Gov. Gavin has signed almost all of the important planning and development bills the Legislature sent him a month ago – and vetoing the one that would have rolled back part of last year’s CEQA reform.

The battle over redevelopment of the Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Pack has reached fever pitch, with the city refusing to back down in its resistance to the project and the developer filing a lawsuit asking that the city be hit with at least $6.6 million in fines.

The following awards were announced October 4 at the conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, held in Los Angeles. "Excellence" is the higher award; both awards were not given in all categories. Academic Excellence Building the Planning Pipeline - Long Beach City College Urban Planning Associate of Science Degree, Long Beach City College & Long Beach Community Design Center Merit Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities: The Toll of Extreme Travel on Lower Income Communities in the San Fernando Valley, Alejandra Rios Gutierrez Advancing Diversity and Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff Excellence Advancing Agricultural Land Equity in California, Recommendations of the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force Merit Zone In: City Core, City of Long Beach and Team Communications Initiative and Outreach Excellence Ride, Walk, & Roll, Orange County, Latino Health Access Daniel Burnham Award for Comprehensive Plan Excellence Los Angeles New Zoning Code: A Dynamic, Digital-First Framework, City of Los Angeles, Department of City Planning Merit City of Bellflower Parks and Recreation Master Plan, City of Bellflower, KTUA Planning and Landscape Architecture Grassroots Initiative Excellence Safe Travels in Nyeland Acres, Nyeland Promise Implementation Excellence Los Angeles Legacy Business Program, City of Los Angeles Community Investment Department Merit Bakersfield Community Land Trust Planning Excellence Excellence Family Zoning Plan, San Francisco Planning Department Merit MEA Guidelines for Archaeological and Tribal Cultural Resources, City of Santa Barbara Resilience and Sustainability Excellence Big Basin Redwoods State Park Facilities Management Plan, California State Parks Merit Los Angeles County Heat Action Plan, Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office, Environmental Science Associates, AECOM, Paradigm Transportation Planning Excellence Cudahy Together: A Strategic Plan for a Thriving Community, City of Cudahy and Team Merit Freeway Ramp Active Mobility Enhancement Study, Caltrans District 12 Urban Design Excellence Citywide Corridors Plan, City of Jurupa Valley Merit Olympus Park, City of Encinitas and RRM Design Group Planning Pioneer Award James Rojas Planner Emeritus (PEN) Honor Awards Southern Margaret Moore SohagiAl Zelinka, FAICP, CMSM John Keho, AICPAnna Pehoushek, FAICP Northern Charles S. Bryant, AICP Laurel Prevetti Distinguished Service Award Michael P. Cass, APA California Northern Distinguished Contribution Award Geoffrey Danker, AICP Section Activity Award Central Coast Section

This year's edition of the conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association arrives in a subdued version of Los Angeles. In the past 20 months, it has faced devastating wildfires, contraction of the entertainment industry, immigration raids, a bruising (and ongoing) mayoral race, population stagnation, the closure of bars and restaurants, jitters about the 2028 Olympics, and, most recently, the threat of coastal erosion from El Nino. Through it all, development has slowed and planning remains... complicated. Los Angeles is not the supernova it once was--but it has yet to figure out how to make its comeback. The state's planners will convene against this backdrop, to discuss the future of Los Angeles and many of the state's other jurisdictions. Under the Hollywood-esque theme "Crafting Our Narrative: Planning as Storytelling," the conference runs from Saturday, Oct. 3 through Tuesday, Oct. 6 in downtown Los Angeles. CP&DR's Josh Stephens spoke with Los Angeles APA Section Director and conference co-chair Roderick Hall (also an analyst with the Los Angeles Housing Department) about what the estimated 2,100 attendees can expect. CP&DR is a media sponsor of the California APA Conference and will be present in the exhibit hall. We welcome readers to connect with us. The last time the APA conference was in the Los Angeles area was 2016 (in Pasadena). If you were around back then, do you feel like anything has changed in the ten years since planners last officially convened in L.A.? I got to LA in February 2020. So I can't necessarily speak to what has changed since the last conference, but I can talk about what has changed since I moved to Los Angeles. A lot of what was shared with me by people is that certainly the Los Angeles before COVID and the Los Angeles after COVID are not the same Los Angeles. In part, the city and the region are thinking about natural disasters, particularly fires. There's been a significant shift in how we think about housing in this region and across the state. There's now a huge need to rethink what the narrative is, not only of Los Angeles but of California, and how that takes into account a lot of the new changes coming into the region. I'm especially interested in getting planners to understand that not only