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NOTE: The opinions expressed in the news items cited here do not necessarily represent the opinion of Catalysts for Local Control. We try to present a balanced picture of the news on the subject of housing and legislation.
Plan Bay Area 2050+ appears to be built on false narrative
By Gaeton Lion
December 13, 2025
In the article published Dec. 2 with the headline “Marin benefits, spending outlined in regional plan,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission planner Adam Noelting touts the benefits of Plan Bay Area 2050+. However, based on my calculations, the plan appears to rest on implausible forecasts. MTC seemingly assumes the Bay Area will grow nearly 10 times faster than the rest of California despite historically growing slower than the state.
Marin officials question projections in regional growth plan
By ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ
December 13, 2025
Marin County leaders are challenging the assumptions used to shape a regional plan that aims to guide housing affordability, transportation and climate resilience over the next 25 years. Specifically, Marin officials said population and job growth projections in the draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ appear to be inflated, skewing proposals in the plan and their outcomes. Additionally, the potential effects identified in the draft environmental impact report are concerning, officials said.
State Supreme Court rejects California city’s long fight to avoid building housing
By Bob Egelko
Dec 11, 2025
In a long-running battle between the state and local governments over housing, the California Supreme Court required Huntington Beach on Wednesday to approve plans for residences that low-income people could afford in the Orange County community.
Officials in the conservative-led city of 193,000 have argued that local governments, and not the state, should decide the amount and types of housing built within their borders.
Marin benefits, spending outlined in regional plan
By ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ
December 1, 2025
A draft regional plan is projecting at least a $9.2 billion investment in transportation in Marin over the next 25 years. “Plan Bay Area 2050+ takes a visionary, what-will-it-take approach to address our region’s vexing challenges,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission planner Adam Noelting said at a recent presentation on the blueprint. “And if implemented over the next 25 years, the plan will have a number of benefits.”
Plan Bay Area’s draft report is built on false narrative
By Susan Kirsch
November 9, 2021
San Francisco Bay Area residents are once again being given a chance to see what regional planners propose for us through 2050 and the predicted impacts on our lives. Their joint blueprint, Plan Bay Area 2050+, identifies needs and revenues for implementing 35 strategies covering transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
A new court ruling ‘blows up’ California housing law. Our incoming Senate leader isn’t helping
By Emily Hoeven, Opinion Columnist
October 31, 2025
California continues to stay in the news for its swath of lawsuits against President Donald Trump. Attorney General Rob Bonta teed up his 45th suit against the administration this week — this time over SNAP benefits.
Yet one of the juiciest lawsuits of the year involving California has nothing to do with the president — it was filed against the state on Oct. 24. And it has mostly flown under the radar.
The Totally Outlandish, Dead Serious Campaign to Defeat Nancy Pelosi and Transform the Democratic Party
By ALEX THOMAS
October 30, 2025
Saikat Chakrabarti faces a daunting enough task in trying to oust Nancy Pelosi from Congress. And now here he is, daydreaming about targeting her successor in Democratic leadership. “Imagine if we go after Hakeem Jeffries as our first thing,” he says. “That will raise a ton of money right now, in this moment.” This moment, in Chakrabarti’s mind, is the prospect of a populist uprising on the left that spans the country, and one that he is hoping to ride to victory in his primary challenge against the former speaker.
MTC/ABAG’s Bay Area population projections are way too high
By Gaetan Lion
October 30, 2025
MTC/ABAG’s Bay Area Population Projections Are Fundamentally Flawed.
MTC/ABAG’s economic projections don’t just strain credulity — they represent a form of planning fiction that can lead to profoundly misguided policy decisions. Housing mandates, infrastructure investments, and environmental projections all flow from these unrealistic growth assumptions. If the foundation is flawed, everything built upon it becomes suspect.
Sausalito just sent every voter a mailer criticizing this Chronicle column. Here’s what the city got wrong
By Emily Hoeven, Opinion Columnist
Oct 29, 2025
About two and a half years ago, Nathan and his wife settled in a home near Martin Luther King Jr. Park in the northern part of the Marin County city. They were excited to raise a family just steps from the park, where their two young kids could play sports, make friends and even attend school. Then he read my Oct. 18 column — which showed that Sausalito officials targeted the beloved park for redevelopment despite several Marinship property owners begging the city to allow them to revitalize their dilapidated parcels.