Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
For many, the long-standing neighborhood template of a home, backyard and garage on a lot was too intrinsic to the California lifestyle to upend.
But over the past four years, a suite of smaller proposals has quietly chipped away at zoning only for single-family homes, attracting comparably little blowback.
— latimes.com
California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed a series of bills into law that effectively eliminate single-family zoning across the state. The legislation, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times, allows property owners to build up to two additional residential units on any ... View full entry
When Berkley, California recently made the announcement that it would become the first city in the United States to ban natural-gas installations in newly constructed buildings, public took note. After the news broke, four other California cities established new rules to "encourage... View full entry
About 450 houses have been sold so far at Riverstone and 73 at Tesoro Viejo, which already has a school (Hillside Elementary) plus a cafe and fire/sheriff’s substation in its fledgling “town center.” Together, these “master-planned communities” along with other proposed developments with names like Gunner Ranch West, North Shore at Millerton and TraVigne form what Madera County officials project will be a city of 120,000 people. — The Fresno Bee
California's urban housing crisis, fueled by lackluster housing production in the state's population centers, is fueling sprawl that is eating up wilderness and agricultural land around cities like Fresno. Madera County supervisor Brett Frazier told The Fresno Bee, “The assumption was this... View full entry
[San Jose] became biggest city in the US to adopt all-electrification requirements on new residential buildings and gas bans on commercial construction.
By early next year, developers may have to opt for electric appliances and other infrastructure in single-family homes, backyard cottages, low-rise buildings, apartments and condos. [...] the changes could cut greenhouse gas emissions in new buildings by up to 90 percent and save owners and tenants money on utility bills.
— San Jose Inside
San Jose, California's third largest city, is implementing its Paris Accords-aligned Climate Smart San Jose plan as part of a municipally driven decarbonization effort. The plan relies on a series of "reach codes" to go above and beyond existing sustainability requirements. View full entry
Under AB 68, homeowners who apply to build accessory dwelling units, or “granny flats,” can also apply to build a second, “junior” ADU on their property — the functional equivalent of statewide triplex zoning. While the new rules don’t allow the subdivision of properties for sale, they could unleash a “golden age” of ADU construction across the state, leading to a significant increase in housing supply. — California YIMBY
“The passage of AB 68 [...] fundamentally shifts the landscape for building new homes in our state,” Brian Hanlon, co-founder and president of zoning reform advocacy group California YIMBY said via press release, adding, “When the Governor signs these bills into law, almost every residential... View full entry
Released this month, California Concrete: A Landscape of Skateparks, takes the birthplace of skateboard culture and celebrates the dynamic landscapes created by Cali's expressive skateparks. Amir Zaki, creator of the book, is an artist and photographer who grew up skateboarding and has spent... View full entry
The Trump administration officials who came to town to study homelessness spent Monday and Tuesday meeting with officials from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, checking out the Jordan Downs public housing in Watts and touring the long-entrenched epicenter of the crisis, skid row. There was even a trek to Pomona.
An administration official said the purpose was to gather information so that President Trump could begin to develop a plan to address the “tragedy.”
