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CEQA project descriptions have to be specific. They have to include specific buildings in specific locations and can’t simply analyze the worst-case scenario. That’s the conclusion that an appellate court came to recently in a case involving the controversial 1-million-square-foot Millenium Hollywood project, which would include two high-rise towers and also incorporate the iconic Capitol Records building, near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. In so ruling, the court shot down the idea that the purpose of CEQA is simply to analyze and mitigate the worst-case scenario. Rather, the court said, specific development plans must be laid out so that the public can comment knowledgeably on the project. Millenium Hollywood has been a controversial project that has engendered extreme opposition from neighbors and others in Hollywood. The project has had several iterations, most recently one that includes 35- and 46-story towers, affordable senior housing, and protection of both the Capitol Records building and the adjacent Gogerty office building. The project is virtually adjacent to the Hollywood and Vine Red Line subway station. A number of opposition groups, led by Stopthemillenniumhollywood.com, filed a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act, but the appellate decision came down to a question about the project’s description for the purposes of CEQA analysis. The project description is viewed as an extremely important first step in the CEQA analysis because it forms the basis for all other CEQA analysis. The project description for the Millenium Hollywood project included an overall amount of development – somewhere in the ballpark of 1.1 million square feet – as well as commitments to protect the Capitol Records and Gogerty buildings. But did not contain specific plans for specific buildings, saying that transfer of development on the site was still permissible. The project description did contain “illustrative” descriptions of potential development – for example, the 35- and 46-foot towers – but these were not nailed down as being the actual project. The appellate court shot this whole approach down. “In support of their argument that the conceptual ‘impacts envelope’ of project alternatives employed in the EIR complies with CEQA, appellants erroneously assert that so long as the worse-case-scenario environmental effects have been assumed, analyzed, and mitigated, and so long as no development takes place that exceeds those mitigation measures, CEQA’s purpose has been fully satisfied,” wrote Justice Ann Jones for the court. (Jones is a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge temporarily sitting on the Second District Court of Appeal.) She quoted a previous case as saying: “If an EIR fails to include relevant information and precludes informed decisionmaking and public participation, the goals of CEQA are thwarted and a prejudicial abuse of discretion has occurred.” In coming to this conclusion, Jones noted that despite discussion of a wide range of options in the project description, “no particular structure or structures are required to be built.” The Case: StoptheMilleniumHollywood.com v. City of Los Angeles, No. B282319 (filed July 31, 2019; published August 22, 2019) The Lawyers: For StoptheMilleniumHollywood.com: Robert P. Silverstein, robert@robertsilversteinlaw.com For City of Los Angeles: Kenneth Tom Fong, Office of the City Attorney, Kenneth.Fong@lacity.org For Millenium Hollywood: Michael Zischke, Cox Castle Nicholson, mzischke@coxcastle.com

The Trump Administration’s proposal to weaken implementation of the Endangered Species Act has California environmental experts scratching their heads. Given the fact that the state has strong species protections of its own – and possibly more on the way – will Trump’s action have much impact? On the surface the answer would seem to be no, but it’s hard to know how weakened federal rules will affect developers’ willingness to participate in habitat conservation programs that were drawn up as the result of a strong state-federal partnership that dates back almost 30 years.

Despite seemingly plain language to the contrary in the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that zoning ordinances and zoning amendments are not automatically subject to CEQA. The court said some zoning actions clearly have no impact on the environment and in that case are not subject to CEQA.

Environmental Group Sues Healdsburg over Housing Development’s GHGs In the latest environmental challenge of a major development project, a local environmental group is suing the City of Healdsburg for failing to account for the greenhouse gas emissions of what could be the city’s largest housing project. The proposed project would replace a vacant former lumber yard with a 120-room hotel and 350 units of housing, including 132 income-restricted rental units and a 220-unit senior living community. According to city data, Healdsburg is one of Sonoma County’s most expensive and slowest-growing real estate market – adding just over 300 new homes in the past decade. The lawsuit, filed by the Sebastopol-based California River Watch, followed Healdsburg City Council’s May approval of its northern development plan. The group particularly objects to county-wide trends toward hotel-centered growth and its attendant tourist activity, which adds to local greenhouse gas emissions. “We have maybe 10 years to make major changes in how we conduct our lives and business activities to avoid irreversible, catastrophic global warming,” Santa Rosa-based environmental attorney Jerry Bernhaut told the Press Democrat. “If the only way to get affordable housing is to destroy the environment, then we’re in deep trouble.” Virgin Trains Revives Vegas-to-Victorville Train Concept High-speed rail service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas just got closer to becoming reality, after Los Angeles transit officials announced initial talks with the private rail developer Virgin Trains USA . In 2018, the Florida-based company announced plans to revive a long-simmering proposal for the Southern California-to-Vegas line. The train would travel along the 15 Freeway and end in the San Bernandino County city of Victorville. LA Metro CEO Phil Washington announced that though Metro won’t be involved in the railroad’s operation, the agency can facilitate the project’s extension to Los Angeles. Now, Virgin Trains is seeking approval from California and Nevada to raise $3.6 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company awaits approval for $2.4 billion in bonds from California in September, and $1.2 billion in bonds from Nevada in November. The company has used private activity bonds before to fund a Florida rail system from Miami to Orlando. If bonds are approved, trains could begin running as soon as 2023 – far ahead of the publicly-funded California High Speed Rail project. