Focus
Appellate court orders publication of recent win for California’s Density Bonus Law in San Diego
Allen Matkins – January 25
Last week we reported that, on January 7, 2022, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in Bankers Hill 150 v. City of San Diego (Case No. D077963) confirmed local agencies’ limited discretion to deny – or require a redesign – of qualifying projects under California’s Density Bonus Law (DBL). By way of an update on this case, following application to the court, the court on Wednesday ordered that the opinion be officially published.
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News
California bill AB 672 to redevelop municipal golf courses stalls, but industry expects future bills to come
Desert Sun – January 29
The defeat of a California assembly bill that could have allowed municipal golf courses in the state to be developed into affordable housing should be a wakeup call for golf in the state, an official of the Southern California Golf Association says. AB 672, a bill authored by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, would have opened municipal golf courses to affordable housing and provided $50 million in state development grants. California golf officials expect more attempts to re-develop golf courses as developable land.
San Diego supervisors explore strategies to cut traffic and add more homes
The San Diego Union-Tribune – January 27
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors last Wednesday considered plans to encourage new home development while reducing vehicle trips. The board received a report from county planners that proposed ways to cut “vehicle miles traveled,” or VMT, for unincorporated communities. In phase one, staff recommended the board authorize housing projects in unincorporated “villages” without requiring developers to analyze VMT or mitigate those impacts. In phase two, the county could develop a regional program to reduce VMT and cut greenhouse gas emissions by expanding options for telecommuting, walking, car-share, shuttles and buses. The board directed planners to come back on February 9 with more details on those options.
“Monster homes” under attack in pricey San Francisco district
The Real Deal – January 27
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose district includes some of the most expensive areas in an already pricey city, introduced legislation this week to ban most homes of more than 4,000 square feet in coveted, largely single-family neighborhoods such as Noe Valley, Dolores Heights, and Glen Park. Mandelman is expected to bring to the board a separate ordinance next week that would upzone all of San Francisco’s single-family-zoned lots to allow two homes. That proposal, already approved by the Planning Department, combined with a new state upzoning law, could allow up to four smaller, more affordable homes on spaces that now have just one.
Gas stoves worse for climate than previously thought
Associated Press – January 27
Even when they are not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons of methane — in carbon dioxide equivalent units — into the air each year, a team of California researchers found in a study published last Thursday in Environmental Science & Technology. That’s equivalent to the annual amount of greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars or what the United States puts into the air every three-and-a-half hours. Many communities ban gas stoves in new construction that will take effect in future years.
Portion of California redwood forest returned to a group of tribal nations
NPR – January 26
A conservation group is returning guardianship of hundreds of acres of redwood forestland to a coalition of Native tribes that were displaced from the land generations ago by European American settlers. Save the Redwoods League purchased the 523-acre area (known as Andersonia West) on the Lost Coast of California's Mendocino County in 2020. The group announced on Tuesday that it had donated and transferred ownership of the property to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, a consortium of 10 Northern California tribal nations focused on environmental and cultural preservation.
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