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San Diego Moves Forward with Pro-Density Plan San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced a proposal to slash height and density limits within a half-mile of high frequency rail stations on land parcels already zoned for multi-family housing--in exchange for community benefits, such as below-market units, neighborhood plazas or pedestrianized streetscapes. The proposal bears similarity to one vetoed last year by Mayor Faulconer, but moderates the initial proposal in ways that have garnered business community backing, most notably by raising affordable housing income thresholds to 60 percent, up from 50 percent under the previous proposal, as well as additional treats like a faster permitting process and lower fees. But developers would still be restricted in two notable ways--one being compliance with setbacks and another being floor-to-area ratio, or FAR. Instead of height and density restrictions, developers would be subject to total square footage, a move meant to incentivize smaller, cheaper homes. The proposal has received widespread support from business and community groups, as well as unanimous support from city council.  Southern California Cities Falling Far Short of Housing Goals Southern California cities and counties do far better at planning for housing than they do at meeting housing goals, particularly at the lower income range, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Daily News and the Orange County Register that gives A through F ratings to California jurisdictions based on RHNA, or Regional Housing Needs Assessments, targets versus actual number of permits issued. The analysis used data from 2018 progress reports to extrapolate where cities were in the late 2013 to late 2021 RHNA cycle--whether “on track” to be in compliance by end of cycle or not on track, and weighted results to reward cities that were very close to target in the bottom two income tiers, had improved substantially over previous years, or had a larger than usual burden (10 percent or greater). Of 538 jurisdictions scored, over half received an A grade for fulfilling moderate and above moderate income housing permits (defined as between 81 and 120 percent of median income). Yet only 47 (9 percent) received a grade of A for very low income housing and just 70 (13 percent) received an A grade for low income housing. Los Angeles to Limit Developers’ Donations to City Candidates  The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve a law that will limit campaign contributions from real estate developers to key government officials while the city weighs key approvals for building projects. The move is largely in response to an FBI raid conducted three years ago that turned up correspondence between developers and officials that showed developers were steering decision-making with regards to zone changes and height allowances.. In support, one council member said, “Doing nothing will cost us the trust of Angelenos. It is the public’s trust that is the foundation of everything we do.” Critics both on and off the council say the law is more an inconvenience than a solution because, like SuperPACs, developers can still host fundraisers and bundle contributions from other donors. As real estate developer Tom Gilmore put it, “ is a nice PR stunt at best … I don’t think it’s meaningful to block developers from giving $800 checks while still allowing them to raise $20,000.” A critic on the council didn't mince words, calling the law “piecemeal crap.” Quick Hits & Updates  The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to fund a $47 million renovation to Old Sacramento’s waterfront. There are three revitalization projects planned, though only two are funded with the $47 million. One project is an events venue that would hold up to 5,000 people with an open-air space, planned for completion by Aug. 2023. The second is a Museum Event Deck project--another events venue with waterfront views--planned for completion by May 2022. The third project, dubbed the River Dock Renovation, is pending additional funding. The  Goleta City Council approved a new housing policy that requires developers to designate at least 20 percent of units as affordable housing for all projects with at least five units. Within the policy is a provision allowing council discretion to reduce that amount to 15 percent. Development projects that are already underway will not be affected. Insufficient parking is spelling trouble for a $250 million Palm Springs arena project. An initial study by a tribe that owns the building land site purported to show that parking in the area and planned on-site parking structures to sufficient to absorb event traffic. But when Palm Springs commissioned its own consultant review, the new analysis said Palm Springs streets and parking would be overwhelmed even by conservative estimates of one car for every five event attendees. The proposed arena is on land owned by a tribe, but the city will have to absorb traffic, parking, and public safety costs. Analyses show that after on-site parking structures are accounted for, 1,603 spaces would still be needed, and if filled by event attendees, would choke off parking for local businesses and other tourist attractions. The Bay Area Counci l Foundation launched a request for proposals to offer $2 million in funding for local governments to support innovative projects that address climate change-related threats and help safeguard the state against wildfire, drought, flood and extreme heat events. Cities, counties, and special districts may apply for rewards of up to $200,000 of a mix of public and private funds. The Institute for Local Government launched the Housing and Public Engagement Toolkit, a resource to help California local governments establish more trust and transparency by collaborating with and engaging their residents on housing-related issues. The robust report offers high level and granular public engagement strategies, policy considerations, and funding opportunities. The League of California Cities convened with more than 100 committee and caucus stakeholders at an annual meeting at which they developed and released five strategic advocacy priorities for 2020 that fell under five broad umbrellas: affordable housing, homelessness prevention and assistance, fiscal sustainability, disaster preparedness, and public safety. The League is a nonprofit that advocates for cities and provides education and training services to elected and appointed city officials. BART’s South Bay extension won’t be realized until April 2020 at the earliest, four months later than previously promised by BART and Valley Transportation Authority. BART has declined to designate a hard 2020 target for opening South Bay’s Milpitas Station and Berryessa Station. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) After two years of gains, last year Los Angeles rail ridership dipped 4.2 percent, a downward trend that has continued into 2019 across all rail lines. While data shows all U.S. cities are experiencing declining public transportation ridership, Los Angeles rails have been particularly impacted in past years by closures, mechanical issues, and delays that make it hard for commuters to depend on. “We had one shot to get it right and have a good experience and have folks come back,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said at a Metro board meeting last week. “I think we certainly did not achieve that.” Metro buses, which account for two-thirds of LA’s public transit ridership, have been hit even harder on almost all routes, including those in Santa Monica, the San Gabriel Valley, the Antelope Valley, and Orange County. (See prior CP&DR commentary .) Political scientists studying the public trade-offs between ‘districtwide’ versus ‘at large’ elections found that district elections, like those implemented after the California Voting Rights Act , tend to produce more equitable results, while citywide elections tend to produce more efficient results. To come to that conclusion, researchers looked at the number of multifamily housing permits issued and found that before the Voting Rights Act, affordable multifamily housing - the kind California cities desperately need but homeowners often reject - was approved more frequently, but were disproportionately located in districts that were ‘logrolled,’ meaning city officials were ignoring that district’s preferences to gain political advantage elsewhere. Conversely, district elections produce fewer housing permits, but the permits are more equally distributed across districts and the housing more affordable.

