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies on the amount of space occupied by roads in US cities. Researcher Adam Millard-Ball, in considering how public space could be reimagined due to and following the pandemic, determined that US roads — which average 55 feet wide — composed an average of 18% and up to 30% of city land area. The San Diego Association of Governments is considering a road charge for each mile driven within California that would replace its gas tax, whose effectiveness is diminishing due to the rise in electric and fuel-efficient vehicles, and fund part of its $160-billion plan to develop public transit. SANDAG expects that the plan, which reflects proposed statewide initiatives, would produce $34 billion for transportation infrastructure improvements but is still contemplating how to charge drivers. The electric bike share company Bcycle will expand its operations in Santa Barbara and establish docks and two kiosks along the waterfront, in the Funk Zone, and on Coast Village Road. The Coastal Commission voted unanimously to reject an appeal filed by a local resident over worries about the docks’ interruption of ocean views. The Port of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista approved essential documents for the Gaylord Pacific resort and its nearby convention center, two parks, and streets, paving the way forward for a huge, $1.23 billion waterfront project proposed for completion as early as 2025. After this step, the port, city, and the authority must file a Validation Action and then issue Authority Bonds to begin construction, which is projected to take place by late 2022. The final environmental impact report for the Bakersfield to Palmdale section of California’s high-speed rail project is complete and will be submitted to the High-Speed Rail Authority’s Board of Directors for review starting on August 18. If approved, the 80-mile segment will be the first in Southern California to be environmentally cleared and will bring the statewide approval total to 300 miles. Results from a public opinion poll about California’s high-speed rail project evidence weakening public support for the transit system. While 41% of voters voiced their support for continuing construction, 42% expressed that resources should be dedicated elsewhere, such as to local rail projects in dense city centers. The results act as reasoning for state legislators who are challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to use $4.2 billion in voter-approved bond funding for the first segment of the system from Merced to Bakersfield. Community group Save Livermore Downtown is suing the city for its approval of a 130-unit affordable housing development, maintaining that the city’s proposal does not align with its Downtown Specific Plan and needs a more comprehensive environmental review to consider existing contamination at the location. Save Livermore Downtown requests for the court to negate the city’s approval of the Eden Housing development until it resolves the issues raised by the lawsuit. The group also believes that the project will increase traffic congestion, produce insufficient parking, and change neighborhood character. Union City City Council approved a proposal by Newport Beach-based developer Integral Communities to construct nearly 1,000 apartments and condominiums, including affordable units, on 26.5 acres near BART’s Union City Station. The development aligns with Union City’s attempt to transform the industrial area into a neighborhood with high-density housing and commercial development. The city has conducted toxic cleanups and approved multiple policy changes to accommodate this project, such as raising the average density in the area. The City of Oakland could sell its 50% share of the Oakland A’s current Coliseum site to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, an Oakland-based developer that prioritizes economic prosperity for the Black community. While the A’s hope to purchase the city’s share for full ownership to develop housing, offices, retail, and parks, the AASEG wants to work with the A’s to build a Black business district and bring a Black-owned football team to the city. The San Diego Association of Governments is prioritizing high-speed rail and high-density housing in its $160 billion long-range transportation plan. Simultaneously, four cities — Coronado, Solana Beach, Imperial Beach, and Lemon Grove — are suing SANDAG for its existing housing requirements, though housing expansion would be central to forming the denser, walkable neighborhoods promoted by the transportation plan.

The Permit Streamlining Act – designed to force public agencies to make decisions quickly – requires some kind of notice before a project is “deemed approved” because the agency missed the deadline. But what kind of notice?

In a case from San Francisco, the U.S. Supreme Court has punched another hole in the “ripeness” requirement for a taking, saying that a property owner doesn’t have to seek all administrative remedies if the government “has reached a conclusive position”.

One industry that didn’t slow down during the pandemic was construction. Even as office-based businesses went remote and retail businesses shut down, construction activity forged ahead. But given California’s housing crisis, did housing construction actually increase during the pandemic?

