On the fringes of the built environment in Southern California, comes a turn of events much more common in the urban core: the California Environmental Quality Act has been invoked to put the brakes on a general plan update.
Ian James reports: "Three environmental groups have sued to challenge Riverside County’s approach to development, saying the latest update of the county’s general plan would lead to more suburban sprawl."
"The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society argue that an amendment to the general plan and a “climate action plan” approved by the Board of Supervisors in December would promote a proliferation of subdivisions and threaten open space and wildlife. They also say the county’s plan would reinforce the area’s emphasis on transportation by car and contribute to air pollution and emissions of climate-warming CO2," adds James.
The article includes more context on the General Plan update approved in December by the County Board of Supervisors, as well as arguments from each side on the issue.
Read the full story: Seeking to block sprawl, activists sue Riverside County
Opinion: How California’s Environmental Law Empowers NIMBYs
Critics of a new provision calling “social noise” an environmental impact say the law can too easily be co-opted by anti-housing groups to block new development.
Report: CEQA Lawsuits Challenge Almost Half of All Housing Development in California
A new report details the reach of California’s controversial environmental regulation, and warns of more consequences to come.
People’s Park—Symbol of Berkeley’s Storied Past—Temporarily Cleared and Fenced Off for Development
A few days after a judge’s ruling cleared three pending lawsuits blocking the development of People’s Park, the unhoused people living in the park were cleared and fence surrounds the site. Protestors took back the park within a day.
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.
Voters across the country reject data centers
Dozens of communities voted on measures to restrict the buildout of data centers.
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.
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