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California Representatives Promote Disaster-Response Bills in Congress
Members of Congress proposed a number of new measures focusing on forest management, disaster preparedness and streamlining government processes in the midst of the Los Angeles wildfires. The Fix Our Forests Act aims to expedite forest management efforts by reducing regulatory hurdles and using scientific methods to prevent wildfires; it is coauthored by Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego). A coalition of environmmental groups has said the bill “would harm forests, communities, the climate, water, and biodiversity." Two additional bills introduced included speeding up federal firefighter hiring (sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall)), increasing FEMA funding to better prepare for future disasters (Sponsored by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin)), and a bill limiting the powers of California’s Coastal Commission, citing its alledged delay of fire-management measures in the Coastal Zone. That bill is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), whose district northeast of Sacramento does not touch the coast. While President Biden has promised federal disaster aid, the future of funding is uncertain due to ongoing political debates over the debt ceiling and indications from President Trump about withholding aid.
Caltrans Updates California State Rail Plan
Released earlier this month, the California State Rail Plan aims to build a zero-emissions rail network connecting the entire state. The plan includes the California High-Speed Rail project, planning to link major cities like San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco through 200-mph trains. The plan outlines immediate and long-term strategies to enhance transit, including efforts to increase rail usage from 2% to over 20% of all travel, helping to reduce congestion and improve air quality. It will require an investment of more than $300 billion over 25 years, with expected returns of $540 billion and the creation of 900,000 jobs. Key components of the plan include high-speed rail connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas, upgraded transit in San Diego and the addition of new connections, like a cross-border trolley linking San Diego and Tijuana.
Los Angeles Adopts Measures to Hasten Wildfire Recovery
The Los Angeles City Council adopted several measures to support recovery efforts after devastating wildfires, including plans to speed up access to federal funds and protect against price gouging and evictions. One proposal aims to create a bond measure for 2026 to raise funds for repairing and building new fire stations, addressing the aging infrastructure of the fire department. The council also focused on helping fire victims, such as by reuniting displaced people with their pets and implementing safeguards for tenants facing hardship. Another proposal seeks an independent report on the city’s fire response and transparency from the L.A. Fire Department and Department of Water and Power. As officials work on long-term recovery strategies, there is a push to rethink city priorities, especially regarding public safety and infrastructure, to prevent future catastrophes.
Homelessness Increases Nationwide, Led by California
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, reporting record-high numbers of homelessness, with California and New York reporting the highest number of people experiencing homelessness and the highest rates of homelessness nationwide. A total of 771,480 people nationwide experienced at least temporary homelessness in 2024, up over 110,000 from 2023. California reported 187,084 estimated people experiencing homelessness, 66% of whom do not receive shelter from the state. The state reported an increase of 5,685 people experiencing homelessness in 2024. During the coldest time of 2024, 74% of people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered by the state. Of the homelessness in California, 25,639 were people in families with children.
CP&DR Coverage: Fulton and Stephens on Los Angeles Wildfires
There’s no question that after this experience, fire departments in Los Angeles and around the West will have to rethink their whole strategy and apparatus for fighting fires. Nobody was ready – and perhaps nobody could have been ready – for set of fires of this scale. Clearly, a whole revision of fighting wild fires in dense urban areas is going to come about. And it’s also likely that the state fire code will tighten up even more, requiring homeowners to create more defensible space around their houses. But it’s not likely that any development patterns will change in response. —Bill Fulton
Palisades village consisted of more than just a main thoroughfare. It branched off into side-streets filled with shops, cafes, and small offices that, for lack of a better word, are a lot cuter than California's typical commercial strips are. The result was a matrix of a half-dozen blocks that felt like a real town. It flouted Los Angeles' unwritten rule of urban design: the more impressive the natural setting, the more heinous the built environment must be. With the loss of one of its most pleasant communities, Los Angeles is, perhaps, one self-inflicted misstep away from a downward spiral, if we're not already there. We must accept that the envy of the world is not a permanent condition. —Josh Stephens
Quick Hits & Updates
Los Angeles Mayor Bass named Steve Soboroff — former police commission president and real estate developer — as chief recovery officer for the Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding effort. Soboroff led the development of Playa Vista, one of the city's largest-ever mixed-use developments, in the 2000s. He will coordinate efforts between the mayors office and city departments “for rebuilding and expediting the safe return of residents, workers, businesses, schools, nonprofits, libraries and parks."
The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is extending multiple program deadlines and re-opening certain funding opportunities to assist fire-impacted communities in their recovery efforts. These changes include extended application deadlines for federal and state programs, such as HOME, Emergency Solutions Grants and Homekey+, as well as additional time for reporting and funding disbursement requests for affected areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The California Coastal Commission rejected Santa Barbara County's proposal to update its local coastal plan, including removing subjective language and implementing objective design standards for housing projects. The commission called for revisions to ensure the plan aligns with the Coastal Act by adding more objective development standards and clarifying that such standards should apply to housing projects, like the Miramar Hotel expansion, in the coastal zone.
Senate Bill 71, introduced this week by Sen. Scott Wiener, aims to make the CEQA exemption for public transportation and active transportation projects permanent, expanding it to include bus shelters, lighting, ferry terminals and infrastructure maintenance. The bill builds on the success of SB 288, which has streamlined nearly 100 transit projects in California, improving public transportation speed and reliability, reducing costs and helping to meet the state’s climate goals by addressing bureaucratic delays.
After over five years of construction, the 9.1-mile extension of the A Line from Azusa to Pomona was officially handed over to L.A. Metro January 3, and is expected to open to passengers in the summer. The $1.5 billion project, which includes new stations and infrastructure, aims to serve both Los Angeles and Inland Empire residents, providing a significant alternative to driving, especially for commuters traveling between Pomona, Pasadena and Los Angeles, with future expansions extending the line into San Bernardino County by 2030.
Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the $1 billion redevelopment plan for 25-acre Television City, aiming to modernize it with 980,000 square feet of office, production, 15-story tower and a retail space. The developer has also committed $6.4 million toward community projects, including park upgrades
Newly inaugurated San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed former Twitter CFO Ned Segal as his chief of housing and economic development to help revitalize San Francisco’s downtown and accelerate housing construction. Segal, a longtime friend of Lurie, will oversee key city departments in the hopes of fostering economic growth, coordinating efforts to make the city more responsive to citizens and businesses.
The Vallejo City Council approved a profit-sharing agreement with Blue Rock Springs LLC for the redevelopment of the Blue Rock Springs golf courses, guaranteeing the city a minimum of $10.5 million in compensation, with potential additional funds based on the project's appraisal and the sale of residential lots. While the deal has raised some concerns about whether the compensation is sufficient, the city will receive a share of profits from the sale of completed homes and the development will be restricted to certain areas due to environmental concerns.
A recent analysis out of UC Berkeley's Terner Center analyzes recent California reforms increasing the pressure on cities to produce more below-market-rate (BMR) housing, with inclusionary zoning (IZ) emerging as a potential strategy. The analysis concluded IZ can lead to trade-offs, including reduced overall housing production and higher rents. While programs like Los Angeles' Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) can incentivize more affordable housing, the analysis highlights that increasing IZ requirements beyond a certain point can reduce both market-rate and BMR production, suggesting that policymakers should focus on other tools, such as public subsidies, to improve affordability.