Reversing a lower-court ruling , the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled that San Jose’s surplus land ordinance conflicts with state law.

In the first appellate ruling involving SB 743, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled that the Sacramento was correct in concluding that traffic congestion is not a significant environmental impact resulting from the city’s new general plan.

CP&DR Vol. 34 No. 12 December 2019

The City of San Diego has aggressively pursued higher-density development regulations in close-in neighborhoods such as North Park, located immediately north of Balboa Park. But the city can approve a lower-density project if steep slopes exist and still be in conformance with the general plan, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

What’s more educational: a good book or an old-growth forest? It’s a toss-up, right? In West Los Angeles, it’s pretty much a moot point. Ten years ago, my neighborhood bookstore closed. A classic of the genre, Dutton’s Books was idiosyncratic, erudite, and well stocked. And of course it could not compete with Barnes & Noble, which, in turn, could not compete with Amazon. Dutton’s was the first major casualty of the retail apocalypse that touched me personally. Its loss saddened me and left my neighborhood impoverished, not just intellectually but communally. If Dutton’s was my intellectual redwood, felled before its time, Adventure 16 — Los Angeles’s favorite backpacking, camping, and rock climbing outfitter — was my literal redwood. It falls at the end of this month. Any regular customer of A16’s flagship West Los Angeles store will attest to the primordial memories it invoked. The door used to be regulated by an old-time weight-and-pulley system. Once open, the smell of piñon hit you, bringing the outdoors into the city. They served hot cider and lined the walls with maps and trekking memorabilia, collected over the decades by staff who know a thing or two about earth and rock. A16 supplied Boy Scouts and dirtbags and weekend warriors for 59 years. I was in the latter category, at best, but I still loved it for what it evoked: the full embrace of California’s wilderness. A16’s locations dwindled from six to two in recent years. I had hoped that, if the last two had hung on this long, it might just survive indefinitely. You can order a book online and know exactly what you’re getting. But I always figured that a sleeping bag, a backpack, or hiking books would be a different matter. Would anyone dream of buying rock climbing shoes without trying them on first? I guess they would. Taps will soon play for Adventure 16's remaining stores, in West L.A. (pictured) and San Diego. We all know the reasons for the decline of retail, just like we all know the reasons behind climate change. The rise of online online shopping and big box  retail, somewhat bafflingly, with rising commercial rents in many cities. A16’s building is low, ugly, and irregular. And yet, clearly it has a landlord who is not willing to budge — believing, probably erroneously, that retail rents ought to keep pace with residential rents. And so, it will join Los Angeles’s growing garbage patch of retail vacancies, and the piñon aroma will slowly fade. We can ask, of course, why any of this matters. People can still read books, and they can still go hiking, right? Why should I mourn an empty storefront the same way I would mourn the passing of a friend? I mourn because places matter, and stores are places too. At its most obvious, retail brings people together. Walter Benjamin taught us that even window-shopping qualifies as participation in urban life. They held weekly events, like free movies, book signings, and classes. I’ve run into friends at A16 and Dutton’s both. A few decades ago, I bought hiking boots right alongside Flea, no doubt stocking up for a high-desert vision quest with his bandmates. I’ve never bumped into anyone, famous or otherwise, on email. From a purely bureaucratic perspective, everyone who believes in good urbanism should embrace good retail. Mixed-use buildings and active streets are rightfully central goals for progressive planners. But plans matter little if there’s nothing to fill the voids that planners mandate. There are only so many boxing gyms, juice bars, and nail salons to go around. Those places are, essentially, venues – spaces where action takes place. Great retail stores embody their products and the ethos behind the products, magnifying and ennobling them. A bookstore embodies the wisdom of books. An outdoors store embodies the sublimity of the outdoors. Customers feel something effable and priceless when they physically enter places that are appealing, enriching, and inexplicably personal-- not unlike the way worshippers feel when they enter a church. Knowing that a store exists, or passing by it serendipitously, invokes emotions in ways that a website, hovering aimlessly in the void of cyberspace, never can. This is the reason why we still go to school rather than study online. It is the reason why we still go to offices rather than telecommute. It is the reason people still go on dates and cohabitate rather than…. well, I’ll leave that one alone. This is the very reason why, even after 11,000 years, cities still exist. As A16 breaks camp, I can’t help imagining the urban landscape once the transition to AI-powered, drone-facilitated online commerce is complete and all the storefronts go dark. It’s not a pretty sight. I want to believe that this trend can abate. I hope that consumers, not all, but some, will reconsider their choices. Maybe they can start paying a little more, not just to purchase products but also to support places. Perhaps some landlords will even reconsider their valuations, and perhaps more cities will institute protections for local businesses. Dutton's is long gone, and a lonely bugle will play taps for A16 in a few days. But, still, their deaths don't have to be in vain. No matter what happens, at least we’ll always have books. Nature… we can only hope.

