Huntington Beach bills itself as “Surf City USA.” The name invokes chill dudes at one with the ocean. Or it can invoke combative localism protecting a prized break from invading kooks. When it comes to housing, Huntington Beach’s attitude is decidedly the latter. It recently settled one housing-related dispute with the state but is fighting another suit and has filed one of its own. When Gov. Gavin Newsom came into office and pledged to force cities to accept their fair share of housing, Huntington Beach was the first city he targeted. The city had long argued with the Department of Housing and Community Development about a shortfall of 413 low-income units required by its 2013 Regional Housing Needs Allocation numbers. Newsom took the dispute a step further by filing suit against the city to force it into compliance. A year later, the city adopted a revised specific plan that adds zoning for the required 413 affordable units and has tentatively brought the city back into compliance with HCD and Newsom’s good graces. The city has also sued the state to exempt it (and other charter cities) from two housing bills that strengthen the ability of HCD and the Attorney General to enforce the law against Huntington Beach. It was a long process — originating nine years ago. In 2011, the city adopted the Beach Edinger Corridors Specific Plan (BECSP) to spur development on two of the city’s biggest commercial corridors. The area was, and is, largely a collection of low-rise commercial properties such as strip malls. The plan included streamlined project approval, no floor:area ratio or density caps, and reduced parking standards. the plan was designed to accommodate 4,500 new residential units, and, in its first year of adoption, several projects of over 100 units were approved. The plan won an Award of Merit from the California chapter of the American Planning Association. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Even so, the plan concerned some residents. “With the Beach Edinger Corridor Specific Plan, it was a lot in a very short amount of time,” said Huntington Beach City Council Member Kim Carr. “I don’t think people were prepared for this shift in what the city as doing.”

California Lags in Production of “Granny Flats" California cities get a C+ for measures meant to boost the number of granny flats, or accessory dwelling units, according to a survey by Berkeley housing researchers. Even as the state has loosened restrictions, some cities have imposed barriers like mandating parking spaces, large lot sizes, and additional fees for ADU construction. Not all cities received low marks. Oakland, San Jose, Concord and San Francisco scored above average, but homeowners in Northern California were more likely to run into high permit costs, while Southern California residents became enmeshed in onerous parking regulations and demands for large lots, the survey found. Local planning departments have been an impediment as well, as they have been slow to adopt state law changes and have not standardized the permitting process for homeowners and developers. Nonprofits are looking to fill the knowledge gap: The Housing Trust Silicon Valley expects to roll out a short-term loan program to homeowners to build ADUs, which would then be rented out to low- and moderate-income residents. Housing Groups Propose 10-Year Plan  Affordable housing advocacy group Housing California and nonprofit California Housing Partnership have announced California's Roadmap HOME 2030 , an initiative to develop and implement a 10-year policy blueprint for statewide housing and homelessness solutions. The goal is to move beyond a piecemeal approach and purpose long-term structural and systems change policies necessary to address California's housing affordability challenges. According to the organizations, the Roadmap will be released in the fall. The two coalitions are working with more than three dozen partners and experts from many sectors touched by housing affordability and homelessness. The Roadmap will describe the full scale of the need for affordable homes, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable; illustrate what it will take to meet the need by 2030 by setting ambitious goals and putting forward a comprehensive and evidence-based framework of statewide policies and investments; and shape the policy agenda in Sacramento to win concrete legislation and investments. UC Riverside Report Touts Multifamily Housing Development  A new report out of UC Riverside's School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development makes a case for multifamily housing in Los Angeles County, where one-sixth of building costs is attributable to land alone. Compare that figure to other southern California cities, including Anaheim, Oxnard, San Bernardino, and Riverside, where land accounts for less than two percent of total development costs, and it becomes clear that density can have an outsize influence on affordability. Building a condominium in Los Angeles costs $100,000 more, on average, than building in surrounding areas. "Affordable housing by definition is multifamily housing, and where land is expensive, that cost needs to be distributed among more people in order to promote affordability," said Adam Fowler, Director of Research at the Center for Forecasting. The report also examined countywide data and found that the median condo price-to-housing income ratio in Los Angeles is 7.7, which is 61 percent higher than the recommended ratio. "While officials can't control the costs of labor, building materials, or other market variables," said Hoyu Chong, the report's author, "they can support changes to zoning and land use that will have a meaningful effect on reducing housing unit costs and increase affordability for Southern California families.” Quick Hits & Updates  Mountain lions may land on the endangered species list after a recommendation by the state Fish and Game Commission. Six populations are under review, including those in the Santa Monica Mountains in Ventura and Los Angeles Mountains. If the determination as endangered species is made, development projects in surrounding areas could be required to lessen any impacts to the species. The Strategic Growth Council  is now accepting applications for round 6 of the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC). SGC is inviting cities, counties, resource conservation districts, land trusts, Native American tribes, and non-profits to apply for funding for projects that limit sprawl and promote infill development.  USC has issued an update to its 2015 "Getting Real about Reform" report that explores how much additional revenue would be generated through the 1-percent general tax levy if commercial and industrial property were assessed at market value. The authors estimate that under such a system, an additional 11.4 billion dollars, or between 10.3 and 12.6 billion dollars, in property tax revenues would be available in 2021-22.  Indio City Council members unanimously approved a resolution to adopt the results of a feasibility study to provide Amtrak train service between Los Angeles and Indio. The proposed "Coachella Valley-San Gorgonio Pass Rail Corridor Service," which is the early stages of the environmental review process, would extend span 141 miles from Indio to Los Angeles Union Station. A landmark housing project that will add 1,200 new single-family and multi-family units in Paso Robles was unanimously approved by city leaders. The project will occupy 356 acres across four land parcels. The first phase is slated to begin as early as this summer and units will be ready for sale 18 to 24 months after construction begins.  At a press conference, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin announced the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, a city ordinance aimed at preserving affordable housing in Berkeley. With TOPA, tenants have the right of first and right of first refusal on the property they live in, giving them a chance to purchase the property as a subordinated right purchase. A case before the U.S. district court will determine whether Costa Mesa's tough new regulations for sober living homes - mandated around the clock supervision, minimum distance between facilities and special permits - violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act. A tentative ruling holds that a sober living home operator can't make a blanket claim that everyone it serves is disabled and entitled to federal protections. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) To meet a likely mandate to zone for and produce 6,000 affordable housing units by 2029, Santa Monica's Planning Commission discuss recommending by-right zoning for 100 percent affordable housing developments. Planning Commissioner Richard McKinnon recommends standardizing conditions like corporate housing restrictions and sustainability features in order to allow market rate housing by-right as well. Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California are pledging $45 million to help with the homelessness crisis. The funds may be directed towards building affordable housing with units set aside specifically for formerly homeless families and towards helping with rent subsidies.