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Bay Area Envisions ‘Seamless’ Regional Transit The future Bay Area transit system could include integrated fares and coordinated scheduled systems, according to a new vision mapped by Seamless Bay Are a. Seamless, a project funded by Microsoft and conducted in partnership with Interline, is assembling a European-inspired transit vision intended to inform lawmakers devising a future transit mega-measure. Seamless representatives argue that before improving existing or building new transit lines, Bay Area officials have to address the lack of coordination between the 27 existing lines. To design a newly-coordinated system, Interstate uses a mapping technology that can minimize distance and time traveled between distance. Realizing this vision would be expensive: current estimates project that funding such a “megabond” measure would require upwards of $100 billion. But according to Seamless and transit officials, funds for a coordinated system will make the difference for whether people choose transit at all. At a recent SPUR meeting, Seamless cofounder Ian Griffiths expressed this opinion. “This has the potential to bring not just a thousand new riders, but hundreds of thousands or millions of new riders, which is what we need to think about if we really want to reduce the amount of driving,” Griffiths said, according to Streetsblog SF. Survey Finds Strong Support for Coastal Preservation  Three out of four Californians believe that the condition of the ocean and beaches is very important to the economy and quality of life, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)’s 2019 “ Californians and the Coast ” report. The report, conducted as part of the PPIC’s “Californians and the Environment” statewide survey, illustrates that concern for the beaches crosses party and demographic lines; with Democrats and Independents only slightly more likely than Republicans to express interest in preserving beaches. Similarly, the report found that 72 percent of Californians see plastics and marine debris as a big problem – but Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to hold this view. Another key metric finds that about 80 percent of residents believe that urban developments that harm wildlife habits and overfishing are big problems affecting the ocean and its coast. Notably, 67 percent of residents opposed allowing more coastal oil drilling – nearly the lowest level of support expressed for oil drilling since the PPIC began asking about it in 2003. Coastal residents are only slightly more likely than inland residents to oppose drilling. Finally, the report found that 72 percent of Californians support allowing wind power and wave energy projects off the California coast. OPR Seeks Cities' Input via Surveys on Specific Plans, Climate Change The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and its partners within the planning community distributed a series of statewide surveys asking local jurisdictions to help it in its work to better support communities across California. It is asking these jurisdictions to inform OPR about local planning and community needs. The Specific Plan Survey is a a special survey and data-gathering endeavor to gain a better understanding of Specific Plans in the State of California. OPR's goal is to create a publicly accessible geodatabase of all the boundaries of specific plans in the State. In order to do so, they are asking all jurisdictions outside of the of the SCAG and SANDAG MPOs to fill out a survey on specific plans . They also ask jurisdictions to provide them with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) shapefile containing the boundaries of specific plans for their jurisdiction. The Local Government Commission is distributing a survey that focuses on local agencies’ climate action capacity. The survey is geared toward local governments that are planning to work on a specific climate action project (e.g. a research project, plan development, pilot project etc.) in the next 12 months. The Local Government Commission is conducting this survey because they understand that local agencies face significant capacity limits with respect to responding to climate change. They want to better understand what capacity limits pubic agencies currently have, how implementation of climate programs and projects might build capacity, and the factors that influence progress.  Quick Hits & Updates  As part of his multi-pronged agenda to address housing scarcity and protect renters, Gov. Newsom is proposing to redirect California’s share of a 2012 nationwide bank settlement into a legal assistance fund for renters and homeowners. The funds come from the state’s portion of a settlement with the country’s fie largest mortgage services accused of abusive lending practices linked to the 2008 recession. Pending the Legislature’s approval, California would place $331 million previously spent on debt repayment into a trust for nonprofits to assist with borrower relief in foreclosure cases and represent renters facing eviction. Cities must approve new navigation centers for the homeless as long as they comply with zoning laws, building codes, and safety requirements, according to new legislation approved by state lawmakers. The measure, drafted by Senator Scott Weiner and folded into the AB101 budget bill, is intended to speed up construction of such homeless shelters and service providers. The bill comes amid strong community opposition against San Francisco’s proposed Embarcadero Navigation Center.  In its first step toward its $1 billion Bay Area housing plan, tech giant Google announced that it will donate $50 million to Housing Trust Silicon Valley, a nonprofit that offers loans for affordable housing. In June, Google announced its far-reaching housing vision, which included $250 million specifically toward affordable housing. Google is donating the money specifically through the Housing Trust’s “TECH” (Tech + Equity + Community + Housing) program, which offers loans to affordable housing developers. The Beverly Hills School District faces a lawsuit from a citizens’ committee for its use of voter-approved bond money to challenge Metro’s Purple Line subway extension to the Westside. The school district has spent $15.7 million in bond funding for infrastructure improvements on its lawsuit to block or alter the route of the subway, which will travel under Beverley Hills High School. The Measure E citizens’ bond oversight committee is questioning whether the $334 million made available to the district for building and maintaining school facilities could be used on legal funds. So far, more than eight percent of the funds have gone toward litigation against Metro and the Federal Transit Administration. (See prior CP&DR commentary .)  