Newsom Kicks off Affordable Housing Program in Stockton  Developer bids are in for over 100 housing units planned for two sites in downtown Stockton , a significant milestone for what is essentially a pilot program for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s affordable housing initiative he signed into law earlier this year with an executive order. “This is incredible news for Stockton and an example of how state and local governments can partner together to address our housing crisis,” said Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. “When we reached out to ask for assistance, Governor Gavin Newsom moved quickly, aligning state resources to help Stockton, which has seen the second highest rent increases in the nation.” Per the executive order, state agencies identified excess state-owned land suitable for affordable housing projects, then worked with the city of Stockton to field bids, secure funding, and provide oversight. To even be considered, proposals had to allocate at least half of the units to units affordable to residents who make 80 percent or less of the area’s median income, but preference will be given to projects that go beyond minimum requirements. Developers will be selected in January, after which they will be granted a long-term ground lease from the state. No dates are set for when construction will begin or be completed, but the executive order states project proposals should address “feasibility of breaking ground within two years of entering the lease and completing units within three years,” and the Newsom administration has strong incentive to ensure the project moves forward expeditiously. Success in Stockton could spur other cities to follow suit in partnering with the state. San Francisco, Los Angeles Ranked on “Smart City Index" IMD and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) released a " smart city index " balancing economic and tech aspects of smart cities on the one hand with “humane dimensions” like quality of life, environment, inclusiveness on the other. Included in the study were San Francisco and Los Angeles, which rated twelfth and 108th respectively out of 102 cities. Perhaps unsurprisingly, survey results show Los Angeles residents are primarily concerned with affordable housing and road congestion. When grading city mobility, Angelenos highly agreed that car-sharing apps have reduced congestion, while giving poor marks to ease of public transport use and much lower than average attitudes toward bicycles as a traffic reducing measure. San Francisco ranked high amongst “smart cities,” but residents attitudes scored San Francisco in the bottom quartile when asked if “basic sanitation meets the need of the poorest areas.” Public safety similarly received far below average marks. However, well above median attitudes toward job growth and ability to provide feedback on local government projects pushed San Francisco toward the top of the list. Los Angeles Considers Anti-Displacement Zones The Los Angeles City Council voted to start the process of creating zoning overlays that could protect low-income communities from the economic effects of luxury housing complexes that do not provide affordable units and could drive up nearby property values. Prompted by a planned luxury 577 unit apartment complex on Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson spearheaded the proposal. “We don’t just need more housing units. We need more housing units that working people can afford,” Wesson said. “Building market-rate housing, when that means $1,800 for a one-bedroom apartment, is not an adequate solution to this crisis." The council will conduct a feasibility study evaluating anti-displacement zones that will cap rent increases within a two-mile radius of new buildings in which no affordable units are offered. The proposal acknowledges luxury developments can bring economic prosperity to a neighborhood, but also contends that new construction raises property values, ultimately hurting long-time residents. Quick Hits & Updates The Hollywood-based  AIDS Healthcare Foundation lost another in a string of legal battles against high-rise developers and the City of Los Angeles. A Superior Court judge threw out a lawsuit that claimed anti-discrimination laws were violated when the city approved four Sunset Boulevard residential towers because new luxury developments would increase rent, displacing black and Latino residents. But the judge concluded since no homes were being demolished and the new towers will include affordable housing, no anti-discrimination laws were violated. “There will be a net increase of 2,096 housing units, with 180 affordable housing units for low or very low income families, in a state suffering from an acknowledged housing crisis,” the judge wrote. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Monterey is in a protracted legal battle over the definition of the word "rent" after a sting operation caught a landlord who violated Monterey’s 30-day rental minimum. As part of the sting, a city worker booked a 10-day rental, then cancelled as soon as the payment processed, presumably having proven intent to rent. Rather than pay a $10,000 fine, the building owners took the city to court, claiming that since no one physically occupied the property it was never technically rented. In a brief, a city attorney used an analogy of an undercover police officer who buys drugs from a drug dealer: “the officer is not required to actually use the drugs and let the dealer keep the money in order to prove the violation occurred.” Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel have all banned short-term rentals because they remove potential long-term rentals from the market. Construction on a 200-bed homeless navigation center in San Francisco’s South Beach can continue , according to a Superior Court ruling. Safe Embarcadero for All (SEFA) sued to block construction, arguing the city needs state permission to build on land that was once part of the bay. But the judge dismissed the claim, citing thousands of port leases secured without state approval. Typically, exempted properties fall under a public interest exception. The navigation center is in the final stages of construction, so SEFA will likely not have time to appeal or bring a new suit.  