California

CDBG Funds Not Useful Focus for Zoning Reform
Linking zoning reform mandates to CDBG funding is not an effective way to change exclusionary zoning.

Rural Communities Connected Through Grassroots Mobility Services
California residents throughout the Central Valley struggle with inadequate transportation. Shuttle and ride-share programs are filling in the gaps.

Preservation of Gas Station Won't Stand in the Way of New Housing
Preservationists had mobilized behind the cause of protecting a dilapidated gas station in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

L.A. Decides to Keep Short-Term Rentals Out of Rent Controlled Apartments
A City Council decision on short-term rental regulations reverses the decision of the City Planning Commission.

No West Coast Climate Bloc
Had election results proved favorable in Oregon and Washington, UC Berkley Law Climate Program Director Ethan Elkind suggested that the two states could join California to form a West Coast Climate Bloc. Oregon came through, but not Washington.

Idea Competition for Solving Bay Area Traffic Names Finalists
Twelve finalists have been picked for their ideas about how to spend $1 billion in funding to fix transportation in the Bay Area.

Peter Calthorpe's Self-Driving Car Dissent
The founder of New Urbanism takes his autonomous vehicle skepticism, and ideas for other solutions to congestion, to the pages of the New York Times.

Major Court Victory for California High-Speed Rail Authority
Plaintiffs suing the state of California over a 2016 law that allowed the High-Speed Rail Authority to tap a $9.9 billion bond measure, passed by voters a decade ago to pay for construction on "usable segments," came up short for the second time.

Open Question: How Will High-Speed Rail Change Fresno?
Southwest Fresno has seen a few planned developments come and go, but now there's hope a high-speed rail could bring investment to the area.

Corporate Cafeterias Survive Proposed Legislation to Zone Them Out of Existence
San Francisco's Planning Commission rejected a bill that would have made it illegal to open new office cafeterias, recommending that legislation be crafted to allow these eateries to be open to the public instead.

Will More Money Solve San Francisco's Homelessness Problem?
San Francisco voters will decide on Proposition C, a business tax based on gross receipts levied on large employers, the most contentious of five local measures.

Cities Sue Feds Over 5G Rules
Cities want more control over the deployment of 5G technology. The federal government has been working to limit local regulatory powers over new wireless technology.

Lawsuit Threatens L.A.'s Signature Transit Oriented Neighborhood Plan
An historically successful group of transit and density opponents in Los Angeles have set their sights on a plan that would add density along the Expo Line in West Los Angeles.

Sacramento Hopes to Lead Transportation Emission Reductions by Example
As California tries to stem its increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, its capital, Sacramento, may prove to be a model for other cities as it embraces electric vehicles and strategies to reduce driving.

Californians Are Leaving the State for More Affordable, Greener Pastures
Skyrocketing housing costs in California are pushing people out to other parts of the country.

Poets Describe Their Neighborhoods
The city of L.A.'s poets write about their neighborhoods.

Proposal Would Ban Cars from Sections of Valencia Street in San Francisco
San Francisco active transportation supporters are pushing for a trial of pedestrianized Valencia Street between 16th and 17th streets and 23rd and 24th streets in the Mission District.

Lawsuits, Delays, and Political Drama as Salesforce Transit Center Fallout Deepens
The news keeps getting worse at San Francisco's newly opened, since closed, Salesforce Transit Center.

Voters Will Decide on Controversial Development Plans in Brisbane
A local issue with regional consequences: Measure JJ would approve a scaled back version of a development proposal at the Baylands site in the San Francisco suburb of Brisbane.

San Diego Rescinds Short-Lived Short-Term Rental Regulations
You could have rented a house on Airbnb for longer than the city of San Diego's new short-term rental regulations lasted. Now the city has to go back to the drawing board.
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