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
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) approved housing streamlining legislation voted in last week by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, thus allowing the city to avoid a series of...more
San Francisco - Can Free Rent Jump-Start a Downtown San Francisco Revival? Pop-Up Retailers Say Maybe (SF Standard): Nearly halfway into the three-month program, called Vacant to Vibrant, stakeholders say it has breathed...more
The Berkeley City Council opened the door to high-rise apartment buildings in the Southside neighborhood by signing off on new zoning regulations that could allow for thousands more homes at UC Berkeley’s doorstep....more
As an incentive to builders to create more rental housing units, the federal government has announced the effective elimination of the goods and services tax (GST) payable on newly constructed rental housing, such as...more
On May 17, 2020, the California Supreme Court granted review of the First District Court of Appeal’s controversial and much criticized published decision in Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California...more
Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have filed a lawsuit accusing the city of Huntington Beach of violating state housing laws, seeking a preliminary injunction against the city....more
Governor Gavin Newsom said he will work this year to reform a landmark state environmental law that he says has been weaponized by wealthy homeowners to block badly-needed housing for students at UC Berkeley....more
As in previous years, the California Legislature enacted a large volume of housing production laws in the 2022 session, some of which may have a significant effect on housing production in 2023. ...more
As of January 1, State law offers a new density bonus to qualifying student housing developments. The legislation (Senate Bill 1227) is one of several bills the Legislature has passed over the last two years to address...more