"Light Touch" SB 50 Returns Sen. Scott Wiener has unveiled a new version of his SB 50 in a new bill, SB 902. The new bill would permit duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes by right in most residential neighborhoods in California, depending on the size of the jurisdiction. The bill would also permit local governments to override voter-approved initiatives to permit projects of 10 units or more. Wiener called the new bill "baseline zoning for the state." The  Los Angeles Times account of SB 902 can be found here  while the bill's text can be found here .  League of Cities Proposes Housing Plan Based on Local Control  Meanwhile, the League of California Cities unveiled a production proposal that, if fully implemented, would lay the foundation for the immediate production of much needed housing. With broad support from the board, which consists of mayors, council members and appointed officials, the proposal has a better chance at implementation than previous proposals that "missed the mark," League President John Dunbar said in a statement The proposal emphasizes the need to secure long-term funding, pointing to SB 795, a property tax levy, and ACA 1, a bill that lowers voter threshold for affordable housing funding approval, as two currently pending bills that could create a long-term funding pool. The proposal also includes a menu of immediate actions cities would be required to choose from and adopt spur housing production. Cities may, for example, adopt an accessory dwelling unit ordinance, an inclusionary housing ordinance, or a transit-oriented development (TOD). Or cities may approach the program from a cost standpoint: reduce development fees, develop objective design review standards, and streamline housing approval processes. The proposal, which has been shared with Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and legislative leaders, will be a key topic during the League's Legislative Action Day, April 22. Thousands of Affordable Units at Risk in Bay Area An annual report from California Housing Partnership, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, warns that while the Bay Area didn't lose affordable apartments due to conversions to market-rate housing last year, low-income residents are more at risk than ever. As outlined in the report, since 1997, the Bay Area lost over 2,000 subsidized, rent-restricted apartments. Another 5,300 are at risk of disappearing as tax credits and subsides from federal and state agencies are set to expire. Los Angles County has the largest concentration of at-risk homes, with more than 5,000 subsidized affordable units converted to market-rate units since 1997, but counties all over California have lost affordable housing stock, including Alameda County (683), Contra Costa County (410), San Francisco County (115), San Mateo County (201), and Santa Clara County (719). Statewide, over 15,000 affordable units have been lost; another 31,800 are considered at risk. "We could actually see a situation where instead of increasing the stock of affordable housing, we're falling further behind," said Jeffrey Buchanan, director of public policy for Working Partnerships USA, a San Jose nonprofit that advocates on behalf of renters.  Survey Details Automobile Use In Los Angeles  Concerns over safety and convenience are keeping Los Angeles drivers in cars and out of public transit, according to the new USC Dornslife/Union Bank LABarometer mobility survey . Personal vehicles are overwhelmingly Los Angeleno's preferred method of transportation, with 89 percent of respondents saying they use cars to travel in or around Los Angeles County. Ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber were used by 44 percent of respondents, though infrequently. Only 35 percent say they used public transportation last year. Safety concerns are overblown, experts say. "It's fascinating that people believe they are safer in cars than in public transit. That's simply false," said a USC Professor of Psychology and Business, noting 40,000 highway deaths per year. That doesn't mean riders are imagining hazards. Walking is by far the most common way people get to public transit, and the LABarometer shows that harassment and assault are more common on sidewalks than anywhere else, particularly for women. Long transit times was the top concern for bus riders (46 percent), followed by behavior of other riders (45 percent), lack of cleanliness (37 percent), and safely getting to and waiting for the bus (36 percent). For metro users, distance to stops and behavior of other riders were top concerns (nearly tied at 39 and 38 percent), safety on the metro and on the way to the metro were concerns for 30 percent and 29 percent of riders, respectively. "Our findings suggest that safety improvements could get more people on the Metro," said Kyla Thomas, director of the LABarometer and a sociologist with CESR. "but improving convenience for daily activity is likely to get people to use the Metro more frequently, as a real substitute for the car.” Quick Hits & Updates  Following the failure of SB 50, State Sen. Scott Wiener has introduced  a bill that would allow faith institutions and nonprofit hospitals to build 100 percent affordable housing on their property by right, even if local zoning would have prohibited that type of housing. If SB 899 passes, churches, faith institutions and nonprofit hospitals will be able to build up to 150 units of affordable housing without having to go through rezoning and discretionary approval processes. California Office of Emergency Services is updating the California Adaptation Planning Guide. The second Public Review Draft is now live for review and comment through March 31. Anyone who has a stake in climate adaptation planning is encouraged to provide comments and feedback. A proposed measure, "Limitations on Navigation Centers," may appear on the November 2020 San Francisco ballot. The initiative would put a two-year cap and 100-bed limit on navigation centers, and require that "any new navigation center must open in the census tract with the largest number of unsheltered homeless" people in the city. Los Angeles legislators are considering a change to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance that would protect tenants from rent hikes that outpace inflation rates, essentially removing the floor and capping annual increases at 60 percent of the consumer price index. The rule change would affect tenants in roughly 600,000 apartments covered by the ordinance, which generally applies to buildings constructed on before Oct. 1978. A San Diego developer is attempting to establish a clear delineation between market rate tenants and affordable housing tenants, going so far as to have two separate entrances and block low-income tenants from using luxury amenities like the building's rooftop deck. Housing advocates are pushing back, saying the separation amounts to segregation, but the development is allowed under city rules.  Newly released passenger data shows that ridership on the new Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit Line is slowly starting to recover after a 2.2 percent drop in its second year of service from 721,600 to 706,000. Commuters, who are driving the rebound, are increasingly using SMART as an alternative to driving to work on Highway 101. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) A year after the state sued Huntington Beach "for willingly refusing to comply with state housing law," Huntington Beach City Council voted to approve the acquisition of a vacant parcel intended for an affordable housing project, which will span the neighboring property as well. The city will use $3 million from a low-moderate income housing asset fund reserved for the development of affordable housing.

In this week’s election, Bernie Sanders won big in the Democratic presidential race, and local measures to promote development and smart growth got slaughtered. Coincidence? Only partially.

