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Associated Press – December 19
California air regulators voted unanimously last Thursday to approve an ambitious plan to drastically reduce reliance on fossil fuels by changing practices in the energy, transportation and agriculture sectors, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough in the fight against climate change. The plan envisages achieving so-called carbon neutrality by 2045, which means that the country will remove as much carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits. It aims to partially reduce demand for fossil fuels by 86% over that time frame. Another goal would mean that new residential and commercial buildings will be powered by electric appliances before the next decade.
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NBC Los Angeles – December 18
Mayor Karen Bass signed an executive directive that speeds up the approval and permitting process for fully affordable housing projects in Los Angeles. The move comes days after Bass signed a homelessness emergency declaration as her first mayor. Under the directive, city departments must conduct all reviews and issue approvals for 100% affordable housing projects within 60 days. Once construction begins, the utility permit and occupancy permit process must be completed within five days for affordable housing units and two days for temporary housing.
NPR – December 19
More people than ever have been moved out of homelessness in the U.S., just over 900,000 a year on average since 2017. The problem is that roughly the same number or more have lost their housing in the last few years. The Biden administration’s latest plan to combat the homelessness crisis, released Monday, calls for more action to prevent people from losing their housing in the first place. The new plan includes a number of ways to increase the supply of affordable housing, as well as increase the number of emergency shelters and support programs. But his biggest change is a call for “systematic homelessness prevention,” focusing on those struggling to keep them from losing housing.
San Francisco Chronicle – December 16
The San Francisco Planning Commission on Thursday approved a statewide roadmap for how and where to build 82,000 homes over the next eight years, including 46,000 units for low- and moderate-income households. The vote followed a series of audits that state housing officials asked the city to implement on its housing element — a contract with the state that governs how and where California cities produce their share of housing development.
The January 31, 2023, housing compliance deadline is fast approaching for Bay Area governments. As explained in our previous alert, the so-called “builder’s remedy” under the Housing Liability Act applies when a local jurisdiction has not adopted a revised housing element in accordance with state law, in which case the local jurisdiction cannot reject a qualified residential construction project even and if it is inconsistent with the general plan and zoning ordinance (subject to limited exceptions).
The Mercury News – December 7
The San Jose City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday to eliminate parking requirements for new developments, discarding a post-World War II legacy that has made San Jose one of the most “over-parked” cities in the nation, according to transportation advocates. The rule has been a key hurdle in San Jose’s efforts to build more housing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But many residents, especially in densely populated East San Jose, worry the policy could exacerbate parking problems in communities that have long been the scene of a battle for curbside spaces.
San Diego Union-Tribune – December 12
San Diego’s efforts to bring more fire stations, parks, libraries and new roads to neglected neighborhoods on the city’s south side took a step forward Monday when the City Council approved a new infrastructure funding policy. The policy includes a new scoring system that gives higher priority to historically underserved neighborhoods and those considered least prepared for climate change, mostly low-income areas where there are fewer trees and where air conditioning is less common. The new points system is expected to have a significant impact as the council approved a new policy in August — Build Better San Diego — that allows fees collected from developers to be directed to low-income areas for infrastructure.
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