HCD Rolls Out "Prohousing" Designation for Cities and Counties The state Department of Housing & Community Development will give some cities and counties preference for housing, infrastructure, and community development programs if they adopt certain housing production strategies. The so-called "Prohousing Initiative" will favor jurisdictions that promote duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, upzone near jobs and transit, and put more low-income housing in "high opportunity' neighborhoods. Jurisdictions receiving the Prohousing designation will receive bonus points for Infill Infrastructure Grants administered by HCD and Transformative Climate Communities and Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grants administered by the Strategic Growth Council. TCC is expected to receive a massive infusion of cash from the current California budget surplus. New Developers Submit Proposals for Concord Naval Weapons Station After a deal to redevelop the Concord Naval Weapons Station fell apart last year, three development teams are competing to revive the mixed-use development, which would be the largest of its kind in the Bay Area. The plan would turn out 13,000 housing units, 2,700 of parkland, and 6 million square feet of office space in the site still filled with toxic material. Lennar Corporation and FivePoint Holdings were the original developers, but disagreements over labor requirements set by the Contra Costa Building Trades Council ended the agreement. The new potential developer — Brookfield Properties, City Ventures, or a collaboration between Seeno/Discovery Companies, Lewis Group of Companies, and California Capital Investment Group — will have to make at least 25% of its homes affordable, ensure that 40% of the workforce is local, and provide reliable, living wages to workers. The city will likely endorse a developer in the next five weeks before the city council makes its final vote as soon as late August. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Surplus Land Act Complicates Mixed-Use Development at Angel Stadium The City of Anaheim’s redevelopment of property surrounding Angel Stadium may be in violation of the Surplus Land Act, according to a letter composed by the Housing and Community Development Department. The city sold the 150-acre property to SRB management, a company associated with Angels owner Arte Moreno, for $150 million in cash, while an additional $170 million would be put toward community benefits, such as 466 affordable housing and a public park. In its letter, the HCD maintains that the city violated state law because it did not contact affordable housing developers before entering its excess property deal with SRB management, while the city believes that the Surplus Land Act does not apply in this case because they entered negotiations before its enactment. The HCD is considering the city’s response before moving forward with further action, and the consequences could range from a forced resale to a monetary penalty. If the sale moves forward, Moreno proposes a site with 5,175 residential units, two hotels, shops, offices, and a new baseball stadium. (See related CP&DR coverage .) Report Puts $11.8 Billion Price Tag on Solving Bay Area Homelessness The Bay Area Council believes that $11.8 billion is required to solve homelessness entirely in the Bay Area. The majority of their calculation is devoted to creating adequate housing for the (typically underestimated) 35,118 people living on the streets, and the rest would be used to maintain that infrastructure. Considering 73% of the area’s unhoused population lives without any form of shelter, the infrastructure plan includes both constructing emergency shelter and converting existing buildings into housing to minimize costs. Their recommendations and calculated budget is significant, as more state leaders are announcing plans to spend billions of dollars on homelessness programs and housing. Los Angeles Planning Department Seeks Equitable Distribution of New Housing The Los Angeles Department of City Planning released a report outlining strategies to distribute affordable housing more equitably throughout the city. The report proposes the establishment of an equitable Housing Element rezoning program, the establishment of housing targets by community, and other strategies to ensure that equity is at the forefront of future land use considerations. City Planning is proposing a structural change that will require every neighborhood in the City to do its part to address the housing crisis. The department is also proposing new rezoning strategies that will focus additional housing capacity in high-opportunity areas with good access to jobs and/or transit, while protecting tenants and vulnerable communities as well as environmentally sensitive areas. In the coming weeks, City Planning will unveil a comprehensive suite of policies and programs as part of the Housing Element Update. CP&DR Coverage: Major Land Use Bills Stay Alive in Legislature The deadline for bills to move out of their houses of origin passed in early June. Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, to eliminate single-family zoning and allow cities to up-zone around transit hubs, have gotten buzz around the state. They remain alive , as do many other housing and land use bills. The preliminary success of AB 1401 has cheered housing and active transportation advocates alike. It would prohibit cities from imposing parking minimums in areas near transit, discouraging the use of single-driver automobiles and facilitating denser development. Unusual for a land use bill, AB 1401 has been endorsed by the California Restaurant Association, on the premise that parking requirements are often burdensome for restaurants. Despite vehement opposition from other groups, AB 1401 passed the Assembly 51-17 on June 1 and is now sitting in the Senate Government & Finance and Housing Committees. Quick Hits & Updates While many transportation officials have criticized plans to widen the 710 Freeway due to concerns over air pollution and displacement, Caltrans has not completely killed the project yet. The current plan, which seeks expansion under environmental regulations for the heavy truck traffic, seems unlikely to move forward but could return in a less aggressive form. Los Angeles Metro approved plans for the North Hollywood Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project, giving the green light to narrow down the most impactful route designs. In Pasadena, the BRT is proposed to operate within mixed flow travel lanes along Colorado Boulevard instead of one dedicated lane. The San Clemente City Council voted to leave the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency following a history of tension about the agency’s plan to extend the 241 Freeway through the city. The lawsuit surrounding this controversy remains in progress, and the city’s exit is already forming disagreements about remaining fees owed to the agency. In its Westchester/Veterans and Crenshaw/Imperial TOD Plans, the City of Inglewood hopes to adopt new zoning rules that will introduce over 4,000 homes, nearly 6,000 jobs, and extensive commercial space near Metro transit stops. The proposals, whose environmental impact report is now available for public review, also include plans to increase urban forestry, public parks, and pedestrian mobility. