CP&DR

Cities Successfully Defend Billboard Regulations

Nov 19, 2007

California, Legal Digest, Paul Shigley, Signs and billboards, Vol. 22 No. 12 Dec 2007

Billboard ordinances in five cities have survived constitutional challenges, as the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal has rejected claims filed by three billboard companies. In three published decisions, the Ninth Circuit upheld billboard regulations in San Diego, Beaumont and Oakland. In unpublished memoranda, the court upheld regulations in Chula Vista and Lemon Grove.

Mitigation, Rather Than Avoidance, Continues To Dominate In Fire-Prone California

Oct 30, 2007

California, Insight, Regional planning, Vol. 22 No. 11 Nov 2007, William Fulton

Should planning departments in California force developers to steer clear of fire-prone areas? Or should building departments force developers to fireproof their neighborhoods instead?

Cities Protect Industrial Lands

Oct 29, 2007

California, Legislation, Paul Shigley, Redevelopment, Vol. 22 No. 11 Nov 2007

In the face of never-ending demand for housing and concerns about eroding the job base, some cities are imposing regulations to protect their industrial lands.

Committee Breaks Ice On Growth Management Debate

Oct 29, 2007

California, Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Regional planning, Vol. 22 No. 11 Nov 2007

Growth management has been a nearly untouchable topic in the state capital since the 1980s. Only a handful of lawmakers and administration officials have been willing to discuss growth management, and then only indirectly.

LAO Raises Questions About Resources Land Acquisitions

Oct 26, 2007

California, Paul Shigley, Public Development, State agencies, Vol. 22 No. 11 Nov 2007

The State of California needs a better system for determining how much it pays for resource conservation lands, the Legislative Analyst's Office concluded in a lengthy report issued in October. Although the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) does not say directly that the state has overpaid when it bought forests, wetlands, beaches, habitat and open space, the implication is easy to draw.

Governor Vetoes 'Green' Building Standards, Other Land Use Bills

Oct 17, 2007

California, Legislation, Legislation, Paul Shigley, Vol. 22 No. 11 Nov 2007

Three bills that would have established "green" building standards for housing, commercial structures and state government buildings were vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor also vetoed a controversial planning bill that would have limited cities' ability to satisfy regional fair-share mandates with non-residentially zoned properties.

Lawmakers Approve Flood Measures

Sep 24, 2007

California, Legislation, Paul Shigley, Vol. 22 No. 10 Oct 2007

What a difference a year can make.

During the final days of the 2006 legislative session, a package of bills intended to force better coordination between flood control and land use planning in the Central Valley and Bay Delta region died amid a deluge of acrimony. This year, however, state lawmakers approved six bills similar to measures that failed last year.

LA, SD Try To Maintain Downtown Affordability

Sep 24, 2007

California, Downtown planning, Innovations, Morris Newman, Vol. 22 No. 10 Oct 2007

Just as a well-aimed bowling ball can be expected to knock down all ten pins and boost a bowler to a top score, many planners believe that a well-written zoning ordinance can steer the housing market toward socially beneficial ends. There is a difference between a bowling lane, however, and a downtown area.

Greenhouse Gas Guidelines May Get Political From Outset

Sep 24, 2007

California, Climate change, Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 22 No. 10 Oct 2007

Only weeks after one round of relatively noncontroversial updates to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines officially took effect, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research has been charged with a far more ambitious task: amending the Guidelines to account for global warming.

Housing Market Slowdown Could Stall Or Change State's Urban Transition

Sep 21, 2007

California, Housing, Insight, Vol. 22 No. 10 Oct 2007, William Fulton

It's undeniable: California is in the worst housing bust since the early 1990s. Sales have dropped by a third compared with last year. Prices are stable for now, but nobody knows what will happen once all those bank repos hit the market. And it's pretty clear that developers all over the state are sitting on their entitlements. Nobody's building anything unless they absolutely have to.