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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. Imperial County Enacts Moratorium on Data Centers On a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors, Imperial County will impose a 45-day moratorium on pending and future data center projects, despite three months ago advancing plans for the largest data center in California. Huntington Beach developer Sebastian Rucci’s company Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing has spent over a year seeking approval for a nearly one-million-square-foot AI complex that would require roughly 750,000 gallons of water per day for cooling. Despite months of public assurances from Rucci and IVCM that the project would rely solely on recycled wastewater and not draw from the already strained Colorado River, the company recently sued the Imperial Irrigation District seeking access to 260 million gallons of river water annually, enough for 7,300 county residents use each year. The pause was enacted under an urgency ordinance and can be extended for nearly a year, while a newly formed 19-member advisory committee studies the issue and delivers zoning and policy recommendations by January 2027. (See related CP&DR coverage of 'Lithium Valley' and data centers.) Los Angeles May Exempt Multifamily from Controversial Transfer Tax The Los Angeles City Council moved to request the City Attorney to draft a proposal exempting new apartment buildings in Los Angeles from Measure ULA, or mansion tax. Measure ULA, approved by voters in 2022, imposes a 4% tax on most property sales above $5.3 million and a 5.5% tax on sales above $10.6 million, generating revenue for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs. Under the proposed amendment, multifamily housing developments would be exempt from the tax if sold within 10 years of construction, a change supporters say would reduce costs for developers and correct a recent decline in apartment construction. The council also unanimously advanced a separate proposal to exempt homeowners affected by the Palisades Fire from paying the ULA tax for five years on property sales dating back to January 2025. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Sacramento County Approves Major Greenfield Development The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the Upper West Side Specific Plan, facilitating construction of 9,350 homes with over 25,000 residents across roughly 2,000 acres of mostly farmland in the Natomas Basin north of downtown Sacramento. The project has been in development since 2018. The Sacramento City Council voted against the project last year and denied supplying city water infrastructure for the project, so the project may need to rely on the Natomas Mutual Water Company, whose water mostly serves agricultural purposes in the area. Another central point of conflict is a 2002 agreement between the city, Sacramento County and Sutter County that capped total development in the Natomas Basin at 17,500 acres, which city officials say the project violates without proper environmental analysis. Residents appeared to express their support for the project as a means of alleviating housing pressure, while others expressed concerns about potential traffic congestion or wildlife destruction. California Could Suffer Significant Job Losses due to A.I. Artificial intelligence could displace approximately 9.3 million U.S. jobs over the next two to five years, with potential income losses ranging from $200 billion to $1.5 trillion annually depending on the pace of adoption, according to The American AI Jobs Risk Index introduced by Tufts University. California is expected to experience the largest absolute impacts, alongside Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois, with these five states accounting for roughly 40% of AI-related job losses nationwide. The study identifies major technology and innovation hubs as particularly vulnerable, with the San Jose metro ranking first nationally in percentage job losses at 9.9% or 104,664 jobs at risk annually, followed by significant impacts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is projected to lose 381,388 jobs, the 2nd-largest displacement of any U.S. metro. Industries facing the greatest disruption include information services, finance and insurance, and professional and technical services, while occupations such as writers, computer programmers, and web designers are among the most vulnerable. The report estimates that occupations at high risk account for $757 billion in annual labor income, with software developers, management analysts, and market research analysts facing the largest aggregate income losses. In contrast, agricultural regions and states with smaller knowledge-sector workforces are projected to experience comparatively limited effects. SCG Accepting Applications for $150 Million in TCC, CRC Grants The Strategic Growth Council released Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) are open for the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Round 6 and Community Resilience Centers (CRC) Round 2, totaling $153.4 million in awards between the two programs. TCC will provide approximately $98.4 million in funding across three grant types including planning grants up to $300,000 (two-year grant term), project