News
California to house homeless people on vacant state land
The Mercury News – January 8
Cities will be able to open emergency homeless shelters on vacant state land under a new executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom that escalates his attempts to handle the growing crisis. The order, which comes amid a surge in homelessness throughout the state and growing concern about the issue from residents, will require state agencies to identify by the end of this month empty lots near highways, fairgrounds, decommissioned hospitals, and other spaces where cities, counties, or nonprofits can provide space for people to live temporarily.
S.F. passes law to make new government buildings all electric
San Francisco Examiner - January 14
San Francisco’s new or renovated government buildings including libraries, community centers, and office space will have to go all electric under a new law approved this Tuesday intended to combat climate change. The legislation, which was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors, requires all new construction and renovations of municipal buildings to be all electric. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman also plans to introduce legislation in the spring that would ban natural gas in all construction, but those conversations are ongoing and it is unclear when it would go into effect.
Planning Commission moves Huntington Beach a step closer to resolving state housing lawsuit
Los Angeles Times - January 15
Huntington Beach and state officials are a step closer to resolving a dispute over the city’s housing plans and paving the way for the city to be in compliance with state law and eligible for funds to address homelessness. The city’s Planning Commission voted this Tuesday to approve amendments to the Beach and Edinger Corridors Specific Plan that would include establishing sites for potential development of affordable housing. In a letter to the city last Friday, state housing officials said the proposal, if the City Council approves it by March, would meet the terms of a state law that requires all communities to zone for enough affordable housing to meet projected population growth. That would resolve the central issue in a 2019 state lawsuit over what the state says is the city’s failure to plan for more affordable housing.
Study examines increased emissions and congestion from delivery vehicles
Scientific American – January 11
A new report attempts to provide one of the first comprehensive analyses of the congestion and carbon emissions stemming from delivery services worldwide. The report from the World Economic Forum, released last week, looks at the rise of e-commerce in cities such as Los Angeles, London, and Singapore. Without intervention, the number of delivery vehicles in the largest 100 cities globally will increase by 36 percent over the next decade, according to the study. Under this “business as usual” scenario, planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from delivery traffic would increase by 32 percent, or about 6 million tons. In addition, congestion would increase by 21 percent. To stave off these consequences, the report provides 24 recommendations for policymakers and the private sector, including: mandating that delivery vehicles are electric, replacing delivery vehicles with drones, and requiring parcel deliveries to occur at night and before or after working hours.
Metro has a plan to get more Angelenos onto buses
Curbed Los Angeles – January 13
In a bid to serve more passengers and make public transportation competitive with driving, Los Angeles’ largest transit agency is planning a complete overhaul of its sprawling bus network—and riders could start seeing changes by the end of this year. Under a proposal unveiled last week, some of Metro’s most-used bus lines would see major shakeups. Buses on busy routes would be scheduled to arrive more frequently than they do today, with more weekend and late night service. Meanwhile, bus lines that don’t carry many riders could see reduced service, or be cut entirely. More frequent service on key lines could draw new riders, or win back those who’ve stopped relying on Metro to get around. The agency launched the bus network shakeup in 2018, following a half-decade of declining ridership on buses.
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