is part of our role to think about and craft the narratives around people and places, but also a core part of our role is bringing the pages to life. That's why the logo has a city coming out of a book. Because as much as you can put on paper that you need (roughly) 450,000 units for the city, you need not only planners who can plan for it, but also planners who implement and make it happen. A lot of the sessions we've chosen are about helping people have the conversations and think about the tools and the resources and the approaches to actually developing, not just planning, the community. What are some sessions you're excited about? Which ones capture the moment? Roderick Hall I don't want people to think I have a favorite session, so to speak. We were very intentional about making sure we covered all kinds of themes, from housing to transportation to climate and disaster to economic development. We did so in a way that takes into account what the profession needs, but also takes into account and how Los Angeles thinks about some of these topics. There are a few sessions on cultural districts and on recognizing a variety of cultures in a community. That excites me because I think so core to California's narrative is the fact that we have so many different ethnicities here that all contribute to the community and the economy. Myself and my fellow section directors have our own session that we will be focusing collaboration across the state, about helping people understand resiliency and showing up for work and navigating that. The diversity plenary, which we are calling “The Summit,” brings together three different community-based organizations in Los Angeles, as well as someone from APA National, to talk about what it means to develop communities, specifically communities that are viewed as marginalized, in a time of funding cuts and various perspectives on community development across different levels of government. A lot of planners right now, especially in California, are wrestling with the question: how do we continue to live out California values when some of the funding we receive, or the stipulations around the funding, may not align with those values? The opening and closing plenaries both excite me because they're fireside chats with an individual person. One is Los Angeles Planning Director Vince Bertoni, one is Brian Ulaszewski, executive director of City Fabrik. I think both of those conversations are going to be fruitful because they approach this from different perspectives: public sector and private sector. We're doing an activation this year, and this activation has so many moving components. We're going to have video games on site, and we're going to have some podcast interviews, and the ability to do some tactile workshops to think about place. There's also going to be a working room where people can just go and work.I don't want people to just come and be talked to. I want people to have an experience with this conference where they leave feeling they were able to learn, work, and play, all in one setting, because when we come out of the conference, we want to feel replenished. How would you describe the mood in your section these days? As you've collaborated with counterparts around the state to put the conference together, what sort of mood have you perceived from them? I would say the overall mood, both in the section and across the state, is eagerness. Not happy or sad, just that there's this eagerness to figure it out, whatever “it” is. People really want to understand: we live in California, we espouse certain values, and we go about planning in a very Californian way, so to speak. I think people are wrestling with staff retention or hiring. People are wrestling with how to provide services to their community, either because funding is cut or because the people who are allowed to benefit from programs, those eligibility [requirements], have changed. Even though that has changed, it does not mean that the need has changed. So there's this eagerness to figure out workarounds and solutions to continue to provide services at an adequate level. A lot of what we've heard is people trying to navigate the impact of ICE raids, not just on the people but also on the economy. People are also trying to understand: "I work in this community, but when there is a fire or another natural disaster, I'm also impacted, and I'm also having to get up and go to work and address it." There's a huge need to help planners develop resiliency and the tools needed for self-care to still get up and do the work. It's easy, especially for a lot of people to maybe not feel as happy or excited about the work, or even to be burned out about the work. I'm sure there are individuals who fall into their respective camps, but I would say the overall theme is eagerness to problem-solve and innovate. You're a veteran of housing in California. What do you expect from the housing discussions at the conference? For the most part, there seems to be an appetite for people to plan for more housing. At this point, those arguments are kind of moot. We all have to plan for it. I actually think the conversations around housing at the conference are going to start to advance toward, “well, I've done the planning. Unless someone is planning to take the market rate and use zoning or inclusionary zoning, whatever you want to call that