CP&DR - Articles

Public, Private Desalination Proposals Compete in Monterey County

by Larry Sokoloff on Nov 1, 2003

Environment Watch, Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

Competing desalination projects - one public, one private - have been proposed to serve the thirsty Monterey Peninsula.

Beautiful Financing Produces a Handsome Building

by Morris Newman on Nov 1, 2003

Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

The most famous definition of architecture comes from Vitruvius, the ancient Roman writer, who said the word applied to structures that are (in my inexpert translation) beautiful, useful and well-built.

Davis Finishes With a Flurry: Administration Issues Many Last-Minute Policy Documents, Reports

by Paul Shigley on Nov 1, 2003

Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

After more than four years of taking a timid approach to land use, the Davis administration is going out with a flurry.

Smart Growth Implementation Raises Questions Across Country

by Christopher Williamson on Nov 1, 2003

Research Reports, Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

Interest in smart growth varies by state and region, but many communities located in disparate parts of the country, whether or not they are growing rapidly, want to implement at least some aspects of smart growth. And

Mixed-Use Project Would Complete Downtown Anaheim Redevelopment

by Paul Shigley on Nov 1, 2003

Economic Development, Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

The last project in the re-creation of downtown Anaheim is scheduled to break ground before year's end. The project will bring about 1,000 full-time residents to a district that has blossomed with private sector offices and government facilities during the last 25 years.

Oakland Hotel Cleanup Ordinances Survive Constitutional Challenge

Nov 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

Two Oakland ordinances that crack down on shoddy motels have been upheld as constitutional by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Milpitas Moves Deliberately on Ambitious Plan for High Density

Nov 1, 2003

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 18 No. 11 Nov 2003

The City of Milpitas has adopted an ambitious specific plan for the heart of town, yet the city's approach to implementing the plan relies heavily on private investors.

Big Builder Provides Car-Free Housing Innovation

by Morris Newman on Oct 1, 2003

Places, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

An outwardly conventional apartment complex in Orange County does not clamor for attention in the same way as an architectural milestone like Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. But it might be that the suburban apartments, easily overlooked, will have a greater long-term impact on average Californians than L.A.'s spectacular new icon.

Courthouse Overhauls Remain on Slow Track

by Larry Sokoloff on Oct 1, 2003

Public Development, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

California's judicial system uses a fast-track approach to bring cases to trial quickly, but the state's plans to repair the aging courthouses in which trials are conducted are on a slow track. It is a case of maintenance deferred, leading to decrepit courtrooms and unsafe, seismically unfit buildings.

Bird that Threatens Timber Industry Remains Off Federal Endangered Species List

Oct 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

A decade of litigation over the status of the northern goshawk has apparently concluded with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Fish & Wildlife Service's decision not to place the bird on the endangered species list.

Water Managers Are Not Ignoring Climate Change

by Stephen Svete on Oct 1, 2003

Trends, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

This summer, another huge ice shelf broke off the north polar ice cap and began drifting out to sea. The event made world news because it added to the mounting, tangible evidence of a phenomenon that the Bush administration ignores but that California's government cannot afford to dismiss: Climate change.

Playa Vista Grows, Shrinks and Gets Ready for Next Round

Oct 1, 2003

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

Development at Playa Vista, the controversial project on Los Angeles's West Side, is proceeding even though the project is getting smaller. During the same week in September that Playa Vista hosted an official grand opening, Gov. Gray Davis said he would sign a bill to spend $25 million of state bond money to partially purchase 193 acres at Playa Vista for habitat restoration and open space.

Riverside County's Integrated Planning Effort Spurs Incorporation Movement

Oct 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, In Brief, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

Negative reaction to Riverside County's integrated planning effort is spurring an incorporation movement in Menifee Valley, on Interstate 215 about 30 miles south of Riverside.

Lawsuit Settlement Makes Clean Air a Fresno Planning Priority

Oct 1, 2003

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 18 No. 10 Oct 2003

The connection in people's minds between air pollution and urban development is getting stronger in Fresno. This summer, the City of Fresno settled a lawsuit filed by clean air advocates over the city's general plan. The city agreed to take a number of steps to encourage development that is less automobile-dependent than past projects, and the city committed $1 million to the effort.