California, Housing

There is very, very little new housing construction in most of California, where the number of housing starts is down 75% from the boom year of 2005. One result is layoffs for planners, building inspectors and plan checkers.

Despite concerns about lowering property values across the city, the L.A. City Council moved to limit the size of newly constructed homes in older neighborhoods to about 4,000 square feet.

The latest population and housing estimates for the San Fransisco Bay Area show that urban areas are equaling, if not exceeding, the growth of suburban communities -- with more multifamily homes being built in lieu of detached single-family homes.

Two ballot measures -- one sponsored by property owners, the other by local government groups and businesses -- seek to tighten the rules around eminent domain, and potentially end rent control in the state.

The latest figures show that more than 500 California households have gone into foreclosure each day in the first quarter of 2008.

In anti-growth Santa Barbara, preservationists and smart growth advocates have forged a compromise that will permit taller buildings for developments that include affordable housing.

Three years after Irvine, California's "Great Park" was approved, development of the planned public spaces, homes and businesses has struggled to move forward. The housing crisis is being blamed for the lack of action.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has becoming increasingly outspoken against the city's new density bonus, saying it goes against the will of residents and will contribute to the destruction of stable neighborhoods.

Upset about the effect of California State Bill 1818's override of local zoning restrictions, a Los Angeles resident has sued the city to overturn its density bonus ordinance. Others may soon follow.

California's redevelopment agencies are feeling pressure on numerous fronts these days. Some may go out of business next year. Still, state lawmakers are considering giving the agencies authority to buy out subprime mortgages.

Officials in Los Angeles were successful in implementing high-density growth policies to curb sprawl. However, a disconnect between culture, transportation policy, and the real estate market may have disastrous consequences.

While housing markets in the rest of the country reel from the mortgage crisis, Irvine, the city that was once home to 18 subprime lenders, is seeing its local economy suffer as the effects of high profile bankruptcies ripples to other businesses.

A "tent city" established in the Southern California city of Ontario for occupation by homeless people has been temporarily shut down as city officials and police attempt to evict people without clear ties to the city.

Review of a project that would have added more than 5,500 homes to the fringes of Los Angeles has been halted after a recent City Council vote. Many expect this to be the death knell for the project.

Two ballot measures on the June ballot in California will challenge the state's eminent domain and rent control rules.

This video from the BBC looks at the ten cities that have sprung up outside of L.A. as a result of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

A swath of residential developments are ushering in a more dense and more lively atmosphere into L.A.'s Wilshire corridor. But many are concerned that the new residences will add too much traffic to an already congested area.

A measure to require half of all new housing units in San Francisco's planned redevelopment of Bayview-Hunters Point is heading to the city's June ballot. The developer says the measure will kill the project.

Plans to convert one of San Francisco's public housing projects into market rate housing has resulted in dozens of evictions, and more are expected.

Planners in San Francisco are battling with city supervisors over plans to increase the affordable housing requirements for a new development -- a proposal that some planners say might scare off developers.