Package of Bills Takes Aim at Development Fees  Seven bills aimed at slashing development and impact fees -- which comprise up to 18 percent of the cost of new Californian homes -- have been proposed in the legislature recently. The bills, jointly authored by five Democratic assembly members, aim to combat the housing crisis in California. If passed in full, the package would substantially modify the way fees are assessed, including nexus standards reform; impact fee reduction for affordable housing units and units built using the state's density bonus program; tie fees to median home prices; and assess fees on a per-square-foot basis, giving developers the option to build smaller, more affordable units without being penalized. Impact fees would be payable "under protest," allowing developers to defer fee negotiations and continue building. Overall, the package pares down requirements and development costs, with one exception: cities and counties would be required to report essential housing data to HCD, including the number of new housing units that have been issued a completed entitlement, a building permit, or a certificate of occupancy. The bills are currently being sent to Assembly Committees where they are expected to be heard in the spring.  Ruling Stalls Approval of 72,000 Oil Wells  Kern County oil producers will no longer be allowed to use a single environmental report for 72,000 new oil wells after an appellate court ruled that the report concealed impacts on air quality, drinking water, and wildlife. Kern County officials ignored threats to public health from particulate soot, and impacts to drinking and agricultural water supplies, the panel ruled. The environmental impact report had set a cap of 3,647 new well approvals a year, for a total of 72,900 permits over 20 years, but the sweeping ruling invalidates the entire policy until county officials can demonstrate CEQA compliance. While the decision is a blow to the industry, the overall concept of blanket approval and quick permitting remains intact. "We're committed to this ordinance. If we need to fix it, we'll fix it," said Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Director Lorelei Oviatt, who helped craft the policy. "I'm very pleased we won on the very important issues for this innovative approach ... covering 2.3 million acres." Her statement gets to the heart of environmentalist's concerns. "The scheme they set up is basically rubber-stamping all the applications that come across the county's desk for oil and gas wells, and all of the ancillary equipment," said Hollin Kretzmann, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. There's no word yet whether there will be an appeal, but one more timely option on the table would be to kick the matter up to state authorities. Bakersfield-Palmale Segment of High Speed Rail to Cost $18.1 Billion The segment of California High Speed Rail from Bakersfield to Palmdale would incur significant losses, financial and otherwise, says a draft environmental statement by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The rail line route would cut through 253 residential housing units, 311 businesses, 175 farm fields, a homeless shelter, and an alternative high school. Among impacts that are "significant and unavoidable under CEQA" is the relocation of a section of the iconic Pacific Crest Trail. The estimated $18.1 billion price tag is a reflection of the route's challenging terrain. To achieve 4,000 feet of elevation - as crossing the Tehachapi Mountains requires - plans call for 9.3 miles of tunnels,15.8 miles of elevated structures, and 75 overpass or underpass structures to cross highways. A federal bill, H.R. 5805, has been introduced in the House of Representatives by by Rep. Jim Costa that would authorize $32 billion in federal funds for high-speed rail corridors, but whether those funds make it to California is an open question as the federal administration has been show to disburse funds and has tried to take already granted funds back. LAO Analyzes Costs, Benefits of Governor’s Climate Proposals The Legislative Affairs Office has issued a report examining Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed investments related to climate change. The four main proposals evaluated by the LAO include a $965 million cap-and-trade expenditure plan, $25 million for expanded climate adaptation research and technical assistance, $250 million for a new climate catalyst loan fund, and a $4.8 billion climate bond. The report sets forth a series of key issues for the legislature to consider, including thinking broadly - beyond the governor's recommendations - about its climate change-related priorities. Since the climate catalyst loan, for example, comes out of the General Fund, the legislature will have to weight multiple priorities before those funds are issued to their ultimate destination. A common thread throughout the report is California's potential contributions to the private sector and impacts beyond the state's borders. Because California emits roughly 1 percent of global greenhouse gas gases,. the most significant effect of California's climate policies may be how they influence greenhouse gas reduction activities in other jurisdictions. If California were to successfully implement cost-effective policies, for example, a reasonable assumption is that other states or even countries could follow suit. Quick Hits & Updates The California High-Speed Rail Authority estimates the state bullet train project will cost $80.3 billion, up from a previous estimate of $70 billion, mainly because the plan pushes back the completion of a high-speed rail link between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley by 18 months, to late 2031. But, managers insist they are on pace to meet a 2022 federal deadline for laying track along the first segment in the Central Valley. New figures from BART indicate that ridership has decreased during off-peak hours, particularly on weekends and at night. The total amount of rides outside of commuting hours have dropped by nearly 10 million, from 62.2 million in 2015 to 52.7 million in 2019. In a survey of 662 BART riders, reasons for not taking rides in off-peak hours includes lower frequency of trains on the weekend and the rail system not reaching places BART riders want to travel to. Crime, lack of cleanliness, and homeless riders were also cited as reasons riders chose alternative transit options. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sided with the California attorney general's office and HCD, asserting Huntington Beach must respond to a state lawsuit accusing the city of falling out of compliance with the state housing mandate. UCLA Luskin research team won the 2019 Pyke Johnson Award from the Transportation Research Board for a recent paper about the mobility needs of aging adults. The award-winning paper, "Physical Accessibility and Employment Among Older Adults in California," found that adults age 60 and older are able to stay in the workforce longer when they have access to a car or to public transit, or if they live in an urban area. More than half of all California counties should begin preparing for a large and long lasting period of declining student enrollment by as much as seven percent, according to projections from the California Department of Finance. Since funding is allocated on a per pupil basis, schools will contend with shrinking budgets. There is at least one silver lining: with continued economic growth, lower enrollment could result in funding increases for K-12 schools of up to $100 per student in each of the next several years. The San Bernadino County Transportation Authority voted to initiate a $3 million study to explore three rail access options and choose a "preferred alternative" that would allow car-free access to Ontario International Airport. In broad strokes, officials are looking at either extending the Gold Line from Pomona to the airport, building a heavy-rail line from Metrolink's Rancho Cucamonga station, or converting existing cargo train tracks to a heavy-rail passenger service from Metrolink's Ontario-East Station. San Diego's Planning and Development Services has created an online portal through which the public can track progress on the general plan and local development, as the city seeks to add up to 60,748 residences. The portal includes text summary reports, maps that show how many residences have been built in each unincorporated community, the capacity the general plan would still allow to be built in each community, and a search tool, all updated quarterly. Los Angeles Metro expects to receive a $1.3 billion grant for the purple line, a Los Angeles County subway line that will connect downtown to the Westside, the last piece of major funding needed to finish the project. The nine-mile project, which will run beneath Wilshire Boulevard, is expected to generate 78,000 new daily trips. Los Angeles is considering a car-free zone on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The initiative, Bringing Back Broadway, includes a streetscape master plan that would extend sidewalks and divert traffic. A new streetcar loop for Broadway is also in the works; nearly $590-million has been secured for construction and operations. The Coastal Commission unanimously rejected a massive seawall barrier proposal that would protect expensive homes on Dana's Point's Strands Beach from landslides. Commissioners objected to the large taxpayer expense that would predominantly benefit wealthy homeowners, as well as the loss of beach that would occur as a result of the plan. CCC rejected a similar proposal in 2012, signaling commissioner's preference for protecting coastline over private property. President Trump signed a presidential memorandum that is intended to divert water to Central Valley's agricultural regions, once again setting up a legal battle between the state and the federal Justice Department. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra immediately responded, saying in a news release that California will challenge the action. Implications are unclear for Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent announcement that he will seek "voluntary agreements" to manage delta resources. The developer of Cupertino's Vallco Mall filed a complaint against the city of Cupertino, setting the stage to sue the city over general plan amendments made in August. The company had "no choice" to file a claim, Sand Hill managing director said in an email, alleging the amendments would amount to "downzoning" the project and "radically the value of the Site, as they left no potential for a project that can feasibly be built.” (See prior CP&DR coverage .) The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has created Housing Central Command, a new initiative to establish real-time awareness of LA's permanent supportive housing portfolio across all jurisdictions and funding streams. Developed by HUD, the crisis response model will allow homeless service agencies and government authorities to coordinate with a common set of housing inventory data. A San Mateo development is on track to be the first success story for AB 1763, the bill that allows projects near major transit hubs to be built taller and denser. A developer is relying on the new law to bump a five-story, 164-unit project up to a seven-story complex with 225 units for low-income families.  San Francisco's car ban on Market Street went into effect last month. Newly released data from Inrix, a traffic analytics firm, shows worries regarding traffic snarls on surrounding streets were unfounded. An independent data set provided to the San Francisco Examiner confirms Inrix's findings, which show negligible, slightly slower car travel times, while Muni and bus times have seen a commensurate boost.