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust purchased its first conservation easement that covers aquaculture and will allow the Hog Island Oyster Co. to operate a sustainable shellfish farm on part of its 250-acre Leali Ranch. MALT believes that the easement will contribute to cleaner air and water and restore nearby ecosystems. Anti-gentrification activists in San Francisco recently invoked the California Environmental Quality Act to challenge a tech-hub coffeeshop’s conditional use permit. The Board of Supervisors denied the appeal, likely allowing The Creamery to move into its 14 th and Mission Street location. Officials noted that they understood community members’ concern over displacement but that a CEQA appeal was legally irrelevant in this case. The Oakland City Council will consider an ordinance designed to increase affordable housing availability on private property, including tiny homes, manufactured homes, and RVs. The ordinance will update building and zoning laws to address the rising cost of housing production in a market where affordable housing is extremely limited: construction costs have increased by 119%, while no minimum-wage earning residents can afford the Bay Area. A report on nationwide apartment rental and single-family housing market trends by Hillgard Analytics affirms that, due to the pandemic, many California residents are moving away from large, high-cost cities to nearby, cheaper areas. Apartment rental prices in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan areas saw some of the greatest national decreases, while Riverside-San Bernardino saw an 11.6% year-over-year increase in rent costs, though these trends might reverse as cities reopen. The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy purchased 117 acres of land overlooking Lake Hodges in Escondido to protect the biodiverse region from the area’s increasing development. The $3 million purchase contributes to the conservancy’s plan to create a 70-mile Coast to Crest Trail along the river valley. The Sonoma Land Trust purchased a conservation easement that will permanently prohibit any development of the expansive Russian River ranch outside Healdsburg, an area of particular interest for the construction of large estate homes. The easement will protect the region’s extensive biodiversity and deliver multiple benefits to nearby residents, including potable water filtration, groundwater recharging, and greenhouse gas storage. Accessory dwelling units may increase the number of available rental properties, but they are not a solution to LA’s housing crisis, according to a report by UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs researcher Rebecca E. Crane. In her study, which responds to 2016 state legislation focused on stimulating ADU construction, Crane determined that too few homeowners are converting their ADUs into low-cost, long-term housing to advance affordable housing accessibility. The City of Fresno hopes to gain oversight of mobile home park health and safety after Ronald Richardson passed away in a fire in Trails End Mobile Home park, which did not have a permit to operate. Officials state that local control over safety inspection will require the city to inspect at least 5% of the parks and ensure that the city is aware of any threats to the lives of park residents. The Inland Empire is the fourth-riskiest housing market nationwide, according to the Bubble Watch Index, which evaluates pricing, sales speed, inventory, and rents in 47 of the United States’ metropolitan areas. The index determined that the Riverside-San Bernardino metro ranked first in rent change, exhibiting an annual rent increase of 15%.  Oakland’s I-980 and San Francisco’s Great Highway were included among the Congress for the New Urbanism’s 15 “ Freeways without Futures 2021 ,” which lists the country’s most destructive highways. The CNU proposes that these sites are ideal for meaningful infrastructure transformation due to their expansive damage and includes campaigns for each location that would advance health, equity, and community strength. Pony.ai became the eighth company to obtain a driverless testing permit in California and will begin to test self-driving cars in Fremont, Milpitas, and Irvine. Local residents may see these on the road on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. given safe weather conditions and in areas with a speed limit below 45 miles per hour. Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit announced plans for its gondola route from Union Station to Dodger Stadium to pass above Alameda Street and through Chinatown with a station at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Officials at LA ART noted that this route will allow the gondola’s thousands of riders to view the city’s local culture, and the plan is now under environmental review.

Click link to download pdf: CP&DR Vol. 36 No. 6 June 2021

For all the qualitative and quantitative complexity of planning, perhaps the biggest trend facing California in the coming years relies on very simple math: what is one divided by one-half? The answer, of course, is a duplex. But, with variables including everything from lot sizes to neighborhood character to topography to historical patterns of segregation and inequity, the calculation for many California cities is going to be anything but simple. Last week, CP&DR , along with the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley and the California Chapter of the American Planning Association , convened a panel entitled "The -Plex Paradox: Writing the Code to Undo Single-Family Zoning" to discuss exactly what combination of art and science will be required for cities to undo single-family zoning and instead allow small multifamily dwellings -- be they duplexes, triplexes, or more -- to be built, either by conversion or new construction. (A video of the event is available here .) Several California cities, including Sacramento, and Oakland -- which were represented on our panel, have either passed or are considering or have adopted policies to do away with single-family zoning. Senate Bill 9, which made it out of its chamber of origin and is now being discussed in the Assembly, would take the trend statewide. Portland was also represented on the panel – because the Oregon city is far ahead of any California city in adopting a nuanced approach to ending single-family zoning. Portland's Residential Infill Project was adopted in January 2020 and goes into effect August 1. Sandra Wood, a principal planner in the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability shared highlights of the five years’ worth of work -- dating back to the projects’ inception in 2016 -- to draft an effective ordinance that promotes what she described as "missing middle housing." Portland's program includes multiple building categories, which vary according to number of units and the inclusion of accessory dwelling units, and detailed requirements for massing, setbacks, and other design-related elements that will or will not be allowed depending in large part on the size of the lot being developed. Wood offered advice for California planners: minimize the typologies. For instance, the RIP distinguishes between a development of a triplex and a duplex-plus-ADU. She said, "why not just 'three units'? We got too persnickety about the types of units on the sites. In retrospect, I wish we'd been more simple."

