Focus
Senate advances federal housing bill, includes ban on institutional buyers of single-family homes
Bisnow – March 3
The U.S. Senate is advancing a sweeping housing package, which includes legislative efforts around affordability and housing production with a federal objective to ban institutional investment in single-family homes. The latest version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act bill passed its first procedural hurdle on March 2.
News
California’s fire safety regulators release ‘single stair’ report
CalMatters – March 2
California’s Office of the State Fire Marshal has released a long-awaited study on whether and how the state should legalize mid-rise apartment buildings with a lone staircase. The report takes a fairly dim view of the “single stair” cause, but offers a few policy recommendations to state legislators should they move forward with the idea.
Bigger apartments, more outdoor dining, leafier streets: 137 ways San Diego wants to change the cityscape
The San Diego Union-Tribune – March 2
San Diego is considering a large package of city zoning changes that includes making it easier to create wireless antenna farms, loosening rules for sidewalk cafes in Old Town, and eliminating an incentive to build small apartments. The package, which is part of the city’s annual land development code update, is scheduled for a City Council vote in April.
Tulare can’t sidestep environmental reviews in zoning
The Modesto Bee – March 2
A Tulare County Superior Court judge has ordered the City of Tulare to void a zoning ordinance update that permitted cold storage and other industrial facilities in light and heavy industrial zones. The court found that the City erred its determination that the zoning ordinance update was exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. Environmental advocates said the court’s decision protects a community that has been overburdened by industrial pollution.
Clovis nears approval of mixed-income ordinance for new housing
Merced Sun-Star - March 2
A rule mandating that new market-rate housing developments in Clovis include affordable units — which the city is required to implement as part of a 2024 lawsuit settlement — has cleared the city’s Planning Commission and is headed next to the City Council. The proposed “Mixed-Income Zoning Ordinance” would require developers of any new residential project that has 11 or more market-rate homes to set at least 5% of the units aside for lower-income residents.
Newport Beach to study how to create a village of housing near JWA
The Orange County Register – February 26
Newport Beach officials are looking at how the city can add new housing near John Wayne Airport. The airport area has been identified by city leaders, along with West Newport Mesa, Dover-Westcliff, Newport Center, and Coyote Canyon, as potential development sites to help Newport Beach meet state housing mandates.
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