The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) held its second meeting on the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan (Draft Conservation Plan) on April 16, 2025. Though no formal action was taken, the Commission received...more
The Trump administration last Wednesday proposed to loosen federal protections for endangered species. A draft rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would...more
On February 20, 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) posted a pre-publication notice on its website of an Interim Final Rule that rescinds its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy...more
Governor Gavin Newsom stepped up his intervention on the California Coastal Commission last Monday, chiding the agency for providing “legally erroneous guidance” that threatens to create confusion and delay the rebuilding...more
2/7/2025
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
California ,
California Coastal Commission ,
CEQA ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Natural Disasters ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Wildfires ,
Zoning Laws
Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Tuesday safeguarding victims of the Los Angeles-area fires from predatory real estate investors. The executive order is designed to protect residents in fire-ravaged zip codes...more
1/22/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
California ,
CARB ,
CEQA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Buildings (DOB) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
HUD ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wildfires
On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the Class...more
8/13/2024
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bay Area ,
California ,
CEQA ,
City of Berkeley ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Funding ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Popular ,
Public Projects ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Development ,
University of California ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Maps
Assembly Bill (AB) 3068 (Haney, Quirk-Silva, and Wicks) would provide for the streamlined ministerial (i.e., no CEQA) approval of qualifying adaptive reuse projects involving the conversion of an existing building to...more
A measure known as the “Builder’s Remedy” added to the state’s Housing Accountability Act in 1990 has suddenly become the focus of developers looking to bypass typical zoning rules and build high-rise apartment projects....more
Rent control expands as tenants struggle with the record-high cost of housing -
NPR – November 28 -
In November, voters in Florida, Maine, and California approved ballot measures to impose or tighten caps on rent hikes....more
12/6/2022
/ Bay Area ,
California ,
CARB ,
Environmental Policies ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rent Control ,
Rental Property ,
Roads ,
Sustainable Projects ,
Urban Planning & Development
Governor Newsom signs Senator Dodd’s affordable housing bill - Sonoma Index-Tribune – September 21 - Governor Gavin Newsom on September 19 signed into law affordable housing legislation authored by Senator Bill Dodd. Senate...more
Judge rejects lawsuit over California housing density bill (SB 10) Bullet Courthouse News Service – May 12 Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant held last week that the California Legislature has the...more
Legislature passes enrollment cap reprieve for UC Berkeley in CEQA dispute - Courthouse News Service – March 14 - State legislators voted Monday to amend the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to specify that...more
UC Berkeley ordered to freeze enrollment due to CEQA lawsuit Associated Press – March 3 The California Supreme Court ordered UC Berkeley last Thursday to freeze its undergraduate enrollment at 2020-21 levels...more
San Diego eviction ban survives legal challenge -
The San Diego Union-Tribune – July 28 -
San Diego County’s strict eviction ban has survived its first legal challenge in federal court. Unlike most of California, San...more
Biden has a plan to remove some freeways. Will it make cities more healthy?
Los Angeles Times – July 12 -
The Mandela Parkway in West Oakland has changed in many ways, including demographically, since the nearby...more
Biden’s climate pledge for first time pushes U.S. beyond California goals -
KQED – April 27 -
Phasing out all new sales of gas-powered cars by 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality 10 years later are just a few of...more
Biden infrastructure plan includes billions for electric vehicles and building retrofitting -
The Hill – March 31 -
President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal unveiled last week includes a suite of measures...more
Is government-run 'social housing' the solution to the Bay Area's affordability crisis?
San Francisco Chronicle – March 15 -
Two Bay Area lawmakers, Assembly members Alex Lee of San Jose and Buffy Wicks of Berkeley,...more
California landowners and developers: Western Joshua Tree incidental take permits now required -
Bullet Allen Matkins – October 2 -
On September 22, 2020, the California Fish and Game Commission accepted the Center...more
S.F.’s Embarcadero could be devastated by earthquakes and rising seas, study warns -
SFGate – September 19 -
The Embarcadero in San Francisco faces severe threats from both earthquakes that could undermine the city’s...more
9/28/2020
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
Earthquakes ,
Environmental Policies ,
Flood Management ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Disasters ,
Sustainability ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Wastewater
When roads heat up during the summer, the asphalt poisons urban air -
Fast Company – September 8 -
In the summer, dark asphalt roads and roofs absorb heat from the sun and then put it back into the air, which is...more
Sea level rise could bring flooding to inland California -
Bullet Los Angeles Times – August 17 -
Sea level rise is more complicated than just waves breaking over seawalls and beaches disappearing. As the ocean moves...more
8/24/2020
/ Affordable Housing ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Flood Control ,
Flood Management ,
Flooding ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Highways ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sustainability ,
US Geological Survey ,
Wetlands
San Diego County Board of Supervisors declines to appeal ruling on climate plan -
Patch – July 9 -
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has decided against appealing a court ruling that found the county’s Climate...more
7/23/2020
/ Affordable Housing ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Freddie Mac ,
Low Income Housing ,
Public Transportation ,
San Francisco ,
Transportation Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
More changes to CEQA timelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic -
Bullet Allen Matkins – April 30 -
In response to public-health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued...more
In Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, Inc. v. City of San Diego, the California Supreme Court considered the definition of a "project" under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Court held that a lead...more