Homelessness Rises in Los Angeles, Especially among Black Residents
Even pre-pandemic, the number of people without a home in the City of Los Angeles grew 13 percent over the previous year according to newly released numbers. Now, the count "is not that helpful because the whole landscape has changed," said Los Angeles Homeless Services Director Heidi Marston. "This doesn't take into account the almost 600,000 people that, since January, and even just since May, have lost their jobs due to COVID-19," she said. A recent study from the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy estimates that 120,000 households in Los Angeles County could become homeless for some period of time once eviction moratoriums are lifted. The Black community has been hit particularly hard. According to a draft report, 21,509 Black people were without permanent, habitable housing during the count in January - 34 percent of Los Angeles' homeless population of 64,000. In a presentation on the recent homelessness count, Martson repeatedly said systemic racism is behind the inequities in homelessness, citing a commissioned report that called homelessness "a byproduct of racism" and detailed structural barriers in education, criminal justice, housing, employment, healthcare, and access to opportunities.”
Wiener Sponsors Bill to Speed Development of Transit
In a bid to boost green transportation and juice the economy, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is proposing a bill that would fast-track transportation projects focused on public transit, bikes and pedestrians. SB288, the Sustainable Transportation COVID-19 Recovery Act, would exempt sustainable transportation projects from challenges under CEQA. It targets transit stations, bus rapid transit lines, safer streets for biking and walking, electric-vehicle charging stations, and repairs for bridge and transit storage facilities, while excluding projects that would encourage car use. The bill does not entirely sidestep CEQA. It still requires that the overarching plan behind projects already have CEQA approval, but specific projects under the umbrella of an approved project would be exempt. Additionally, projects must be located on public rights of ways in urbanized areas, and large projects must be part of a regional transportation plan. California has 1.6 million transportation jobs many of which could be impacted as cities, counties and the state slash budgets amid the coronavirus crisis. Compounding that problem is commuters who may continue to avoid public transit as cities reopen. With CEQA exemptions, cities stand to save substantial sums that would have gone to EIRs and CEQA lawsuits.
Nationwide Parks Rankings Give California Cities Mixed Reviews
The Trust for Public Land released its annual “ParkScore” rankings, showing how nearly 100 of the country’s most populous cities fare when it comes to public parkland. California has some of the top cities on the list, but also some of the lowest, often within close proximity of each other. Irvine was ranked highest among California cities at number 7, while nearby Santa Ana ranked low at the 85th spot; Sacramento ranked at 30 while Stockton, an hour’s drive away, ranked 87. Ratings were based on factors such as acreage, amenities and how many people have access to the parks. The report found that every San Francisco resident is within a 10 minute walk from a park, earning San Francisco a top spot in the rankings for the first time. But in Fresno, No. 92 on the list, that’s true for only 67 percent of residents. The results are important, the report’s authors note, because people are turning to parks during the pandemic to find refuge.
CP&DR Coverage: Court Rules against AIDS Healthcare Foundation -- and San Diego CAP
The powerful AIDS Healthcare Foundation keeps trying to block development of property adjoining its headquarters and on nearby parcels in Hollywood – and keeps losing. In the most recent court case, the Foundation accused the City of Los Angeles of pursuing gentrification policies that would adversely affect low-income people, Latinos, and others, especially with regard to four development projects in Hollywood: the Palladium project, the Sunset Gordon project, the Crossroads project (adjacent to Crossroads of the World), and the 6400 Sunset project. All of the projects are located along Sunset Boulevard less than a mile from the Foundation’s headquarters. Meanwhile San Diego County's Climate Action Plan was struck down by the 4th District Court of Appeal in a suit brought by environmental groups. Lawyers for the county argued that San Diego's offset program should be allowed under state law because of its similarities to California's cap-and-trade program. But the appellate court disagreed, noting the state's strict performance standards that ensure offsets represent real reductions in greenhouse gases. However, the court left the door open to a more stringent offset program, adding that its ruling "should not be construed as blanket prohibition on using carbon offsets.”
Quick Hits & Updates
The California bullet train's proposed route from Burbank to Los Angeles would cross 22 roads, traverse the Los Angeles River, run through dozens of businesses and hit people across economic and racial segments, a draft environmental study found. The project's future has never been more uncertain. California legislators have proposed a bill that would halt high-speed rail funding for two years, and with less traffic, cap-and-trade funding has fallen from $613 million in February to just $25 million in May.
A middle-of-the-night vote by City College of San Francisco trustees to shut its Fort Mason Arts campus has drawn the ire of students, teachers and critics of the school administration. The Chancellor said money woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic were forcing the college to make the change.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the closure of a $43.7 million construction loan to build a 104-unit complex that will house formerly homeless people, including veterans, on Treasure Island. The total cost of the project will be $75 million, paid for by more than a half dozen city, state, and private sources.
A former top deputy to L.A. City Councilmember Jose Huizar has agreed to plead guilty to a racketeering charge, while the FBI says he played a central role in a "criminal organization" at City Hall. The wider scheme involved city officials, developers and their associates who conspired to exchange bribes of cash and gifts for a leg up for development projects.
While high-density metro areas may have higher infection rates, density alone isn't a predictor of coronavirus-related mortality rates, a new study shows. After controlling for metropolitan population, county density is not significantly related to infection rate, possibly due to more adhere to social distancing guidelines. Their findings suggest that connectivity, or high levels economic, social, and commuting relationships, matters more than density in the spread of COVID-19. (See prior CP&DR commentary.)
Los Angeles rents fell in March for the first time since 2010 in the wake of the Great Recession and continued to tumble in April -- a 3.3 percent decrease to an average of $2,254 for units of all sizes followed a 0.8 percent drop in April. Data showed declines were focused on the middle and high-end of the market.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, one in 13 San Francisco renters, or 7.5 percent, have broken their lease since coronavirus stay-at-home orders went into place. The biggest group of tenants breaking leases are Gen Z workers, according to landlord and tenant groups, who expect many will come back when the pandemic ends.
Rancho Cucamonga and Hartford, Conn., are the winners of Smart Growth America's Form-Based Codes Award, an annual recognition of cities that have adopted exemplary zoning codes. Rancho Cucamonga's Etiwanda Heights Neighborhood Plan and Code won accolades for "creating a new neighborhood that conserves much of the natural environment.”
An 84-acre development plan known as the Hub was granted a key approval by San Francisco planning officials. The developments in the approved environmental impact report could house up to 15,000 residents, fund or create up to 2,200 affordable units and bring in nearly a $1 billion through development fees for public benefits.
The Coastal Commission is recommending Newport Beach fine nearly three dozen beachfront homeowners ta combined $1.7 million in fines for illegal yards that extend onto public beaches. The commission cited the 1976 Coastal Act, which safeguards public access and environmental preservation. Newport Beach has agreed to restore the encroachments to their natural state.
The COVID-19 crisis was the final blow to California's "Green New Deal," a legislation package that aimed to accelerate the state's climate goals while creating opportunities for disadvantaged communities. That's according to one of the bill's author, Oakland Assembly member Rob Bonta. In response to the pandemic, the authors turned the bill into a stimulus package: the California COVID-19 Recovery Deal.
The California Assembly has co-sponsored a resolution directing the California High-Speed Rail Authority to defer funding toward construction of the bullet train rail system between Merced and Bakersfield. It's a signal that a growing number of members - particularly in Southern California - think investing in urban centers and commuter rail systems may have a bigger payoff.