In recent years, California courts have wrestled with the whole concept of “CEQA-In-Reverse” – a debate that was seemingly put to rest in 2017 when the California Supreme Court ruled that CEQA can analyze a project’s impact on the environment but not the environment’s impact on a project. Now an appellate court has shut the door on a similar argument, saying that CEQA analysis of the proposed replacement of a scenic 90-year-old bridge in El Dorado County isn’t required to assess temporary safety hazards created by bridge construction – only whether the project will exacerbate existing environmental hazards. The bridge on Newtown Road over South Fork Weber Creek, located a few miles east of Placerville in El Dorado County, was built in 1929. In replacing the bridge, El Dorado County and is proposing closing Newtown Road during construction, instead routing traffic on a parallel route along Old Fort Jim Road. El Dorado County concluded that the “the completed Project will not expose people or structures to a new or increased significant risk of loss, injury, or death involving wildland fires.” The county issued a mitigated negative declaration for the project. Nearby residents organized as the Newtown Preservation Society argued that this proposed re-routing would create a safety hazard, as Old Fort Jim Road increases travel times by six minutes. They argued that an environmental impact report was required and sued. An El Dorado County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the county and a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling. The Newtown Road Bridge The appellate court ruling was written by Acting Presiding Justice Ronald Robie, one of the leading CEQA experts in the state. Robie was a legislative staffer when CEQA was adopted and later served as director of the state’s Department of Water Resources. He did not give much credence to the Preservation Society’s argument. “The question,” he wrote, “is not whether substantial evidence supports a fair argument that the proposed project will have significant impacts on resident safety and emergency evacuation . The question is whether the project may have a significant effect on the environment .” Going into full CEQA-In-Reverse mode, Robie emphasized that the questions on the CEQA checklist about significant risk due to wildfires do not extend the EIR requirement “to situations where the environment has an effect on a project, instead of the other way around.” He emphasized that the concern was whether existing wildfire hazards would cause a risk during construction, not whether the project increased risk of injury or damage from wildfires. He also said the Preservation Society has not presented any factual basis arguing that the risk would be gerater. In an unpublished portion of the case, Robie also rejected the Preservation Society’s argument that the county had impermissibly deferred mitigation to the future, even though the specific mitigation had not been decided upon. This argument also had to do with evacuation in the event of wildfire. The county said a decision would be made at a later time as to whether an evacuation route would need to be constructed, depending on such factors as what time of year the actual construction will take place. “ he agency with the expertise and authority over evacuations approved of the mitigation proposed and would continue to play a key role in determining which mitigation measures to employ in a given emergency,” Robie wrote. “The record also shows that it was impractical and infeasible for the County to articulate which evacuation option would be implemented in a specific emergency.” The Case: Newtown Preservation Society v. County of El Dorado , No. C092069 (June 16, 2021) The Lawyers: For Newtown Preservation Society: Patrick M. Soluri, Soluri Meserve, patrick@semlawyers.com For El Dorado County: Breann M. Moebius, Deputy County Counsel, b reann.moebius@edcgov.us

San Diego Sports Arena Redevelopment Runs Afoul of State Law The City of San Diego must throw out a development agreement for a large mixed-use residential, retail, and entertainment district on the 48-acre site of the San Diego Sports Arena and start over with an eye toward affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Community Development recently informed the city that the proposed deal, with Brookfield Properties, would likely violate the Surplus Land Act, which requires cities to prioritize affordable housing when they redevelop city-owned properties. The project was to include a new arena, over 2,000 housing units, and 590,000 square feet of retail space. HCD determined that the project violated the SLA on three counts: The city did not make a formal declaration as to whether the property was surplus land or exempt surplus land; it did not properly advertise the availability of the property; and the proposed project does not include enough affordable housing units. (See related CP&DR coverage .) San Francisco Outreach Plan Wins National APA Award San Francisco's Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan received the "Building Trust Through Community Voices" award, one of four major National Planning Awards given by the American Planning Association earlier this month. Led by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, in conjunction with community organizations, the plan represents a new commitment to the long-underserved Bayview-Hunters Point community in the southeast corner of San Francisco, California. The planning team developed community engagement efforts like a Youth Transportation Summit and a documentary film created by Bayview youth to give a voice to the needs, challenges, and values of Bayview residents. The planning team agreed to a pilot participatory budget process in which residents control the use of transportation funding. A GIS-based equity index tool to identify concentrations of residents vulnerable to transportation challenges was also brought to the community for recalibration, giving residents even more of a voice in shaping the future of Bayview. The final plan outlines action items for both short and long-term implementation, and the highest priority recommendation — the return of the 15 bus line to downtown San Francisco, 15 years after it was discontinued — has already been implemented. The final plan includes recommendations that expand beyond the scope of the Bayview CBTP to tackle everything from transit service and