This report takes a local perspective on CA's new land use law, in the context of two preceding environmental laws, CEQA and AB 32. While the former enabled activists to fight new growth, the pendulum has begun to swing toward developers.
"Will a new state law strip the last vestiges of local control over the 'smart growth' projects that have triggered countless development battles in (Bay Area cities) in recent years?
While early opinions are mixed, there's little doubt that the laws created to battle globe-warming greenhouse gases (GHGs) could reshape the face of California cities in the decades ahead."
"'Ultimately, no one knows exactly what SB 375 will do, other than create a series of planning milestones that must be met between now and 2010, and then into the future,' declared three attorneys for one of the state's leading land use litigation firms three weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law."
"Two results could be 'significant density incentives' and streamlining of the environmental review process 'for certain transit-oriented projects' that will surely upset neighborhood activists who use the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to oppose new housing."
Thanks to Bay Area Transportation News
Read the full story: Far-Reaching New State Law May Reshape the Bay Area
BART's Transit-Oriented Development Bill Sets Disturbing Precedent, Says APA
AB 2923, which would allow the Bay Area Rapid Transit District to rezone their properties near stations for transit-oriented development, passed its first committee. The California chapter of APA objects to the preemption of local land use authority.
California First: Carbon Fees Used to Fund Affordable, Transit-Oriented Housing
On June 29, the California Strategic Growth Council awarded $121.9 million in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds to help build 28 affordable housing developments on major transit lines. Funding originates from proceeds of the cap-and-trade market.
A New Era in California for Evaluating Transportation Emissions
An appellate court's rejection of SANDAG's $200 billion sustainable communities plan holds far-reaching implications for how regional planners evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation to meet SB 375 requirements to the year 2050.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority