In December, the City of Minneapolis did the unthinkable: as part of its  Minneapolis 2040  Comprehensive Plan, it eliminated single-unit zoning throughout the entire city. Now, any lot that currently includes a single home can be redeveloped as a duplex or triplex. While Minneapolis's housing crisis -- like its population -- is diminutive compared to that of California, the housing pressures are real, and planners and advocates believe that limiting the dominance of single-unit lots is an important step toward affordability and equity. One of the leading advocacy groups supporting Minneapolis 2040, and especially its loosening of zoning restrictions, was Neighbors for More Neighbors. Somewhat, though not entirely, affiliated with the YIMBY movement that has arisen in many housing-constrained cities, Neighbors for More Neighbors is a grassroots housing advocacy group that takes Minnesota's famed neighborliness seriously and literally. As California struggles with its housing crisis -- and considers many local and statewide efforts to loosen zoning -- the California Chapter of the American Planning Association invited Anna Nelson , one of MN4N's volunteer leaders, to speak at its virtual  statewide conference , to be held Sept. 14-16 on the internet. She will participate in " Big Conversation #2 : Thinking Outside the Toolbox to House California" the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 15. CP&DR 's Josh Stephens spoke with Nelson about what the planners in California can learn from Minnesota. For access on other platforms, including Spotify and Google Podcasts, please click here .

Concerned about the possible loss of a $7 million bond the city must post, the Los Altos City Council has reversed its earlier decision to appeal an SB 35-related ruling to an appellate court. The council will likely issue the relevant permits for a five-story mixed-used project in the city’s small-scale downtown later this week.

Vast Majority of Cities Remain Subject to SB 35 Streamlining Provisions In the Department of Housing and Community Development's newly released SB 35 Statewide Determination Summary  reports that all but 29 jurisdictions fall under some provision of SB 35, designed to streamline permitting for cities that have failed to meet their affordable housing goals. As previous CP&DR  coverage reported , among the 29 places that have satisfied housing expectations are Atherton, Beverly Hills, Carpinteria, Menlo Park, Newport Beach, and Santa Monica. The majority of metros and counties--289 statewide--are subject to streamlining for proposed developments with at least ten percent affordable housing as a result of insufficient progress toward their Above Moderate income RHNA. 221 jurisdictions have made insufficient progress toward their Lower income RHNA, and are therefore subject to streamlining for proposed developments with at least 50 percent affordability. The latter category includes the state’s three largest cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.  Southern California Driving Dropped 80 Percent Early in Pandemic The Southern California region, one of the nation's most congested metropolitan areas has experienced a significant decline in vehicle traffic, transit use and air travel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the coronavirus' impact on planes, trains, and automobiles in Southern California. The study, conducted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), analyzed roadway, rail and air traffic in the six-county region during the early months of the pandemic. Among the key findings of this first snapshot: Vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fell by nearly 80 percent in April from January 2020, then gradually increased beginning in mid-April as many businesses and public spaces started reopening. Total VMT is now nearing pre-pandemic levels. Transit ridership began dropping in March and fell sharply the following month--down 65 percent to 85 percent from the prior year. The impact on Metrolink ridership was the most dramatic--down 90 percent in April and May from the year before. Air travel suffered immediate and significant impacts--down 65 percent year-over-year in March and 95 percent in April. San Diego Expands Density Bonus Program  The San Diego City Council unanimously approved a Moderate-Income Housing Density Bonus that will complement the Affordable Housing Density Bonus program, which the council approved in 2016. As the law stood, projects could earn an affordable housing density bonus of 50 percent. The new rule goes further, allowing projects to use the moderate-income program to obtain an additional 25 percent density bonus as long as 10 percent of pre-density units are deed-restricted at 120 percent AMI or lower. While the city has had success in driving new affordable housing construction, that hasn't translated to middle-income units. The 2010 to 2020 Regional Housing Needs Assessment called for 15,462 middle-income units to be built over the ten year period, but only 34 had been constructed through 2019. Quick Hits & Updates  The governor appointed  former Santa Ana City Councilmember Michele Martinez to the California Transportation Commission, and the commissioners elected Hilary Norton as chair. Both have strong support from active transportation and environmental advocates throughout the state. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) announced the completion and opening of the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal Expansion Project. The $98 million expansion triples WETA's San Francisco Bay Ferry capacity in the city core, creates infrastructure for emergency response activities, and opens up new public space on the San Francisco Waterfront. Metro Planning and Programming Committee board members will consider reallocating funds from the now-defunct High Desert Corridor freeway to a high-speed rail. The 63-mile High Desert Corridor freeway was planned to connect Palmdale in north L.A. County to Victorville in San Bernadino County. Metro's Measure M revenues, which total $170 million for property acquisition, plus $1.8 billion for construction, could now shift from freeway to high-speed rail. An ongoing battle to keep a Costco Warehouse from relocating in Redding seemed to have culminated after an attempt to overturn the project's approval with a ballot measure failed. The project may yet be subject to a CEQA lawsuit, according to a Redding City Attorney. The Redding City Council unanimously approved the project in May. Cypress is on track to be the first city in Orange County to resolve its "successor agency," which took the place of local redevelopment agencies in 2012. The decade long effort in Cypress will go to the county oversight board for official consideration. To dissolve, the law requires any successor agency to have all of their obligations paid in full, all litigation resoled and get the oversight board of approval. Santa Ana , which has for years exceeded state-set affordable housing goals, is now set to relax standards to allow developers to built market-rate apartments in the city, while lowering affordable housing requirements. The local law, known as the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO), by reducing the number of affordable housing units required in future projects, and lower the in lieu fee. Most Californians support  policies to address climate change, according to a new statewide survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, including laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds say air pollution is a serious threat, with Latinos and African Americans most likely to say it is a health concern. The survey also found that majorities oppose offshore drilling and favor protecting marine sanctuaries. Tenant activists in Santa Ana have failed to collect enough signatures to place a rent control measure before voters. A signature gathering drive for a local rent control initiative in 2018 also failed to get enough signatures, and Santa Ana voters rejected statewide ballot measure Prop. 10, which 54 percent of Santa Ana voters rejected. Proposition 21 , a rent control measure on November's statewide ballot, contains "false and misleading statements," according to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court. At issue is a claim to "protect single family home owners" from new rent caps, and that Proposition 21 "encourages the construction of new homes."

