CP&DR - Articles

Sacramento County Approves 10,000-Unit Specific Plan

Aug 1, 2002

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Sacramento County, Specific plans, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

One of the largest housing developments ever proposed for the Central Valley received approval from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in July. After about a decade of planning, environmental reviews and public hearings, supervisors backed the 2,600-acre, 10,000-unit Sunridge Specific Plan — a detailed subset of the 6,000-acre Sunrise-Douglas Community Plan, which supervisors also approved in July.

Coastal Landowners Fight To Keep Out The Riffraff

Aug 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

Movies, music and television have created a global image of California as the land of sunshine and surf. Like many caricatures, the mystique has a nugget of truth at its core: Californians do love their beaches.

In Brief

Aug 1, 2002

In Brief, other, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

Check out this month's installment of CP&DR's infamous in brief column, the only place to consult to keep abreast of the latest events shaping the land use stories across the Golden State!

San Diego Finds The Easy Route Does Not Lead To ‘Smart Growth'

Aug 1, 2002

Insight, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002, William Fulton

In September, the San Diego City Council is scheduled to vote on "City of Villages," the new "strategic framework element" of the city's general plan. Designed to provide a foundation for revising the city's 1970s general plan, City of Villages makes all the usual politically correct statements about promoting smart-growth ideas.

Construction Defect Rules May Change

Aug 1, 2002

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

State lawmakers appear to be accepting the longstanding argument that needed construction of condominiums and townhouses is being chilled by construction defect litigation, and legislators might be ready to pass a reform bill this year.

Storm Drainage Fee Fails To Qualify For Sewer And Water Exemption

Aug 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

A City of Salinas fee to finance stormwater drainage facilities and system maintenance has been ruled unconstitutional by the Sixth District Court of Appeal.

L.A. Commercial Sites Attract Residential Builders

Aug 1, 2002

Research Reports, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002, William Fulton

As suburban-era cities have become "land poor," both planners and developers have advocated the recycling of underutilized commercial property for high-density housing. In particular, this solution has been under discussion throughout California and especially in Los Angeles, where housing production has been low and the supply of available raw land is dwindling.

Yorba Linda Tries To Bridge The Downtown Gap

Aug 1, 2002

Morris Newman, Places, Vol. 17 No. 08 Aug 2002

This is the soundtrack of a person walking across a bridge above a busy street. The first sound we hear is the Doppler effect of a car approaching, then disappearing beneath the bridge, making a noise roughly like "eeee-UURRHH!!" A moment later, the same car emerges from beneath the bridge. "WHIFFF-urrrrh!"

San Diego Regional Authority Proposed

Jul 1, 2002

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002

State legislation that would lead to the creation of a planning and transportation "super agency" in San Diego County is moving forward. Capitol insiders and a number of officials in the San Diego region expect bills that address San Diego regional governance to pass in some form before the Legislature concludes on August 31.

Infill Housing Project Is San Jose Style Smart Growth

Jul 1, 2002

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, San Jose, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002

Construction is underway on San Jose's Communications Hill, a 500-acre infill project that supporters are promoting as a large-scale, walkable, urban neighborhood. Early indications are that there is a great demand for the new houses, townhouses and apartments, but the easy access to transit and retail areas that might make the neighborhood truly walkable are lacking thus far.

New Cities Raise Taxes, Pay Alimony To Get Past ‘Revenue Neutrality' Mandate

Jul 1, 2002

Insight, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002, William Fulton

A decade after the passage of the "revenue neutrality" law, the incorporation of new cities appears to be back as a major planning issue in California. Now, however, there is a somewhat different twist.

State Supreme Court To Decide Water District's Zoning Exemption

Jul 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002

The state Supreme Court will hear a case involving a county's ability to regulate a water district's construction of a water treatment plant.

In Brief

Jul 1, 2002

In Brief, other, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002

In Brief is CP&DR's monthly digest of land use news stories in the making, or follow ups to stories that we have run in the past.

West Coast's Largest Wetlands Restoration Project Moves Forward

Jul 1, 2002

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 17 No. 07 Jul 2002, Wetlands

To get some idea of how much San Francisco Bay has changed during the past two centuries, unfold a map and trace the estuary's amoeboid outline as it squeezes through Carquinez Strait into the Delta's confusion of sloughs and marshes. There, 33 miles inland from the Golden Gate but still bathed in tidewater, lie a pair of features named Grizzly Bay and Grizzly Island.