CP&DR

Catellus, Conservancy Make Big Deal Over Desert Land

Jan 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 01 Jan 1999

A major land deal to preserve thousands of acres of Southern California desert land is in the works between a land conservation organization and the Catellus Corporation. Acquisition of the land is considered as significant for Southern California as the Headwaters Forest acquisition has been in Northern California. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein threw her support behind the proposal in mid-December. Feinstein, a longtime supporter of efforts to create two national parks and a national prese...

Oakland Port Expansion Moves Forward with Mitigations

Dec 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Public Development, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

The Port of Oakland is moving ahead with plans for a second dredging project to make it more attractive to larger ships. As part of the dredging some novel environmental restoration projects are planned, with a plan to fill a part of San Francisco Bay proving controversial to environmentalists. This past summer, the Port finished a $110 million dredging project to increase its depth from 38 feet to 42 feet. With an eye on remaining competitive in the future, the Port now wants to remove another eight ...

Forest Service Sued Over Management of SoCal Forests

Dec 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

The U.S. Forest Service could be forced to make changes in its land-use planning for four forests it manages in Southern California as a result of a lawsuit that charges the service hasn't properly considered preserving the 40 federally endangered and threatened species of plants and animals that live there. Until the Forest Service takes those species into account, the suit is asking a federal court to stop such activities as livestock grazing, mining, off-road vehicle use, road building, land ...

Growth Results Mixed in November Balloting; Ventura Slow-Growthers Succeed, But Others Fail

Dec 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998, William Fulton

In one of the most active election days of the decade for planning and development issues, pro-growth and slow-growth forces battled almost to a tie on local ballots around the state in November. Slow-growthers won some high-profile victories, most notably a near-sweep in passing a highly publicized series of urban growth boundaries in Ventura County. However, they lost other key races in San Diego and El Dorado counties. And - perhaps most surprising - most measures to allow or promote growth passed ea...

Arizona

Dec 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

An environmentalists-sponsored effort to improve Arizona's planning laws backfired on the November ballot. But Gov. Jane Hull, who handily won another term, has appointed a statewide commission to examine growth management legislation. A measure to impose urban growth boundaries and growth management plans failed to make it to the ballot, but a counter-measure to make it harder to fight development in the state was placed on the ballot and passed. The measure that passed, Proposition 303 or the...

Santa Cruz Scales Back Boardwalk Plan: Merchant, Social Interests Collide

Nov 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

After a roller-coaster ride lasting several months, the beach town of Santa Cruz has finally approved a scaled-down plan to expand its historic boardwalk area — and election results in November's city council races are expected to offer a public referendum on the council's decision. The proposed expansion is the latest development issue to divide Santa Cruz -— a college town known for its environmental, non-traditional bent that has undergone a series of bruising growth and redevelopment battles in th...

Wetlands Issues Raised Over Lake in Calaveras County

Nov 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

Lake Tulloch Shores is one of the few large lakes in California where homes can be built on the water's edge, even into the water. While it sounds like a vacation paradise, it's been a planning nightmare. Until recently, the Calaveras County lake was a place where environmental impact reports weren't done and federal wetlands permits weren't required. Now, the Army Corps of Engineers is required that some — but not all — of the lake's property owners retroactively obtain federal wetlands pe...

Redlands Embroiled in Battle Over Competing Malls

Nov 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

Efforts to build retail centers in the Inland Empire city of Redlands have all the drama and twists and turns of a soap opera these days. Jilted suitors seeking justice, promises made and then broken, dashed hopes ï¿½ and the arrest of one popular shopping center developer ï¿½ are all part of a long-running battle over development in the slow-growth, upscale city. Not surprisingly, the matter has ended up in court. At least eight lawsuits have been filed. The city's legal fees so far are approxi...

Revision of CEQA Guidelines Near Completion

Oct 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

After a long and contentious effort, the Wilson administration has submitted final revisions of the state's California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines to the Office of Administrative Law. OAL will now review them and decide before the end of October which revisions to approve. The final revisions include some of the most controversial guideline changes, which have been strongly opposed by some environmental groups and Democratic legislators. But the final shape of the revisions is far fr...

Eastern Contra Costa County Explodes with Growth

Oct 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch

One of the last undeveloped regions of San Francisco Bay Area land - eastern Contra Costa County - is booming so much that a county supervisor has asked local cities to consider a temporary halt to residential growth. Eastern Contra Costa County, with its rich delta topsoil, is where the Central Valley meets the Bay Area. For years, agriculture was the main industry in this area east of Mount Diablo and south of the Sacramento River-San Joaquin River Delta. The region is made up of the local citi...