In preparing the new edition of Guide to California Planning, it became more clear to me than ever that there's tension between the urban California we live in and the suburban California the planning system is designed to create.
The City Councilmembers appointed themselves the final arbiter of whether a project met SB 35 requirements. Then they overruled their own staff. But in the end, it was really just about vagueness and inconsistency between the general plan and the zoning ordinance.
Auditor calls for clarification of methodology on vacancy rates and household formation -- the two factors that have been most controversial in pushing up the housing targets.
As a recent San Diego ruling reveals, cities have no choice but to defend their decisions to abide by statutes like the Density Bonus Law. At the same time, they are trying to "thread a needle" to challenge those laws in court.
