Creative Reuse: The Opportunities and Challenges of Converting Office Space to Residential
California CRE to Expand in 2022
On September 19, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill (AB) 2243 (Wicks), which amends AB 2011 (Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022), effective January 1, 2025. As explained in our prior legal...more
The Live Local Act (Act), originally passed on March 29, 2023, was modified by SB328 on May 16, 2024. While the Act has been heralded as a solution to Florida’s affordable housing shortage, it has faced roadblocks since its...more
The Sixth District Court of Appeal filed on July 24, and later certified for publication on August 6, 2024, its opinion in Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. County of San Benito, et al. (2024) __ Cal.App.5th __. The...more
The Office of Planning (OP) has been working with residents, community stakeholders and Washington, D.C., government agencies to develop the Draft Nannie Helen Burroughs Corridor Small Area Plan (NHBCSAP). This plan is...more
The Office of Planning (OP) has worked with Ivy City residents, community stakeholders and Washington, D.C., government agencies to develop the Ivy City Small Area Plan (ICSAP). Ivy City is a historically Black neighborhood...more
The City of Gaithersburg has adopted a comprehensive new zoning ordinance that reorganizes and modernizes the ordinance while making it more user friendly. Substantively, the new ordinance adds a new potential zoning category...more
As the Ohio Statehouse works to complete its work on biennial appropriations for public infrastructure projects and one-time strategic community investments, the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) is in the process of...more
The Florida Legislature on Feb. 28, 2024, passed Senate Bill 328, which amends the Live Local Act (Amended Act). It becomes effective upon becoming law (except as otherwise provided). While most of the 2023 Live Local Act...more
2023 served up roughly the same number of published appellate CEQA cases as 2022 with a defense win percentage of over 80 percent, which has been the case in many, if not all, of the past ten years. A prominent theme of...more
The 2023 legislative session culminated in Governor Newsom signing dozens of land use bills. This post discusses the most important. The Legislature continued its multifaceted approach to addressing the housing crisis, with...more
Historically, the United Kingdom has lagged behind the likes of Dubai, South Florida, New York, Hong Kong SAR and Singapore in the branded residences space, as us Brits have tended to prefer traditional house living. However,...more
A recent court decision provides guidance to lead agencies seeking to comply with CEQA requirements related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In Tsakopoulos Investments, LLC v. County of Sacramento, the Third District Court...more
The refusal of M&S's plans to demolish and rebuild their flagship store on Oxford Street by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove) has attracted much attention because of the wider...more
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 102 on March 28, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. Commonly referred to as the Live Local Act (the Act), it has significant land use, zoning and tax benefits...more
In 2022, the California Legislature passed The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, known as Assembly Bill (AB) 2011 and the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, known as Senate Bill (SB) 6. The two pieces of...more
On July 1, 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 6 (Caballero) – also known as the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022 – went into effect. Under the bill, if a project site is currently zoned for commercial retail or parking use, a developer...more
On March 29, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 102 (the Act), otherwise known as the Live Local Act, into law. The Act becomes effective on July 1. This broad-ranging legislation is intended to incentivize the...more
AB 2011 (Wicks) provides for “by right” streamlined ministerial (i.e., no CEQA) approval of qualifying mixed-income and affordable housing projects along commercial corridors in commercial zoning districts. This new law is...more
More Density, More Height and Less Bureaucracy - The Live Local Act (“Live Local” or the “Act”) makes unprecedented changes to zoning law that impact and limit local government power....more
Empty office buildings downtown. A housing shortage in almost every major market. Is there a way to address both issues at once by converting historic but underutilized office buildings into apartments and condos in city...more
As in previous years, the California Legislature enacted a large volume of housing production laws in the 2022 session, some of which may have a significant effect on housing production in 2023. ...more
At this week’s City of Miami Commission meeting, the City of Miami adopted a series of important amendments to the Miami 21 Zoning Code. These amendments specifically impact the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District...more
The 2021–2022 California Legislative Session closed on August 31 and was dominated by further efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. The flurry of major legislation passed by the Legislature and now on the...more
The California Legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2011 (Wicks), the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, and Senate Bill (SB) 6 (Caballero), the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, on Aug. 29, 2022. Both pieces...more
As part of its efforts to implement changes outlined in the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Update, the District of Columbia Office of Planning (OP) has undertaken multiple initiatives. These are at various stages in the planning...more