CP&DR Vol. 35 No. 2 February 2020

Will the federal government soon try to transportation funds – and possibly other funds from higher levels of government -- to local zoning reform?

Newsom Promises Aggressive Action on Homelessness in State of the State Address  Gov. Gavin Newsom devoted  almost the entirety of his State of the Union address to California's homelessness crisis, imploring legislators to act on the local level and reiterating his willingness to work with the Trump administration. "The public has lost patience, you have all lost patience, and so have I," Newsom said to lawmakers in Sacramento. "Every day, the California dream is dimmed by the wrenching reality of families and children and seniors living unfed on a concrete bed." In addition to emotional pleas, Newsom laid out concrete measures. He announced 286 state-owned properties, including fairgrounds, armories and vacant lots, that became available in February for "homelessness solutions," in addition to 100 camping trailers that would be deployed across the state for emergency shelter." He also called attention to $1.5 billion the state has made available to local governments, and called on legislators to make permanent financial commitments for long-term solutions. Newsom would like to bypass state environmental laws, a common roadblock to affordable housing development, and advocated for land use reform to eliminate delays on affordable housing projects around transit. "I respect local control, but not at the cost of creating a two-class California," Newsom said. HCD Warns Encinitas of Violations of Housing Law  The City of Encinitas , long a battleground over growth, must take "affirmative, definitive corrective action," or fall out of compliance, according to a six-page letter from the Department of Housing and Community Development. Encinitas is running afoul of state housing law in five categories, according to the letter. The city isn't meeting the requirements for adopting its new Housing Element plan, a key driver for the city's compliance certification last year. Additionally, Encinitas did not put Proposition A on the ballot, without which Encinitas cannot meet housing goals. Third, the city's extremely limited stock of accessible, low-income housing violates California fair housing and anti-discrimination land-use law, the letter said, and Encinitas is out of compliance with the Housing Crisis Act, which went into effect Jan. Recent moves by the city have exacerbated compliance issues. City-imposed limitations on a new overnight parking lot for homeless people was on example cited in the letter, as was a housing development that faced unnecessary and prohibitive regulatory barriers from the city. Encinitas has struggled for years to achieve compliance, as ballot measures to amend the city's housing element have failed, and Measure U, the city's current plan, was only adopted in response to a court order. Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear said the state's announcement was an "absolute" surprise. "We worked really hard to achieve state certification.” (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Report Examines Causes of Jobs-Housing Spatial Mismatch A new paper by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation of UC Berkeley examines the relationship between land use regulations and six spatial mismatch indicators in cities across California, including the mismatch between residents and workers employed in a city, low-income jobs and affordable housing units in a city, and the earnings of employed residents and workers in a city. It also measures commute burdens by calculating the percentage of workers who live in the city in which they work and the share of workers who commute more than 10 minutes and more than 30 minutes from home to work. The report found five key takeaways for stakeholders and policymakers: First, cities with affordable housing incentives, urban growth boundaries, and eased restrictions on accessory dwelling units have lower commute burdens. Second, cities with affordable housing incentives and no lot size restrictions on accessory dwelling units have a better balance between residents and workers, as well as between affordable units and low-income workers. Third, cities that prohibit high-density development house residents with higher earnings than local workers. The study ultimately concludes that local governments can effectively draw on a number of policy tools to encourage affordable housing development and reduce commute burdens for their local workforce. California Home to Six of Nation’s Ten Most Diverse Cities California is home to six of the top ten most diverse cities in America, according to a U.S. News special report . Stockton tops the list, with 78 percent residents of color, followed by Oakland (73 percent), and Sacramento, which tied with New York City (67 percent). Also on the top ten list were Long Beach, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Fresno. The diversity of California's cities mirrors the demographics of the state, which is home to large immigrant enclaves from more than 60 countries, and where no one racial or ethnic group makes up a majority of the population. The report attributes California's diversity to immigration that took place between 1980 to 2000, when many U.S. cities, including cities in California, saw rapid growth in their Hispanic and Asian populations, moderate African American growth and a slowly dwindling non-Hispanic white population. In 2006, Asia surpassed Latin America as the top place of origin for new immigrants to the state, and in 2015, Latinos became the largest ethnic group in the state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Quick Hits & Updates Rich Hillis has been appointed  director of the San Francisco Planning Department, succeeding John Rahaim. He is currently the Executive Director of the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture and served on the Planning Commission from 2012 to 2019. As Planning Director, Hillis will focus on addressing the housing shortage in San Francisco by working to streamline the Department's process for entitling new housing and identifying opportunities to create new and more equitable housing opportunities in areas of San Francisco that have not seen significant new housing in decades.  100 Resilient Cities will relaunch as an independent network after Rockefeller Foundation announced in 2019 it would end six years of funding the effort. The organization is now bifurcated into two new organizations, Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) and the Global Cities Network. With nine employees, RCC is currently working on resiliency projects in Tampa, FL and Southern California. RCC has modeled itself a a more nimble consultancy acting as a go-between for cities and non governmental bodies. In Southern California, RCC is part of the Southern California Resilience Initiative, which helps combat wildfires in the state. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) A 2,600-unit waterfront project is one step closer to approval after the San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve redevelopment of the former plant station. Redevelopment plans were initiated in 2012; in 2016 Associate Capital purchased the property. If the project gets final approval from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Associate Capital says construction will take 16 years for 2,600 homes and 1.8 million feet of commercial development. Under pressure from the state, the Simi Valley Planning Commission will recommend the city council approve a proposed 278-unit, four-story apartment complex. A Dec. 16 letter from HCD warned that denying approval would violate state housing laws, including the Housing Accountability Act, which curbs local authority to deny housing developments. Further, Simi Valley is behind in fulfilling its RHNA for very low and low-income housing. Rather than risk revocation of the city's housing element, the council has decided to allow the project to move forward. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is investigating options to build housing for its employees on Muni-owned land. Currently, Muni's Portrero Yard serves as a parking lot for hundreds of buses, but with the current shortage of operators, Muni is in discussions to incorporate roughly 525 housing units above the buses .The agency has said it hopes half of which it hopes to make half of the units affordable housing. The innovative solution would solve the current efficiency paradox: most Muni bus operators have to drive to work from more affordable city outskirts because their shifts starts before regional transit like BART begins running. The San Francisco Board of Education adopted an educator housing resolution to add more than 500 affordable educator housing units by 2030. Voters passed two propositions that will aid in the effort: one dedicates $20 million for educator housing, the other rezones school district properties to enable such projects. Currently, teachers are forced to commute as many as five hours a day as teacher salaries have significantly lagged behind housing costs. HCD recently announced the release of the Local Early Action Planning Grants NOFA for approximately $119 million. HCD will be hosting targeted technical assistance workshops at a sub-regional and county level from March to May. Workshops will focus on providing application assistance and discussing long-term technical assistance needs.  Uber will have to share real-time data on its riders' trip to maintain operating permits in Los Angeles, according to a court decision. Uber will appeal the decision, according to a spokesperson. Despite ongoing litigation, scooters and electric bikes have been and will continue to operate through the Jump app. Uber has defended the right to withhold detailed real-time trip information on the grounds of privacy concerns. But the city has argued that the data is necessary to regulate the 32,000 scooters and bikes that see about 1 million trips per month. The Strategic Growth Council is opening applications for 3-5 Proposition 84 Wildfire Resilience and Recovery Planning Grant Applications between $150,000 and $250,000. Eligible applicants include cities, counties, tribes, and metropolitan planning organizations representing California areas affected by wildfires between 2017-2019. The application deadline is Thursday, March 18. Californians largely agree when it comes to housing and Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to address homelessness, according to a new poll from Public Policy Institute of California. Californians are much more divided on the governor's high-speed rail plan and a March ballot measure to authorize state bonds for public education facilities, however, with only a slight majority in support of the ballot measure and 49 percent in favor of Newsom's rail plan. California YIMBY is calling for an investigation into the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed funding to oppose failed SB 50, the More HOMES Act. The formal complaint with California's Fair Political Practices Commission alleges the foundation backed advertisement campaigns to oppose the bill without disclosing its involvement. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Planning Commissioner Dennis Richards filed a lawsuit against San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection, claiming DBI officials revoked nine building permits on a building he co-owns after Richards criticized the department during a Planning Commission meeting. Richards, a frequent DBI critic, stated that he had "lost faith" in the department for playing favorites and corruption. A working paper from UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs explores a frequently invoked statement in the housing debate that relatively high vacancy rates in newer market-rate and mixed-income housing developments are a reliable indicator of Los Angeles' ineffective housing policies. The analysis found that Los Angeles vacancy rates rank among the lowest in the nation, and are lower than they were for most of the past 15 years, suggesting that proposals such as vacancy taxes will do little to address the housing crisis.

A plan to convert a Super 8 motel in San Diego into a housing for homeless individuals apparently will move forward now that both the Coastal Commission and the Fourth District Court of Appeal have sided with the city’s.

The score of land use measures on local ballots statewide on March 3 present an exquisite microcosm of California land use issues. They include an typical array of typical questions — on approving developments, preserving open space, and improving infrastructure — as well as some unique, only-in-California questions that are sure to baffle all but the most fervent community activists. Several measures speak to the future of California development: will it be a compact, transit-oriented future — or will growth be stopped in its tracks?  Several measures vie for the title of most consequential, but the City of San Diego’s Measure C wins. It would raise $2 billion through a hotel tax increase to fund revelation and expansion of the city’s convention center. To sweeten the deal, some of the funds would go toward improving city streets and reducing homelessness. Aside from its explicit goals, Measure C promises to finally put to rest years of debate, dealmaking, heartache, and lawsuits—not to mention a previous 2016 ballot measure that would have funded a new football stadium and convention center, thus giving us the word “convadium"—surrounding the convention center. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Further debates are afoot on San Diego’s urban fringe. Measure A is a sweeping policy-related measure with flavors of slow growth and of environmentalism. It would require voter approval for any proposed project that would increase density in areas that the country’s general plan designates as rural or semi-rural. The measure could provide powerful protection for open space. But if it is not complemented by increased housing density in the county’s urban cores, it could also contribute to the county’s housing crisis.  Lo and behold, the county ballot also includes a measure to approve a project that would increase density in a semi-rural area. Measure B would amend the county’s general plan to accommodate the Newland Sierra project, a master planned development east of Vista that would include over 2,000 homes, over 80,000 square feet of retail and over 1.7 million square feet of commercial space. The project would occupy 1,985 acres, 1,209 of which would be preserved as open space.  Measure B has a little cousin in the Contra Costa County city of Danville. Measure Y would permit the development of 69 homes on 29 acres, while preserving over 380 acres as open space. Both Measure B and Measure Y present voters with the quintessential California land-use bargain: a number of new homes that developers hope voters will find palatable accompanied by just enough open space that they hope voters will find attractive. The vote tally will tell whether the developers got their ratios right.  Back in the urban core, two measures present visions of development pulled from adjacent chapters of the smart growth textbook.  Measure I in Sonoma and Marin counties asks voters to extend a 1/4-cent sales takes to fund the extension of the Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit District (SMART). The commuter line currently runs from Larkspur to the Sonoma County Airport; the extension adds three stations north of the airport. Cities in the two counties are hesitantly planning to intensify development around SMART stations, and the extension would presumably make the line more useful and the station areas more attractive to developers. Anemic ridership numbers, though, might dampen enthusiasm for the roughly $40 million annual expenditure. By some accounts, weekday ridership is 60 percent below projections for 2025. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) Voters in Redlands are faced with a complementary question, not about building rail transit but about what to do with it. The 9-mile Redlands Passenger Rail Project is currently under construction, linking Redlands with the San Bernardino Metrolink commuter rail station. Measure G goes full-on smart growth by upzoning 782 acres around the city’s two stations. The Transit Villages Plan would essentially create a brand-new medium-density downtown in a region known far more for single-home residential areas. Though the Inland Empire already has commuter rail service, Measure G would arguably be the most aggressive effort to promote transit oriented development in the whole region. Opponents have expressed concern about the introduction of relatively tall buildings (4-6) stories to Redlands’ downtown. Proponents note that at the turn of the 20th century, Redlands, which is one of the oldest cities in Riverside County, was dominated by mid-rise buildings. They were torn down during the era of urban renewal.  