o City of Ontario Senior Planner Albert Cruse pleaded guilty in March to soliciting a bribe from the builder of a drugstore. Cruse offered to set aside a design requirement in exchange for $7,000.
o The trial of former Cathedral City Community Development Director Jaime Aguilera was scheduled to begin in late April. Aguilera was indicted by a Riverside County grand jury in March 2000 for allegedly accepting a $5,000 bribe from billboard developers Robert and Cindy Adams. Aguilera, who has pleaded not guilty, allegedly introduced Robert Adams to councilmembers and the city manager, and proposed an ordinance that would have allowed the Adams' billboards. Aguilera, a former planning director in Colton and Moorpark, resigned in June 2000. The Adamses, who also have pleaded not guilty, are awaiting trial.
o San Diego City Councilwoman Valerie Stallings resigned from office and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in January. Federal investigators said Stallings accepted gifts from Padres owner John Moores at the same time she voted on a publicly funded stadium for the baseball team.
o Last year, federal authorities wrapped up "Operation Rezone" in the Fresno area after 6 1/2 years. Sixteen local officials and developers were convicted in a scheme of payoffs for favorable zoning decisions.
o San Bernardino County Supervisor Jerry Eaves continues to defend himself against multiple charges of criminal activity and willful misconduct while in office. A grand jury indicted him last year for accepting and not reporting gifts from people who had business before the county, including a real estate broker who handled a closed Kmart building that the county leased. The state has taken over prosecution of the case.
o San Francisco Housing Authority Director Ronnie Davis resigned in March after an Ohio grand jury indicted him for allegedly taking $300,000 in illegal bonuses while working as chief financial officer for the housing authority in Cleveland. Two days after Davis was indicted, former San Francisco Housing Authority executive Patricia Williams was sentenced to five years in prison for selling federal housing vouchers. Two other housing officials were given to lesser sentences for bribery.
o A lawsuit filed by an immigrant rights group alleges that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido last year approved funding for a redevelopment program that provided façade improvements for buildings owned by Pulido's business partner. Pulido has denied wrongdoing.
o Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission Executive officer Larry Calamine in February agreed not to accept private consulting jobs without the consent of county attorneys and the LAFCO board. Attention was focused on Calamine when the Los Angeles Times revealed that he has collected tens of thousands of dollars from developers for steering projects through the Los Angeles City Hall approval process.
o In February, the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that Jacques Barzaghi, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's top aide, was paid $13,500 for feng shui advice by prominent developer John Protopappas. Barzaghi did not report the income until the Chronicle story appeared. No one has alleged Barzaghi lobbied on behalf of Protopappas, who is a Port of Oakland commissioner
New conflict-of-interest rules promulgated by the Fair Political Practices Commission went into effect in February, and many changes affect public officials who make land use decisions. The rule changes come at a time when land use scandals appear to be at a new peak, with one staff planner pleading guilty to soliciting bribes and the planning director in another city facing a trial on bribery charges (see sidebar).
California voters could overhaul the state and local tax system, as well as the state budgeting process, in November. Ballot initiatives that would constrict state and local government funding, and, conversely, dramatically increase state and local government revenues are in circulation for signatures.
Many California cities and counties are wrestling with flood waters these days, but, perhaps more importantly, they are also wrestling with revised flood risk maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The new maps have raised the consternation of local government officials, homeowners and developers in numerous locales, and in a few places the new maps are forcing reconsideration of growth plans.
It's an exaggeration to say that 2010 will be the year in which nobody builds anything. But it might not be much of a stretch.
The consensus found in numerous prognostications from economists, academics and analysts is that a "normal" level of development activity is still two to four years away. In the meantime, as Chuck DiRocco, director of real estate research at PricewaterhouseCoopers summed up, "Now is not the time to develop."
Many people in the planning and development community are saying good riddance to 2009. It was a year marked by extreme financial distress for government agencies and private industry. If 2008 was a year to "do more with less," then 2009 was a year to "do less with even less" -- a year simply to hunker down and try to endure.
The package of water legislation approved by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger earlier this month may be the most ambitious attempt yet to address the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. However, the legislation angers and worries many interests in and around the Delta, including local government leaders concerned about their ability to approve development.
Formation of new cities, building-height limits in Santa Barbara and Ventura, and a developer-written specific plan for a vacant industrial site near Ukiah are among the land use proposals up for a vote in the November 3 municipal elections. At least 21 measures with land use implications are on the ballot in 12 different California jurisdictions.
A committee of experts appointed by the California Air Resources Board should come up with a list of best management practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by new development by January 2010. The practices, combined with estimates of future transportation demand, should provide the basis for the board to establish regional targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions later in 2010, according to the advisory committee.
State lawmakers wrapped up the first year of their two-year session without taking action on numerous bills regarding land use planning, development and natural resources. But some of the legislation could receive consideration before the end of the month because lawmakers are likely to return for special sessions called by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
The Legislature passed bills that would require fire safety to be a larger factor in land use planning, allow farmworker housing to be built on agricultural land and give local government the authority to limit the conversion of mobile home parks to resident-owned condominiums. Schwarzenegger has until October 11 to sign or veto the bills.
Two bills that would require greater consideration of fire safety in land use planning appear likely to reach the governor's desk before the Legislature recesses its regular session on September 11. Moreover, a late move to link the fire planning bills to disaster relief legislation could increase the chances that Gov. Schwarzenegger will actually sign the bills.
Gov. Schwarzenegger's unilateral decision to eliminate payments to counties that offer Williamson Act tax breaks to owners of agricultural land has raised doubts about the future of the state's largest farmland-preservation program. Many representatives of the affected counties have said they would like to remain in the program. But the end of state subventions that help offset lost property tax revenue is causing many counties to re-evaluate their participation.
State lawmakers say that water and the Bay Delta should be the Legislature's top priorities until it recesses on September 11. Democratic lawmakers have introduced a five-bill package that they insist provides a framework for moving forward with the co-equal goals of Delta ecosystem restoration and increased water supply reliability. Republican lawmakers, however, said the package leans too heavily toward environmental considerations at the expense of water reliability.