program, there's not going to be a way in which the market alone is going to provide.” A lot of people are asking me, How do you think about finding an affordable housing developer, how do you work with them, how do you help them get financing? What's the role of local government in helping a project pencil? Or how do you work with them to think about impact fees? What is a NOFA? What does it mean to talk about a capital stack? I've always wanted to be at a point where I saw more planners thinking about funding and financing and not just, "Oh, okay, well, we made this plan." That's great, but it can't get developed if there is no funding and financing to develop it. That's partially in housing, but I've, shockingly, seen this come up in a lot of other topical areas as well, including transportation and climate readiness planning. Financing and funding conversations across the board seem to be what I hear a lot of people talking about, and that's partially due to federal funding cuts. At the local level, different cities are facing their own deficits that may or may not be driven by funding cuts from the federal government or even from the state government. You mention the federal government. Certain members of the federal government like to dismiss or demean California these days. Is there an opportunity to be a pep rally or to assert California's vibrancy? What role can planners play in supporting the state as an entity on the national level? APA National has done a great job not only of taking California into account but of taking into account the broader states at the national level, and having their policy and advocacy team really work to enshrine the values not just of California but of the planning profession. Planning in general tends to be a much more inclusive profession, at least in today's time, where people are all trying to think about making communities work for all members. I say that to say, the whole point of this conference is exactly that. California has a narrative as a state, and jurisdictions within California have their own unique narratives. This conference is the opportunity for people to get together and ask: in this new era of work we find ourselves in, or this new era of the profession, how can we still do the work that's needed? Some of that, yeah, maybe that's federal, but I don't think all of it is. Some issues are specific to a local jurisdiction and are separate from what's happening at the federal level, even if they're happening concurrently.

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. Canceled Light Rail Extension Draws Lawsuit from Montclair The Inland Empire suburb of Montclair is suing the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) after the agency withdrew funding for the planned A Line light-rail extension to Montclair. The city claims SBCTA broke its long-standing commitment to extend the rail line from Claremont to the Montclair Transit Center. In September 2025, SBCTA voted 15–11 to redirect its $37 million allocation, citing rising costs and concerns about limited input into project decisions. Montclair argues that abandoning the project could cost the city millions in planning expenses, property value increases, and future tax revenue. The lawsuit also alleges that SBCTA discriminated against Montclair, a lower-income community with a large Hispanic and immigrant population, by redirecting funds toward more affluent communities. Montclair is asking the court to enforce Measure I funding requirements, prevent unlawful discrimination, and award damages. Meanwhile, the A Line extension from Pomona to neighboring Claremont is moving forward, with construction expected to begin in late 2027 and finish in 2031. Data Center Update: Majority of Californians Opposed; L.A. County Moratorium A Politico poll found 51% of registered California voters oppose building new data centers in the state and opposition rises to 61% when a proposed data center would be in their own community. Most voters prefer local over state control, and there is a distinct split along party lines. The study found 45% of Republican-leaning voters support new centers, compared to about one eighth of Democrat voters. Recently, LA County's planning director ordered an immediate prohibition on large AI data centers in unincorporated areas, and El Monte, Baldwin Park, Oakley, Gilroy, and Richmond have passed bans or moratoriums. In San Francisco, Supervisor Shamann Walton proposed a 45-day moratorium, possibly extendable to two years, as a step toward a citywide ban, just as a little-known firm was reported to be eyeing a large waterfront site in the area. Meanwhile, the Dogpatch Power Station developer nearby plans to retract a data center amendment after community pushback. The Eureka City Council has moved forward in their effort to restrict data center construction, directing staff to create zoning regulations allowing data centers of 20,000 square feet or less to be built in industrial areas of the city, with a potential ban on large facilities. The decision comes two weeks after the city passed their 45-day moratorium on all data center planning until a decision could be reached. Navy Gives OK to Redevelopment of Concord Base The U.S. Navy approved a financial term sheet for redeveloping the Concord Naval Weapons Station, a 12,800 acre former munitions storage facility that fell