The Los Angeles City Council instructed the city planning department to make policy recommendations to ensure the creation of affordable housing throughout the city. Such recommendations will likely include “inclusionary zoning,” a strategy already adopted in the Westlake community plan. However, some experts claim that though inclusionary zoning is well-intentioned, it may not have its intended effect in areas of the county zoned exclusively for single-family homes – and that rezoning for multi-family units first would be the most effective strategy. Currently, estimates show that LA County has a shortage of 516,946 affordable housing units. L.A. Metro staff presented a report with $175 million of recommendations for improved service in the corridor between Burbank and downtown Los Angeles over the next 20 years. Improvements include adding new infill stations, including a “River Park” station adjacent to the Taylor Yard, and running Amtrak and Metrolink at 30-minute headways. According to the report, these proposed improvements would increase weekday round trips by 64 percent from 37 trips in 2019 and 61 trips upon completion. These projects do not yet have an identified funding source. Redondo Beach would need $291 million to prepare for a 5.5-foot increase in sea levels by 2100, according to a recent report from the California State Land Commission. The study, shared at a recent city council meeting, also found that damage incurred for not preparing for seawater inundation would cost $79 million in damages and $7.8 million in potential revenue lost. This assessment is required by state Assembly Bill 691, under which any city with public trust land generating at least $250,000 must prepare a sea level rise assessment. Funding and timelines for potential preparations – including possibly raising the height of harbor sea walls – are not yet clear. North Coast wildfires have deepened a housing crisis in rural communities, according to a recent analysis by the Times-Standard. The analysis, which cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and HUD numbers, finds that the vacancy rate in Chico was already nearly 0 percent before the Camp Fire – and the loss of homes has led people to move to surrounding areas or face increased home prices. Similarly, the analysis found that home prices are climbing in areas like Yuba City, Corning, and Redding.  The San Mateo City Council voted not to approve Measure P in its 2040 General Plan, a bill imposing 50-foot height limits and restricting density. Measure P, which was first approved as Measure H in 2004, will sunset in 2020. City officials will be required to approve a General Plan amendment to fully change the building restrictions set by Measure P, since the General Plan will not be complete until 2023. The California Department of Housing and Community Development released a survey asking Californians to share their opinions on housing and community needs. Additionally, in August 2019 HCD will begin hosting focus groups statewide to collect additional input. Results from the survey and focus groups will contribute to a large-scale planning effort to contextualize U.S. census data and data from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  L.A. Metro will need at least $3.3 billion in additional funding to complete their ambitious “28 by ’28” plan to build 28 new projects in time for the 2028 Olympics. Metro is lagging behind on four key projects: rail lines serving the Sepulveda Pass, the South Bay, Southeast Los Angeles, and the Gateway cities. A recent report from Metro staff recommends that agency leaders consider developing the four projects in phases, enabling portions to be completed by 2028 and the entire lines opening at a later date.  Joining a recent trend of local city initiatives to meet California’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, the Irvine City Council announced that it is drafting a Climate Action Plan. The city hopes to set a precedent in Orange County, and follow the standards set in San Diego County, by outlining specific measures to reduce emissions, produce less waste, and convert to more efficient energy sources. Early talks focus on reducing wildfire risks to the area, as well as pursuing “community choice energy” to allow the city to choose its own energy sources rather than rely on Southern Californian Edison. Oakland’s antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League for the Raiders' impending move to Las Vegas was dismissed by a Chief U.S. Magistrate, who ruled that Oakland hasn’t shown how it was harmed by the NFL’s limit of 32 teams. The city maintains that it has a right to damages under a provision of the NFL’s relocation policy requiring each team to “advance the interests of the League in its home territory.” The magistrate gave the city until September 9 to file a revised suit to address his objections.  Residences in LGBTQ-centric communities reap higher value for their homes, in what recent Zillow research calls a “ gayborhood premium .” According to the recent analysis of 36 statewide housing markets, residents in LGBTQ-friendly areas can gain up to 294 percent more value for their homes than those in surrounding metro areas. For example, Palm Springs, which has the highest percentage of same-sex couples in California, have a 233 percent home value premium over the average prices in surrounding metro areas. Similarly, Guerneville and West Hollywood, which rank second and third in same-sex couple ratios statewide, also carry high home values. Citing safety concerns for walkers close to a pedestrian border crossing, an outlet mall at the San Ysidro border sued the City of San Diego for its approval of a parking garage. In May, the San Diego City Council approved a five-story garage above 13,000 square feet of commercial outlet space. However, the suit seeks an injunction, pending an analysis of pedestrian and cyclist impacts of the 70-foot garage – particularly since the garage entrance would cross a bike lane, a sidewalk, and three eastbound lanes of traffic. The Long Beach Planning Commission recommended approval  of the West Gateway project downtown, including a 40-story tower that will become the city’s tallest building. The proposed high-rise project, spanning two towers and four residential buildings, will bring 748 residential units to the city, 1,510 parking spaces in a nine-level garage, 153 bicycle spaces. It will occupy a massive 5.61-acre tract north of the World Trade Center, and include both public and private open space.

Housing Advocates Sue Los Altos over Denial of Housing Development As part of a multi-pronged effort to “sue the suburbs” and push for development of new housing, a housing advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Los Altos for its failure to streamline approval of a mixed-use project under Senate Bill 35. The California Rental Legal Advocacy and Education Fund (CaRLA), a nonprofit founded in 2016, uses litigation to hold cities accountable to statewide housing laws. This group uses the state’s Housing Accountability Act, which says officials cannot deny or reduce the density of a housing project that complies with general plan and zoning rules, to push cities to approve projects. Since 2016, CaRLA has sued nine cities over allegedly improper project denials or illegal housing ordinances, including San Mateo, Berkeley, Lafayette and San Francisco. Four of these resulted in settlements that forced officials to approve the projects. CaLRA raised almost $400,000 in funds last year from donors and grants to wage its fight against CEQA lawsuits that slow development approvals. For instance, last year Dublin was forced to approve a 220-unit apartment building next to the Dublin/Pleasonton BART station as part of a settlement with CaRLA. Opponents of CaRLA express concerns at their combative, non-cooperative approach. “While I respect the right to sue cities, as mayor, I would prefer that they would sit down with me and talk in person,” said Dublin Mayor David Haubert, according the the Mercury News. “I’m not sure why they didn’t do that.” (See prior CP&DR coverage .) San Diego Adopts Two Transit Oriented Specific Plans  Anticipating a spike in housing demand near planned transit stops, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved two specific plans that would rezone areas along trolley stations to add about 9,000 new homes. The council approved both the Balboa Avenue Station Area Specific Plan and the Morena Corridor Specific Plan – taking advantage of the future Mid-Coast Trolley Blue Line Extension. The city’s current Pacific Beach Community Plan only allows for the development of 1,200 units. In contrast, the Balboa Avenue plan would allow for an additional 3,508 housing units within a half-mile of the planned station. And the Morena Corridor plan would allow for 5,630 additional units over the 1,387 allowed in the previous plan. Both plans face community opposition, from residents who believe that their properties will be obstructed by high-rises – since new zoning raises building height limits from 45 feet to as high as 100 feet. Additionally, residents express concern that luxury apartments are being favored over affordable units. “Until we zone for affordable housing and remove the loopholes, we are not going to get it,” said James LaMattery, spokesman for the opposition group Raise the Balloon, according to Fox 5 San Diego. “What we are going to become is San Francisco 2.0, where the uber-wealthy live in the city and all of the poor neighborhoods are being developed by big developments that begin pushing them out.” HCD Threatens to Sue Cupertino over Insufficient Housing at Vallco The California Department of Housing and Community Development threatened to sue the City of Cupertino if it does not meet its housing obligations under state law. In an official warning letter, the state took issue with the city’s extreme opposition to approving the controversial mixed-use project at the former Vallco shopping mall site. According to statewide goals, Cupertino must zone and plan the construction of 1,064 new housing units by 2023. To reach that goal, a massive redevelopment of the Vallco site – which would have built 2,402 new homes – was green lighted under state law SB 35. SB 35 requires cities to fast-track certain residential and mixed-use projects. Recently, a local group sued to block the SB 35 approval – and the city is not fighting this lawsuit. In its letter, the state warned that if the homes promised by that project don’t reach production, Cupertino will fall out of compliance with state-mandated goals. “HCD appreciates the difficulty jurisdictions face in balancing competing interests when making land use decisions,” HCD Deputy Director Zachary Olmstead wrote in the letter to Cupertino’s city manager. “However, the City also has the responsibility to zone adequate sites to accommodate housing needs and to ensure that new housing development opportunities are available to meet the housing needs of all members of the community.” (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Los Angeles Formally Adopts VMT Metrics  As part of a statewide step away from car-centric environmental analyses, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the adoption of transportation metrics under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) from LOS (Level of Service) to VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled). “Level of Service” is a way of measuring traffic adopted early by CEQA project approvals that works to prevent congestion. However, favoring congestion reduction often means requiring more space for cars and less space for bike lanes and public transit. However, this led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2014, California’s Office of Planning and Research began devising the VMT metric, which more accurately shows that projects in denser urban areas have less environmental impacts than less dense suburban areas. California adopted VMT in January, and the official statewide deadline for adoption is July 1, 2020. As part of its adoption, Los Angeles set VMT thresholds and created an online VMT calculator for developers. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Bid to Drill in Carrizo Plain Blocked  The California Bureau of Land Management blocked oil drilling in San Luis Obispo’s Carrizo Plain National Monument, overturning a local Bakersfield Field Office decision to build a well and pipeline. BLM was responding to an administrative appeal raised by the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch, who claimed that the regional office failed to fully consider the effects on the climate and potential harm to wildlife. The drilling project, proposed in 2012 by E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. and approved in March, was planned for the base of the Caliente Mountains along the western boundary of the national monument. It represented the first approved drilling since the monument was named in 2001. BLM ruled that the environmental review discussed global greenhouse gas and air quality impacts but not specific impacts on the San Luis Obispo and Kern County environments. The state office recommended conducting another environmental review and initiating consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services for all federally listed endangered species. Quick Hits & Updates  Despite recent rezoning for transit-oriented housing downtown, plans for a 425-unit project in San Bruno were killed by a margin of a single vote in city council. This came after a three-year, $3 million planning process in which developer Ghielmetti followed the city’s voter-approved transit corridor plan, agreed to add car and bike parking, a 40,000-square-foot “upscale” grocery store, 64 affordable units, street improvements and a community meeting space. He also pledged to pay $10 million into the city’s general fund to offset the increase in demand for public services from the new residents. San Francisco Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Kate Hartley is stepping down. Hartley was appointed to the position, tasked with overseeing affordable housing building citywide, in 2017 by then-mayor Ed Lee. Hartley will move to a job overseeing “affordable housing finance,” according to a statement announcing her departure. She’ll formally step down July 26. Oakland’s homeless population surged by 47 percent between 2017 and 2019 to surpass both Berkeley and San Francisco, according to a recently-released one-night street count. The count showed that Oakland now has 940 homeless persons per 100,000 population – while San Francisco has 906 and Berkeley has 848. The city’s homeless population accounts for nearly half of Alameda County’s total, according to the new figures shared at a meeting on homelessness with mayors from 14 cities in the county and the county’s Board of Supervisors. In the latest development in a battle for control of the S an Diego Sports Arena , the arena’s operator, AEG management, agreed to disclose its financial records. This ruling came after H&S Ventures, a rival group that owns the San Diego Gulls minor league hockey teams, requested the documents under the state’s Public Records Act. Both companies have submitted proposals to run the arena after AEG’s long-term lease expires in May 2020. A final decision won’t come until the fall. Following the San Diego Association of Governments’ announcement of a comprehensive, multi-billion-dollar transit overhaul, the Coronado City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the plan. More specifically, Coronado opposes redirecting the 2004 TransNet half-cent sales tax funds away from voter-approved highway projects. SANDAG and Hasan Ikhrata, its new executive director, have faced opposition countywide for repurposing TransNet funds for public transit projects. Instead, the council proposed using the TransNet funds for a $25 million Coronado-specific transportation improvement project. (See prior CP&DR coverage .)  Following strong public opposition to a city council bill designed to boost low-income housing, the San Diego City Planning Commission unanimously rejected the bill. The bill, proposed by City Council President Georgette Gomez, would require developers to make 10 percent of units in a housing project affordable to families making 50 percent of the median income – which is $53,500 in 2019. The current affordable housing policy requires developers to make 10 percent of units affordable to those making 65 percent of the area median income. Instead, the Planning Commission accepted an amended policy that softens the 50 percent requirement to a more modest 60 percent.  In the boldest campaign to solve San Francisco’s homelessness crisis yet, an anti-poverty nonprofit debuted a plan to add 100 permanent supportive housing units to each of San Francisco’s 11 districts – totaling 1,100 new units. The so-called “All In” campaign, spearheaded by Tipping Point Community, asks community members to sign a pledge supporting homes and services in their neighborhood. The grassroots effort will also include asking community members to recruit neighbors and share facts about the widely misunderstood crisis.

A nearly immutable truism about real estate is that housing prices correlate directly with the quality of a city’s schools. Many California school districts are finding out that the reverse is true as well.