With all of those battles stirring statewide, the City and County of San Francisco, never to be outdone, says, “hold my kombucha.”  One of San Francisco’s two land use measures holds immense intuitive appeal, at least for anyone concerned about the “retail apocalypse.” Proposition D would impose stiff fines on landlords who allow storefronts to go vacant for more than six months. A version of a use tax—concept that has recently been promoted in academic circles—it is designed to combat the deadening effects of vacancies and support local businesses, presumably by encouraging landlords to lower their asking rents rather than hold out for something exorbitant.  The relative simplicity of Proposition D is no match for the nearly complexity, and unpredictability, of Proposition E. Grounded in the pretense of correcting for the city’s infamous jobs-housing imbalance, Proposition E is an only-in-San Francisco measure that would link approval of new office space to production of new affordable housing according to its Regional Housing Needs Allocation. In any year when the city falls short of its affordable housing goals, its ability to approve new office space would be docked by the same percentage of the affordable housing shortfall, which has often been significant. While the measure may seem like common sense, opponents claim that the connection between office production and affordable housing is arbitrary. Many of the stakeholders supporting Proposition E are the very same people and groups who oppose development generally, meaning that Proposition E could curb office production—losing the tax revenue and economic development that comes with it—without doing anything to actually increase housing production. The measure also includes myriad provisions that are not included in the ballot question.  Notably absent from local ballots are questions about rent control. While they had been popular in recent years (see prior CP&DR coverage ), the legislature’s passage of Assembly Bill 1482 last year has likely satisfied tenants rights activists for the moment. The moment will run out in November, when a new statewide measure called the Rental Affordability Act, sponsored yet again by the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, will again ask voters to do away with the Costa-Hawkins Act and give cities more freedom to implement rent control.  The March ballot includes only one statewide measure, a massive, $15 billion bond measure to repair and upgrade K-12 schools and colleges statewide. The measure bears the unfortunate title of Proposition 13, thus causing some voters to confuse it with the landmark 1978 property tax measure. The new Proposition 13 is not designed to have anything to do with the original. However, because Proposition 13 requires localities to match a certain percentage of the bond funds, it could prompt them to seek temporary increases in local property taxes. Prop 13 also comes with an interesting planning-related twist. It eliminates school-related impact fees for multifamily developments near major transit stops. It's sort of a school funding version of the erstwhile SB 50. The logic is, apparently, that apartment-dwellers are less likely to have school-age children and, therefore, shouldn't have to contribute to capital funds. Or it's just a sneaky way to support smart growth. Though bond measures have proven popular during the economic boom of the past decade, polling suggests that Proposition 13 is a toss-up.  See below for a full list of local land use measures statewide.  California Proposition 13 School and College Facilities Bond  Authorizes Bonds for Facility Repair, Construction, and Modernization at Public Preschools, K–12 Schools, Community Colleges, and Universities. Legislative Statute. Authorizes $15 billion in state general obligation bonds for public education facilities: $9 billion for preschools and K–12 (includes $5.2 billion for modernization, $2.8 billion for new construction, $500 million for charter schools, and $500 million for career technical education); $6 billion for public universities and community colleges. Danville (Contra Costa County) Measure Y Magee Preserve Project Referendum Shall Town Council Ordinance No. 2019-06, rezoning a 410 acre parcel from agricultural preserve, general agricultural, and planned development district to a new planned development district and approving the Magee Preserve project, which creates 69 single family lots of approximately 29 acres of the 410 acre site, preserves the remaining 381 acres as permanent open space and dedicates easements for hiking and biking trails for public use on the site, be approved? Selma (Fresno County) Measure L Licensed Gambling Establishment Shall one licensed gambling establishment in which any controlled games permitted by law, such as draw poker, low- ball poker, panguine (pan), seven-card stud, or other lawful card games or tile games, are played, be allowed in the City of Selma? Avalon (Los Angeles County) Measure F Advisory Vote on Allowing Marijuana Dispensaries in City Limits Should the City of Avalon expand its current commercial cannabis ordinance to allow for a cannabis business storefront location or dispensary within the City of Avalon city limits? Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (Sonoma and Marin counties) Measure I Sales Tax Extension To continue relieving traffic congestion, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (having carried 1.5-million passengers by providing quality transportation alternatives to Highway 101), connecting stations with pathways, expanding rail service to Healdsburg/Cloverdale as grants become available, shall an extension of the existing Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District 1/4-cent voter approved sales tax, at the same rate, generating approximately $40,000,000 annually for an additional 30 years, subject to audits and citizens’ oversight, that the State cannot take away, be adopted? Mendocino County Measure C Mendocino Coast District Hospital Lease Agreement With no additional taxes to the taxpayers and to assure continuing emergency medical services, acute hospital inpatient services and outpatient services, with substantial investments by non-profit Stone Point Health to meet the needs of Mendocino Coast residents, shall the Mendocino Coast Health Care District enter into a lease agreement of Mendocino Coast District Hospital for up to thirty (30) years at fair market value to Stone Point Health, per terms approved by Resolution 2019-17 adopted November 22.2019? Soledad Unified School District (Monterey County), Measure E Teacher-Staff Housing Bond Supports authorizing the district to issue $11.5 million in bonds at an annual tax rate of $0.03 per $100 in assessed value for the purpose of constructing teacher-staff rental housing. Napa County Measure K Sales Tax for Water, Parks, and Open Space Preservation Water, Parks and Open Space, Restoration and Preservation Measure. To protect drinking water by preserving and restoring watersheds, rivers, creeks; protect natural open spaces and wildlife habitat; reduce wildfire risk; and maintain local parks and trails; shall Napa County enact a 1/4 percent sales tax for the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District raising an estimated nine million dollars annually for fifteen years with citizen oversight, annual audits, and funds that cannot be taken by the State? San Benito County Measure K Land Use Referendum Shall Ordinance No. 991, An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Benito Amending the San Benito County Code to add text relating to the “Regional Commercial (C-3) District” be adopted? Redlands (San Bernardino County) Measure G City Charter Transit Development Amendment Shall Ordinance No. 2896, entitled 'An Ordinance of the People of Redlands facilitating and providing for the enhancement of sustainable development within the Transit