Conservation group Sierra Watch is  suing to block expansion of a Lake Tahoe ski resort, saying the developer is trying to hide the environmental impacts of the project and “planning for disaster.” Most critically, estimates of increased road traffic of 1,353 daily car trips and 2,800 peak-day trips would congest nearby Squaw Valley’s wildfire evacuation route. Lawyers for Squaw Valley say 2.9 hours are currently needed to evacuate the area and that could grow to 5 or 6 hours under most scenarios. Tom Mooers, head of Sierra Watch, claims evacuation could take as many as 11 hours with additional resort traffic. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Calaveras Planning Coalition (CPC) is suing the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors over its recently adopted General Plan update. In a petition against the county, CPC claims the plan fails to set priorities, timeframes, and objectives for over 120 deferred measures in the General Plan update, and neglects 25 significant environmental impacts, including wildfire prevention and evacuation, traffic congestion, air pollution, loss of scenic views and agricultural lands, oak woodlands, and rare habitats. Litigation will likely take years, according to CPC attorneys.  The Los Angeles Angels will remain in Anaheim through 2050, according to a three-part deal struck between city and team negotiators. Pending a Dec. 20 vote, Anaheim will sell the stadium and the surrounding 133 acres for $325 million to a business partnership that includes the team's owner. Additionally, the city will no longer profit directly from stadium or development revenue. The new agreement stipulates that revenue will instead come from increases in property and sales taxes around the stadium. Angels officials are still considering whether to renovate the stadium or build a new one, according to a team spokesperson. Long Beach  had hoped to lure the Angels to a 13-acre harborside parcel. As Paso Robles City Council scrambles to complete the housing element update to the city’s general plan, an emergency measure will block developers from converting multifamily use buildings to nonresidential uses. Officials say the measure is necessary to prevent losing residential units at a time when Paso is already behind in fulfilling its housing responsibility of 1,446 residential units, of which two-thirds are to be designated as affordable housing. The City of Salinas recently adopted a similar measure.  San Francisco’s Pedestrian Safety Committee passed a resolution to set maximum speed limits to 20 miles per hour citywide in response to over 30 pedestrian and bicyclist deaths per year going back to 2014. It’s now up to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to decide whether to pursue the resolution as legislation. Data published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety supports advocates’ claims that a 20 mile per hour speed limit saves lives. ProPublica reported the same conclusion: “once cars reach a certain speed (just above 20 mph), they rapidly become more deadly … about 70 percent more likely to be killed if they’re struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph versus 25 mph.” Environmental and fishing groups filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for endangering chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt. The suit charges that a federal government proposal to increase water flow to Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities fails to uphold the Endangered Species Act. Biologists say declining fish populations are a sign of the overall lack of health in the ecosystem. Farmers, meanwhile, applauded new federal guidelines, claiming previous regulations favored fish over food. Lompoc  City Council officials voted to approve a new plan that would annex land west of the city and retained an attorney to lead the effort. The proposal is for 140 acres for development of 469 residential units, a more modest proposal that those previously put forward to the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation Commission. Councilman Jim Mosby called the annexation “probably one of the most important things we can do.” In terms of new development, Lompoc lags behind neighboring counties after years of no new developments and demolitions that have taken units off the market. A new online poll, funded by Bay Area Leads, points to growing dissatisfaction among Bay Area residents . Over half of those surveyed said the region is on the wrong track--up eight points from a similar survey conducted in 2016--and a majority of those surveyed are worried about finding affordable housing. But on a positive note, survey respondents also indicated government and elected officials are capable of solving major issues like housing affordability, preserving diversity within the community, and making sure individuals are able to build wealth and financial stability. The Placer County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of entitlements for proposed Sunset Area Plan and Placer Ranch Specific Plan to the Board of Supervisors. The Sunset Area is 8,497 acres between the cities of Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln. If approved, the plan would change zoning to allow for workforce housing in anticipation of economic and industrial growth in the area. Placer Ranch is a development plan that includes 8.5 million square feet of commercial, employment and university-related, non-residential use, of which 4.5 million square feet would be in a campus park district. The plan includes 300 acres for a California State University satellite campus and proposes 5,600 homes, two new schools, 330 acres of open space and parks, a high-density town center, and a bike and trail network.