safety to anti-displacement strategies, further demonstrating the planning team's commitment to centering the voices and needs of the community. Berkeley, Ohlone Tribe Appeal Ruling on Sacred Shellmound Site The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, an Ohlone tribe native to the area, filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court’s ruling to approve of a housing development located on the West Berkeley Shellmound, an Ohlone burial ground and landmark. The petitioners argue that, while a California Court of Appeal approved the project, the proposal, under SB 35, should comply with the city’s typical zoning approval process. Currently, developers plan to convert the surrounding parking lot into a housing complex, with half of the units allocated for affordable housing. While members of the housing project suggest that the Ohlone tribe deserted the Shellmound, the petitioners maintain that the development will disregard the tribe and destroy its sacred landmark. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Study Suggests New Development in Los Angeles Rarely Displaces By linking data from building and demolition permits, UCLA Lewis Center researchers analyzed the locations and impacts of new housing production in Los Angeles, with an eye toward determining whether new housing was being built on underused sites, with minimal loss to the existing housing stock and minimal community disruption. The study found that most new housing does not involve residential demolition. When demolition does occur, most demolitions are of single-unit developments. Cases like the Hollywood Crossroads project—a $1 billion development that demolished 80-unit rent-stabilized apartment building to add 950 mostly high-end units-- garnered a lot of media attention for the project’s obvious trade-offs, but are actually quite rare, the researchers found. In the time period they studied, 88 percent of multifamily building permits and 85 percent of new multifamily units involved no multifamily demolition at all. CP&DR Coverage: San Benito County Grapples with Growth A developer intends to move forward with the formal planning application process for the controversial Strada Verde Innovation Park, a major commercial development proposed in northern San Benito County , that was shot down by the voters a few months ago – and then revived by the Board of Supervisors despite the vote. The project’s resurgence could reignite fierce debate between local slow-growth groups, which have advocated for the preservation of the region’s agricultural land, and proponents of economic development, who say the project would bring in sales and property tax revenue. The development, proposed on 2,777 acres of agriculturally zoned land near Highways 101 and 25, would be one of the most significant in the county’s history. Quick Hits & Updates In alignment with state housing laws designed to protect addicts, Morro Bay City Council denied a citizen appeal to the proposed conversion of Morro Bay’s Rodeway Inn into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, allowing the project to advance. The planning commission approved permitting for the 27-room center intended for operation in 2021. To simplify the facilitation of its cannabis expansion ordinance, San Diego County will complete a full environmental impact report. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve the two-year process, which officials believe will grow the cannabis industry more quickly by minimizing costs and permit requirements and therefore reducing legal challenges. The Los Angeles Unified School District Board is considering a project that would build 2,000 affordable housing units for teachers and other employees in order to prevent shortages in the profession and to address previous conversations about how to make the most of underused land.  San Diego is considering elimination of parking space requirements for businesses located within a half-mile of major transit stops. The move is designed to incentivize expansion of walking, biking, and transit use and minimize expenses for businesses, which could use the extra space to increase profit. A coalition with over 40 environmental activist groups has signed a letter to the Escondido City Council opposing a development annexation proposal on 1,100 acres adjacent to the San Diego Safari Park. The project would remove 1,100 acres of habitat designated for protection under multiple counties, and the developers have yet to secure an annexation agreement. Louise Bedsworth down as executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council after nearly three years. Bedsworth will join the Center for Law Energy and the Environment at Berkeley Law School, where she will direct the Land Use program and support the California-Climate China Institute. The Bay Area's concentration of tech and remote-compatible jobs softened the blow from a slump in tourism, leisure, and hospitality that affected Los Angeles and the state more severely. New analysis from Public Policy Institute of California found that the shift to remote work has also contributed to San Francisco's sluggish recovery. A new plan aims to transform a car-central San Diego boulevard into a series of pedestrian-friendly neighborhood hubs. Called BLVD 2020, the plan envisions the boulevard becoming a model for transit-oriented development, because it already h as a "rapid bus" lane and is located on the planned extension of the San Diego Trolley. The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to allocate $53 million to help develop, in conjunction with BART, hundreds of new affordable homes at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART station parking lots. The $53 million will go towards making the project at least 35 percent affordable, with 298 affordable units. Most of the city funding will come from Measure O, a $135 million housing bond approved in 2018. Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk. Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward. Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk. Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward. Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.

RelAcross California, many homeowners are protesting local and statewide proposals to do away with single-family zoning, on the grounds that, among other things, the development of multi-unit homes might diminish "neighborhood character."

