The City of San Francisco announced a plan to upzone Central South of Market to accommodate around 7,800 new affordable and market-rate housing units and 40,000 new jobs. The potential plan includes 2.1-million square food redevelopment of the Flower Mart, a tennis club redevelopment, and a 400-foot residential tower. Proposed developer fees, of up to $2 billion, would escalate based on amount of additional height and will help pay for new sidewalks, open space and affordable housing. Half of the fees, nearly $900 million will fund affordable housing production. The plan also prioritizes $500 million for public transit and sidewalk improvements. A separate EIR on the plan will be released end of this year and the Planning Commission will vote early next year. If passed, the Board of Supervisors will consider the plan.
State Doles Out $391 Million in Cap-and-Trade Funds for Transit
The California Transportation Agency has selected 14 public transit projects to receive part of the $391 million in funds from a recent cap-and-trade auction. Nearly $109 million will go to Los Angeles’s subway system and $28 million will fund a streetcar project connecting Santa Ana and Garden Grove. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León has a plan to help poorer Californians: $100 million on areas including transit, $100 million on rebates for purchasing clean vehicles and $150 million for vehicle trade-in for low-income families. The two largest projects are High-Speed Rail alignments in Fresno and Madera Counties with $259 million. The next eight projects received $41.2 million each towards Metrolink or Muni programs to provide cleaner, safer and more reliable service.
Judge Clears Way for Subway Tunnel Under Beverly Hills High School
A U.S. District Court judge has ruled in favor of Los Angeles County Metro’s plans to tunnel beneath Beverly Hills High School for subway extension to Los Angeles’ west side. The City of Beverly Hills and the its school district have spent $10 million in litigation in the last five years over claims that the alignment would endanger the school and that Metro did not adequately analyze or publicize it. Judge George H. Wu said the Federal Transit Administration did not adequately respond to Beverly Hills Unified School District’s concerns about methane, air quality and recreation from the effects of tunneling the subway line. However Wu did not void the entire environmental review because of the “domino effect” on other phases and jeopardizing grants. Metro now has to complete additional analysis. (See prior CP&DR coverage.)
Orange County Cities Get Transportation Grants
The board of directors of the Orange County Transportation Authortity approved $19.5 million to help 13 projects in Orange County cities improve their bikeways and walkways. Funding through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program will help promote mobility options by improving safety and air quality, providing regional linkages to key destinations, and closing bikeway corridor gaps. Projects awarded include $2.3 million for street improvements in Tustin, $2.27 million for protected bike lanes in Santa Ana, $2.22 million for bike boulevard in Fullerton, $2.07 million to extend bikeway on Coast Highway in Dana Point and $1.11 million for bike improvements in Garden Grove.
Caltrain Announces Major Upgrade Program
Caltrain officials announced a $2 billion plan to electrify the commuter rail corridor along the San Francisco Peninsula after high-speed rail officials unanimously agreed to increase the state’s contribution. The High-Speed Rail Authority offered $713 million to Caltrain and an additional $84 million to the city of San Mateo to help fund three new grade separations. The funding will improve the Peninsula tracks so the bullet train may ride from San Jose to San Francisco on the new “blended system” designed to serve commuters regardless of when and whether high speed rail is completed through the peninsula. Caltrain hopes to have the trains running on 51 miles of electric track in late 2020. This week, the Caltrain’s Board of Directors should issue the “limited notice to proceed” to the two contractors working on the railway.
Report Cites Statewide Need for Road Maintenance
TRIP, a national transportation organization released the “California Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe, Smooth and Efficient Mobility.” The report found that one-third of major local and state-maintained roads are in poor condition and 8 percent of bridges are structurally deficient. It recommends increased investments in transportation improvements could relieve traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety and support long-term economic growth in California. Deficient, congested or undesirable safety features on roads and bridges costs California motorists $53.6 billion annually due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays.
Updates & Quick Hits
A $625-million proposal to move the northernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport 260 feet closer to nearby homes has been shelved indefinitely per an recently announced agreement with the city. The agreement ends a lawsuit alleging that the project did not complete the required environmental impact evaluation or take measures to reduce negative impacts.
According to HVS consulting firm, the Chargers’ plan for downtown stadium-convention center will not generate enough meeting business to justify the increase in hotel tax. However, Chargers’ adviser says the analysis was pre-determined and taxpayer money was wasted to come to the conclusion the self-interested hotel owners wanted.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the 70-acre South Rancho Los Amigos Property in the city of Downey. The county will invest $468 million, and the plan includes several county departments and the development of a 15-acre regional sports center.
Public interest group World Business Academy is suing the State Lands Commission for allowing the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to operate through 2025 without studying the environmental consequences. Earlier this month the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that the state agency did not have the authority to exempt the plant from preparing an EIR and that attempting to do so was arbitrary and capricious.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have resumed discussions with the City of Anaheim to stay in the Angels Stadium after possible bid to relocate to Tustin fell through because of the cost of building a new stadium. The city and the team have been discussing $130-$150 million in renovations.
The Coastal Commission unanimously approved a proposed amendment to allow Carmel’s Local Coastal Program to offer developers incentives to create more lower-income and senior housing in the denser city core. The amendment allows developers to build more units than existing zoning allows if a certain percentage of units are set aside as affordable housing.
Disneyland announced plans to build a $1 billion, 7-level, 6,800-space parking structure and pedestrian bridge to the resort near a hotel.
The Los Angeles City Planning Commission has approved The Reef, a development south of Downtown that includes an outdoor plaza, public gardens, 1,000 apartment and condos, restaurants and a hotel. Community activists claim the development will be unaffordable for the people who currently live in the South LA neighborhood. Commissioners told the developers 5 percent of the apartments must be set aside for tenants with lower incomes. The commission also asked the developer to pay the city $15 million for affordable housing off-site.
The Mill Valley Planning Commission will consider a new affordable housing ordinance that would establish a local affordable housing fund, an affordable housing impact fee and requirements for new developments with four or more units.
