CP&DR

Concord Base Reuse Plan Departs From Suburbia

Feb 2, 2009

Base Reuse, Concord, Contra Costa County, Local Watch, Military base reuse, Paul Shigley, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

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.

L.A. Billboard Regulatory, Contractual Scheme Upheld

Jan 28, 2009

Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Signs and billboards, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

A 7-year-old City of Los Angeles ordinance prohibiting new off-site signs has been upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the argument that the ban combined with a city contract permitting advertising at city-owned bus stops violated the First Amendment.

Ins And Outs Of Affordable Residential Development

Jan 5, 2009

Housing, Paul Shigley, Redevelopment Watch, Vol. 24 No. 01 Jan 2009

The development of affordable housing is inherently difficult. Projects typically require multiple funding sources, face neighborhood opposition, and are closely watched by both skeptics and state housing officials.

Yet California's need for additional affordable housing is undeniable, despite the crash in real estate prices. So CP&DR shares this look at three different projects to offer lessons for anyone involved in providing housing affordable to people of modest means: a crime-ridden, market-rate condominium complex that the Rialto Redevelopment Agency rehabilitated as affordable apartments; a new, eye-catching project in an industrial part of San Jose that serves 218 households making less than half of median income; and a project in Contra Costa County that overcame what appeared to be imminent failure.

Solar, Wind Energy Proposals Proliferate

Jan 5, 2009

California, Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 24 No. 01 Jan 2009

There is a new gold rush in California. Rather than extracting minerals from the ground, the new prospectors are hoping to exploit California's abundant sunshine and wind.

From the southern Cascade Mountains of far northern California to the desert along the Mexico border, utilities, start-up companies and entrepreneurs are proposing scores of large-scale solar thermal, photovoltaic and wind projects to generate electricity.

Fees Fund Courthouse Construction Program

Jan 5, 2009

California, Paul Shigley, Public Development, Vol. 24 No. 01 Jan 2009

Although gigantic state budget deficits are threatening to stall thousands of public works projects in California, one major effort appears to remain on track: Courthouse construction. The $5 billion program for replacing, rehabilitating or expanding 41 courthouses has its own funding source in the form of civil filing fees and criminal penalties.

Court Defers To City On Water Study Methodology

Dec 19, 2008

Legal Digest, Paul Shigley, Sonoma County, Vol. 24 No. 01 Jan 2009, Water

Cities, counties and public water agencies have broad discretion over the way they conduct water supply assessments for development projects that rely on groundwater, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Studies Urge State To Prepare For Inevitable Climate Change

Nov 25, 2008

California, Climate change, Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

Two recently released studies warn that California is not moving quickly enough to prepare for climate change, while a third study found that the San Diego region is not adapting. Meanwhile, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed an executive order directing state agencies to study the situation and recommend actions quickly.

Voters Demonstrate Slow-Growth Tendency

Nov 25, 2008

California, Featured Articles, Initiatives and referendums, Paul Shigley, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

Balloting on local land use measures during the general election provided the usual mixed-bag of results, but also a number of surprises. Overall, slow-growth forces won 22 of 39 classifiable elections.

Despite the poor economy, the electorate demonstrated a willingness to spend money and even raise taxes for transit, roads and schools.

State Supreme Court: Conditional Agreement And 'Circumstances' Equal Project Approval

Nov 19, 2008

California Environmental Quality Act, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

Government agencies that appear to commit themselves to a project through a conditional agreement and funding must first complete a California Environmental Quality Act analysis, even if the actual project approval comes later, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The circumstances surrounding the agreement matters as much as the agreement itself, the court determined.

The court ruled unanimously that the City of West Hollywood violated CEQA by not preparing an environmental review for an affordable housing development prior to approving a conditional agreement to provide property and funding to a nonprofit housing developer.

Housing Market Sinks To New Depths

Nov 3, 2008

California, Housing, Paul Shigley, Vol. 23 No. 11 Nov 2008

The housing market slide that began during late 2006 and picked up speed in 2007 has become a full-fledged disaster in 2008. Housing starts are at their lowest level since anyone started keeping track, and prices continue to fall. Neither developers nor lenders are willing to start new projects, and analysts say the market may not turn around for at least three or four years.