To nobody’s surprise, especially that of the millions of Californians who struggle to find and pay for housing, the state’s housing shortage and affordability crisis yet again dominated CP&DR’s coverage. Almost every CP&DR news story and commentary covered housing, and housing-related stories were also our most-read stories.  But it wasn’t the only story, of course. With the tech boom, new transit lines, and the most acute effects of the housing crisis, the Bay Area alone could have occupied every headline this year if we let it. Instead, we scoured the state to find compelling local stories and found them in places like St. Helena, Santa Maria, the Tahoe region, and others.  Herewith are CP&DR’s most-read stories of the year, categorized by statewide news, local news, commentary, and legal digest.  (And for everyone keeping track at home, here are top stories from past years .) News (Statewide) Of course, the housing crisis has been a slow-moving one, building since the Great Recession of the late 2000s (indeed, it’s our top story of the decade). A key difference between this year and previous years is that this year includes as much action as it does lamentation. In 2017 and 2018, the state adopted laws that gave greater power to policies like RHNA, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has not been shy about putting his political capital towards the 3.5 million new homes that he seeks. In turn, lawmakers were emboldened once again to sponsor a whole new round of housing bills, many of which were signed.  Newsom Proposes Sweeping Changes on RHNA, Housing Elements , January 11 More Housing Bills Introduced , March 3 Newsom Proposes Shift of Housing Funds , May 13 Updated CEQA Guidelines Finally Go Into Effect , April 15 Stepping Down from HCD, Metcalf Touts State's Increasingly Aggressive Approach to Housing , November 6 Southern California Balks at Aggressive Housing Numbers; SANDAG Cities Fight over Allocation , September 3 News (Local & Regional) This year, we redoubled our efforts to cover compelling local plans and projects that, we think, offer useful case studies for planners statewide. In many cases, theme was density, with cities like St. Helena clearing the way to add density incrementally and cities like Truckee redeveloping entire parcels for mixed use and multifamily development. New Leader Shakes Up San Diego Regional Planning , July 29 Legal Settlement Enables St. Helena to Embrace Density in General Plan , June 3 Santa Barbara Celebrates "Authenticity," Faces Housing Crunch , September 12 Tahoe Uses Big Data To Tackle Transportation Problems , May 26 Hopes for Downtown Santa Maria Rest on Pedestrian Plan , March 22 Commentary With material drawn from this year’s American Planning Association conference in San Diego, the practice of planning features prominently among CP&DR’s most popular commentaries this year, as does, of course, housing.  Santa Barbara APA Report: Clamshell Planning , September 17 The Three Big Reforms On Housing Policy , October 15 The Paradoxes of California's Fastest-Growing City , June 3 Santa Barbara APA Report: How Localities Are Implementing SB 743 , September 18 High Speed Rail is Dead, Long Live High Speed Rail , February 12 Legal Digest  As always, CEQA cases feature prominently in Legal Digest, though we also got a rare United States Supreme Court case that may have local land use implications.  Zoning Not Automatically Subject To CEQA, Cal Supremes Say , August 19 SB 375 Environmental Review Upheld , July 21 Yet More Detail for EIRs , January 8 How Will The Knick Ruling Affect California Planning? , June 23 Alameda Loses Impact Fee Battle , May 26

SCAG Releases Draft Transportation Plan, Sustainable Communities Strategy The Southern California Association of Governments  released a draft of Connect SoCal, its Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, for public review. The plan outlines SCAG’s vision over the next 25 years.and lays out measurable goals related to four core categories: economy, mobility, environment and healthy/complete communities. The report acknowledges SCAG will likely fall short of 2020 goals, but maintains “the transformative change we seek does not require a radical shift in course.” Instead, SCAG will continue to foster high-density development around public transit hubs by deregulating parking, promoting “housing supportive infrastructure,” and supporting private community investments. The plan emphasizes prioritizing funding for system preservation, extensive local investment in the transit rail network by increasing resources for bus service, implementing Metrolink’s Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) and completing the Link Union Station (linkUS). Included in the draft are federally mandated performance measures and targets in accordance with projected growth in employment population, and households at the regional, county, city, town, and neighborhood levels. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) San Diego Football Stadium Saga Coming to a Close  San Diego State University will purchase the SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) site for $86.2 million after the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to move the sale forward with a formal transaction document, which the council hopes to approve by January and close escrow by the end of March. “The city currently spends about $11 million a year to maintain and operate the Mission Valley Stadium site,” City Councilwoman Barbara Bry said. “That’s over $30,000 a day in taxpayer money every day that we delay this transaction.. We can’t afford not to move the project along in a timely manner.” The university intends to downsize the stadium but retain it for its football games; it intends to redevelop the rest of the site into a mixed-use satellite campus. SDSU must still get approval on the project’s environmental impact report, campus master plan and draft sale agreement from the California State University Board of Trustees. Previously,  San Diego city officials objected to several key components of the satellite campus proposal, issuing a lengthy letter including concerns about traffic, the fate of a long-proposed bridge, and responsibility for a nearby flood zone. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) CalTrans Formally Adopts New Transportation Metrics CalTrans announced what leadership is calling a “profound change” in how environmental impacts of transportation projects are measured. Previously, state agencies used the comparatively crude Level of Service (LOS) metric, which takes into account the amount of traffic delay caused by construction. When S.B. 743 passed, state agencies were required to find a better way to measure environmental impact. Caltrans decided on new measure Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) because it will take into account what LOS could not, namely new driving caused by building new roads and widening existing ones to drive down traffic delays. “This widespread response to new capacity is the reason we have been unable to reduce congestion in urban areas for more than a short time,” said Chris Schmidt, who manages Caltrans’ S.B. program. Two kinds of projects are subject to the change: Land use projects when they affect the state highway system and transportation projects on state highways. Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco, and San Jose have already switched over to VMT; all cities must do so starting next July. Some transportation projects are exempt, such as projects in the State Highway Operation and Protection Program because it does not increase vehicular capacity. The next challenge agencies face is determining how to mitigate VMT impacts, a challenge officials acknowledge is tougher than with LOS. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Microsoft Venture Releases Vision for Unified Bay Area Seamless Bay Area , a Microsoft-funded transportation planning project, released its first “vision map” for a hyperconnected Bay Area transit system. Seamless is attempting to solve the disconnected and often inefficient regional transit system, which only 12 percent of the Bay Area use for their commute.Conducted in partnership with Interline, the project is providing research and plans to equip lawmakers to back a future $100 billion bond to fund transit. The map offers the first picture of what it would look like to have “seamless” transit connections at multi mobility hubs with timed connections and integrated maps. Seamless also analyses the economic benefits of such a model. The project claims that the new system would increase job opportunities accessible by transit by 2.5 to 7 times, adding hundreds of thousands of jobs to transit accessible routes. It would also put millions of more people within a 60 minute transit commute to the region’s job centers. “The Bay Area’s existing transit is confusing, inconvenient, and inefficient, said Ian Griffiths, Seamless Director of Policy. “It’s time for the Bay Area to have a transit network that reflect’s our region’s tremendous wealth, innovation, environmental stewardship, and commitment to equity.” Quick Hits & Updates California localities  authorized 142,000 residential housing units in September, a 22 percent increase from August and a 41 percent increase from a year ago. Multi-family units increased by 47 percent to 84,000 units, while single-family units fell by 2.3 percent to 58,000 units. The average for the first three quarters of 2019 is down11,000 units from the same period in 2018. To hit Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal of building 3.5 million housing units by 2025, California would have to build 500,000 new homes per year. New construction around the state is a huge driver of the state’s economy, spurring growth in construction jobs and demand for construction materials and home furnishings. San Francisco Mayor London Breed expressed disapproval for legislation that will double fees on new office construction that is projected to raise $400 million for affordable housing. Nonetheless, the law has enough support from city council to pass without mayoral action. Breed cited concerns the proposed fees are too high and would depress new construction. Without taking that into account, the mayor argued, the council’s optimistic projections are skewed upward. “I remain concerned that this legislation, while well-intentioned, will not produce the revenue it promises for affordable housing,” he said. A portion of San Francisco’s Mission District will be designated a Native American Cultural District, pending approval by the Historic Preservation Committee. The area is home to several American Indian historical sites and programs like the Native American Health Center, the Friendship House, and the International Indian Treaty Council. “Cultural Districts are one of the most important tools we as a city have to proactively strengthen the cultural identities of neighborhoods and communities that face the pressures of gentrification and displacement,” said San Francisco Supervisor Hilary Ronen. A federal judge ruled the Child Protection Act, a San Diego ordinance restricting where registered sex offenders can live, violates state law. While a state law passed in 2006 allows local governments to control where sex offenders can live, court decisions have since restricted local authority to convicted parolees. San Diego City Council was warned at the time of its passing that the California Supreme Court had already ruled against a similar ordinance, but the city will likely appeal the latest federal court decision. According to an analysis by McKinsey & Co., high rent-to-income ratios in Los Angeles County cost the county’s economy as much as $36 billion a year. As Jonathan Woetzel, director of the McKinsey Global Institute notes, the problem is not lack of construction. “You can’t say L.A. doesn’t build,” said Woetzel. “It just doesn’t build affordable.” The report estimates $260 billion in public and private funds will be needed to meet goals outlined in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), and advocates for a range of policy solutions from adopting cost-effective building techniques to easing the permit process for new residences. San Jose officials voted , 8-2, to draft a controversial ballot measure that would tax properties valued $2 million or more. An attempt to pass a similar measure failed, but officials hope the current one will pass as it requires only a simple majority rather than a supermajority of voters. The downside is a simple majority can’t earmark money specifically for affordable housing. Instead money would go to the city’s general fund. In a split decision, San Diego’s City Council voted to declare an affordable housing crisis that requires a $900 million housing bond. Voters will decide at the ballot box in November whether to support the bond measure, which would be funded by a property tax surcharge within the city. Detractors on the council said the subsidized housing units the bond would pay for--at $400,000 apiece--are too expensive. California will sue over new rules handed down by the Trump administration to divert more water to Central Valley farms, a directive state legislators say would imperil several fish species. At issue are competing environmental analyses between the state and federal agencies that share jurisdiction over the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Environmental analyses from the California Department of Water Resources and federal review initially both reported harmful impacts to several fish species. But feds pulled the report two days later for “additional review,” then issued a new report in October that said diverting water would not harm fish populations, raising suspicions among California water officials who expressed “concern for the scientific rigor” of the new report. California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced the Wildfire Defense Act, legislation that would allow wildfire prone municipalities to apply for grants of up to $250,000 to pay for better infrastructure, land-use and evacuation route planning. Moreover, $10 million grants would be made available to communities with a plan in place to upgrade aging energy infrastructure with microgrids and battery storage. Earlier this year, the Senate approved $1.2 billion for wildfire suppression measures, $150 million for wildfire prevention, and $5 million to study wildfires’ impact on California’s wine industry. An appellate court ruled Vinod