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Cities Contemplate Massive Upzoning Wrought by SB 79
SB 79 goes into effect July 1, bringing massive upzoning that could, at full build-out, more than double the populations of many cities.


The Planning Commissioners' Job Is Different Than It Used To Be
New housing laws have shifted their responsibility from the project level to the plan level.
SB 79 Cleanup Leads 2026 Legislative Agenda
Bill moving forward would clarify that Amtrak service should be included when calculating qualifying service


The Coming Battle Over Impact Fees
A $127,000 Quimby Fee for an SB 9 lot split in Menlo Park suggests that a reckoning is coming for impact fees.


Cities Consider Warehouse Restrictions Amid Concerns About Tariffs
As the global economy has wobbled in the face of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, the California logistics industry has followed suit. The promise of jobs and economic development has pushed jurisdictions to embrace warehouses by the millions of square feet -- totaling over 1.17 billion square feet of warehouse space in southern Calfornia alone.


Judge Rules Against Patterson On Impact Fees
Building Industry Association's argument that nexus study numbers don't add up.


Cities Don't Need Project-Specific CEQA On Housing Element Sites
In a case from Tiburon, an appellate court said future housing projects are not "reasonably foreseeable".


New Laws Lead to Flurry of High-Rise Proposals
Seemingly since the invention of the elevator, critics of growth in California have warned of “Manhattanization,” as if the adoption of liberal zoning policies could instantly result in a thicket of high-density towers. Thus far, that fate has not befallen any cities. But due to a recent confluence of new laws and economic conditions, high-rises are being proposed, approved, and built in some unusual places.


Shot Clocks Are As Big A Deal As CEQA Exemptions
The passage of AB 130 and SB 131 – the budget trailer bills from last summer – has shifted the landscape for planning in California in new ways. And although the impetus for these shifts came from the state’s desire to encourage more housing, there are pros and cons for both local governments and housing developers from the deal.


New Sponsors Rekindle Land Use Law and Planning Conference
After a one-year hiatus, the Land Use Law and Planning Conference, sponsored for over 30 years by UCLA and now by the W. P. Carey Center for Real Estate and Finance at Arizona State Unviersity and the California Planning & Development Report, is returning to downtown Los Angeles Friday, January 23.
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Cities Contemplate Massive Upzoning Wrought by SB 79
SB 79 goes into effect July 1, bringing massive upzoning that could, at full build-out, more than double the populations of many cities.

Josh Stephens
2 hours ago
CEQA Firm Wins Attorney's Fees Case
Links to labor unions were too speculative to prove potential financial benefit -- and Housing Accountability Act argument also failed.

William Fulton
2 days ago
CP&DR News Briefs March 17, 2026: Caltrain Yard; Yucaipa Warehouses; Plan Bay Area; and more
A developer plans to transform the 20-acre Caltrain rail yard at Fourth and King streets in San Francisco into a dense new neighborhood with thousands of homes and several high-rise towers

Emily Glennon
7 days ago
Federal Bills Would Incentivize Zoning Reform
The Road To Housing Act would tie CDBG to pro-housing policies and production

William Fulton
Mar 15
The Planning Commissioners' Job Is Different Than It Used To Be
New housing laws have shifted their responsibility from the project level to the plan level.

William Fulton
Mar 15
When Is A Fee Not A Fee?
When it's an in-lieu fee for affordable housing.

William Fulton
Mar 15
CP&DR News Briefs March 10, 2026: Single-Stair Reform; HCD Letters; Weakening NEPA; and More
This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR ’s free weekly newsletter here . State Fire Marshall Weighs in on Safety of "Single-Stair" Buildings A new report from California’s Office of the State Fire Marshal examines whether the state should allow mid-rise apartment buildings with only a single staircase, a design common in many o

Emily Glennon
Mar 10
SB 79 Cleanup Leads 2026 Legislative Agenda
Bill moving forward would clarify that Amtrak service should be included when calculating qualifying service

William Fulton
Mar 9
CP&DR News Briefs March 3, 2026: Huntington Beach Housing; S.D. Historic Preservation; Mountain Lions; and More
This article is brought to you courtesy of the paying subscribers to California Planning & Development Report . You can subscribe to CP&DR by clicking here . You can sign up for CP&DR ’s free weekly newsletter here . Supreme Court Declines to Hear Huntington Beach Housing Case The US Supreme Court declined to hear the City of Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against the state. Huntington Beach leaders argued that charter cities shouldn’t have to comply with California’s stat

Emily Glennon
Mar 3
The Coming Battle Over Impact Fees
A $127,000 Quimby Fee for an SB 9 lot split in Menlo Park suggests that a reckoning is coming for impact fees.

William Fulton
Mar 2
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