"Walkable urban places" or "WalkUPs" became an instant buzz word with the release in June of a new report by LOCUS, the real estate development and investor advocacy organization of Smart Growth America. As discussed on the CityLab (formerly Atlantic Cities) site at http://bit.ly/T7maRu, the report said 558 WalkUPs exist in the 30 largest U.S. metro areas. It focused on demand for more such areas, saying they tend to have higher GDPs per capita and house more young college graduates, and office space within them "commands a 74 percent rent-per-square-foot premium over rents in drivable suburban areas." The report is at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/locus/foot-traffic-ahead/.
San Jose approves Diridon Plan for Caltrain/HSR hub
The San Jose City Council has approved a plan for a 250-acre transit terminal complex in downtown San Jose, intended most immediately to anchor the Caltrain from San Francisco, and eventually to welcome both a BART extension and the statewide High-Speed Rail line. The plan calls for massive office, commercial, residential and hotel space. The plan is at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=1743. Streetsblog SF reported at http://bit.ly/TetxX8 that the final version adopted requirements that press the nearby SAP Center sports arena to reduce spectators' reliance on cars, and included, as a goal, the much-debated restoration of nearby Los Gatos Creek as a public amenity. The Silicon Valley Business Journal has details at http://bit.ly/1vUIE6G.
Statute of limitations bars college tree-cutting protest
California's First District Court of Appeal ruled June 17 that community college administrators were within their rights to have more than 200 trees cut down on the College of San Mateo campus. In an opinion heavy on procedural history, the court found the challenge brought by Citizens for a Green San Mateo was time-barred because the group did not raise it until they saw the trees being cut, by which time 30-day and 180-day deadlines to object under Public Resources Code ยง 21167 had passed. The case is Citizens for a Green San Mateo v. San Mateo Community College District. The online docket is at http://bit.ly/1pydQF3, opinion at http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A137612.PDF. San Mateo Daily Journal coverage is at http://bit.ly/1jdLiN8 and detailed legal discussion by Miller Starr Regalia's "CEQA Developments" blog is at http://bit.ly/1l7f8CW.
SF utility boxes exempted from CEQA
The First District issued a publication order May 30 for its April ruling upholding CEQA exemptions for 726 AT&T utility boxes to be installed on San Francisco sidewalks. The case is San Francisco Beautiful v. City and County of San Francisco, opinion at http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A136546.PDF.
Water bond vote fails; reconsideration likely
With the June 26 deadline for legislative ballot measures approaching, the SB 848 water bond proposal by Sen. Lois Wolk failed to obtain a two-thirds majority in the California Senate on June 23. The LA Times has details at http://lat.ms/Tsj5vF. The day before, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told interviewer Conan Nolan on the LA area's KNBC-TV (http://bit.ly/1sy3xq9) that polling showed a bond measure would fail with voters if it funded a north-south transfer of California water through the Delta tunnel project, so he was advocating for Wolk's measure, which funded other types of projects. The Association of California Water Agencies predicted reconsideration and further negotiations would follow. See http://bit.ly/1pcBYkE. Online, the Maven's Notebook weblog and its linked Twitter account are following the issue closely.
Capitola may adopt General Plan update
The city council in the coastal town of Capitola holds a hearing July 26 to consider adoption of its proposed General Plan Update. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports at http://bit.ly/1v2yv5F that emphases include the 41st and Bay Avenue commercial corridors, tensions between new and old development, parking and sustainability. See http://www.plancapitola.com/ for details.
Stockton starts General Plan update process
Stockton's City Council has authorized the start of a two-year general plan update process as the city recovers from its 2012 bankruptcy. Officials said the focus would be on economic development downtown and in the south of the city. See http://bit.ly/1l7AyQk for details from the Stockton Record and http://bit.ly/1nCyJwb for the city's planning process documents.
SB 1129 post-redevelopment cleanup bill still in play
The Assembly Local Government Committee has passed Sen. Steinberg's SB 1129, a bill to help successor agencies make new commitments to projects and use bond proceeds once they have received findings of completion from the state. For the League of California Cities analysis and tracking page, see bit.ly/R32Jc8. The official bill tracking page is at http://bit.ly/1yKvf3y.
San Francisco's Ellis Act bill fails in committee
After squeaking through the State Senate, Sen. Mark Leno's SB 1439 bill to restrict San Francisco evictions under the Ellis Act was defeated June 18 in the Assembly. On June 24, Leno publicly said he would abandon the bill for the current session but would probably bring it back next year. (See http://bit.ly/1lnX507.) The bill had appeared to enjoy massive support from venture capital investor Ron Conway and members of his Sf.Citi tech industry civic coalition, as shown by the long lists of tech business endorsements appearing in legislative analyses at http://bit.ly/Pp54wc. The bill was generally opposed by rental landlords' organizations and the California Building Industry Association. For more details see the San Francisco Chronicle at http://bit.ly/1q5rfrV.
Milpitas settling its redevelopment disputes
The city of Milpitas is reportedly near settling its especially difficult post-redevelopment disputes with the State Department of Finance. The City Council approved a settlement June 17 calling for the city to pay over $41 million to the state and make sales and transfers of properties whose ownership had been uncertain in light of disputed relations among the state, city, and successor agency. The Mercury News has details at http://bit.ly/1lOzeHS.
New challenges to Sacramento arena plan
With some previous lawsuits recently disposed of, new opposition to the Sacramento arena proposal has surfaced. The Sacramento Bee reports at http://bit.ly/TfUHN6 that opponents brought a CEQA challenge to the project in early June, questioning the constitutionality of SB 743, which provides special environmental review concessions to the project. The Bee reported at http://bit.ly/1nCDLc8 that housing and environmental advocates were considering a separate lawsuit to seek larger mitigation contributions to housing, transit and small business.