The last major piece of the Senate’s housing production package failed to make it to the governor’s desk last night when SB 1120 , the duplex bill, passed the Assembly by three votes – but ran out of time before it could be sent back to the Senate for concurrence. Some said the bill would have passed the Senate easily but that Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon held up the re-referral. (The best source is the Twitter feed of Matt Levin , housing reporter for CalMatters.)

In 2002, civic leaders in the San Fernando Valley famously sought to secede, via ballot measure, from the City of Los Angeles. Had they succeeded, they would have created one of the top-ten most populous cities in the United States—and the only one without a downtown. That effort has long since been shelved, but a contender for the Valley’s downtown has slowly emerged in the form of Warner Center, a 1.5-square-mile edge city in the west Valley, about 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Warner Center has long been a dense – for the Valley, at least – center of office and retail development. But the adoption of a specific plan, called Warner Center 2035, in 2013 set Warner Center on a course for additional growth. The overall plan permits up to 19,000 residential units spread over eight sub-districts, six of which allow for unlimited building heights. It did so in part by lifting development restrictions that prevail elsewhere in the city. “If you want to come build in Warner Center... you don't have to deal with many of the building requirements that you do in other parts of the city,” said Jake Flynn, spokesperson for City Council Member Bob Blumenfeld, who represents the west Valley. “That’s a big selling point.” The recent approval of a sub-plan called Promenade 2035 and the impending approval of a sports arena—the first such civic institution of its kind in the Valley—signal that the region’s downtown dreams may yet come to fruition. French developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, known for its extensive portfolio of retail and office units, convention centers, and airports in North America and Europe, is now at the helm of the Promenade 2035 project, which would redevelop the Westfield Promenade shopping site at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street. The global developer has since taken on the burden of bringing the anticipated center to completion, despite a global pandemic creating new challenges for stadiums and entertainment venues, striving to create a sports and entertainment arena. The Los Angeles City Planning Commission unanimously recommended the Promenade 2035 project on May 28. The plan offers flexibility for its centerpiece: either a 7,500-seat sports and entertainment arena with a partial roof or a fully enclosed 10,000-seat venue. City planners adjusted the original proposal calling for a 15,000-seat stadium. The previous proposal resulted in several appeals, citing lack of affordable housing, a large stadium size, and compromised air quality as major issues. The project, expected to cost upwards of $1 billion, will span a 34-acre site. Promenade 2035 calls for the construction of a mixed-use destination, including 280,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, 731,500 square feet of office space and 572 hotel rooms, and an urban sector with approximately 1,400 residential units.

