OPR issues guidelines for implementing SB 1000, which requires local governments to address EJ directly in planning for the first time
COVID Crisis Revives Tactical Urbanism
Low-cost transformation of streets to public — and restaurant — spaces may help enliven city neighborhoods and revive their sales tax bases
Planning Meetings Move Online
Visual depictions of projects remain an issue — though accessibility might actually be improved for some. Brown Act has been loosened for the duration of COVID-19
Housing Development Likely To Crash Because of COVID
Even entitled buildings won’t be built unless they have financing
Virus Crisis Forces Planning to Go Virtual
As the coronavirus shuts down California, planning departments across the state are adapting and staying on-task
What’s On The March 2020 Ballot?
A typical jumble of land-use measures — but they suggest California’s future direction
New Housing Laws Bring Design Standards to Fore
To cut down on discretionary review, new housing laws require cities to approve housing projects so long as they conform to “objective” design standards. Cities are scrambling to draft standards that promote housing and promote desired aesthetic goals
El Cerrito Discovers Key to Infill Planning
While many Bay Area cities resist growth, El Cerrito is booming with transit oriented plan on San Pablo Avenue
Santa Barbara Celebrates “Authenticity,” Faces Housing Crunch
Santa Barbara will be on full display at next week’s conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association. In advance of the conference, CP&DR’s Josh Stephens spoke with Santa Barbara Community Development Director George Buell.
State Begins To Push SB 2 Planning Money Out The Door
SB 2 sets aside enough money for literally every jurisdiction in the state to apply for and receive a grant.
Updated CEQA Guidelines Finally Go Into Effect
While SB 743 belongs to California’s suite of regulations intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many planners hope that the adoption of VMT metrics will produce denser, less auto-dependent, more pleasant communities.
Wildfires, Housing Top Gordon’s Priorities for Statewide Planning
Newly appointed Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Kate Gordon spoke with CP&DR’s Josh Stephens about her transition into the public sector as California’s de facto chief planner.
Sacramento Gets Tough Around Light-Rail Stops
City bans auto-oriented uses such as fast-food and auto repair establishments
State Law Prevails Over Slow-Growth Vote in Encinitas
Judge keeps ordering Encinitas to prepare new housing element, but voters keep shooting it down.
Tejon Ranch Approval Pushes Boundaries of Sprawl
After two decades of negotiation, the new master-planned town of Centennial has been cleared for 12,323 acres of the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch, a parcel of rolling hills and grasslands located at the northern edge of Los Angeles County.