— The Los Angeles Times
The tour comes as the Trump Administration's controversial Opportunity Zones program designed to funnel investment to underserved areas gains steam and as the administration potentially looks to rewrite "regulatory barriers" for affordable housing projects nationwide. According to... View full entry
SB 400, adds bikeshare and e-bikes as mobility options in the Clean Cars 4 All Program, which will provide a strong incentive for Californians to switch from car to bike travel. — Orange County Breeze
Regarding the bill's impact, California state senator Thomas J. Umberg, the author of SB 400, said, "Senate Bill 400 helps California reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions. E-bikes are proving to be a reliable mobility option for not only replacing car trips, but also more widespread... View full entry
Designed by Brooks + Scarpa, the redevelopment would entail the renovation of site’s northern building and demolition of the southern building. That would make room for a new 15-story building with 323 residential units—32 of them reserved for moderate-income families—plus about 64,000 square feet of office space, 64,000 square feet of wholesale space, and roughly 10,000 square feet of event space. — Curbed LA
The city planning commission is now backing the planned redevelopment of the Southern California Flower Market in Downtown Los Angeles. "The materials and colors of the structures are intended to mimic the bright colors of flowers," Curbed reports. View full entry
The four-person California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, or CaRLA, has one reason for being — to sue cities that reject housing projects without a valid reason. The litigious nonprofit with YIMBY roots struck again last month, suing Los Altos after the city rejected a developer’s bid to streamline a project of 15 apartments plus ground-floor office space. — The Mercury News
CaRLA continues its aggressive efforts to get San Francisco Bay Area cities to stop denying by-right housing developments. “Something, by hook or by crook, has to make these cities actually build housing,” Sonja Trauss, co-executive director of CaRLA, told The... View full entry
The group of neighbors has explored the ways it could fight to get the paint job removed, including how it could be seen as graffiti under city code, how it could violate signage laws and how it fails to fit in with the character of the neighborhood. Doll also argues that it is a public safety issue and an obvious public nuisance because of the waves of news vans and curious onlookers who have visited the narrow road to catch a glimpse of the house. — LA Times
This week, media headlines were littered with coverage of the trending "Pink Emoji House" in Manhattan Beach, California, an eye-catching home painted with a pair of hilarious emoji characters. The murals may appear like any other "Instagramable" site, except this specific "beautification project"... View full entry
California communities are approving residential building permits at a slower rate than they did last year, a sign Gov. Gavin Newsom faces an even bigger hurdle to reach his housing goals than when he took office in January.
In the first five months of 2019, cities and counties issued permits for an average of 111,000 residential building units per year, according to data released Friday by the California Department of Finance.
That’s a decrease of 12.2 percent from the same period in 2018.
— The Sacramento Bee
The news is mostly bad for California governor Gavin Newsom's plan to build 3.5 million new housing units by 2025, as high land costs, a labor shortage, the effects of President Trump's tax cuts, and virulent NIMBYism threaten to stamp out regulatory reforms enacted over recent years. ... View full entry
A proposed observation tower at the edge of Pacific Highway is a polarizing symbol of change that could make or break the larger, $2.4 billion redevelopment effort planned for downtown’s Central Embarcadero. — San Diego Union-Tribune
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and developers 1HWY1 have proposed a 500-foot cylindrical observation tower for San Diego's waterfront Central Embarcadero as part of a massive $2.4 billion Seaport San Diego project. The part-hotel, part-theme park development could include 385 hotel rooms, a... View full entry
The city of Berkeley will no longer allow natural gas pipes in many new buildings starting Jan. 1, 2020. It’s the first city in California to pass such a law, officials said. [...]
Public support was also unanimous during 45 minutes of comment from community members and representatives of the University of California’s Office of the President (UCOP), energy giant PG&E and the Sierra Club, among others who spoke.
— Berkeleyside
According to the council report on the ordinance, "the effect of this legislation will be that builders will be prohibited from applying for entitlements that include gas infrastructure — gas piping to heat water, space, food, etc. — except for specific building systems that have not... View full entry
While other regions grappled with destructive waves and rising seas, the West Coast for decades was spared by a rare confluence of favorable winds and cooler water. This “sea level rise suppression,” as scientists call it, went largely undetected. [...]
But lines in the sand are meant to shift. In the last 100 years, the sea rose less than 9 inches in California. By the end of this century, the surge could be greater than 9 feet.
— Los Angeles Times
In her LA Times long read, Rosanna Xia tells the tale of coastal cities up and down the Golden State and their increasing struggles to defend beaches, infrastructure, and (mostly pricey) properties against the rising sea that relentlessly chews away on a coastline many perceived as permanent... View full entry
