Altogether the governor signed more than 40 planning and development bills, vetoing only one bill designed to encourage conversion of old office buildings to housing, apparently because off the labor standards contained in the bill.
Legislation includes everything expanding SB 9 to guardrails on builders remedy to clarifying how a housing element can be deemed compliant. About 15 planning and development bills remain on the governor's desk.
The city was already allowing a controversial project to move forward and paying $2.3 millino to the developer in attorneys fees. Now it must subject itself to five years of HCD monitoring and pay $150,000 in attorneys fees to teh state.
San Diego judge rules that Santee couldn't end-run a voter referendum by repealing approval and then passing an emergency ordinance moving the project forward. SB 330 was no help.
Nevada officials want Las Vegas to expand even further, by opening federal land to development. As too many places in California illustrate, that's a recipe for sprawl, but not for a better city.
The governor has a new infill housing initiative that includes a proposal to use housing as CEQA mitigation. But this play is only partly about housing. It's mostly about getting transportation projects adequately mitigated under SB 743.
Insurance in wildfire areas is becoming harder to get -- which should be a good thing for the state's growth management policies. But it's getting in the way of meeting the state's housing targets.
Los Angeles-based planner Max Podemski authors A Paradise of Small Houses, celebrating the history and future of working-class housing from row houses to triple-deckers to the dingbat.