San Diego Housing Element Zones for 174,000 New Units One of the first cities to update its a housing element under the new RHNA cycle--and its significantly increased housing targets--the City of San Diego recently adopted a housing element of 174,678 units, which is more than the city's RHNA requires. San Diego will slightly adjust its housing policy to construct adequate units and align with state-mandated housing requirements. On June 8, the city council approved the planning department’s modifications to the city’s eight-year housing proposal. The amendments are small tweaks designed to ensure the completion of the 108,036 homes in San Diego required by the state by 2029. Though housing advocates have voiced concerns that city’s plan includes unsuitable development sites, the city maintains that it has allocated more than enough space to meet its quota. Housing Construction Grows, but Not Keeping Pace with Prices While private builders are turning out housing at the highest level in 13 years, the growing supply remains inadequate for the state’s housing crisis, and it isn’t bringing down costs according to an analysis by the Sacramento Bee . California added 103,000 units to its housing market in the past year, with slightly more single-family homes than apartments. Los Angeles built almost 17% of all new housing, while the Central Valley and foothills, particularly San Benito, Yuba, and Placer, saw the most housing per capita. This data evidences the trend of residents’ moving to less dense, cheaper locations, including those in the Sacramento region, which built 16,427 new units in 2019 and 2020. Despite extensive statewide housing growth, multiple years of insufficient construction leaves California in its housing crisis, which will continue to be informed by the high cost of construction and a decreasing population. Sacramento Considers Regionwide Bike Network The Sacramento Area Council of Governments is starting public outreach to determine bike travel interests in an online survey that will serve as a bike and walk signpost for planning of a unified bike trail network. The region already has a disconnected patchwork of off-street biking corridors that will serve as a starting point. It includes the 32-mile American River Bike Trail. Additional bike projects are in the works in Sacramento, Citrus Heights, and Orangevale. One ambitious plan in the works is a path between Yuba City and Marysville that would take advantage of an unused Union Pacific rail line. One key goal is to link under-resourced and lower-income neighborhoods to jobs, shopping, and recreation. Study Indicates Market-Rate Development May Lower Nearby Rents A meta-study of neighborhood-level impacts of market-rate housing by the UCLA Lewis Center found that the supply effects of market-rate housing are relatively small. The studies collectively indicate that market-rate development causes rents in nearby buildings to fall rather than rise. The findings, the authors note, do not imply that market-rate development should be permitted irrespective of local impacts, which vary. Local, project-specific impacts are impossible to predict but do support the argument that market-rate housing should be assumed to complement rather than undermine other affordability and economic empowerment strategies. If market-rate housing lowers nearby rents, it can help stabilize property values so that affordable housing construction and acquisition is less costly. CP&DR Coverage: Fulton on Google Urbanism in San Jose There is no bigger real estate development deal in California right now that the Google deal for a second, urban campus in downtown San Jose – 15 miles to the east of its headquarters in Mountain View. Last month, in a meeting that lasted almost seven hours, the San Jose City Council approved both the 720-age Google development agreement and a revision of the Diridon Area Station Plan to reflect Google’s plans. There’s no question that, with the approval, San Jose has made a major commitment to Google. The development agreement essentially guaranteed Google’s ability to build its 80-acre project – under California law, a development agreement establishes a vested right to build – and is also providing Google some critical parcels of land. But Google, it would seem, is giving up more. Quick Hits & Updates  While Caltrain’s electrification process promises to speed up trips across California, insufficient funding, inaccessible materials and train cars, and unexpected underground utilities are preventing the electric trains from running any time soon. Delays in the $2.3 billion project, which are now commonplace for Bay Area transportation proposals, mean that we won’t see Caltrain’s electric transportation on the road until late 2024. July 1, 2020 population estimates from the US Census Bureau indicate the pandemic trend of residents’ moving away from California’s biggest cities; throughout the year, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco all experienced population decreases, while San Diego’s population grew at a mere 0.2% in the past year, down considerably from its 9% growth during the decade. San Francisco, San Jose, and Long Beach were all members of the “largest one-year percentage losses.”  Due to extreme drought conditions, the Marin Municipal Water District is considering banning water hookups for new developments with some exceptions. If implemented, the ban could threaten and complicate increased housing production required by the state, including the 15,000 units proposed by the Association of Bay Area Governments for completion in Marin County between 2023-2031. Dominion over the Queen Mary has returned to Long Beach to better maintain the decaying, 87-year-old ship and floating hotel, which, without quick restoration, is at risk of capsizing. Not only does the Queen Mary require $23 million for immediate repairs, but a 2017 study suggests that essential flood-prevention upgrades come with a $289 million price tag. The Samuel Lawrence Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Coastal Commission, which approved demolition at the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS), over concerns about the environmental impact of radioactive waste disposal. While the Coastal Commission believes that Southern California Edison, SONGS’ majority owner, will properly manage the dismantling over the next eight years, the advocacy group believes that the owner is mishandling the 3.55 million pounds of waste at the site that is located next to the ocean.  