Focus
Endangered species protections proposed for monarch butterfly
Allen Matkins – December 13
On December 10, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). A proposed critical habitat designation and “4(d) rule” offering species-specific protective regulations were also put forth (collectively, the Proposed Rule). USFWS is seeking public comment on the Proposed Rule through March 12, 2025.
News
The Bay Area now has its first-ever regional sea level rise plan
KQED – December 6
In a first for the Bay Area, the region has a finalized plan to protect the more than 400 miles of bayshore from the chaos that sea level rise could unleash — waterlogged freeways, submerged neighborhoods, inundated airports, and sunken train lines. The new guidance documents are meant to spur big cities like San Francisco and small towns like Tiburon on Richardson Bay to address future sea level rise by 2034. SB 272, which California passed into law last year, requires all coastal jurisdictions to create sea level rise plans based on the best available science. But the law stops short of punishing cities that don’t comply.
Berkeley changes zoning to encourage growth in innovation sector
SiliconValley – December 6
Berkeley is taking another step in its goal to “Keep Innovation in Berkeley” through a change in zoning laws that is meant to encourage companies conducting research and development to find a lasting home in the city. The Berkeley City Council voted this Tuesday to permit labs studying biosafety levels 2 in mixed-use light industrial zoning areas while prohibiting level 3 and 4 uses in all parts of the city. The approval, which includes a reduction in parking requirements, also calls for clearly stating that research and development labs are permitted in Berkeley’s mixed manufacturing district.
Federally assisted affordable housing faces preservation risks, report warns
Smart Cities Dive – December 9
Numerous risks threaten the preservation of the United States’ federally assisted housing stock, which provides crucial affordable housing to the nation’s lowest-income renters, according to a report issued last week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation. Risks include the declining physical and financial conditions of such properties as well as insufficient congressional appropriations to keep up with program needs or inflation.
New beginnings: DTLA Community Plan, zoning code finalized
L.A. Downtown News – December 9
Downtown Los Angeles will see significant changes as the Downtown Community Plan goes into effect, prioritizing equitable development for all Angelenos. This iteration of DTLA 2040, finalized and adopted by the Los Angeles City Council on December 4, includes land use and policy programs that aim for inclusive and accessible improvements Downtown. The plan updates the city’s zoning code, seeing Downtown as a critical city hub. According to the plan, Downtown will add 70,000 housing units, 55,000 jobs and 125,000 people by 2040.
South Central Fresno land use plan killed after five years of work with no compromise
Fresnoland – December 5
The Fresno City Council has unanimously rejected a new land-use policy for heavily-industrialized south Fresno, hitting the reset button on work to reach a compromise between the business community and residents burdened by heavy-polluting industries in south Fresno – a process that’s already taken over five years. Multiple council members said they’re hoping staff will return with a more business-friendly version of the plan. Specifically, some councilmembers asked that the plan avoid going further than the restrictions that a new state law, Assembly Bill 98, imposes on new industrial development.
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