[WEBINAR] Who Does What? Defining Proper Roles for Staff and Elected Officials
Ethics Laws and the Importance of Transparency for Public Officials
We start our August Alert with some potentially very good news. The RENTAL Act, a bill to reform TOPA, passed its first vote by the DC Council on July 28, 2025. The RENTAL Act includes, among other things, a blanket exemption...more
Birds of the Philadelphia Zoo Make First Public Appearance in Months- After several months in quarantine, some of the Philadelphia Zoo’s most famous feathered residents — including penguins, flamingos, hornbills, and emus...more
Settlement could bring thousands of new housing units to North San Jose after decade-long pause Bullet The Mercury News – May 20 For nearly a decade, San Jose had been paralyzed from building any new housing in a prime area...more
Anti-Eviction Programs Extended as City Distributes Millions in Relief and Eyes Permanent Changes to Housing Policy - Philadelphia’s eviction diversion and rental assistance programs will stay in effect until at least...more
A city’s ban on short-term vacation rentals in the coastal zone constitutes “development” under the California Coastal Act. Therefore, the Coastal Commission must first approve a coastal development permit, an amendment to...more
Over the last year, the Baltimore City Council has introduced and enacted multiple bills impacting rental housing that residential landlords will need to navigate: - In May 2020, the City Council passed the COVID-19 Rent...more
Back in 2019, I wrote a blog post discussing how allowing so-called “middle housing” – duplexes, triplexes, and quadruplexes – could help alleviate Portland’s affordable housing crisis. The more units you have on a piece of...more
On January 21, 2020, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance (“FCHO”), which will restrict landlords in their ability to reject a potential tenant because of prior criminal history. It...more
New Rules on the Horizon to Reduce Emissions and Improve Air Quality - Facing pressure to meet federal clean air standards, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) voted 7-6 to direct staff to...more