San Diego Adopts Aggressive Upzoning Policy The San Diego City Council tentatively approved a municipal code amendment to add a sixth development zone category for high-density housing near public transit and jobs-rich areas. The council’s unanimous vote will add “mixed-use” to the municipal code as the latest zoning category, after open space, agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial. Under current zoning, such mixed-use developments require a special discretionary permitting process that’s often longer and costlier than other processes. Councilwoman Vivian Moreno expressed excitement for the boon such zoning will bring to the city, which she hopes will create walkable communities that provide residents access to commercial uses near their homes. “It’s refreshing to see this come forward after years of project applicants being required to process discretionary permits with additional cost, time and money,” she said to the Times of San Diego. High Speed Rail Undergoes Management Shakeup, Diversion of Funds Major changes are coming to  California High-Speed Rail  – with approvals and setbacks that have come to represent the push-and-pull of the elusive statewide rail vision. In February, facing a ballooning budget and significant slowdowns, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he was temporarily curtailing the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles plan to focus on a Central Valley segment of the line. In May, the Trump Administration terminated a $929-million grant to fund the rail – claiming the High Speed Rail Authority exceeded agreed-to budgets and timelines. However, in a recent sign of progress, the Federal Railroad Administration assigned authority for environmental reviews to the state – which will streamline an often-delayed approval process. Additionally, the rail authority announced major management changes that limit ties to the consultant WSP, which has been advising the authority under a $700 million contract. Earlier this year, the Fair Political Practices Commission launched an investigation into financial conflicts of interest in the WSP's top management. But despite these signs of progress for the project, California lawmakers dealt a recent blow: Assembly Democrats launched a plan to divert money from the project’s current Central Valley segment to the higher-demand Southern California Metrolink and the Bay Area's  Caltrain . These lines are a part of the original vision for a high-speed network. Still, Brian Kelly, chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, sees this proposal as a setback: “It is a mistake to simply take money from one region and spend it in another,” he said to the Los Angeles Times. Report Estimates Quarter-Trillon Dollars in Wildfire Risk Statewide Serious risk of wildfire threatens nearly 500,000 homes worth a combined $268 billion, according to a recent analysis from real estate marketing firm Zillow. The analysis, based on Zillow’s housing data and risk maps from the U.S. Forest Service, found 477,039 homes categorized at “high" or "very high" risk of wildfire. This finding comes amid growing statewide concern for the impact of future wildfires on communities: more than $20 billion worth of property was destroyed by fires in 2017 and 2018, and more than 350,000 Americans currently live in towns and cities designated “very high fire hazard severity zones” by Cal Fire. According to Zillow’s analysis, the Riverside area has the most homes facing high risks, with a total of 113,520 properties worth $40 billion overall. Properties in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego metro areas also face notably high fire risks. Deficit-Ridden Adelanto Considers Disincorporation  Facing a projected $6.3 million fiscal deficit, the City of Adelanto is considering disincorporation – the first disincorporation in San Bernardino County’s history, and the first statewide since the 1970s. The city, which was incorporated in 1971 with the goal of bringing more revenue to the region, may have to disincorporate for the same reason. In 2014, facing a growing financial shortfall, City Manager Jim Hart proposed a 7.95 percent utility users tax – but it was rejected by 63 percent of voters. In 2015, Hart was ousted as city manager. With disincorporation, residents would be governed by the county Board of Supervisors 40 miles away in San Bernardino. To transition from city to county control, a funding mechanism, such as a tax, would need to be devised and adopted to pay for municipal services that would fall to the county. Should 25 percent of Adelanto’s registered voters sign a disincorporation petition this week, it will go to the Local Agency Formation Commission for San Bernardino County for a vote. Final approval will fall to a citizen vote. Maricopa flirted with disincorporation several years ago. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Quick Hits & Updates  Los Angeles's 2016 Measure M transportation tax provides a model for auto-oriented regions looking to change transportation at the ballot box, according to a recent study published by the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonpartisan think tank. The paper situates Measure M, a half-cent sales tax increase to finance local transportation, within a larger discussion of transportation finance and politics. The study hails the measure as a success, for its work in upending the transportation status quo and doubling the county’s rail network. A gondola system may one day transport visitors to Los Angeles’s Griffith Park , according to Stantec, an engineering consulting firm hired to examine the feasibility of aerial transportation. This move responds to heavy traffic around and within the 4,200-acre park. Last year, the Los Angeles City Council authorized the analysis of 29 Griffith Park traffic mitigation measures. Stantec’s feasibility study will examine several alternatives for tramway lines, including stations at notable destinations like the Hollywood sign and Dodger Stadium. It will also study potential effects on the surrounding wildlife and community. The Santa Barbara City Council approved recent changes to its Coastal Land Use Plan, moving one step closer to finalizing development law for the city’s four-mile coastal zone. The plan, last updated in 1986, protects and balances use of coastal resources along the city’s coast – 65 percent of which is in public ownership. One change to the plan prohibits new private access stairways on the bluffs. Next, the council will finalize its Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan, set to be reviewed in 2020.  