out of use in 1999. The term sheet covers roughly 2,422 acres and is backed by master developer Brookfield Properties, which can now work with the city on a specific plan for construction and zoning. Planned features include 12,272 housing units, a 75-acre first responder training facility, a 4-acre veterans community center, a $5 million sports park, 5,038 acres for Thurgood Marshall Regional Park, 16 acres for permanently supportive housing and 10 acres for food bank expansion. Brookfield was chosen as master developer in 2023 after original developer Lennar withdrew in 2020 over a dispute with labor organizers. San Francisco Mayor & Supes Consider Raft of Housing Proposals San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced six proposals that protect tenants from eviction and provide other renter protections in an attempt to counter skyrocketing rents and increased housing insecurity amid the artificial intelligence boom. Median rent prices in San Francisco are up nearly 26% over last year, and eviction notices have increased 44%. The package includes increased payments tenants are owed if evicted by 25%, directing $3 million to free legal representation for tenants threatened with eviction, $27 million on rental subsidies to cover the loss of federal housing vouchers set to expire at the end of the year, a 10% cap on “banked” rent spikes, and $1 million toward a public awareness campaign for renters. Meanwhile, San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar plans to introduce legislation creating a dedicated housing department to coordinate and streamline affordable and market-rate housing. The proposal comes as San Francisco falls behind its goal of building 82,000 homes by 2031, which Melgar blames on a current system fragmented across multiple agencies, slowing housing approvals and construction as rents and home prices rise. CP&DR Coverage: Coastal Commission Power Trumps Builders Remedy The Coastal Commission’s powers trump the state’s builders remedy law, an appellate court has ruled in yet another case from Redondo Beach. New Commune DTLA, developer Leo Pustilnikov’s company, attempted to use builders remedy to end-run Redondo Beach’s local coastal program (LCP) for a project that would include 30 condominiums (six affordable) and 141,000 square feet of commercial space. Pustilnikov has been aggressive in pursuing builders' remedy projects and associated litigation in both Redondo Beach and Beverly Hills, most recently winning a court battle over whether Redondo could use overlay zones to meet its housing element requirements. The coastal litigation involves potentially high stakes in affluent areas up and down the coast where cities must get Coastal Commission approval for their local plans and developers are seeking to end-run local processes with builders' remedy projects. Quick Hits & Updates Pacifica, a coastal city in San Mateo County, has resisted development at the site of a 90-acre former limestone quarry. Now Michigan-based developer Eenhoorn and Netherlands has filed an application with builder’s remedy for what may be the most likely plan yet, a 21-building development with 1,225 units that would cover about one third of the property. So far, the city has rejected the development, and the developer has appealed to the City Council. Roseville City Council has advanced plans for a $77 million civic campus. It will replace aging, overcrowded facilities, and add a license and passport center and a dance studio near Lexington Avenue and Woodhill Drive. The maintenance operations center is estimated to cost around $64.1 million, while the license, passport and dance studio portion is down to roughly $13 million from $14.5 million. The Costa Mesa City Council has approved a plan for 2,300 residences on the former Fairview Developmental Center, including 920 units set aside as affordable for low-income tenants. The vote advances a long effort to reuse the 80-acre property, which once housed more than 2,500 patients and closed in 2022 as the state moved care for people with developmental disabilities toward community-based settings. Though the city faces state pressure to add 11,760 homes by the end of the decade, council members scaled back a Planning Commission plan that would have allowed up to 4,000 units. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission filed a 54-page federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging what they call an unlawful buyout that removed a major floating wind project off Morro Bay from development. It is the state's second such suit against the Trump administration. The complaint targets a $765 million buyback of four wind leases held by Chicago-based Invenergy, announced in June. The deal included the $111 million Even Keel Wind project, whose lease covered more than 80,000 acres off the Central Coast. Incoming Angels owner Stan Kroenke has not finalized plans for a new ballpark, although a replacement for Angel Stadium remains a possibility under the $4 billion purchase agreement. The stadium sits on roughly 130 acres of land that could support a larger mixed-use development. The Angels’ current lease runs through 2032, with an extension possible to 2038, and the state’s new “Home Run for Anaheim Act” would allow the team to circumvent affordable housing requirements if the team reverts to their name as the Anaheim Angels.