San Francisco is the next city likely to make outdoor parklets – crucial pandemic infrastructure – a permanent option for outdoor dining. Though contention over amendments adopted by city supervisors is complicating approval, most officials hope to move forward with the program because of its value in pandemic recovery. A public hearing will be held on June 18 to discuss the adopted amendments, and the Board of Supervisors will vote on June 22. The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach released budgets with significant expenditures on development and infrastructure upgrades. The Port of Los Angeles will spend a significant portion of its $1.7 billion budget on encouraging visitor attraction to Wilmington and San Pedro waterfront projects, while over half of the Port of Long Beach’s $622.4 million budget will be dedicated toward improving terminals and roads. Vandenberg Air Force Base, near Lompoc, was recently renamed in order to bolster the federal Defense Department’s establishment of the US Space Force. The base's economic impact on the surrounding Lompoc area could exceed $6 billion in the next decade, according to a new study by REACH. This economic reinforcement would result from the base’s employment and capital investment, long-term residency for Vandenberg employees, increasing regional job development, and rocket launch tourism. Hundreds of mid-city residents in San Diego are petitioning against the city’s new ADU policy, which officials hope will help with the housing crisis. The residents, who compose the group Neighbors for a Better San Diego, argue that allowing property owners to add bonus units to single-family properties will change neighborhood character, lead to inadequate parking, and increase traffic on routes to freeways. Researchers at the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge developed a tool for determining which of California’s neighborhoods experience heightened homeowner vulnerability. The goal of the Owner Vulnerability Index is to help policymakers center the most at-risk homeowners in their pandemic protection policies. The Milken Institute’s Center for Regional Economics released “Recalibrating Workforce Development Across California,” a report that recommends how to improve workforce stability and resilience after the pandemic underscored widespread employment vulnerability, particularly for marginalized communities. The report endorses policies that increase access to education and employment and reinforce public-private partnerships. The Dixon City Council voted to approve the General Plan 2040, whose strategies for future development include strengthening the downtown’s importance to the community, protecting natural resources and minimizing environmental concerns, and prioritizing economic development for local businesses. Los Angeles Metro will use Colorado Boulevard for Eagle Rock’s portion of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit line from North Hollywood to Pasadena. The committee will decide which lane configuration plan to move forward with in its Beautiful Boulevard plan and must approve the Final Environmental Impact Report. San Diego County will introduce a new office that centers environmental and climate justice to prioritize the health and safety of residents who have been systemically marginalized. The department will combat existing threats of pollution and toxic waste as well as ensure that future climate policy does not further harm low-income communities and communities of color. The City of Long Beach will allow sidewalk parklets popularized during the pandemic to remain throughout the summer and, for some businesses, exist permanently, after the City Council voted on May 18th to extend its Open Streets program. While multiple cities have now enforced sober living rules, the Department of Housing and Community Development is pushing back against some regulations, citing that their approach is discriminatory against disabled people, which, according to the state, includes recovering drug users and alcoholics. The state took its first step to resist local authorities with a “Notice of Violation” sent to the city of Encinitas and could proceed with more significant action in other cities, including the revocation of millions in housing funds and legal disputes. (See related CP&DR coverage .)

Orange County Cities to Sue State over Housing Allocations The board of the Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) voted , 15-0, to sue the Department of Housing and Community Development over its most recent Regional Determination under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. In its statement on the legal action, the board maintains that the HCD did not follow the statutes outlined in state law to develop the projected number of units needed in the next eight years to adequately house Orange County’s population. Though Orange County continues to adhere to the state’s housing requirements, the OCCOG believes that the latest state-determined zoning quotas will be unfair to local taxpayers. (See related CP&DR coverage and commentary .) Navy Proposes 10,000-Unit, Mixed-Use Redevelopment Near Old Town San Diego In a draft environmental impact report, the Navy proposed that the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command — a World War II-era bomber plant in Old Town San Diego –be reimagined as a high-density, mixed-use development featuring over 100 buildings, 10,000 residences, 2.5 million square feet of office and retail space, and mass transit. The Navy chose this blueprint with tall buildings, ambitious housing, and transportation plans over options that lacked these features, maintaining that this proposal not only provides essential services to NAVWAR and its employees and visitors but is also suitable for an unpredictable future due to its versatility. The recommendation is still conceptual and is now available for public comment through July 13. Long Beach to Transform Defunct Industrial Zone around Airport The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to advance a plan that will direct the development of 437 acres of land west of Long Beach Airport. The former Boeing C-17 facility and the surrounding land was initially going to be rezoned immediately, but the council instead provides a 10-year transition period for parcels under 10 acres to accommodate the new plan. The Globemaster Corridor Identification Plan includes several different districts within the area. It includes a Business Park area that is planned to be "a campus-style district" with businesses ranging from Research and Development to warehousing to aviation uses. Several other districts of the plan include commercial districts that offer retail, hotel, and service uses. An open space district would offer recreation, cultural, and community service activities. CP&DR Event: The -Plex Paradox: Writing the Code to Undo Single-Family Zoning (June 17) The upzoning of potentially millions of single-family lots poses a monumental technical challenge to California’s planners. Zoning changes must account for density, design, parking, infrastructure, fire danger, and topography — among other complicating factors. It’s a challenge that some cities are already willingly taking on and that others will have to take on if Senate Bill 9 or a successor passes. Please join us at noon Thursday, June 17 to discuss how planners in early-adopter