1,100-Unit Development Finally Approved for San Francisco’s Balboa Reservoir
After years of negotiations to redevelop the Balboa Reservoir, on the campus of the City College of San Francisco, San Francisco Supervisors finally approved a plan to put 1,100 apartments on the 17-acre site. Half of the units will be designated as affordable and another 150 will be reserved for City College teachers and staff. The project will also include a community center, open space, child-care center and $10 million in fees for transit and infrastructure improvements. The project received significant pushback from City College employees and students, who argued for 100 percent affordable housing and for more units to be set aside for teachers and staff. The Board of Supervisors approved the project despite these concerns and a CEQA challenge. Opponents also object to the sale of public land to private developers to just $11.4 million, which is well below what San Francisco development sites cost. The project has been estimated to cost about $600 million.
Religious Organizations Collectively Own 38,000 Acres of Developable Land Statewide
An analysis from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center finds that faith-based organizations own significant shares of land in desirable locations that could be developed for affordable housing, but organization leaders run into barriers that could be removed with new legislation. Approximately 38,800 acres of land--roughly the size of the city of Stockton--are used for religious purposes and potentially developable. A significant share of that acreage (45 percent) is located in the state's "High" or "Highest" resource opportunity areas. Yet faith-based organizations face severe challenges in leveraging their property for housing. The study backs two pending proposals in the California legislature that would provide more flexibility to religious institutions: AB 151 eliminates replacement parking requirements, and SB 899 allows for all-affordable housing on religious property. One avenue policymakers have to improve financial mechanisms is creating a preference for LIHTC projects on religious-owned property in higher-resource areas. Moreover, the authors recommend mechanisms that create or expand technical assistance and other support to institutions who are interested in pursuing housing but lack the expertise and capacity to do so.
Study Predicts Sea Level Rise Will Snarl Traffic in Bay Area
New research by Stanford University scientists suggests that the Bay Area will see not only more flooded streets and shorelines as a result of global warming, but more traffic, with commuters forced onto driver routes and backups as many as 20 miles or more from the water. The study shows that some of the region's biggest traffic delays will be in Santa Rosa, Napa and Vacaville, all far from where the flooding occurs. In these areas, with water just a foot higher along San Francisco Bay, as many as half of commuters would face backups of 30 minutes or more within the next 20 years, the study shows. These disruptions are because of the cascading effect of traffic that often makes areas with few major highways more congested, even if they're far from the shoreline. While Marin County will see the region's worst traffic delays, according to the study, San Mateo County will have minimal problems because drivers there have more alternative routes. With few options outside of Highway 101 in Marin, more than half of drivers in parts of the county, primarily the San Rafael and Novato areas, would see 30-minute or longer delays with a foot of higher bay water over the next 20 years. Other parts of the North Bay would see an only slightly better traffic situation, also because drivers have fewer ways to get around.
Quick Hits & Updates
As Caltrain faces possible financial ruin, San Mateo County officials remain firm in their opposition to a November sales tax measure that would prop up the rail line amid declining ridership. In letters to San Francisco and Santa Clara County supervisors, who spearheaded the ballot measure draft, San Mateo County officials questioned the legality of the measure. All three counties will need to agree before a ballot measure can move forward.
A strict version of Sacramento rent control is back on the November ballot after the city attempted to remove it. The California 3rd District Court of Appeal directed the city to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, but a judge could still side with the city and decide the measure is unconstitutional, in which case it would not be implemented even if voters approve it.
The Oakland A's are suing state regulators for failing to regulate an industrial recycling plant located on the waterfront where the team plans to build a new ballpark. Schnitzer Steel, the largest metal shredding plant in California, has been given a pass on its hazardous emissions for decades, the suit claims. A petition posted by the A's gained more than 1,000 signatures within eight hours of going live.
The Coastal Commission rejected a request to override Oxnard City Council's decision to deny approval for a development proposal that would have built 400 high-end apartment units at Fisherman's Wharf in Channel Islands Harbor. The Ventura County Harbor Department and the City of Oxnard reached an impasse on the development. The city refused to approve the amend to the Local Coastal Plan and criticized the Harbor District for omitting details.
The biggest development in Rancho Cordova history is now underway. The Rio Del Oro project consists of 3,800 acres that will have more than 10,000 homes, 7.5 million square feet of commercial space, a new high school, and a 130-acre park. The first phase of the development will start with building a few hundred single-family homes.
Up to 654 apartments for low-income residents are planned near the Oakland Estuary where there was once segregated housing for Black workers who came to Alameda to work for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Habitat for Humanity and the city's Housing Authority are proposing the apartments, which would be built as two projects on 14 acres over 10 years.
According to data from Yelp, 2,000 Bay Area businesses have permanently closed since March, including more than 300 restaurants and 300 retailers. About 3,000 more San Francisco businesses have temporarily closed, according to Yelp listings. The same data shows that San Francisco and surrounding areas have lost a higher share of businesses than any U.S. metropolitan area but Honolulu and Las Vegas. (See related CP&DR commentary.)
The Mineta Transportation released new case study research that finds that for $15 a day, half of people driving on a busy road would be willing to carpool, and another 23 percent would be willing to serve as drivers. But the case study found a complicating factor: there is a need for a combination of incentives to encourage passengers to travel earlier or later than their preferred time to match that of the potential driver.
Los Angeles Superior Court voided Manhattan Beach's short term rental law, ruling that the legislation violates the California Coastal Act. The city was ordered to either rescind a ban on short term rentals in the city or submit a coastal zone-specific ordinance to the Coastal Commission for review. Prohibiting these rentals doesn't align with the Coastal Act's goal of protecting shoreline access, including overnight access, according to the court's decision.
Five more cities have earned state approval of their housing elements, bringing the state's housing plan compliance rate to the highest level history. Only 14 of 539 jurisdictions still need state approval of their plans--down from 47 in February 2019. Desert Hot Springs, Westlake Village, Compton, Rialto and Bell are the five latest cities to gain state approval of their housing elements.
A band of the Kumeyaay Nation whose native land spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Trump administration seeking an injunction to stop further construction of the border wall through sacred, ancient burial lands. The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Diego by the La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians asks a judge to protect its religious and cultural heritage.