development grants up to $5 million (two-year grant term), and implementation grants up to $27.5 million (six-year grant term). All TCC Applications are due: Sept. 30, 2026. The CRC program funds the planning, construction, and retrofit of community centers and infrastructure and protocols for climate emergencies. Like the TCC, the CRC focuses on local, neighborhood-level involvement and organization. There will be approximately $55 million available in funding for two grant types including Planning Grants between $100,000 to $500,000 (two-year grant term) and Implementation Grants of $1 million to $10 million (six-year grant term). CRC planning grant applications are due Sept. 4, and implementation grant applications are due Sept. 25. CP&DR Legal Coverage: Judge Stops Builder's Remedy Application in Santa Barbara The battle over a proposed eight-story apartment building behind the historic Santa Barbara Mission is continuing – most recently with a judge’s ruling that the developer did not make a clear enough case for a builder’s remedy solution in correspondence with the City of Santa Barbara. The proposal has generated significant controversy both in Santa Barbara and statewide. First, a law passed last year – SB 158, intended to be a “cleanup bill” for AB 130, the budget trailer bill that exempted infill housing – continued provisions requiring environmental analysis that appeared to apply only to the Santa Barbara project. Then, the developers of the project sued in federal court claiming the law singled their project out. That case is still pending. Now, in a local lawsuit, a Santa Barbara judge has ruled that the developer did not make a convincing case that the city had denied the project in spite of a pending builder’s remedy application. Quick Hits & Updates The House Appropriations Committee approved $875 million in federal funding for public transportation at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The money still must pass through the full congressional appropriations process. LA Metro had sought $2 billion total to execute an ambitious transit plan capable of handling an estimated 1 million additional daily trips during the 16-day Games. USC Price School Ph.D. student Yuquan Zhou won the Western Regional Science Association's Charles M. Tiebout Prize for research that proposes new methods for planners to measure access to essential services according to both location and operating hours. Zhou's "people-based" approach combines anonymized smartphone GPS data, time-varying travel networks, and service operating hours to create a more realistic picture of accessibility than traditional static maps based on Census tracts. Using Los Angeles County as a case study, her research found that conventional location-based measures significantly overestimate real-world access, particularly to services like food and healthcare. Palo Alto's City Council rejected an urgency ordinance that would have immediately shielded the city from the full effects of Senate Bill 79, which will allow denser housing near transit stations effective July 1. Council members voted against the urgency ordinance out of fear it would expose the city to litigation and jeopardize its application for a state pro-housing designation. Instead, SB 79 will operate unchecked in Palo Alto for a two-week window before the city's own exemptions kick in on July 16. Los Angeles County seeks to transform the long-vacant General Hospital building and its surrounding 30.8 acres in Boyle Heights into a mixed-use "healthy village" including affordable and market-rate housing, retail, food halls, clinics and gardens. The 19-story hospital closed in 2008, and the new project is estimated to take roughly 15 years to complete. Current estimates hover around $1 billion to $2 billion, but only $120 million has been secured so far for seismic retrofits and grading work. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood abandoned a proposal to cut transfer taxes on high-end real estate deals, backing down amid pushback over the city's $634 million two-year budget deficit. They introduced "Foreclosure Tax" in its place, a November ballot measure that would close a loophole dating to 1984 by applying a transfer tax to foreclosed commercial and residential properties. The 3% to 6% tax, which exempts single-family homes and small buildings, is projected to generate roughly $67 million annually in its first three years. California and Santa Clara County are suing the Trump administration over a proposed ICE facility on farmland near Gilroy. The lawsuit argues that federal officials bypassed required state and local review, and would strain the limited waste disposal and drinking water infrastructure and threaten the endangered and threatened species that call the farmland home. Though the agency claims the structure would serve only as offices, officials believe the property would also be used for short-term detention of up to 150 people. A ballot initiative that would have allowed 3,000 permanently affordable housing units on roughly one-quarter acre of the site of the Santa Monica Airport will not appear on the November 2026 ballot after organizers failed to secure the necessary number of signatures. Supporters have until August 12 to collect enough signatures for consideration on the 2028 ballot. The airport is