San Francisco moved closer to cutting fees for affordable projects and backyard apartments, after the city’s Government Audit and Oversight Committee unanimously approved the bill introduced by Mayor London Breed. This bill, introduced in February, would cut building-inspection fees for affordable housing developers and those looking to legally create accessory dwelling units (ADUs) for rent in their backyards, garages, or storage spaces. Since Breed introduced the bill, 22 affordable housing projects have begun the permitting process – and would take on about $675,000 in total fees. Similarly, property owners have applied to build 99 ADUs in this time period, which would incur $280,000 in combined fees. The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a controversial gondola between the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts in Truckee. According to Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, the California Express Gondola would extend an eight-passenger, 33-tower lift over 2.2 miles in a 13-to-16 minute ride, giving skiers and snowboarders access to both resorts without the need for shuttle or car service. The gondola has faced pushback from environmentalists for its proximity to the Granite Chief Wilderness. Before work can begin, plans for the gondola will go to the Forest Service for final review. Anticipating the arrival of new 5G technology from the wireless industry next year, the San Diego City Council approved aggressive new cell antenna regulations as part of its municipal code updates. The new regulations include special protections for the city’s historic areas and efforts to mitigate visual impacts. The advent of 5G technology will mean the installation of “small cell” antennas placed as close as a block apart on city streets. The regulations mandate concealment of radials and mounting brackets to reduce visual clutter. These mandates defend against new federal law, which requires cities to loosen regulations, speed up approval times and lower fees for 5G technology. (See prior CP&DR coverage .)  The City of Los Altos was sued for rejecting a proposed 66-foot office and housing building with an accompanying 18-space underground parking garage. The lawsuit, filed by the California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, claims that the city has rejected a project in compliance with state law. The site’s property owners pursued a streamlined permit under SB 35, a law that encourages housing development by fast-tracking proposals that meet certain requirements. The city council has claimed that the development does not in fact meet all of the requirements under SB 35 to be granted streamlining.

Hasan Ikhrata has wasted no time putting his stamp on the San Diego Association of Governments – and if he is successful it could bring significant changes to SB 375 regional planning around the state.

Caltrain Envisions $25 Billion Plan to Triple Ridership Caltrain will triple its ridership from 60,000 to 180,000, according to a $25 billion, decades-long “service vision” compiled by the agency. The vision includes several extensions, an increase in cars and stations to serve growing demand from Bay Area populations. Caltrain officials hope to anticipate a projected 40 percent increase in residents and workers along transit lines by 2040. Key proposals within the vision include a track extension into the Transbay Terminal in SoMa, as well as a plan to transition diesel cars to electric. However, officials must find a way to fund these innovations: the railway doesn’t reap sales or property tax revenue, and instead relies on a $30 million annual subsidy from the three counties it serves. According to Caltrain’s CEO and general manager Jim Hartnett, the agency is considering putting a sales tax measure on the ballot for funding next year. The final vision will go to Caltrain’s board of directors for approval in October. HUD Accuses Los Angeles of Discrimination; Withholds Funds U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson denied Los Angeles $80 million in funds, citing discrimination against disabled residents. In a recent letter, Carson rejected city officials’ requests for funding, citing the city’s failure to comply to federal accessibility laws in its proposed affordable housing projects. This comes as a blow to the city, which is struggling with affordable housing and homelessness crises. The money being withheld by HUD includes funds from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which pays for affordable housing for low-income families. According to Carson’s letter, local officials will have 45 days to resubmit or rework their funding application. They can also seek the funding by entering into an agreement that addresses the city’s outstanding violations on disabled housing. L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti claims that there are “no grounds” for withholding the funds. “These funds support an array of federal programs upon which millions of people rely, and withholding them will ultimately hurt the neediest among us,” Garcetti told the Los Angeles Times. “At a time of rising homelessness and a moment of record income inequality in America, the victims of this action will not be local government, but struggling Americans." Residential Building Permit Approvals Decline 12 Percent over 2018 Residential building permit approval rates decreased statewide, according to new data from California Department of Finance. According to the data, California communities approved an annual average of 110,000 new buildings in the first five months of 2019 – 12.2 percent fewer than the same period in 2018. Permits for multi-family units like apartments decreased by an even greater rate, falling by 42.