Villages Planning Area of the City of Redlands by amending the City of Redlands General Plan and the 1978 voter-approved initiative measure commonly known as Proposition R, as amended by the 1987 voter-approved initiative measure commonly known as Measure N,' be adopted? Chula Vista (San Diego County) Measure E Project Labor Agreements Measure Shall the measure to preserve the City’s ability to receive state infrastructure funding for public works projects by giving the City discretion to allow the use of project labor agreements for City public works, in a manner consistent with state laws and best practices, including provisions for taxpayer protections, transparency, and accountability in the contracting process, by repealing and replacing Chapter 2.59 of the Chula Vista Municipal Code, be adopted? Del Mar (San Diego County) Measure G Land Use Plan Measure Shall the measure proposing the adoption of the Marisol Specific Plan and corresponding amendments to the City’s Community Plan, Zoning Map, and Local Coastal Plan and Implementing Ordinance, be adopted? San Diego (San Diego County) Measure C Lodging Tax for Convention Center Expansion, Street Repairs, and Homelessness Programs Shall the measure be adopted to: increase the City of San Diego’s 10.5% hotel visitor tax to 11.75, 12.75, and 13.75 percentage points, depending on hotel location, through at least 2061, designated to fund convention center expansion, modernization, promotion and operations, homelessness services and programs, and street repairs; and authorize related bonds; with a citizens’ oversight committee and audits by the City Auditor? San Diego County Measure A Voter Approval for Land Use Amendments to County General Plan Shall this Initiative be adopted for the purpose of amending the San Diego County General Plan to require voter approval for General Plan amendments that increase residential density for property designated by the General Plan as Semi-Rural or Rural? San Diego County Measure B General Plan Amendments for Newland Sierra Project Shall the San Diego County General Plan Amendment PDS2015-GPA-15-001 approved by the Board of Supervisors for the development of the Newland Sierra Project, be approved? The existing General Plan allows 99 homes and up to 2,000,000 square feet of commercial with open space. General Plan Amendment PDS2015-GPA-15-001 would authorize up to 2,199 homes and 1,777,684 square feet of commercial. The approved Newland Sierra Project includes a planned community of 2,135 homes, a school site, 81,000 square feet of retail, 36 acres of parks and 1,209 acres of open space. San Francisco (San Francisco County) Proposition E City Office Development Limit Initiative Shall the City tie annual square footage allotment for certain Large Office Projects to whether the City is meeting its Affordable Housing Goals, and change the criteria for approving certain office projects? San Francisco (San Francisco County) Proposition D Vacant Property Tax Shall the City tax owners or tenants who keep ground floor retail or other commercial space vacant in some areas of San Francisco, at rates of between $250 and $1,000 per street-facing foot, starting January 1, 2021 and without any expiration date, and use the annual revenues, estimated at a range of a minimal amount to $5 million dollars, to assist small businesses? Morgan Hill (Santa Clara County) Measure A Development Master Plan Referendum Shall the ordinance No. 2295, amending a Planned Development Master Plan for 'Madrone Village Shopping Center' located on the northwest corner of Madrone Parkway and Cochrane Road (APN's 726-33-029,030, and 031), to add hotels as an approved use, which is consistent with the City's General Plan and Economic Blueprint to encourage tourism, and that generates new City revenues for City services including public safety, street repairs and other infrastructure be adopted? Healdsburg (Sonoma County) Measure H Income-Restricted Housing for Rent or Sale Ordinance Shall the City of Healdsburg’s Growth Management Ordinance be amended to permit the currently allowed average of 50 units per year of multi-family, income-restricted rental housing, as authorized by the voters in 2018, to be offered either for rental or for sale?

Aesthetics have never been at the top of the legislature’s priorities. But provisions in two key housing bills put serious pressure on cities and counties to clarify and codify the types of design they want.

UCLA Proposes Strategies for Updating Housing Elements  In light of new rules local California governments face as they begin updating their local Housing Elements for the 2021 and 2022 planning cycles, UCLA's Lewis Center is proposing a new framework that researchers believe will lead to more housing production in locations that achieve social and environmental goals, while potentially resolving complications created for logical governments by recent legislation. AB 686 and AB 1397, in particular, push cities to go beyond inventories of vacant or underutilized sites to fulfill RHNA requirements. This traditional approach is flawed and unlikely to actually fulfill housing goals, the report argues, because vacant sites are likely to be vacant for a reason, a reason that makes their probability of development remote. Further, this approach does nothing to advance fair housing goals. Instead, the report recommends local governments strategically increase zoned capacity for new houses in neighborhoods near transit, near major amenities, and where the housing is more likely to actually be built. This recommendation is in line with research that shows zoning capacity has a much bigger housing-production payoff in high price locations. Even gentle density and marginal changes to zoning can increase the effectiveness of the HE by allowing cities to build low-income housing in high-density areas, thereby complying with AB 686. One challenge, of course, is AB 1397, which requires site-specific "likely to be discontinued" findings for potential low-income housing sites. To that end, researchers recommend that local governments estimate the development probability (within the eight-year planning period) of all sites with potential for housing development to ensure that the expected yield of housing production is equal or greater than their RHNA targets. Finally, the report offers research-backed proactive measures cities can take to increase affordable housing stock, including surplus land sales for $1, creating new sources of funds from parcel taxes or parking revenues, outreach, and super density bonus, by-right approval like Los Angeles' Transit Oriented Communities program. Newsom Takes New Approach to Sacramento Delta Management  Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep more water in the San Joaquin River Delta while preserving 60,000 acres of sensitive habitats, and generating $5 billion in revenue toward environmental concerns. The plan entails a new cooperation-based framework, rather than the traditional rules-based water agreements that are often challenged in court by farmers or environmental groups. For the past year the Newsom administration has been negotiating with water agencies to come up with "voluntary agreements" between the two sides with "partnership and oversight from environmental groups," Newsom wrote in an op-ed. The framework would increase water flow through the delta by up to 900,000 acre feet when conditions are dry, below normal or above normal. Flows would be decreased during wet years. Would provide more favorable conditions for endangered salmon and resotring 60,000 acres of habitat by strategically letting water flow through natural flood plains to create wetlands. Environmental groups have expressed reservations--favorable water temperatures for salmon is one hangup--but both sides have a strong interest in coming to an agreement when the alternative is likely years of litigation. There is one dark cloud over these potential agreements--a plan put out by the Trump administration that calls for more water to be taken out of the delta. California has said it will sue the federal administration, but no steps have been taken one way or the other by either side. Los Angeles Goes Big on Climate Action Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti kicked off a "Decade of Action" to confront and combat the climate crisis, with