scheduled to close that year, and discussions around development will continue as the deadline approaches. The California Transportation Commission rejected Los Angeles' request for a six-year extension on three state-funded mobility projects in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and Wilmington, putting over $100 million in grants at risk of lapsing at the end of June. The CTC declined to place the extension request on its June agenda, with a spokesperson saying the timeline LA sought exceeded what the grant program allows. The city cited staffing and funding shortfalls as potential reasons why it could not meet state-mandated deadlines for the sidewalk, bike lane and traffic-calming projects. The Department of the Interior will pay energy company Invenergy $765 million to scrap our wind leases off the coasts of New York, California and Maine and pivot to develop natural gas power plants in four Midwestern states and geothermal projects in the Western United States. The deal is part of a larger Trump administration effort to stop development of U.S. offshore wind projects and increase domestic fossil fuel production, scrapping policies that support clean energy development. Onni Group has filed an application with the City of Los Angeles to construct twin 67-story residential towers at the site of the Wilshire Courtyard complex near the recently completed D Line Miracle Mile extension. The project includes 2,586 units. They would be among the city’s five tallest buildings and the tallest outside of downtown Los Angeles. San Diego Gas & Electric is proposing constructing a transmission line that would run from southeastern Imperial County to the Orange-San Diego county border, cutting through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The 140-mile Golden Pacific Powerlink is projected to cost $2.3 billion. Opponents warn the project would threaten endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, 1,500 plant and animal species, dark-sky designations, and cultural sites tied to the Kumeyaay people. The Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria has acquired 450 acres of ancestral land in the Big Chico Creek watershed in Butte County, funded through the California Natural Resources Agency's Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program. The properties hold cultural significance for the Mechoopda as part of Ótakim Séwi and support salmon recovery, habitat connectivity between Bidwell Park and surrounding open space, and broader Sacramento River watershed restoration.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear a followup to the Sheetz ruling – essentially choosing not to weigh in on one of the most important issues the justices left hanging as a result of their 2024 decision: whether a broad, mathematical calculation, rather than a project-specific calculation, can be used in determining impact fees.

Facing the possibility of more fines and more losses in court, the Huntington Beach City Council has finally approved its 2021-2029 Housing Element.

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. Los Angeles to Delay Implementation of SB 79; Adopts “Low-Rise” Substitute Los Angeles will implement a “Low-Rise Ordinance” that will allow up to four-story residential buildings in 57 transit-adjacent neighborhoods, delaying full implementation of California’s SB 79 transit-oriented housing law until 2030. The state law, which takes effect July 1, would permit buildings between five and nine stories near major transit stops, but cities are able to postpone those standards by adopting phased local housing plans. City officials propose concentrating growth in selected areas while exempting some historically significant, fire-prone, and lower-resource neighborhoods. The proposal requires final City Council approval and Mayor Karen Bass’s approval before taking effect. (See related CP&DR coverage.) CARB to Divert $4 Billion in Greenhouse Gas Monies to new Industrial Fund The Air Resources Board (CARB) approved changes to the state’s cap-and-invest program, including a new $4 billion Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive that would allow major industrial polluters to receive emissions allowances in exchange for investments in emissions-reduction projects. Affordable housing, transit, and environmental advocates warned the program could reduce revenue currently flowing into the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which could drop from $4 billion to $2 billion. The fund is the state’s largest source of monies for affordable housing, largely through the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, and its largest recipient is high speed rail. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency stands to lose $202 million. The fund collected more than $31 billion since its first auction in 2013. The cap is lowered every year to help the state meet its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% below 1990 levels by 2045. San Francisco Seeks to Expand Historic Preservation Efforts San Francisco officials have launched an ambitious historic preservation effort aimed at doubling the number of protected landmarks and historic district properties from about 2,800 to 5,600 within five years. The plan includes seven preservation planners and contracted consultants to conduct a citywide survey of historic properties, with completion targeted by 2028. The city has already accelerated landmark designations, with 66 new landmarks currently in progress compared with just one approved in 2025 and 321 designated over the previous 50 years. Though housing advocates fear expanding landmark protections could restrict housing production and undermine pro-housing reforms, city officials argue the survey will provide greater certainty by clearly identifying which buildings are suitable for preservation and which may be redeveloped. Funding Measure for Bay Area Transit May Qualify for Ballot Organizers of the Connect Bay Area campaign submitted over 300,000 signatures to qualify a regional transit funding measure for the November ballot. The proposal, called The Connect Bay Area Act would impose a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and a one-cent sales tax in San Francisco, generating an estimated $1 billion annually for agencies including BART, Muni, AC Transit and Caltrain. The campaign has raised about $5.5 million and has garnered support from labor groups, businesses and major donors, with top funders including Salesforce, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and the Service Employees International Union Local 1021. Under SB 63, the state law authorizing the measure, the four major agencies must complete a two-stage fiscal efficiency review, and a first-phase report released last week found they had already saved over $1 billion cumulatively between 2019 and 2025. If the measure fails to qualify, transit officials have warned of severe service cuts, including reduced frequency, shortened nighttime hours, and eliminated lines. Coastal Commission to Receive Federal Scrutiny The Trump administration is planning a review of the California Coastal Commission and other state regulatory agencies that deal with the state’s shoreline, suggesting that the agencies may be out of compliance with coastal management laws. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to review the agencies, claiming that the California agencies may be acting in a way that could complicate military plans and other federal interests. The move comes amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and California over expanding offshore oil and gas leasing, which would mark the first new leases off the state's coast in roughly four decades. CP&DR Coverage: California Cities Revolt against Data Centers Silicon Valley famously houses many of the companies that are leading the boom in artificial intelligence, including behemoths like Nvidia, Anthropic, and OpenAI. But, while their end products are ephemeral and devoid of mass, the AI is very much an industry, with a rapidly expanding real estate footprint. California is a relatively small player in the data center industry, far behind states like Virginia and Texas, where developments are collectively measured in the tens of millions of feet -- and energy consumption rivaling that of tens of thousands of homes for some of the largest facilities. California has roughly 160 operational data centers and 40 planned. Even so, proponents consider them a significant part of the state’s economy. Opponents, however, object to the disruption, aesthetics, and possible environmental impacts that accompany data centers. The City of Monterey Park became the first in the country to face a ballot measure to ban data centers, and similar sentiments are building statewide. Quick Hits & Updates The High-Speed Rail Authority awarded a contract worth up to $3.5 billion to a joint venture between rail and engineering contractors Kiewit, Stacy Witbeck and Herzog to begin work on track and systems for the Merced and Bakersfield portions by November 30. California voters initially approved $9.95 billion in bonds for the LA to San Francisco route, initially projected to cost $45.5 billion. Now, the 171-mile Merced-to-Bakersfield route is projected to cost at least $34.76 billion to be completed by 2033. President Trump is invoking Defense Production Act, a 1950s emergency law, to push a $75 million coal export terminal in at the Port of Oakland, will become the first new export terminal on the West Coast after years of discussion about a west coast export site. Local groups oppose the Oakland plant and plan to oppose construction on the grounds that a new plant may not be considered critical to national defense under the Defense Production Act. Santa Barbara will embark on a $100 million redevelopment of the Paseo Nuevo shopping center, converting a former Macy's building into office space for Yardi Systems and turning the former Nordstrom building into 80 to 112 housing units, with 10% reserved for moderate-income households under the city's inclusionary housing rules. The plan emerged from negotiations between Yardi Systems, mall owner Arrow Retail Management, developer DSP and city officials. The plan is the second proposal council has reviewed, replacing an earlier plan that called for demolition in favor of preserving the existing structures. Merced County received notice from the California Department of Housing and Community Development that its 2024-2032 Housing Element has been approved, following unanimous Board of Supervisors approval on May 19, 2026. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the County’s Housing Element, which county officials credited staff, community partners, and state officials for the achievement. Beyond fulfilling state planning requirements, the approval strengthens the County's eligibility for federal, state, and regional funding for housing and infrastructure projects. The Fresno Unified School Board narrowly voted 4-3 on Wednesday to oppose Mayor Jerry Dyer's $4.3 billion Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan, which would build 45,000 homes on 9,000 acres but fall within Clovis and Sanger Unified's boundaries, citing concerns that the development will pull away students and funding from Fresno Unified's already declining enrollment. Projections show the district's roughly 66,800 students could fall below 60,000 within five years, prompting officials to consider measures like school consolidations and boundary changes. (See related CP&DR coverage.) The state Court of Appeal has clarified the purpose of Senate Bill 9, the 2021 law that allows up to four homes on parcels previously zoned for a single-family residence. The decision sends the case back to Los Angeles Superior Court, where a judge had previously sided with charter cities including Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance and Whittier in their challenge to the law. Those cities argued the state improperly overrode local land-use authority by requiring approval of lot splits and duplexes in single-family neighborhoods. Lori Ann Farrell, the former city manager of Costa Mesa and longtime municipal finance official, has been selected as chief executive of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA). She is expected to begin the role July 6 after serving as interim city manager of Santa Rosa. LACAHSA was established to streamline affordable housing financing across Los Angeles County with funding from Measure A. The Trump administration is seeking to halt plans to remove the aging Potter Valley PG&E hydroelectric project dams on Northern California’s Eel River, arguing that preserving the facilities would protect water supplies, maintain hydropower generation and support federal energy goals. In a letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins suggests a potential buyer, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, though the agency is hundreds of miles from the sites and may struggle to procure the likely hundreds of millions of dollars needed for the purchase. Sacramento Regional Transit proposed $164 million Downtown Riverfront Streetcar Project, a 1.8-mile rail line that would connect downtown Sacramento to Sutter Health Park and cross the historic Tower Bridge. The project would add three new stations, modernize six existing light rail stations, and create connections to major destinations including Golden 1 Center, the Crocker Art Museum, the State Capitol and the Railyards district. (See related CP&DR coverage.) California reported a nearly 3% decrease in the state’s total unhoused population from 2025-2026, placing it in the top five states with the largest decreases from 2024 preceded by Illinois (44%), Hawaii (41%), Florida (11%) and New York (8%). According to new data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California’s unhoused population fell nearly 3% to 181,934 people, though the state still maintains one of the largest unsheltered homeless populations in the country alongside New York. The Pasadena City Council adopted Reconnecting Pasadena, a vision plan guiding redevelopment of the 50-acre 710 Stub, land seized by Caltrans in the early 1970s for a freeway extension that displaced mostly black residents and was never completed. Approved elements include a CEQA exemption, a goal of 1,800 new housing units, multimodal transportation upgrades, relocation of a stormwater facility, governance structure creation, and exploration of financing mechanisms and public-private partnerships.

In one of the more famous sketches from the television show “Portlandia,” the excessively twee solution to all design questions is to “put a bird on it.” Lunchboxes, lamps, tea pots, and tote bags all end up with applique birds.

The long-running battle over the Venice Dell affordable housing project has taken a new turn, as a Los Angeles judge has ruled that an obscure City of Los Angeles commission charged with managing city parking lots does not have the power to block the project from moving forward.

Readers, we need your help. SB 79 -- the new state law that mandates midrise housing near major transit stations -- goes into effect on July 1. And cities have a lot of options, including using delay tactics (https://www.cp-dr.com/post/l-a-invokes-sb-79-delay-tactic) and creating alternative plans. Meanwhile, MPOs like the Southern California Association of Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission have published draft maps showing which station areas will require the SB 79 treatment. We want to provide readers with the most up-to-date accounting of what jurisdictions and MPOs have done as of July 1. So please stay in touch with us -- if you are aware of an action that an MPO or a city has taken, please let us know and we'll include it in our upcoming SB 79 roundup! If you've got something to share -- preferably with links -- just email me at bfulton@cp-dr.com. Thanks to all of you in advance!

