Smart growthers tout transit-oriented development more often than any other strategy. Yet with the exception of a few few showpiece developments, TOD has yet to catch fire in practice. This year, the American Planning Association recognized one such development in the hopes that, finally, the trend will catch on. 

Even as commuters have grown weary of the long drive from the western edge of the Central Valley to the employment centers of the Bay Area, a group of landowners in Brentwood see robust development opportunities. The formerly diminutive Contra Costa County city, now of 51,000, is hotly debating what its next round of expansion will look like. 

At issue is the fate of a 740-acre tract of largely undeveloped land, which lies to the west of the county urban limit line that governs Brentwood but is nonetheless already addressed in its general plan. That plan calls for up to 579 homes to be built on the property, which is owned by only five landowners, in the event that the land was annexed by the city. Measure F, however, would expand the urban limit line and in so doing authorize a 20-year development agreement for up to 1,300 homes and 30 acres of commercial development. 

The City of Concord has chosen a preferred alternative plan for reuse of the shuttered Concord Naval Weapon Station that emphasizes transit-oriented development and job growth while designating 65% of the 5,000-acre site for open space and parks.

Sometimes, email is no substitute for snail mail. In a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) case from Contra Costa County, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that notification of a trial court's judgment via email did not trigger the 60-day deadline for filing an appeal.

A Contra Costa County order directing a water ski club to remove 28 unpermitted dwelling units plus docks and accessory structures has been upheld by the First District Court of Appeal.

Despite the fact that some of the structures have been in place for 40 years, the county has the authority to order their removal, the court ruled. The court rejected the ski club's argument that the abatement order was a taking of private property and violation of constitutional rights, and the court denied the club's request to limit the county's abatement order.

San Ramon City Center is an ambitious, 39-acre mixed-use project in the Contra Costa County city of 50,000 people. CP&DR Contributing Editor Morris Newman doesn't think much of the project, but he concedes that he might be asking for a little too much.

The requirement that two Antioch property owners dedicate land for a new highway bypass when they develop their property is constitutional, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

The Navy is poised to relinquish about 5,200 acres within the Concord city limits. The prospect of so much land becoming available in an area where real estate is at a premium excites city officials, developers, environmentalists and city residents, all of whom have at least slightly different visions for the property. >>read more