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted average of 46,000 units per year. This data comes as a blow to Governor Gavin Newsom’s aggressive housing production goal of 3.5 million new units by 2025. To reach this goal, statewide production would have to increase fivefold. This year, the governor pushed stricter policy for new building: he allocated $1.75 billion for financing loans and tax breaks for affordable housing development in this year’s budget. He also attempted, and failed, to withhold road repair money from cities that didn’t meet their housing goals – and instead compromised with a fine. But data shows that new housing numbers are still moving in the wrong direction. Senator Scott Weiner, whose building bill SB 50 was shelved in the Legislature in May, commented on the new data. "Even though there’s a perception that we’ve accelerated housing production in California, we haven’t,” he said to the Sacramento Bee. "We’ve fallen dramatically far short of where we need to be and it’s getting worse. And this is threatening the state’s future.” Survey Ranks “Walkable Places” Nationwide; Bay Area Ranked 5th California urban hubs nabbed top national rankings for walkability, according to the WalkUP rankings from Smart Growth America. The analysis ranks the levels of walkable urbanism within the nation’s largest metro areas, and identified 761 extremely walkable places, or “WalkUPs,” that deliver an outsized economic performance despite their minute portion of total U.S. land mass. According to the research, such areas deliver high proportions of office, retail, and multi-family homes per square feet. Nationally, the San Francisco Bay Area ranks fifth in walkable urbanism, Sacramento ranks nineteenth, Los Angeles ranks twentieth, and San Diego ranks twenty-fifth. The “San Francisco Bay Area” region includes San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose; the study notes that Silicon Valley maintains a "retro-drivable suburban development pattern" despite its high concentration of knowledge workers. The findings also note that most of Los Angeles’s walkable urban space is located in its suburbs. Quick Hits & Updates  In response to an approved high rise development on a site occupied by Amoeba Music in Hollywood, a prominent anti-development group is suing the City of Los Angeles on the grounds of culture significance. In addition to filing a lawsuit, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its subsidiary the Coalition to Preserve L.A. filed a monument application for the Sunset Boulevard site. The lawsuit also claimed that the proposed 26-story complex with up to 200 apartments and 7,000 square feet does not produce sufficient affordable housing. Amoeba Music plans to relocate to another Los Angeles site. The Redlands Passenger Rail  program broke ground in downtown Redlands, beginning construction on the nine-mile, $355.4 million link from San Bernandino to Redlands. The new corridor will add four stations, including downtown Redlands. The Santa Fe Depot will connect riders to the Arrow line and its low emission diesel train, as well as a Metrolink platform toward Los Angeles. The San Bernandino Transit Center connection will link riders to Los Angeles Union Station, LAX, Orange County, and more. The project is expected to be completed in 2022. Caltrans and state representatives spoke in opposition of building a park or housing on freeway stubs off of the Los Angeles County 710, taking the much-anticipated project off the table. When Caltrans killed plans to close the 4.1-mile 710 Freeway Gap between El Sereno, South Pasadena and Pasadena by surface or tunnel, the L.A. county MTA awarded these cities $515 million for local roadway projects. Of that, $100 million were earmarked for Alhambra to pursue a project on the southern stub – including the possibility of parkland. However, state representatives have since expressed concerns about increased congestion from closing the structures.  As part of a multi-pronged effort to ease anticipated traffic to the Warrior’s Mission Bay arena, San Francisco transportation officials announced that tickets to any event at the new Chase Center arena will come with a free Muni day pass. The 18,000-seat arena will offer limited parking spaces, and officials are preparing for a crush of traffic to the site. In February, Mayor London Breed created a working group of more than a dozen city departments to increase infrastructure and operations for the influx of thousands of event attendees to the area. For transportation officials, this includes increased Muni rides, a Muni platform expansion, and a new ferry service to the site.  In a split decision, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors rejected a November 2019 bill asking voters to add an extra layer of oversight to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Mayor London Breed has lobbied strongly against the bill, arguing that the added layer of bureaucracy wouldn’t be worth the increased attention to homelessness. The department, created in 2016, reports directly to the mayor and is one with the few major departments in the city without an oversight commission. The oversight measure instead will be considered for the March 2020 ballot. In the latest of a series of legal battles over the Cupertino Vallco Mall development project, the Cupertino City Council settled a lawsuit with former city attorney Randolph Hom – who alleged retaliation, discrimination, and breach of contract in connection with his involvement in the redevelopment plan. Hom was fired by the city after he argued that the proposed $3 billion Vallco Mall redevelopment violated the city’s general plan. The city council denies all wrongdoing, but agreed to pay the $205,000 settlement to avoid further legal proceedings. (See prior CP&DR coverage .)  The Cupertino City Council nixed any future office development at the Vallco Shopping Center site should current plans fall through. The current council opposes the approved plans, which were required as part of the 2017 SB 35 streamlined approval process for developments that comply with affordable housing requirements. The council members say that adding up to 2 million square feet of office space will exacerbate the housing shortage by attracting even more workers. Senator Scott Weiner, who authored SB 35, recently accused the council of attempting to sabotage future housing projects at the site. The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a 60-story skyscraper project in South Park, and also approved the project for the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment, which allows for CEQA streamlining for projects near transit. The Canadian developer Onni bought the site in 2016 and plans to convert a block into a retail/residential center, adding two new towers and preserving the two Los Angeles Times buildings on the property.

In a victory for landlords, an appellate court has ruled that a Hollywood property owners did not have to analyze the impact on renters of an apartment conversion to a boutique hotel because the owner had already taken the building off the market under the terms of the state’s Ellis Act. The case turned on the question of the proper baseline for the environmental analysis.

San Diego County’s approval of a 24-parcel subdivision of 40-acre lots has been thrown out by an appellate court, which concluded that the county’s action violates the Williamson Act.

CP&DR Vol. 34 No. 7 July 2019