The recent appellate court ruling concluding that the elimination of an historic resources inventory requires an analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act has been published meaning it can be used as precedent.

Mitigations and exemptions don’t mix – at least not in the California Environmental Quality Act.

Lot line adjustments are ministerial. Except when they’re not.

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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. San Francisco Considers $17 Billion Proposal to Protect Waterfront from Rising Seas The Port of San Francisco and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have presented a $17 billion study including proposals to save its bayside shoreline from rising sea levels. The San Francisco Waterfront Coastal Flood Study analyzes risk along the 7.5 mile stretch including Fisherman’s Wharf in an effort to combat the projected 3.5 foot sea level rise and $23 billion in damages expected to occur by the end of the century. Proposals include raising the Ferry Building by 7 feet, and replacing the 1800s-era seawall with a taller and wider construction to hold back mud that downtown is built upon, this time out of environmentally-conscious materials. Experts worry that environmental protection rollbacks under the Trump administration could delay funding and construction for years. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Santa Cruz County Supervisors Reject Proposal to put Data Centers to a Vote The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors rejected a proposed ordinance that would have granted voters a say in the construction of AI data centers in unincorporated parts of the county. Supervisor Justin Cummings introduced the proposal, which would have required voter approval before zoning, permitting, construction or operation, due to concerns about high electricity and water consumption, noise, traffic, pollution, and land use. While supporters argued that residents should have a say in major developments,opposing supervisors Manu Koenig and Kim De Serpa as well as Board Chair Monica Martinez said more research was needed before making sweeping changes. No AI data centers are currently proposed in Santa Cruz County, and any future projects would undergo the existing application process as well as an environmental impact report. Following Settlement, State Claims Huntington Beach Housing Element Remains Out of Compliance California is seeking additional penalties against Huntington Beach, claiming that the city’s plan is still out of compliance. The city previously accumulated $170,000 in fines for failing to adopt a compliant housing plan, and the state is now asking the court to reinstate a $50,000 monthly fine until Huntington Beach meets its obligations. In June, the city approved a new housing element intended to accommodate more than 13,000 housing units by the end of the decade. However, the California Department of Housing and Community Development found that the city had not completed the required zoning changes to support the plan. State officials argue that an enforceable rezoning program is necessary to ensure the housing plan leads to actual development opportunities. (See related CP&DR coverage.) State Sues Feds over Attempt to Weaken Endangered Species Act California is suing the Trump administration over changes to the Endangered Species Act that reduce protections on critical habitats. The rollbacks altered the law by making it easier to avoid designating areas as critical habitat, removing automatic protections for threatened species, and opening up habitats where endangered species exist to mining, logging and development. The Trump administration argues that the revisions reduce federal overreach, regulatory burdens, and unnecessary costs. California’s endangered species law does not protect all species covered by federal law. Nearly 140 species that are protected at the federal level remain unprotected by state law, and it does not include habitats of endangered species in its purview. Environmental groups and California officials agree that the federal protections could be difficult to replace, increasing habitat loss and threatening species such as condors and sea otters. CP&DR Legal Coverage: HCD Certification Required For Housing Element Approval A Los Angeles judge called out the City of Pasadena for not processing a builders remedy application even though the California Department of Housing and Community Development had not certified the city’s housing element at the time. Judge Curtis Kin of the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled against the city even though the application was filed before the state adopted AB 1886 in 2024, which clarified that either HCD certification or a judge’s approval is necessary for a housing element to be valid. The developer filed a builder's remedy application, which the city did not process, and then sued, saying the city was required to process the project as a builder’s remedy because HCD had not certified the housing element at the time of the application. The city argued that its own approval of the housing element was sufficient, but Judge Kin disagreed. The case turned on the question of how a housing element qualifies as being compliant with state law. Quick Hits & Updates The California Department of Housing and