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. Sonoma County Plan Attempts to Bolster Agriculture Industry The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved an action plan aimed at strengthening the agriculture industry in collaboration among county agencies including the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District and the University of California Cooperative Extension. Agriculture accounts for roughly 18% of Sonoma County’s economy, but the sector has experienced significant declines, including the loss of 14 dairies and more than 2,700 acres of vineyards since 2018. The plan proposes creating an agricultural incubator for new and small-scale farmers, expanding access to affordable long-term leases, and new approaches like using land as rentable campsites and small on‑farm educational events. The action plan will be rolled out in phases over the next three years, with a broader county General Plan update expected by January 2029. Study Ranking Sprawl Puts San Francisco at No. 1, Inland Empire Dead Last Among 233 U.S. Metros Researchers at Johns Hopkins University calculated "sprawl scores" for 233 metropolitan areas, 995 urban counties, and 64,444 census tracts covering about 85% of the U.S. population. Metro areas were assigned composite scores based on four factors: density, mixed land uses, activity centering, and street connectivity. Of the top 10 "most compact and connected" metropolitan areas in 2020, three are in California: ranked first is San Francisco/San Mateo/Redwood City, with Santa Maria/Santa Barbara and San Rafael following in 8th and 9th. San Francisco (composite score: 242.91) and New York (227.3) are the most compact and connected U.S. metros. Just outside the top-10, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Santa Cruz, and Oakland rank 11th, 13th, 16th, 19th, and 20th. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario ranks last, at 233rd, making it the most sprawling metro area in the study. The analysis links compact urban form to lower energy costs, improved health outcomes, reduced exposure to vector-borne diseases, and greater transportation efficiency. Study Analyzes Population Loss in Los Angeles County According to a report from the State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN), Los Angeles County has lost more than 500,000 residents (about 5%) since 2015, including an 8% decline in foreign-born residents, while the share of households with children has fallen from roughly one-third in 2010 to one-quarter in 2023. The report from the Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC), an initiative of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, found that despite population decline, the number of households continues to grow, sustaining housing demand amid worsening affordability pressures. Homeownership has dropped to 45%, the lowest in over 50 years, with median home values more than 10 times median incomes, compared to a 4-to-1 ratio nationally. Renter households face severe cost burdens, with over 90% of low-income renters spending more than 30% of income on housing, while higher-income renters have grown to 15% of the rental market. Los Angeles to Maintain "Mansion Tax;" Study Finds it Depresses Transactions A Los Angeles City Council committee voted 2-1 to set aside a proposed November ballot measure that would have reduced the city's Measure ULA “mansion tax” on multifamily and mixed-use properties, opting instead to pursue a narrower tax break for newly built affordable housing projects. The committee advanced plans for a five-year pilot program that would lower the transfer tax rate to 1.5% for qualifying affordable housing developments without requiring voter approval. A report by the RAND Corp. examining Measure ULA transfer tax concludes that while the measure has generated approximately $1.185 billion since taking effect in 2023 for affordable housing, tenant assistance and anti-eviction programs, it has also significantly reduced high-value real estate activity and development. According to the study, transactions subject to the tax declined 31% over the first three years, while construction of large apartment buildings fell by an estimated 30%, despite mitigation from the city's Executive Directive 1 housing program. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Los Angeles Metro Sues Burbank over Bus Rapid Transit Line Los Angeles Metro filed suit against the City of Burbank after the city refused to issue permits for its portion of the planned North Hollywood-to-Pasadena bus rapid transit line, a $270 million project intended to be operational before the 2028 Olympics. Metro argues Burbank lacks authority under state environmental law and existing agreements to block the project and is seeking a court order requiring the city to process the permits. Metro reports spending nearly $44 million so far on design and pre-construction work and warns that continued delays could jeopardize the project's timeline and its planned completion before the 2028 Olympic Games. CP&DR Coverage: State Supreme Court Ruling Reels in Coastal Commission After a seven-year legal battle, the California Supreme Court has ruled that a developer can move forward to build three single-family houses in the San Luis Obispo County community of Los Osos. In a ruling by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, the Supreme Court reversed an unpublished appellate court ruling, concluding among other things that the project is not located in a “sensitive resource area” and therefore the Coastal Commission did not have the right to appeal the project to itself. In this case, the Supreme Court tackled a complicated fact situation in large part to determine the question of whether the Coastal Commission or the county deserved deference from the courts. The Supreme Court concluded that neither deserved deference and based on its own analysis determined that the Coastal Commission did not have the ability to appeal the project to itself. The Pacific Legal Foundation – which represented the developer on appeal – declared total victory, while the Coastal Commission issued a statement downplaying the importance of the ruling. Quick Hits & Updates The Suisun City Council approved the sale of seven downtown parcels of land in the waterfront district to California Forever for a total of $1.14 million as part of an effort to revitalize the neighborhood. The lots are currently zoned for Downtown Mixed Use and Main Street Mixed Use with height limits ranging between 50 and 60 feet, but it is yet unclear what the firm plans to do with the properties. (See related CP&DR coverage.) San Benito Holdings has dropped its federal lawsuit against San Benito County challenging the effects of Measure A, ending a legal fight over development rights on two properties near Highway 101. The lawsuit argued that Measure A’s removal of commercial land-use designations from the properties amounted to an unconstitutional taking and sought either restoration of the commercial zoning or more than $25 million in compensation. The High-Speed Rail Authority entered into a co-development agreement this month with Momentum Alliance Partners, a group of eight international infrastructure, engineering and related firms that could help finance and build future segments of California’s high-speed rail system outside of the Central Valley. During the proposed 30 month agreement the rail authority would invest $9 million to $10 million in the initial phase. SB 198 has also created obstacles to spending, limiting spending over $500 million outside the Merced-to-Bakersfield portion. The city of Cupertino is being sued by a resident over concerns about the city’s approval of a 51-unit residential development in a high fire risk area, arguing officials failed to adequately analyze wildfire evacuation and safety risks in a state-designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The Linda Vista Drive housing project was upzoned from single-family to allow for the project, but neighbors argue the city and developers did not adequately study wildfire evacuation capacity along Linda Vista Drive, a hillside corridor with limited access. Oak View Group, the entertainment and venue company co-founded by former-Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff, is negotiating the purchase of the Oakland Arena as part of the long-running effort to transfer ownership of the 155-acre Oakland Coliseum complex. According to a term sheet released by Alameda County, an unnamed arena buyer would pay at least $100 million for the venue. The proposed transaction is in works between the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG), the county, the African American Sports & Entertainment Group, and Coliseum Way Partners, an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, due to the county’s 50% share of the sports complex. (See related CP&DR coverage.) The City of Encinitas is raising developer impact fees for the first time in decades, with some charges rising between 300% and 500%. Effective July 20, developers of a typical 1,736-square-foot single-family home will pay about $47,827 in impact fees, up from $15,843 previously. Additional revenue will be directed to fund parks, transportation improvements, open space acquisition and community facilities. Caltrans is studying a high-speed train that could reach up to 140 mph, reducing the San Francisco-Los Angeles run to about three hours. The research is speculative, and implementation of the coaches would require extensive new dedicated freeway lanes, custom-built stations, and buses engineered for long stretches at triple-digit speeds. The California Coastal Commission approved UC Santa Barbara’s East Campus Housing Project, clearing the way to replace the 412-bed Santa Rosa Residence Hall with four new buildings that will collectively house 1,688 students. The approval includes exceptions allowing building heights up to 85 feet (above the 65-foot limit), waiving on-site parking requirements in favor of existing campus lots, and adding extensive bicycle parking. A similar project had been the object of controversy several years ago when billionaire Charlie Munger proposed an enormous largely windowless dorm to economize on exterior space. Los Angeles City Planning released the Homeowner’s Guide to Missing Middle Housing, a new resource that explains current state laws and local policies and that help homeowners understand how they can unlock new housing opportunities on their properties, including Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Junior ADUs, duplexes, and small lot subdivisions, many of which have been facilitated by newly adopted state laws. Sacramento-based Bardis & Miry Development has inked a deal to acquire about 35 acres of Blue Diamond's midtown Sacramento campus for a mixed-use redevelopment project expected to include 1,000 to 2,000 homes, retail space and community amenities. Specifics for the redevelopment plans are still being considered, but the development company stresses their interest in a walkable mixed-use community that preserves the character and history of the property. Part of the agreement determines that Blue Diamond will remain in their corporate headquarters on campus until 2030, and the cooperative will retain approximately 19 acres for almond processing.

Across the country, stakeholders are protesting and decrying the development of data centers, which are being built at a torrid pace. But, those protests rarely prevail. Not so in Monterey Park. There, voters resoundingly approved a measure--86% to 14%--to ban the development of data centers, including at least one that was nearly shovel-ready. It may be the first official battle in the resistance against data centers, and it surely will not be the last.

Ballot-box zoning is not as frequent as it used to be – especially since SB 330 amended the Housing Accountability Act in 2019 to suspend local governments’ ability to restrict the overall amount of housing in their community, a frequent topic of previous ballot measures. Nevertheless, several measures will be on the ballot around the state in June. Here’s a rundown:

In the latest skirmish of a 40-year war, the appellate court has shot down Santee’s strategy to end-run a ballot initiative by approving the controversial Fanita Ranch project as an urgency “Essential Housing Project”.

SCAG's draft SB 79 map