Hollister Runs Afoul of State Housing Regulations The city of Hollister is in hot water with the California Department of Housing and Development (HCD), which denied the city's attempt to sidestep its order to "void or suspend its growth management program (GMP) immediately," because development plans, per SB 330, "cannot reduce intensity, impose moratoriums, enforce subjective design standards or implement any provision that limits approvals or caps." Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez has insisted that the law should not apply to the city because the county is exempt. While the county is indeed exempt, cities within exempt counties can be on a list of "affected cities" prohibited from taking actions like downzoning, imposing development moratoriums, and imposing subjective design review standards. Hollister is on the "affected cities" list. . San Diego Considers Proposals for Sports Arena Site A development team consisting of Brookfield Properties and ASM Global has been chosen to redevelop the site of the San Diego Sports Arena. Following a call for development proposals, San Diego narrowed the list of contenders to two competing visions for the future of the 48-acre San Diego Sports Arena property. The Toll Brothers, one of the largest developers of luxury homes in the nation, have submitted a proposal that is focused more on outdoor recreation and includes a long list of public amenities, including a 12-acre public park, a 12,000-seat modular soccer stadium, a 3,500-seat music venue, and renovation of the 54-year-old sports arena. It would also includes 1,400 housing units, 185,000 square feet of office buildings and 106,000 square feet of retail space. The winning proposal from Brookfield and ASM includes 5 acres of public parks, 2,100 housing units and 590,000 square feet of retail space. It is expected to cost $1 billion. The plan does not include a significant renovation of the arena but includes the possibility of a major renovation or replacement. Passage of Measure D, on the November ballot, will be necessary for for the proposal to move forward. It would lift the city's coastal 30-foot height limit for the sports arena site and 850 adjacent acres. . State Planning Council Commits to Furthering Equity Spurred by national protests against police brutality and racism inequity, California's Strategic Growth Council (SGC)  adopted a "Racial Equity Resolution" that commits the Council and each member agency "to identifying and implementing concrete and measurable actions to achieve racial equity." SGC, which comprises six secretaries representing transportation, health, agriculture, housing, natural resources, and environment, became the first cabinet-level body in the nation to adopt a racial equity plan. Goals within the Racial Equity Plan include identifying budgets for racial bias training, instituting a "blind" application process that excludes personally identifying information, outreach to people of color owned media outlets, diversified hiring panels, and new strategies for meaningful community outreach and engagement. The resolution's vision statement reads: "all people in California live in healthy, thriving, and resilient communities regardless of race.” Action items recommended in a staff report include: "integrating racial equity into Council leadership, operations, programs, policies, and practices;" "identifying and implementing concrete and measurable actions to achieve racial equity;" working with State Boards, Departments, and Offices to align and advance the Council’s commitment to racial equity;" and "using public Council meetings as a forum to share racial equity actions, milestones, and best practices, and to actively engage communities and stakeholders." . CP&DR Coverage: Environmental Justice Long-awaited guidelines for Senate Bill 1000, requiring jurisdictions to account for equity in their general plans, have been released by the Office of Planning & Research. Initially, cities will have to assess whether the EJ element applies to them at all, depending on whether they identify disadvantaged populations within their respective jurisdictions. The guidelines recommend several methods, starting with a review of environmental hazards via the state’s CalEnviroScreen database. One recommended threshold is to include communities that score in the lowest 25 percent on the aggregate of CalEnviroScreen’s 20 criteria—communities defined as disadvantaged under 2018’s SB 535.  Quick Hits & Updates  In San Ramon , the city Planning Commission approved a plan known as the CityWalk master plan that will guide development for the next 25 to 27 years on 130-acres of Bishop Ranch properties. The plan includes 4,500 housing units, including about 675 affordable units, a 169-room hotel, 166,000 square feet of commercial space, three parking structures, a park, and public spaces. Gov. Gavin Newsom reappointed Tia Boatman Patterson executive director of the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), a role she has served in since 2014. During her six-year tenure at CalHFA, the agency has assisted nearly 60,000 renters and homebuyers move into new homes. Homekey , a $100 million program that converts Bay Area hotels and motels into permanent homeless housing, is expected to attract plenty of applicants as COVID-19 closures stretch on and owners become more open to the idea of selling rather than hanging on to see how long they can survive plummeting tourism. San Francisco policy leaders have said they are hoping to buy two or more hotels for conversion, and 20 have already applied in the program's first three weeks. New data shows how and where California renters are likely to be hit hardest since Congress allowed key CARES Act provisions like expanded unemployment insurance and a limited eviction moratorium to expire. The Terner Center's analysis found that nearly three-quarters of renter households estimated to have experienced a COVID-related job loss include at least one person of color; the same proportion of vulnerable renter households live in just 10 California counties. By far the largest number live in Los Angeles County. City permits and approvals awarded during former Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar's tenure may be nullified under an ordinance proposed by City Atty. Mike Feuer. In a letter to council members, Feuer said the city needs an effective tool to address development decisions "tainted by corruption and fraud" and to help restore public faith in City Hall. Huizar has been accused by federal prosecutors of accepting bribes from developers, among other charges. The Esselen tribe is getting nearly two square miles of its ancestral lands in the heart of Big Sur back with the closing of a complicated real estate deal that has been in the works for more than a year. Ownership of a 1,199-acre undeveloped private property long known as the Adler Ranch will be transferred to the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. A new study on expanding passenger train lines into the east San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire says the two services will have a synergistic effect, bumping up daily ridership on both the Metro L Line (formerly known as the Gold Line) and the pricier Metrolink. The task force found the Metrolink service would go from about 400 boardings to more than 1,200 boardings in 2028 with the addition of the L Line at the Montclair TransCenter. A major revamp of downtown Sunnyvale is pushing forward with final city approval of the last pieces of the CityLine development. The project has already yielded nearly 200 apartment units and a large retail component. The next phase of the project will redevelop four sites as new homes, ground-floor retail, and offices. The anchors of the retail project, Whole Foods and AMC Theaters, are slated to open by late 2020. Santa Monica's bikeshare program, Breeze, will shut down later this year. Ridership, and the corresponding revenue, began to decline with the growth of scooter rentals from Bird, Lime, Lyft and Jump. The aging bike fleet would have required additional grants (the initial investment was $2 million), but in the current economy, grants are drying up--especially because state state resources will not prioritize services that can be provided by the private sector. While the majority of Californians agree that environmental hazards--from air pollution to climate change-- are serious threats, a new poll from the Public Policy Inst. of California shows people of color are more likely than whites to be concerned about environmental threats. Communities of color more often face environmental hazards such as water and air pollution, storms, and heatwaves, an imbalance now amplified by the pandemic.