the signing of "L.A.'s Green New Deal: Leading By Example." Mayor Garcetti signed the Executive Directive to accelerate the work of the Green New Deal, and adopt new steps and stronger accountability measures to align City department policies and procedures with the City's climate objectives. The directive includes measures to: develop a series of bus and light rail infrastructure improvements, such as bus only lanes, signal priority, and queue jumpers; promote walking, bicycling and micro-mobility with Class IV protected bike lanes, Class I path along regional waterways, and Class III low-stress neighborhood bike improvements; encourage city pension boards to divest from fossil fuel companies; mandate that all new construction and renovations of municipally-owned buildings "demonstrate a pathway" to carbon neutrality; Accelerate the city's bus fleet target to be entirely zero emission by 2028; support Metro's Congestion Pricing pilot program; expand low-income and multi-family household access to local clean energy; ensure that city hall is zero waste by 2025; and amend the city's Green Building Code to ensure all new roofs and renovations are cool roofs. California Metros Among Nation's Best, Worst for Kids A Brandeis University report found that California's Central Valley have some of the lowest-opportunity neighborhoods for children. San Francisco and San Jose, on the other hand, were second and ninth highest in opportunity when compared to 25 United States metro areas. The study ranked cities with a Child Opportunity Index (COI), which quantifies, maps, and compares opportunity by looking at 29 neighborhood conditions--such as proximity to and enrollment in early care and education centers, high school graduation rates, high-skill employment, health insurance coverage, and poverty levels that matter for children. Bakersfield ranked last of all U.S. metros for the opportunities it affords children; 51 percent of children live in very low-opportunity neighborhoods. The report  named Bakersfield America's worst place for children to grow up. The report found "fifty-one percent of children in very low-opportunity neighborhoods." Fresno scored just one point above Bakersfield. Stockton and Riverside also scored in the bottom ten of U.S. metro areas. Reflecting a broader national trend, California's COI scores for black and Hispanic children are substantially lower than for white and Asian children. San Jose and Oxnard performed comparatively well on this measure with scores in the top 10. But even those cities had wide racial disparities. In San Jose, minority children had scores nearly 20 points lower than white children. Quick Hits & Updates  Friends of Waverly, a neighborhood group, filed a lawsuit to block construction of a homeless shelter in Griffith Park,. The lawsuit alleges Los Angeles officials abused discretion when they granted the project emergency exemption from environmental review. The $6.6-million project, which will include a 10,800-square-foot structure with approximately 100 beds and trailers to showers, restrooms and administrative offices, is part of L.A.'s "bridge housing" program, a stopgap measure meant to shelter the homeless while permanent structures are under construction. Years of rocket engine manufacturing may disqualify one of Los Angeles' largest undeveloped parcels from residential use. The owner of the Warner Center property had previously marketed the site as one with high-rise urban development potential. But in documents filed with LA's Water Quality Control Board, property owner United Technologies Corp. indicates it will only seek to bring pollution standards up to commercial use after environmental tests detected several cancer-causing chemicals still permeating the area. The Center for Biological Diversity is suing Placer County for approving the Sunset Area Plan, a sprawling 8,500 acre project that includes 8,000 housing units and 34 million square feet of retail, commercial, and industrial space. The lawsuit argues that the project will destroy 5,000 acres of rare wetlands that are home to rare and threatened species, including fairy shrimp and the western spadefoot toad. Owners of The Forum, an Inglewood events venue, have filed suit to block construction of the proposed Los Angeles Clippers arena. The suit alleges Gov. Gavin Newsom violated the constitution when he used AB 987 to prevent any litigation from stalling the project for more than 270 days. The stadium bypassed a full environmental review through a ballot measure, but arena developers are litigating several lawsuits related to the matter. City officials have expressed confidence construction will move forward as planned. Supporters of Measure E--a ballot initiative that would tax San Jose properties worth $2 million or more to fund affordable housing-- have officially launched their campaign outside of an affordable housing development. Measure E is a progressive tax based on a property's transfer value that would levy a .75 percent tax for properties valued between $2 million -$5 million a 1 percent tax for $5 million-$10 million properties and a 1.5 percent tax on properties valued over $10 million. The new tax would be on top of an existing flat .33 percent transfer tax. City officials estimate Measure E could generate between $22 million and $73 million annually. Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed to join an appeal over a proposed condominium project in San Mateo as part of an effort to defend the Housing Accountability Act. As one of 120 charter cities, San Jose has broad authority over local matters, but developers, activists, and lawmakers worry that if the initial ruling stands, San Jose and other charter cities will use the case as precedent to exercise unilateral authority over development approvals. In a bid to attract and retain teaching talent, San Francisco's Board of Education passed a resolution to set in motion development of 550 units of rent-controlled teacher housing by 2030. Funds to the tune of $20 million will come from Proposition A, a measure voters passed in November for affordable teacher housing projects. Another voter-approved measure, Proposition E, will ease approval and zoning requirements. Construction of a gondola to connect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts in Tahoe will move forward after the dismissal of a lawsuit aimed at blocking construction. The 2.2-mile gondola will carry 1,400 skiers an hour along cables stretched over 33 lift towers in about 16 minutes. As part of the agreement to dismiss the lawsuit, the ski resorts will conserve 27 acres of the resorts' private property as habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada yellow legged frog, and will help fund study on the protection of the frog. The resorts also agreed to reroute the gondola line away from the wilderness and to make other changes to reduce noise and visual impacts on the wilderness. (See prior CP&DR coverage .) The Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club is opposing a 100 percent affordable housing development near Pacifica, delaying construction that would add 76 homes to an area in which job growth has far outpaced home construction. The group argues the development, which has been under public review for four years, is too far away from supermarkets, schools, and medical offices, with insufficient public transportation. Taken together, the Sierra Club Chapter says, VMT required by residents of the development "would be significant." Affordable housing advocates point to the worsening current situation, in which multiple families share a home or commute to work from neighboring towns. The former Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency has agreed to pay $3.1 million in a settlement for its predecessor agency that knowingly failed to comply with accessibility laws when it used federal funds to finance affordable housing developments. The suit, brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, alleged multiple defects that made the buildings inaccessible for wheelchair bound residents, including steep slopes and ramps; out of reach appliances, mailboxes, and shelves; and insufficient accessible parking spaces. Litigation is ongoing in this case and others in California as the DOJ and HUD pursue other violations under the False Claims Act.