California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against the city of Norwalk over its passage of an ordinance that blocks new homeless shelters and other housing projects....more
The western burrowing owl secured temporary protection this Thursday under California’s Endangered Species Act. The state Fish and Game Commission voted to give the owls candidate status and temporary protection, expected to...more
Senate Bill (SB) 1227, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener on February 15, 2024, would help speed the recovery of downtown San Francisco by creating a new CEQA exemption for qualifying commercial, institutional, student...more
3/7/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
CEQA ,
Community Development ,
County Planning Commissions ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Homeless Issues ,
Mobile Homes ,
Natural Gas ,
Office Space ,
State Bans ,
Tax Exemptions
The developer behind a proposed 259-unit housing project on Del Mar’s North Bluff is suing the city after more than a year of tense communications, alleging that the city’s repeated rejection of the project application...more
Last February, two pro-housing groups sued a dozen Bay Area jurisdictions, including Cupertino, over their failure to meet the January 31, 2023, state deadline for housing elements detailing how they plan to approach...more
Governor Gavin Newsom, whose second and final term ends in January 2027, has made curbing homelessness and increasing housing key priorities. However, his recent budget cut proposal contains more than $1.2 billion in cuts...more
The California Coastal Commission unanimously voted last Thursday to issue $4.7 million in fines to the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association. The violations, accruing since 1982, have to do with blocked beach...more
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass last Wednesday announced a new executive order to reduce permitting time for housing by 25-30%, a move that could significantly expand housing production....more
The Biden administration is launching a multi-agency effort to encourage states and cities to convert more empty office buildings into housing units, with billions of federal dollars available to help spur such transitions....more
11/10/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
CEQA ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
HUD ,
Office Space ,
Property Tax ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Vacant Properties
The much-discussed push to revive downtown San Francisco by converting empty office buildings to housing is starting to gather momentum. Eight office building owners have responded to the city’s “request for information”...more
Governor Gavin Newsom is releasing more than $300 million dollars in grants to fund housing and infrastructure development around transit hubs across the state. Funded by the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grants...more
Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration filed a lawsuit against Elk Grove on Monday, claiming the city discriminated against low-income residents when it denied an affordable housing project last July. California Attorney...more
A federal appeals court on Monday overturned Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas in new construction, agreeing with restaurant owners who argued the city bypassed federal energy regulations when it approved the...more
The U.S. Interior Department last Thursday proposed a new program that would allow it to offer leases of public land for conservation purposes, in much the same way as it currently offers acreage for drilling, mining, and...more
After years of record budget surpluses, California now faces a projected $22.5 billion budget deficit, Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week. As part of a required adjustment in state spending, Newsom proposed cutting...more
1/20/2023
/ Affordable Housing ,
Budget Cuts ,
California ,
Commercial Buildings ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Flood Zones ,
Governor Newsom ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Homeless Issues ,
Land Developers ,
Multi-Family Housing ,
Shopping Malls ,
State Agencies ,
State Budgets
California air regulators voted unanimously last Thursday to approve an ambitious plan to drastically cut reliance on fossil fuels by changing practices in the energy, transportation, and agriculture sectors, but critics say...more
State Supreme Court rejects a challenge by landlords to S.F. eviction protection law Bullet San Francisco Chronicle – May 11 The California Supreme Court last Wednesday rejected a lawsuit by the San Francisco Apartment...more
Critical housing bills signed by Governor Newsom -
Allen Matkins – September 17 -
As the State of California battles through a housing crisis, lawmakers are seeking creative ways to enable local governments to meet...more
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduce ‘Green New Deal for Public Housing’ -
The Hill – April 19 -
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have introduced a “Green New Deal for Public...more
Biden administration to reinstate fair-housing policies, including one designed to combat residential segregation -
MarketWatch – April 13 -
The Biden administration commenced efforts to roll back changes to two key...more
Berkeley considers ending single-family zoning -
The Mercury News – February 12 -
Berkeley was the first city in the nation to introduce “exclusionary zoning” in the early 1900s, and now it could be one of the first...more
New bill would fight homelessness by raising California’s corporate tax rates -
The Mercury News – January 13 -
New, higher tax rates on large corporations doing business in California would raise $2.4 billion to fund...more
U.S. government creates new programs for data center efficiency and research -
Bisnow – January 10 -
The $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act approved last month, which included $900 billion for coronavirus...more
Despite limited success for housing bills in the 2020 legislative session, 2021 should present opportunities for developers -
Bullet Allen Matkins – December 21 -
During the 2020 legislative session, many housing...more
1/8/2021
/ Affordable Housing ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Density Bonus ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Governor Newsom ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Low Income Housing ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rental Property ,
Urban Planning & Development
Lawmakers weigh moratorium extension as eviction cliff looms -
Palo Alto Online – December 8 -
With California's eviction moratorium set to expire in less than 60 days and 2 million people at risk of losing their rental...more
12/11/2020
/ Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Flooding ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Low Income Housing ,
Moratorium ,
Natural Gas ,
Popular ,
Rental Assistance Programs ,
Rental Property ,
Sustainability