San Diego Sports Arena Redevelopment Runs Afoul of State Law
The City of San Diego must throw out a development agreement for a large mixed-use residential, retail, and entertainment district on the 48-acre site of the San Diego Sports Arena and start over with an eye toward affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Community Development recently informed the city that the proposed deal, with Brookfield Properties, would likely violate the Surplus Land Act, which requires cities to prioritize affordable housing when they redevelop city-owned properties. The project was to include a new arena, over 2,000 housing units, and 590,000 square feet of retail space. HCD determined that the project violated the SLA on three counts: The city did not make a formal declaration as to whether the property was surplus land or exempt surplus land; it did not properly advertise the availability of the property; and the proposed project does not include enough affordable housing units. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
San Francisco Outreach Plan Wins National APA Award
San Francisco's Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan received the "Building Trust Through Community Voices" award, one of four major National Planning Awards given by the American Planning Association earlier this month. Led by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, in conjunction with community organizations, the plan represents a new commitment to the long-underserved Bayview-Hunters Point community in the southeast corner of San Francisco, California. The planning team developed community engagement efforts like a Youth Transportation Summit and a documentary film created by Bayview youth to give a voice to the needs, challenges, and values of Bayview residents. The planning team agreed to a pilot participatory budget process in which residents control the use of transportation funding. A GIS-based equity index tool to identify concentrations of residents vulnerable to transportation challenges was also brought to the community for recalibration, giving residents even more of a voice in shaping the future of Bayview. The final plan outlines action items for both short and long-term implementation, and the highest priority recommendation — the return of the 15 bus line to downtown San Francisco, 15 years after it was discontinued — has already been implemented. The final plan includes recommendations that expand beyond the scope of the Bayview CBTP to tackle everything from transit service and safety to anti-displacement strategies, further demonstrating the planning team's commitment to centering the voices and needs of the community.
Berkeley, Ohlone Tribe Appeal Ruling on Sacred Shellmound Site
The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, an Ohlone tribe native to the area, filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court’s ruling to approve of a housing development located on the West Berkeley Shellmound, an Ohlone burial ground and landmark. The petitioners argue that, while a California Court of Appeal approved the project, the proposal, under SB 35, should comply with the city’s typical zoning approval process. Currently, developers plan to convert the surrounding parking lot into a housing complex, with half of the units allocated for affordable housing. While members of the housing project suggest that the Ohlone tribe deserted the Shellmound, the petitioners maintain that the development will disregard the tribe and destroy its sacred landmark. (See prior CP&DR coverage.)
Study Suggests New Development in Los Angeles Rarely Displaces
By linking data from building and demolition permits, UCLA Lewis Center researchers analyzed the locations and impacts of new housing production in Los Angeles, with an eye toward determining whether new housing was being built on underused sites, with minimal loss to the existing housing stock and minimal community disruption. The study found that most new housing does not involve residential demolition. When demolition does occur, most demolitions are of single-unit developments. Cases like the Hollywood Crossroads project—a $1 billion development that demolished 80-unit rent-stabilized apartment building to add 950 mostly high-end units-- garnered a lot of media attention for the project’s obvious trade-offs, but are actually quite rare, the researchers found. In the time period they studied, 88 percent of multifamily building permits and 85 percent of new multifamily units involved no multifamily demolition at all.
CP&DR Coverage: San Benito County Grapples with Growth
A developer intends to move forward with the formal planning application process for the controversial Strada Verde Innovation Park, a major commercial development proposed in northern San Benito County, that was shot down by the voters a few months ago – and then revived by the Board of Supervisors despite the vote. The project’s resurgence could reignite fierce debate between local slow-growth groups, which have advocated for the preservation of the region’s agricultural land, and proponents of economic development, who say the project would bring in sales and property tax revenue. The development, proposed on 2,777 acres of agriculturally zoned land near Highways 101 and 25, would be one of the most significant in the county’s history.
Quick Hits & Updates
In alignment with state housing laws designed to protect addicts, Morro Bay City Council denied a citizen appeal to the proposed conversion of Morro Bay’s Rodeway Inn into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, allowing the project to advance. The planning commission approved permitting for the 27-room center intended for operation in 2021.
To simplify the facilitation of its cannabis expansion ordinance, San Diego County will complete a full environmental impact report. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve the two-year process, which officials believe will grow the cannabis industry more quickly by minimizing costs and permit requirements and therefore reducing legal challenges.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board is considering a project that would build 2,000 affordable housing units for teachers and other employees in order to prevent shortages in the profession and to address previous conversations about how to make the most of underused land.
San Diego is considering elimination of parking space requirements for businesses located within a half-mile of major transit stops. The move is designed to incentivize expansion of walking, biking, and transit use and minimize expenses for businesses, which could use the extra space to increase profit.
A coalition with over 40 environmental activist groups has signed a letter to the Escondido City Council opposing a development annexation proposal on 1,100 acres adjacent to the San Diego Safari Park. The project would remove 1,100 acres of habitat designated for protection under multiple counties, and the developers have yet to secure an annexation agreement.
Louise Bedsworth down as executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council after nearly three years. Bedsworth will join the Center for Law Energy and the Environment at Berkeley Law School, where she will direct the Land Use program and support the California-Climate China Institute.
The Bay Area's concentration of tech and remote-compatible jobs softened the blow from a slump in tourism, leisure, and hospitality that affected Los Angeles and the state more severely. New analysis from Public Policy Institute of California found that the shift to remote work has also contributed to San Francisco's sluggish recovery.
A new plan aims to transform a car-central San Diego boulevard into a series of pedestrian-friendly neighborhood hubs. Called BLVD 2020, the plan envisions the boulevard becoming a model for transit-oriented development, because it already h as a "rapid bus" lane and is located on the planned extension of the San Diego Trolley.
The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to allocate $53 million to help develop, in conjunction with BART, hundreds of new affordable homes at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART station parking lots. The $53 million will go towards making the project at least 35 percent affordable, with 298 affordable units. Most of the city funding will come from Measure O, a $135 million housing bond approved in 2018.
Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk.
Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward.
Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.
Environmental group Save Mount Diablo filed a lawsuit in response to the City of Pittsburg’s approval of a 1,500-home project over concerns that such a large-scale development would cause irreparable damage to ecosystems and increase climate disaster risk.
Joe Hedges stepped down as COO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a long investigation into the claims of an anonymous letter, which stated that Hedges invalidated employee judgments and made significant payments to contractors who worked on the extensive bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Hedges’ contentious exit follows a series of executive and employee departures at a moment when the development requires more funding to move forward.
Kern County’s Housing Authority was California’s only housing authority chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Moving to Work Demonstration Program, which seeks to motivate renters to increase household income. Under the MTW, Kern County will evaluate various rent reform approaches to its Low-Income Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.