Splitting the difference, the California Supreme Court has ruled that some well construction permits in Stanislaus County may be discretionary actions under the California Environmental Quality Act – but stopped short of ruling that all such permits are discretionary actions.

CP&DR Vol. 35 No. 8 August 2020

1,100-Unit Development Finally Approved for San Francisco’s Balboa Reservoir  After years of negotiations to redevelop the Balboa Reservoir , on the campus of the City College of San Francisco, San Francisco Supervisors finally approved a plan to put 1,100 apartments on the 17-acre site. Half of the units will be designated as affordable and another 150 will be reserved for City College teachers and staff. The project will also include a community center, open space, child-care center and $10 million in fees for transit and infrastructure improvements. The project received significant pushback from City College employees and students, who argued for 100 percent affordable housing and for more units to be set aside for teachers and staff. The Board of Supervisors approved the project despite these concerns and a CEQA challenge. Opponents also object to the sale of public land to private developers to just $11.4 million, which is well below what San Francisco development sites cost. The project has been estimated to cost about $600 million. Religious Organizations Collectively Own 38,000 Acres of Developable Land Statewide An analysis from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center finds that faith-based organizations own significant shares of land in desirable locations that could be developed for affordable housing, but organization leaders run into barriers that could be removed with new legislation. Approximately 38,800 acres of land--roughly the size of the city of Stockton--are used for religious purposes and potentially developable. A significant share of that acreage (45 percent) is located in the state's "High" or "Highest" resource opportunity areas. Yet faith-based organizations face severe challenges in leveraging their property for housing. The study backs two pending proposals in the California legislature that would provide more flexibility to religious institutions: AB 151 eliminates replacement parking requirements, and SB 899 allows for all-affordable housing on religious property. One avenue policymakers have to improve financial mechanisms is creating a preference for LIHTC projects on religious-owned property in higher-resource areas. Moreover, the authors recommend mechanisms that create or expand technical assistance and other support to institutions who are interested in pursuing housing but lack the expertise and capacity to do so. Study Predicts Sea Level Rise Will Snarl Traffic in Bay Area  New research by Stanford University scientists suggests that the Bay Area will see not only more flooded streets and shorelines as a result of global warming, but more traffic, with commuters forced onto driver routes and backups as many as 20 miles or more from the water. The study shows that some of the region's biggest traffic delays will be in Santa Rosa, Napa and Vacaville, all far from where the flooding occurs. In these areas, with water just a foot higher along San Francisco Bay, as many as half of commuters would face backups of 30 minutes or more within the next 20 years, the study shows. These disruptions are because of the cascading effect of traffic that often makes areas with few major highways more congested, even if they're far from the shoreline. While Marin County will see the region's worst traffic delays, according to the study, San Mateo County will have minimal problems because drivers there have more alternative routes. With few options outside of Highway 101 in Marin, more than half of drivers in parts of the county, primarily the San Rafael and Novato areas, would see 30-minute or longer delays with a foot of higher bay water over the next 20 years. Other parts of the North Bay would see an only slightly better traffic situation, also because drivers have fewer ways to get around. Quick Hits & Updates As Caltrain faces possible financial ruin, San Mateo County officials remain firm in their opposition to a November sales tax measure that would prop up the rail line amid declining ridership. In letters to San Francisco and Santa Clara County supervisors, who spearheaded the ballot measure draft, San Mateo County officials questioned the legality of the measure. All three counties will need to agree before a ballot measure can move forward. A strict version of Sacramento rent control is back on the November ballot after the city attempted to remove it. The California 3rd District Court of Appeal directed the city