Khosla, a billionaire venture capitalist, is not legally required to allow beachgoers continued access to Martins Beach -- despite decades of public access granted by previous owners. “Because the public’s use of the road and beach was thus permissive,” the court said in its ruling, “it did not ripen into a public dedication that would give the public a permanent right to use the property.” For now at least the status quo will continue. In 2013, a judged ruled that in order to block access, Khosla must obtain a permit from the California Coastal Commission, a permit for which he has not applied. And in a statement, the Coastal Commission signaled it will preserve public access to the beach. A California appellate court found San Jose and 120 other charter cities must comply with California’s Surplus Land Act , which requires prioritizing affordable housing development on city property for sale or lease. In a unanimous opinion, Justice Eugene Premo wrote,, “We find that the state can require a charter city to prioritize surplus city-owned land for affordable housing development and subject a charter city to restrictions in the manner of disposal of that land, because the shortage of sites available for affordable housing development is a statewide concern.” As 50 percent of California live in charter cities, the ruling could have far-reaching implications. The Gilroy City Council advanced a General Plan proposal, dubbed the preferred land use alternative, that adds approximately 7,000 housing units over the next 20 years in a city projected to grow by 12,000 to 25,000 residents by 2040. Residents and grassroots organization Gilroy Growing Smarter balked at previous plans that called for high-density six to seven story buildings accommodating 40 units per acre. The new proposal, which will likely come to fruition, reduces that number to 20 to 30 units per acre and implements building height restrictions. The California Department of Housing and Community Development  released a memo providing guidance to cities as they implement the No Net Loss Law, which requires cities to keep an adequate inventory of affordable housing sites open during all stages of planning according to the jurisdiction’s regional housing allocation. The memo details how changes in zoning, general plan updates, and developer approvals will be impacted by the law. The High Speed Rail Authority filed a federal “record of decision,” finalizing a 23-mile track route between Shafter and Bakersfield. While the filing is a significant step, service between the two cities isn’t expected to begin until 2028 and there are significant infrastructure challenges ahead. The proposed bullet train station site is currently the headquarters of GET, Bakersfield’s public bus system, which will have to be relocate According to GET leadership, headquarter relocation plans are in their infancy, and between property acquisition, facility design, and construction, relocation is at least three years down the road.

Los Angeles Releases Downtown Plan for 125,000 New Residents The Los Angeles Department of City Planning released a new zoning plan, called DTLA 2040, that will accommodate explosive residential growth in Central City and Central City North. The plan reflects two major considerations. First is massive job and population growth: an estimated 125,000 new residents, 70,000 more housing units, and 55,000 more jobs downtown in the next 20 years. Second is the need for affordable housing. Residential zones will increase from 33 percent to 60 percent, parking minimums will be  eliminated , and a new Community Benefits program will take effect, in which developers will have a green-light to build taller and denser structures. In exchange, they must offer public amenities and affordable housing. DTLA 2040 will go through several review processes and iterations before taking effect. Downtown locals will be asked for feedback on a preliminary draft,, an environmental impact report will come out in early 2020. The department hopes to present plans to the City Planning Commission for consideration in late 2020. Clovis Sued over Shortage of Affordable Housing Central California Legal Services (CCLS) filed a lawsuit against the City of Clovis, alleging the city’s shortage of affordable housing is against the law. Fresno County has an affordable housing shortage of 35,380 rental homes, according to the California Housing Partnership. The suit further alleges Clovis’ failure to comply with affordable housing laws discriminates against low-income people and people of color. “This is about if you wanted to build in Clovis, what could you build?” said Patience Milrod, executive director of CCLS. “Because of the way they zone, it’s very difficult to find a place where it would be appropriate to build low-income housing. They have to fix that.” Clovis has 30 days to respond to the complaint in court. Southern California Rents Projected to Keep Rising The 2019 University of Southern California Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast predicts that the average Southern California apartment dweller will pay at least $100 more per month by 2021. While salaries increased slightly more than rents across Southern California in 2019 – indicating a slight uptick in affordability – housing costs and below-average construction of units are forcing workers to seek employment elsewhere. “Rents are continuing to rise, and at a slower pace. And rents in the past year rose a little bit less than renter incomes,” said Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, which authors the forecast each year. “Still, an ongoing lack of affordability is causing skilled workers to flee the region and seek employment and housing elsewhere.” The annual forecast predicts that over the next two years, rents will increase over their 2019 levels by $139 in Los Angeles County, $106 in Orange County, $209 in San Diego County, $110 in Ventura County and $100 in the Inland Empire, which includes San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Quick Hits & Updates  California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced the Wildfire Defense Act , a bill that would direct $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to communities vulnerable to wildfires. Municipalities would be eligible for up to $250,000 for improved infrastructure, land-use and evacuation routes, and updating electrical grids. Legislation faces an uphill climb, as lawmakers are narrowly avoiding a government shutdown, and funding for prevention has typically taken a backseat to new funds to combat fires. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 744-unit housing and retail complex that includes 186 affordable units for seniors, a child care facility, five acres of open space and 35,000 square feet of retail on what is currently the UCSF Laurel Heights campus. In council meetings, residents of surrounding wealthy neighborhoods denounced the complex, primarily because 226 several mature trees will have to be cut down. Developers plan to plant 512 new trees. