Despite a vote requirement ordinance for major General Plan amendments, Housing Element did not have to be submitted to the voters.

The First District Court of Appeal published a ruling that favored the City of Eureka over opponents of an affordable housing project downtown. The city had separated the surplusing of the land from the selection of the affordable housing developer. 

Regional planning agencies are promoting "mobility hubs" to encourage multimodal transit. Development opportunities may follow. 

Appellate court rules that county can't condition permit completeness on additional environmental information not on the checklist -- but can do so if the checklist is more complete. 

The Wiener bill, which squeaked through the Senate last week, would effectively take away land use authority from local governments -- and hand it to transit agencies, at least for the land they own. It's maybe Wiener's most aggressive bill yet -- but he has shown a willingness to compromise to get it through. 

Environmentalists, unions force Wiener to back off of SB 607. It's unclear what the final bill will look like.

"Reasonable foreseeable" development is so deeply embedded in CEQA practice that it seems hard to dislodge. But that doesn't mean CEQA reformers in Sacramento won't try.

The CP&DR Vol. 40 No. 5 May 2025 Report