Focus
Biden framework includes $150B for affordable housing
The Hill – October 28
President Joe Biden’s proposed climate change and social services bill, the “Build Back Better Act,” is expected to include $150 billion for affordable housing creation and financial assistance, elating supporters who feared it would be cut from the package. The housing component was cut down significantly from the $327 billion Democrats initially sought. Even so, the bill would still spend more than three times the current budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in what housing advocates call an unprecedented step toward tackling an affordability crisis.
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News
Cupertino looks to enact stringent standards for SB9 projects
East Bay Times – November 3
After opposing a controversial state housing bill earlier this year that will allow property owners to split their single-family lots into two parcels, the Cupertino City Council is looking to enact the most stringent design standards it can under the law. In September, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 (SB9) into law, allowing lot splits and the construction of up to four units on a property originally zoned for a single-family home. While projects under SB9 will be automatically approved, a section of the law allows cities to create certain design and zoning standards dealing with issues such as the architectural look of the properties and parking.
San Diego airport would connect to rail under tax measure filed by labor, green groups
The San Diego Union-Tribune – November 2
Labor and environmental groups filed a ballot initiative in San Diego County this Tuesday aimed at raising taxes largely for an ambitious expansion of public transit — including building a rail connection to the downtown airport and another new line between South County and Kearny Mesa. The proposal would increase the regional sales tax by half a cent and help kickstart an ambitious $160 billion transportation plan drafted by the San Diego Association of Governments. The proposal would go before voters in the November 2022 election if supporters can gather enough signatures to qualify the tax measure for the ballot.
Santa Ana passes Orange County’s first rent control law
The Real Deal – October 26
Santa Ana last week became the first city in Orange County to adopt rent control and just-cause eviction protections. The Santa Ana City Council approved the rent control measure in a 4-3 vote last, a reflection of the divisive nature of the law, according to the Voice of OC. Among the new law’s protections, covered renters cannot be evicted without just cause, landlords must provide relocation assistance or waive the last months of rent for permitted no-fault evictions, and annual rent increases at some properties are capped at 3 percent per year or 80 percent of the percent change in the Consumer Price Index. The measure goes into effect on November 19.
Los Angeles seeks incentives to build affordable housing in areas with more parks, transit, grocery stores
Los Angeles Daily News – October 27
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to explore ways to prioritize 100 percent affordable housing developments in neighborhoods with greater access to parks, public transit, schools, grocery stores, and health facilities. The Los Angeles Department of City Planning and Housing Department recently reported to the council that 14 percent of the affordable housing units permitted in the last decade were located within high-resource neighborhoods, while 86 percent were in neighborhoods deemed low-resource and high-poverty. The council’s motion directed planning staff to report back within 30 days on options for an Affordable Housing Overlay Zone with a “bundle of development incentives to increase the supply of affordable housing” or an update to the city’s development incentive programs to prioritize 100 percent affordable housing projects in high-opportunity areas.
Chino enacts 45-day moratorium on warehouses
Daily Bulletin – October 27
The city of Chino — long known for its openness to large industrial projects — has put a hold on future warehouses and logistics centers. By action of the City Council, the city has put in place a 45-day moratorium on any new industrial project, including warehouses, on land north of Schaefer Avenue. The moratorium continues until December 3, and the City Council may extend it twice. Chino’s urgency ordinance says the moratorium is needed to study possible future warehouse/logistics facilities and the resulting impact of truck traffic and diesel-truck exhaust from these operations on public health. Chino joins Jurupa Valley, Riverside, and Colton, among others, enacting moratoriums on warehouses and fulfillment centers in order to get a better handle on their effects on lung health and traffic.
A second transbay tunnel? Rail improvement program aims to improve Northern California transportation
San Francisco Examiner – November 2
Rail travel across Northern California could see a big shift in the coming decades as regional rail systems collaborate on a program called Link21. The program, announced in January by BART and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, would include the construction of a second transbay rail tunnel by 2040 and additional rail system improvements across the 21-county Northern California megaregion in an effort to reduce vehicle traffic and make public transit more accessible. This month, Link21 officials are expected to hold a handful of webinars to discuss the program in further detail.
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