cities are approaching this challenge and how planners and urban designers around the state can prepare for what may be one of the major planning trends of the coming years. Presented by the California Planning & Development Report , the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, and the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. Click for details and registration info. Quick Hits & Updates The Blackstone Group, one of the largest landlords in San Diego County, intends to purchase 5,800 units for over $1 billion, marking a momentous real estate transaction. The private equity firm's assets in the area currently total $4.5 billion, and the group plans to spend $100 million to renovate its upcoming purchases. The firm also expressed its goal to ensure affordable housing with free in-building services. (See related CP&DR commentary .) Northern California's McCloud River has been named one of American Rivers' ten "most endangered rivers." A Trump-era decision to raise the height of Shasta Dam on the McCloud could have devastating implications for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. Though the river is federally protected from dams, the height increase, if left unmitigated by the Biden Administration, would flood 5,000 acres of nearby forest and riverside habitats. The City of Long Beach is proposing to supplement its density bonus program with new transportation incentives, allowing housing development to expand in neighborhoods close to bus and rail lines. The proposal, which is still in its approval phase, underscores a connection between population density and public transit. A Court of Appeal sided with the Coastal Commission and will require the City of Santa Barbara to permit more vacation rental properties. The city lost to its own 2015 decision which determined that any development proposal must apply for a Coastal Development Permit, and its attempt to restrict vacation rentals is considered a development. The Coastal Commission maintains that allowing for more rental properties will increase access to affordable vacations in the area. The Coastal Commission's decision to prohibit off-roading at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area faces legal challenges from Friends of Oceano Dunes. The organization, whose lawsuit is the fourth response to the decision, argues that the site should be legally designated for OHV use. A longstanding argument between the City of San Francisco and the state over the Tuolumne River came to a head yet again when the city filed a lawsuit, maintaining that the state's actions would result in water shortages for San Francisco residents, while the state claims that the city must restrict its river water extraction in order to maintain the Tuolumne's natural ecosystem. The lawsuit signifies a longstanding debate over how to allocate the limited resource, especially with increasing pressure from climate change. Fresno's 81-year-old Tower Theatre may achieve historical landmark status if the court permits the City of Fresno to enter and appraise the building. The city filed its order in the midst of heightening controversy over the Tower Theatre's sale. Failing that, the city may invoke eminent domain. A Fresno County Superior Court judge  ruled that the City of Clovis has been violating California Housing Element Law and will be required to meet its RHNA requirement for more than 4,000 homes. The judge ordered that Clovis implement a new housing program in the next 120 days to include 4,425 low-income housing units. The San Jose city council approved " The Breeze of Innovation ," a new iconic landmark that won an international competition in 2019. The structure will consist of 500 flexible rods, each 200-feet-high, that say in the breeze. The energy created by the motion will be used to provide electricity to the building and light up the rods at night. (See prior CP&DR commentary .) A study from the University of Redlands compares warehouse locations with data about health, wealth, poverty, online shopping, race and ethnicity. They illustrate a troubling trend: low income, Black, and Latino populations are disproportionately burdened by the pollution that comes with the logistics industry, especially in the Inland Empire and some freeway corridors of Los Angeles County. Californians see BART and Caltrain as redundant organizations, according to a new Bay Area Council poll that found 83 percent of respondents support combining BART and Caltrain into a single integrated system. Support rises to 86 percent when respondents are told that a merged system “would provide for a more efficient, convenient and better service and allow continuous rail around the bay.” Following a scathing city audit that laid out flaws in Oakland's homeless encampment management strategy, which has largely consisted of moving people from one street to another, Oakland City Council is proposing a range of new ideas using vacant lots to house the city's homeless residents. Tiny homes, yurts, RV parks and more could pop up everywhere from Lake Merritt to East Oakland. Five environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in a Montana federal court alleging that the way that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for oil and gas pipelines nationwide violates the Clean Water Act. The battle centers on whether pipeline builders should be allowed to use a generic permit, known to regulators as Nationwide Permit 12, when pipelines cross rivers, streams, and wetlands. According to a recent analysis, Redwood City  is the rare Bay Area city that is exceeding its housing goals: more than a dozen major apartment buildings have popped up over the past six years in downtown Redwood City. For the current period, Redwood City is on course to build 4,143 housing units, about 33 percent more than the allocation goal of 2,789. These numbers are in contrast with many of its neighbors in the San Francisco Peninsula region. The scenic San Diego County mountain town of Julian was recently certified as California’s second dark-sky community, following the lead of nearby Borrego Springs. Residents established the Julian Dark Sky Network in 2016, working with the county for several years to enact an outdoor lighting ordinance that met the standards of the International Dark-Sky Association. Despite being based in the city, Bird scooters will have to vacate Santa Monica streets by July 1. A selection committee chose Veo, Spin, and Lyft as providers for the city's second shared mobility pilot program. Collectively, the companies are allowed to place 2,000 scooters and e-bikes across the city. San Jose's historic flea market, known as "La Pulga" to many Hispanic residents, may undergo a radical change to pave way for high-density neighborhood of apartment buildings, offices, and retail shops at its current site. The San Jose Planning Commission is recommending that the city council approve a revised rezoning plan for the 61.5-acre site.