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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. 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 Conducts Seeks to Expand History 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.

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.

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.

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

It’s almost impossible to turn down a housing project in California these days, especially one that has affordable units included. But last week the small Orange County city of Fountain Valley did it anyway. Now we’ll see if they get away with it.

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. Concord Approves 12,000-Home Redevelopment of Navy Base An agreement between the US Navy and New York-based developer Brookfield Properties to redevelop the 12,800-acre abandoned Concord Naval Weapons Station into 12,272 housing units (3,000 affordable), parkland and other facilities gained unanimous approval by the Concord City Council. The development agreement sets a 40% local hire construction goal and includes a 75-acre first responder training facility, a 4-acre veterans community center, a sports park, a 5,038 acre park, 16 acres for permanently supportive housing and 10 acres for food bank expansion. In addition to $628 million over nearly 30 years promised by Brookfield, the city has promised a down payment of $4.6 million to the Navy and four guaranteed deferred payments of $10 million plus interest for land, beginning in 2033 and ending in 2036. The naval station, which opened in 1944 and closed in 1999, has been marked for redevelopment since 2006. Though the agreement has been approved the developer’s specific plan is not expected to be presented until summer 2029, with the entire construction projected to span 30 years. San Diego Seeks to Postpone SB 79 Upzoning in Low-Resource Areas The City of San Diego may delay implementation of many provisions of Senate Bill 79, which will dramatically increase housing allowed near trolley stations and some major bus stops, raising potential capacity from about 494,000 units to 861,000 units. in compliance with a provision that allows cities to delay certain provisions of SB 79, city planning officials have proposed that 16% of land near transit stops would be upzoned immediately. These are largely areas with abundant amenities and higher average incomes that can accommodate new housing. Roughly 26% of transit-adjacent land in low-income or “low-resource” neighborhoods would not see the changes until 2031 and 52% of land with issues like wildfire risk, historic buildings, or sea-level rise concerns would likely be delayed until 2027. Zoning would not change in lower-income areas until 2031. City planning officials have argued that some areas need more infrastructure planning before major growth occurs. (See related CP&DR coverage.) Modesto to Add over 12,000 Acres to Sphere of Influence The Modesto City Council voted 5-1 to advance the largest of three growth alternatives for its 2050 General Plan, expanding the city’s sphere of influence by 12,240 acres. The map allots 4,650 acres for mixed-use development. Opponents criticized the inclusion of areas within and around Wood Colony, a historic Old German Baptist farming community founded in 1869, arguing that development pressures could permanently alter its agricultural character. Supporters, including business groups, police union representatives and property owners, said the expansion is needed to attract commercial and industrial development, strengthen city revenues and increase housing supply. Former Mayor Garrad Marsh argued the proposal would accommodate an 80% increase in housing despite a steady decline in California’s population decline over the past decade. Sacramento Seeks Major League Baseball Team, Envisions Stadium District The city of Sacramento in cooperation with civic and business leaders has launched the “Sacramento Pitch” campaign to bring a permanent Major League Baseball franchise to the Sacramento region. The proposal centers on a 50-acre stadium site in downtown West Sacramento with claims of nearly $2 billion in public and private financial backing, with $1 billion that city officials expect to generate through financing, hotel taxes and other revenue sources. A potential challenge for Sacramento’s bid is attendance at the Athletics’ temporary home, Sutter Health Park, where the team averaged 9,487 fans per game last season and 10,634 this season, both ranking last in the American League despite the ballpark’s 14,014-seat capacity. Western Lands Lose Protections Enacted by Biden Administration The Trump Administration has overturned a Biden-era policy that facilitated the protection and preservation of hundreds of millions of acres of public lands across California and the West. The rollback of the Public Lands Rule on the Federal Register was first proposed in September, citing “inappropriately elevated conservation” and laws which prevented logging, drilling and mining on Bureau of Land Management property. The Public Lands rule applied to about 15% of California’s total land, which will now be subject to several initiatives that serve to increase development, ignoring ecological safeguards. CP&DR Coverage: Cities and Counties Push Back Against Newsom On Housing Elements The Department of Housing and Community Development surprised 15 mostly small jurisdictions around the state with a “Notice of Violation” – a final warning to adopt their overdue housing elements or face dire consequences, including lawsuits from Attorney General Rob Bonta and heavy fines for non-compliant housing elements, which are allowed under SB 1037 from 2024. Most jurisdictions pushed back, saying they have been going back and forth with HCD on their housing elements, some only days before the Notices of Violation were issued. Others said approval of their housing elements was imminent. Of the 15 jurisdictions, 13 are located in San Joaquin Valley counties, all of which have individual councils of governments. The other two are Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County and Montclair in San Bernardino County. Quick Hits & Updates The Department of Housing and Community Development released its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Rezone Exemption Memorandum. Recent legislative changes enacted last year through Assembly Bill (AB) 130 and Senate Bill (SB) 131 made significant reforms to CEQA to accelerate the development of housing, including housing affordable to lower-income households. These measures create and expand CEQA exemptions aimed at reducing delays and legal challenges that have historically impeded housing production, particularly in higher-need areas. The Sacramento City Council voted on April 29 to deny appeals against a proposed six-story, 68-foot-tall apartment and retail project in East Sacramento, allowing the development to move forward despite opposition from neighborhood groups. Critics argued the project conflicts with local zoning rules, poses traffic and infrastructure challenges, and threatens the character of the historic Casa Loma Terrace neighborhood. The ACLU of Southern California filed a complaint against the City of Riverside over the rejection of a $20.1 million state HomeKey+ grant that would have created permanent affordable housing. The proposed redevelopment of a Quality Inn would have created 114 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans and people with disabilities, along with long-term services and affordability protections. Advocates allege city council members made biased remarks and relied on stereotypes about future residents, potentially violating state anti-discrimination laws. The ACLU argues the decision worsened Riverside’s affordable housing shortage and disproportionately harmed vulnerable populations. Governor Newsom announced the following appointments: Jonathan Klein has been appointed Executive Director of the Housing Development and Finance Committee; he previously served as Founder and Principal of Community Finance Solutions Inc. David Zisser has been appointed Deputy Director of Housing Policy Development at the California Department of Housing and Community Development; he previously served as Assistant Deputy Director for Local Government Relations and Accountability at the department since 2021. San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is promoting the Slashing Housing Appeals & Delays Everywhere or SHADE Act, legislation aimed at speeding up housing approvals by preventing shadow analysis from being used as grounds for appeals under the California Environmental Quality Act. Mahmood argues that San Francisco’s unique shadow-review rules have delayed or stalled more than 2,000 housing units over the past decade, though all challenged projects were eventually approved. At the 2026 National Planning Conference in Detroit, Los Angeles-based planner James Rojas received the APA President’s Award for his innovative community-centered planning work as the creator of Placeit, an interactive design and public engagement process that uses art and interactive engagement to help residents better understand and shape urban spaces.