to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, but a judge could still side with the city and decide the measure is unconstitutional, in which case it would not be implemented even if voters approve it. The Oakland A's are suing state regulators for failing to regulate an industrial recycling plant located on the waterfront where the team plans to build a new ballpark. Schnitzer Steel, the largest metal shredding plant in California, has been given a pass on its hazardous emissions for decades, the suit claims. A petition posted by the A's gained more than 1,000 signatures within eight hours of going live. The Coastal Commission rejected a request to override Oxnard City Council's decision to deny approval for a development proposal that would have built 400 high-end apartment units at Fisherman's Wharf in Channel Islands Harbor. The Ventura County Harbor Department and the City of Oxnard reached an impasse on the development. The city refused to approve the amend to the Local Coastal Plan and criticized the Harbor District for omitting details. The biggest development in Rancho Cordova history is now underway. The Rio Del Oro project consists of 3,800 acres that will have more than 10,000 homes, 7.5 million square feet of commercial space, a new high school, and a 130-acre park. The first phase of the development will start with building a few hundred single-family homes. Up to 654 apartments for low-income residents are planned near the Oakland Estuary where there was once segregated housing for Black workers who came to Alameda to work for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Habitat for Humanity and the city's Housing Authority are proposing the apartments, which would be built as two projects on 14 acres over 10 years. According to data from Yelp, 2,000 Bay Area businesses have permanently closed since March, including more than 300 restaurants and 300 retailers. About 3,000 more San Francisco businesses have temporarily closed, according to Yelp listings. The same data shows that San Francisco and surrounding areas have lost a higher share of businesses than any U.S. metropolitan area but Honolulu and Las Vegas. (See related CP&DR commentary .) The Mineta Transportation released new case study research that finds that for $15 a day, half of people driving on a busy road would be willing to carpool, and another 23 percent would be willing to serve as drivers. But the case study found a complicating factor: there is a need for a combination of incentives to encourage passengers to travel earlier or later than their preferred time to match that of the potential driver. Los Angeles Superior Court voided Manhattan Beach's short term rental law, ruling that the legislation violates the California Coastal Act. The city was ordered to either rescind a ban on short term rentals in the city or submit a coastal zone-specific ordinance to the Coastal Commission for review. Prohibiting these rentals doesn't align with the Coastal Act's goal of protecting shoreline access, including overnight access, according to the court's decision. Five more cities have earned state approval of their housing elements, bringing the state's housing plan compliance rate to the highest level history. Only 14 of 539 jurisdictions still need state approval of their plans--down from 47 in February 2019. Desert Hot Springs, Westlake Village, Compton, Rialto and Bell are the five latest cities to gain state approval of their housing elements. A band of the Kumeyaay Nation whose native land spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Trump administration seeking an injunction to stop further construction of the border wall through sacred, ancient burial lands. The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Diego by the La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians asks a judge to protect its religious and cultural heritage.

As California’s legislative session enters its final week, most land-use-related housing bills have fallen by the wayside – perhaps as the result of the ongoing wrangling between affordable housing advocates and building trades unions, though some of the bills received intense opposition from other quarters as well.

The release of the guidelines for Senate Bill 1000 was not timed to coincide with the renewed discussion of social justice that has arisen across the nation — and in the planning profession — this summer. But the timing is poignant, to say the least.

Two bills that would have made it easier to build housing in infill commercial locations are dead for this year. Meanwhile, four other bills that are part of Senate leader Toni Atkins’ housing production package are moving forward. All bills must pass the Legislature by the end of August.