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the creation of Urban Movement Labs, a first of its kind public-private partnership that will work to accelerate transportation innovation across Los Angeles. The venture will focus on creating more ways for Angelenos to get around by bringing stakeholders to the table to develop new ideas, testing them on L.A.’s streets, and rolling them out in close partnership with local communities. Founding partners include Lyft, Verizon, Waymo, Avis Budget Group, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Mayor Garcetti’s Office of Economic Development, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Los Angeles World Airports, and the Port of Los Angeles. California has six high-hazard dams deemed in risky condition, according to public records acquired by Associated Press. At risk are Kelley Hot Spring in Modoc County; North Fork in Santa Clara County; Misselbeck in Shasta County; Moccasin Lower in Tuolumne County; and Matilija, a dam in Ventura County slated for removal. The Oroville dam failed in 2017, prompting mass evacuations and is now rated as “fair” after repairs. Despite its shortcomings, California leads the nation with the largest national dam safety program, a budget that increased from $13 million to $20 million and full-time staff of 77, up from 63 before the Orville dam failure. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) cannot compel the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to dredge San Francisco’s Pinole Shoal and Outer Richmond Harbor channels more frequently, a federal judge ruled . BCDC argued that dredging every other year instead of annually exposed San Francisco to increased risk of accidents or oil spills. But the U.S. District judge dismissed the claims as “speculation” and found no law or precedent requiring the Corps to “address commercial interests.” Both parties have 20 days to submit briefs for review. The California Department of Housing and Community Development  released a memo providing guidance to cities as they implement the No Net Loss Law, which requires cities to keep an adequate inventory of affordable housing sites open during all stages of planning according to the jurisdiction’s regional housing allocation. The memo details how changes in zoning, general plan updates, and developer approvals will be impacted by the law. The High Speed Rail Authority filed a federal “record of decision,” finalizing a 23-mile track route between Shafter and Bakersfield. While the filing is a significant step, service between the two cities isn’t expected to begin until 2028 and there are significant infrastructure challenges ahead. The proposed bullet train station site is currently the headquarters of GET, Bakersfield’s public bus system, which will have to be relocate According to GET leadership, headquarter relocation plans are in their infancy, and between property acquisition, facility design, and construction, relocation is at least three years down the road.

CP&DR Vol. 34 No. 11 November 2019

San Pablo Avenue may not be the Champs-Elysees, but it does have a few things going for it. Running nearly 20 miles from Hercules to Oakland, San Pablo is essentially the main street of the East Bay — reverently  described by writer Abraham Woodliff as the "one street that seems to guide you through the East Bay’s many shifting realities." It’s a wide boulevard, with a median in some streches, and it parallels the Richmond BART line. It has some built-out stretches and some historic architecture, especially near its southern terminus. Otherwise, it is also an infill developer’s dream, with abundant parking lots, strip-malls, and undistinguished one-story buildings begging to be redeveloped. It’s the type of place where, with the right sort of infill development, the East Bay can meet regional housing and transportation goals and discourage driving — but progress has been slow. “It’s like, ‘Come on, East Bay!’ We're so progressive, but we’re so auto-oriented,” said Ann Cheng, interim co-executive director of TransForm and former mayor of El Cerrito. In true Bay Area form, though, many of the cities through which San Pablo Ave. runs do not exactly welcome density or new housing and have been content to let San Pablo be little more than a thoroughfare. The City of El Cerrito has taken a different approach — with dramatic results. In 2014, El Cerrito adopted the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan (SPASP), governing its three-mile segment. The plan is ambitious, seeking to dramatically increase densities along the avenue and accommodate significant residential growth. The plan area covers roughly 200 developable or re-developable acres along a two-and-a-half mile stretch of San Pablo Ave., which it divides into Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown sub-areas. While such plans can often take decades to come to fruition, developers have flocked to the avenue. The first phase of the SPASP is already spoken for, with roughly 1,800 housing units built or in various stages of development across 23 projects. Every project but one consists largely of residential units, with most projects falling between 50 and 170 units for a total of 1,238 market-rate units and 862 affordable units. Nearly 40,000 square feet of commercial space is included as well. “Our redevelopment and city council goal was for a long time, since our general plan update, to transform the corridor into a more vibrant place,” said El Cerrito Community Development Director Melanie Mintz. “We’ve tried to help people see what these projects are going to look like, and they really are a significant upgrade from what’s existing." This rapid growth has exhausted the number of units covered by the plan’s initial programmatic environmental impact report, which was drafted to be deliberately much smaller than the anticipated build-out of SPASP so that the city could amend the plan and adjust it as needed. The city is currently updating the PEIR to accommodate a second phase. “We didn't want to assume that every space gets built-up. We wanted to take what we thought was an ambitious number…I think it’s happening a little sooner than we expected,” said Mintz. The phasing enables the city to "update traffic studies and look at it from a fresh perspective now that it’s real." The PEIR itself has been one of the keys to the plan’s success thus far. Under the PEIR, developers are required to complete a checklist to demonstrate that their respective plans and their impacts conform with the PEIR. Beyond that, no environmental review is required, and all of the entitled projects in the plan area have been approved under the PEIR checklist. As well, by planning for a relatively large area, development has been spread out and the city does not feel like it’s under siege by developers. “One of the challenges is that because it's not collected in one area, it doesn’t totally transform the area all at once,” said Mintz. “What’s nice about that is that it’s spread out, so the impacts and opportunities are spread along the entire corridor.” The early success of SPASP, say supporters, has depended as much on its technical details as on El Cerrito’s civic spirit. To a large extent, the mere existence of a density-friendly, transit-oriented plan anywhere in the Bay Area could probably be enough to attract developers. But El Cerrito’s planners went to considerable lengths to ensure that the plan would serve the city and developers alike.