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Los Angeles Mayor Lifts Emergency Declaration that Facilitated Affordable Housing Development
Mayor Karen Bass announced that Los Angeles will lift its homelessness state of emergency on November 18, marking the end of the executive powers that enabled rapid action through measures like Inside Safe and Executive Directive 1 (ED1), which expedites the development of affordable housing developments. While homelessness has declined modestly for two consecutive years, City Council members pushed to end the emergency to restore transparency and formalize successful programs, including efforts to codify ED1 into permanent law. If that language is not finalized before the deadline, the city will temporarily halt accepting new affordable housing applications under ED1. Bass emphasized that lifting the emergency does not signal the end of the crisis but a transition toward long-term, sustainable systems. Meanwhile, Bass issued a separate executive order, EO10, to accelerate post-fire commercial rebuilding in Pacific Palisades, focusing on targeted, expedited recovery efforts even as the homelessness emergency winds down. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Shafter Protests At-Grade Alignment of High Speed Rail
Frustrated by a new California High-Speed Rail proposal that would run the train through town at ground level, Shafter’s City Council voted to reject the plan, with the mayor saying he’d rather see the project “go around the city” than tear up local streets. The revised design, meant to cut costs and shorten construction by two years, would replace elevated tracks with a network of underpasses and overpasses, but residents argued it would harm small businesses, disrupt schools and divide neighborhoods. Rail officials said the change reflects “lessons learned” from earlier construction in Fresno and would reduce community disruption, emergency access issues and the need for millions of cubic yards of fill dirt. Despite those claims, Shafter leaders say the city won’t benefit economically from a system that doesn’t include a station and only brings local impacts.
Report: Los Angeles County Lost Half-Million Residents since 2015
Neighborhood Data for Social Change at USC Lusk Center for Real Estate released its State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN) report, presenting detailed data on the region's housing, demographics and affordability. The report found that, since 2015, LA County's population has decreased by over 500,000 people, including a loss of 280,000 foreign-born residents, despite the number of households continuing to increase. The report found that housing production has fallen from over 70,000 new units per year in the 1950s to fewer than 15,000 per year in the 2010s, with only 10% of recent rental units affordable to lower-income households while permitting timelines triple the national average. Homeownership has also dropped to 45% of residents, its lowest level in more than 50 years, with Black and middle-income households seeing the largest declines. The report found over 90% of renters earning under $50,000 spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Despite a 57% increase in permanent housing beds for unhoused residents, and the number of unsheltered residents dropping 15% in two years, 66% of people experiencing homelessness in the county remain unsheltered, the largest percentage in the country.
CP&DR Coverage: San Diego Midway Project; Referendum Nixed in Livermore
San Diego’s Midway redevelopment project has been held up by litigation again, as an appellate court has ruled – for the second time – that the city did not prepare adequate environmental documents in preparation for a ballot measure lifting the city’s 30-foot coastal height limit. In reversing a lower court ruling, the appellate court also concluded that the state’s reforms of the California Environmental Quality Act adopted back in June do not apply to the Midway plan. The effect of the ruling is to invalidate the ballot measure lifting the coastal height limit -- for the second time.
Eden Housing has been trying to build an affordable housing project in Downtown Livermore since 2018. Two local groups with the same backer have gone to court with different lawsuits to stop the project – or at least move it. One legal skirmish got caught up in the underbrush of referendum law, specifically the question of whether the city’s approvals were administrative or legislative. In a second decision on that case, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that Livermore’s latest approvals were entirely administrative – and therefore a referendum on the project can’t go forward. The published ruling reversed the decision of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael M. Markman.
Quick Hits & Updates
The San Francisco Arts Commission voted 8-5 to temporarily dismantle the Vaillancourt Fountain in San Fransisco's Embarcadero Plaza, the latest development a fight over the monuments fate sparked in 2024 by the announcement of plans for an overhaul of the plaza and a new park. The Recreation and Park Department called for the removal, saying the city could not afford the estimated $29 million for a full restoration.
The owners of a five-acre property near the Santa Barbara Mission, who plan to build an eight-story housing project under builder’s remedy, are suing Santa Barbara County over nearly $200,000 in property taxes. The Mission LLC claims the site is exempt because it hosts religious services by the Unitarian Universalist Mission, but the county argues the property does not qualify since it has been largely vacant and not used exclusively for worship.
The state's Court of Appeals has allowed preliminary geotechnical work to proceed on the $20 billion Delta Conveyance Project, reversing a lower court injunction blocking the work pending additional environmental certification. The project, aiming to transport water from the Sacramento River to southern parts of the state, remains controversial due to the environmental concerns, local opposition, high costs and ongoing legal and funding roadblocks.
Jim Wunderman, 22-year veteran CEO of the Bay Area Council, is leaving to become head of public affairs for California Forever, a billionaire-backed plan to build a new city of 400,000 residents in Solano County with dense housing, middle-income jobs and a large advanced manufacturing campus. The former-CEO's departure comes as California Forever submits a revised plan to extend Suisun City, amid criticism from environmental groups and local ranchers concerned about agricultural impacts, traffic and sprawl.
San Diego's Coastal Resilience Master Plan (CRMP) outlines a citywide approach to adapting to rising sea levels with dune restoration and dynamic shoreline design as opposed to seawalls, as coastal squeeze threatens 70% of the state's beaches by 2100. The plan emphasizes community engagement, with workshops, volunteer restoration events and partnerships with loca organizations hopes to protect beaches, habitat and public access.