Community Development warned Los Altos that it needs to amend its housing plan if Measure D passes in November. The measure restricts changes to 10 city-owned downtown parking plazas, potentially impacting housing development plans and putting the city’s housing element in noncompliance. The state warned that failure to update the general plan may result in financial penalties at a minimum of $10,000 per month, loss of local land-use authority, and other consequences, including triggering Builders Remedy. Half Moon Bay City Council approved zoning changes to address an ongoing lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking the city to comply with state housing laws. Changes include increased housing density on 10 properties, establishing a Workforce Housing Overlay on four sites, and making 14 properties eligible for staff approval of housing projects without public hearings or planning commission review. The U.S. Department of Transportation has extended LA Metro an $802.5 million low-interest loan to fund an expansion of Interstate 105 ahead of the 2028 Olympics. The budget will be used to convert an existing carpool lane into an ExpressLane in each direction and add a second ExpressLane between the 405 and 605 freeways. The expansion will be crucial in creating Los Angeles’ Games Route Network, or the designated roads and freeways for Olympics-related travel, which the city is contractually obligated to complete as a host. Brightline West, the proposed high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California, has until Nov. 2 to make a $400 million equity investment in the project after accepting $3.5 billion of tax-exempt private activity bonds from the U.S. Department of Transportation and a $3 billion grant from the Biden administration. The project’s cost estimate has risen greatly from $12 billion at the time of groundbreaking in 2024 to $21 billion today, and financial difficulties and threats of bankruptcy affecting its sister company, Brightline Florida, have raised concerns. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Tribal leaders joined California state and Lake County officials to sign an agreement giving seven tribal governments shared responsibility for restoring and managing the Clear Lake watershed. The partnership aims to improve water quality, create safeguards for native species, and actively include and recognize the Pomo tribes’ longstanding connection to the region. Clear Lake faces environmental challenges, including harmful algal blooms, wetland loss, drought, and wildfire. Remediation efforts include an oxygenation system, algae harvesting, and phosphorus treatments designed to reduce harmful algae blooms. Gilroy City Council instituted a temporary 45-day moratorium on new data centers. The moratorium prevents the city from accepting or approving new data center applications but does not affect the Amazon Web Services facility already under construction on Camino Arroyo. Officials will study potential impacts involving water use, electricity demand, noise, emissions, aesthetics, and cooling technology while seeking community input. Federal regulators are seeking public comment on PG&E’s proposal to remove two dams on California’s Eel River, citing ecological benefits and recreation potential. PG&E attempted to sell the dams, which have not generated electricity in nearly five years, to no interest. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is still studying the project, which will require technical reviews, environmental analysis, and additional public input before it can move forward. Elk Grove may impose a new moratorium on self-storage facilities amidst concerns about the growing number of facilities in the area and whether the 19 facilities in Elk Grove (and two under construction) are an appropriate use of space. Officials say the land could be used for housing, retail or other development, and the Planning Commission has recommended an indefinite moratorium while the city reviews its rules. Alameda County Board of Supervisors is withdrawing Measure D, which would give the board authority over land use changes, from the November ballot. Measure D, approved in 2000 and amended in 2022, protects agricultural and open-space land in the Livermore Valley while limiting the board’s ability to make major changes without voter approval. A recent survey of 800 likely voters found that 57% opposed the proposed amendment after hearing arguments for and against it. A federal judge has decided that Texas oil company Sable Offshore Corporation will be allowed to continue pumping oil along the Santa Barbara County coast per the Defense Production Act, which the U.S. Department of Energy says protects the company from intervention. The pipeline has been dormant since a pipeline burst near Refugio State Beach in 2015, which caused one of the state’s worst oil spills.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report in February confirming, based on data collected in 2017, that the ocean is likely to rise 9 inches along the California coast by 2050 and up to 6 feet by 2100. As if on cue, a piece of Antarctica’s Conger widely described as “larger than New York City” broke away last month and is now drifting in the Davis Sea. If and when it melts and lends its full mass to the world’s oceans, California will lose just that much more coastline.