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Bay Area MPO Advances Regional Plan for 2050
The Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ presents 35 regional strategies designed to guide housing, transportation, the economy and the environment through 2050 in the Bay Area. The plan aims to increase housing options near transit, improve affordability, and strengthen coordination across local jurisdictions. Transportation strategies focus on enhancing reliability, expanding transit and active travel networks and improving safety and accessibility. Economic measures emphasize supporting local job centers, diversifying employment opportunities and promoting workforce development. Environmental actions prioritize protecting open space, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate-related risks such as flooding and wildfires. Overall, the plan provides a regional framework for coordinated growth and investment while balancing equity, resilience and sustainability goals.
Fresno to Upzone 11 Square Miles in Southwest of Highway 99
The Fresno City Council approved the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan on October 16 after a multi-year process that included extensive community outreach, more than 60 public meetings and input from a steering committee. The plan, covering 11 square miles and roughly 50,000 existing residents, sets a long-term framework for coordinated growth west of State Route 99, focusing on expanding housing, improving transportation connections and adding parks and community amenities. It identifies “catalytic corridors” for higher-density, mixed-use development near transit, outlines a prioritized list of park and infrastructure projects and establishes a capital improvement program to fund early transportation and VMT-mitigation projects. A key feature is its dual land-use designations for some parcels, balancing future development potential with opportunities for new regional and neighborhood parks. The plan’s adoption also updates Fresno’s General Plan land-use map and zoning, increasing citywide housing capacity by several hundred units while protecting agricultural and rural edges. Moving forward, the city will monitor progress through five-year reviews, project-level evaluations and updates to ensure investments align with the plan’s goals. (See related CP&DR coverage.)
Federal Government Explores Partial Development of Camp Pendleton
The U.S. Department of Defense is exploring the possibility of leasing or developing parts of Camp Pendleton, the 125,000-acre Marine Corps base representing Southern California’s largest remaining stretch of undeveloped coastline. While no decisions have been made, the proposal—aimed at generating federal revenue—has raised questions about potential environmental impacts, local collaboration and how commercial activity might alter the base’s long-standing role in military training and conservation.
Massive Commercial Redevelopment Proposed for Los Angeles Refinery
Phillips 66 has revealed redevelopment plans for its refinery in Wilmington, after the plant processes its last oil shipment this October. After hundreds of meetings with local residents, Catellus Development Corp. and Deca Cos., hired by Philips 66 last year, revealed plans for Five Points Union, a complex centered around a new town center with 400,000 square feet of space for stores, restaurants, and cafes, two playgrounds, and new walking paths. The majority of the 440-acre site would be occupied by eight warehouses ranging from 250,000 to 1 million square feet. The town center will be part of the initial development, while the warehouses will be built in phases potentially spanning more than 20 years. The project would also redesign the frontage of Anaheim and Gaffey streets, adding new tree canopy coverage and pushing the sidewalks back from the road. Implementing the plan will require city approval, as well as remediating underground pollution. City officials and community members expressed the importance of removing the 25 million gallons of butane tanks. Complaints of pollution, flaring, and fires from have increased in recent years as the plant has aged.
State Disburses $414 Million for 30 Housing Projects
California has awarded more than $414 million to fund 30 affordable housing projects, creating over 2,000 new homes, nearly all of which will serve low- to extremely low-income residents. The funding, distributed through Governor Gavin Newsom’s Multifamily Finance Super NOFA program, streamlines the application process for developers, allowing them to access multiple housing programs through one coordinated system, an approach that has supported more than 12,600 affordable homes statewide since 2020. The new awards will finance multifamily, farmworker, veteran and infill infrastructure housing projects, helping seniors, large families and individuals with special needs. State leaders say the initiative reflects Newsom’s broader housing strategy to address homelessness, improve behavioral health care and reform zoning and permitting to speed construction. Officials emphasize that these efforts are producing measurable results, with California outpacing most states in slowing homelessness growth and expanding affordable housing access.
CP&DR Coverage: Court Rejects Redondo Beach Overlay District for Limiting Housing
In the latest housing element skirmish from Redondo Beach, an appellate court has ruled that the city’s mixed-use overlay district doesn’t meet the requirements of the housing element law. The city argued that the overlay met the housing element law’s provisions involved mixed-use developments. But the Second District Court of Appeal ruled the other way. The case was brought by New Commune DTLA, an entity controlled by developer Leo Pustilnikov, who controls the former AES power plant near the beach in Redondo Beach. The city made a complicated argument that 20 units per acre was not required on all sites because, even though mixed-use sites must have a minimum of 50% residential, the law also requires that 100% residential projects must be allowed in mixed-use zoning (even though there are no mixed uses). The court did not buy the argument.
Quick Hits & Updates
A recent report from the Council of Infill Builders outlines barriers and strategies for expanding affordable housing through infill development in Marin County. It identifies obstacles such as high construction costs, complex permitting, limited funding and community opposition, and proposes solutions including streamlined approval processes, reduced fees and parking requirements and coordinated funding across jurisdictions.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond has introduced legislation aimed at prioritizing homeownership opportunities for local residents and urging the state to restrict foreign and corporate investment in residential real estate. The proposal seeks to address concerns that such investments contribute to rising housing costs and limit access to homeownership for working families.
The Sonoma County Fairgrounds, a 90-acre site historically used for horse racing, is being considered as a potential location for professional men’s and women’s soccer teams through a partnership with the United Soccer League and local officials.
The Redlands Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend to the City Council a citywide ban on new warehouse development. The Commission cited concerns about the extensive development of warehouses on already developed sites and ensuring diverse land use. Redlands has seen 28 million square feet of warehouse development in the past quarter century, vastly outstripping every other type of development.
Fourth & Central, a proposed multi-use mega-development in Downtown LA's Skid Row neighborhood, took a major step forward when the Planning Commission unanimously recommended the project for construction, setting up LA City Council to consider final approval later this year. The 7.6-acre project would include 1,589 apartments with 249 affordable units, 401,000 sqft of office space, and 145,000 sqft for restaurants and retail, all across 10 buildings of various heights up to 30 stories.
In a letter to LA City Council, Mayor Karen Bass proposed a one-time 3-year pause on Measure ULA, the "mansion tax", for homeowners affected by January's fires. In the letter, Bass said that the pause would help homeowners sell their burned properties and gain funds to rebuild or relocate, stimulating sales that were being discouraged by the measure. Measure ULA, a non-marginal tax of 4-5.5% taking effect on any property purchase over $5 million, was approved by voters in 2022 and has been linked by an April 2025 UCLA report to a 50% decrease in sales over $5 million.
The California Housing Defense Fund nonprofit filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Altos Hills, claiming the city unlawfully denied development approval for a proposed multifamily senior housing development consisting of 62 units across two properties. The applicant and plaintiff, Forrest Linebarger, has been trying to develop the property for 12 years but has been embroiled in legal battles with the city. He says Los Altos Hills has no interest in developing affordable units or tackling the housing crisis.
San Francisco Mayor Lurie unveiled the Fisherman’s Wharf Forward project, beginning with a new public plaza on Taylor Street, featuring seating, retail pop-ups and improved access to the inner lagoon. City leaders and the Port of San Francisco say the plaza, along with new lighting, an overlook and longer-term infrastructure upgrades, will reenergize the city’s top tourist district as part of San Francisco’s broader downtown recovery.
