Latest News
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.
California housing lawsuit making ‘political statement,’ Huntington Beach says
SAM RIBAKOFF
February 23, 2024
The city of Huntington Beach argued in a San Diego courtroom on Friday that California is trying to make a “political statement” with their request to kickstart the approval of building affordable housing in line with state laws as temporary relief in their lawsuit against the city.
California’s feud with Orange County’s famous coastal town over its housing laws has been bitter and multifaceted.
Developer wants to ‘supersize’ S.F. project under new state housing law — while it’s being built
By Laura Waxmann
Feb 15, 2024
Oakland developer oWow is the latest builder planning to “supersize” a previously approved project in San Francisco due to a recent change in state law. Developer oWow purchased the site, that was long home to a small industrial building, in 2019 and has nearly completed the three-story office component of the plan. It is now seeking to add a total of 16 stories of high density housing.
San Jose to fight developers using ‘builder’s remedy’ to DOWNSIZE housing projects
By KATE TALERICO
February 5, 2024
This week, the city sent letters of rejection to developers who used the builder’s remedy after June 20, including to some who tried to scale back previously approved housing projects, telling them that they will not proceed with their applications. The move opens the door to a legal battle over the future of major urban development projects around the city.
Another top S.F. landlord parts with housing portfolio. Why the city’s rental market is in trouble
By Laura Waxmann
Feb 2, 2024
Much has been made about the distress plaguing San Francisco’s downtown in the wake of the pandemic — with increasing office vacancy rates, retail decline shuttering stores and prominent hotels defaulting on loans. The fallout from remote work and maturing debt has caused a number of office owners to hand the keys to buildings back to lenders, or sell once highly valuable properties at bargain prices.
Rezoning plan sparks backlash in this quiet S.F. neighborhood: ‘We were blindsided’
By J.K. Dineen
Jan 27, 2024
When Lakeside residents saw the proposed rezoning map, they were baffled to discover that nearly half of their neighborhood — an enclave of narrow one-way streets and single-family homes with lemon trees and white picket fences across 19th Avenue from Stonestown Galleria — was targeted for eight-story buildings.
Approaching Bay Area deadline a ‘test case’ for California’s housing crisis
BY BEN CHRISTOPHER
JANUARY 25, 2024
It’s put up or shut up time for dozens of cities across the San Francisco Bay Area. Last January, local governments across the region were required to submit “housing elements” to state regulators — future development blueprints that spell out how each jurisdiction intends to make room for its share of the more than 2.5 million new homes the Newsom administration wants to see built across California by the end of the decade.
California coastal protections versus housing: The battle is on
Julie Johnson
Updated Jan 25, 2024 7:13 p.m.
Building housing is difficult virtually anywhere in California — but especially along the coast, where there can be an extra layer of permitting. One of the Legislature’s strongest advocates for more home-building is trying to change that — and he’s starting with the coastline of San Francisco.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation this month that would chip away at the authority of the California Coastal Commission.
Berman bill would limit cities’ ability to tack on fees to housing developments
by Gennady Sheyner
January 24, 2024
Cities will no longer be able to tack on impact fees to housing units that developers produce through California’s density-bonus program under legislation proposed by state Assembly member Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park.
The bill, known as Assembly Bill 2063, would apply to a range of fees — including inclusionary zoning fees and in-lieu fees — that cities currently tack on to housing developments. Cities use these fees to bolster their affordable housing funds and support community services such as libraries and parks.
California is at higher risk for major earthquakes than previously known.
By Clare FonsteinUpdated
Jan 23, 2024 9:30 a.m
An updated U.S. earthquake model showed slightly greater shaking possible in California than previously mapped.
The National Seismic Hazard Model, developed by the United States Geological Survey, says that most of California has at least a 75% chance of damaging earthquake shaking in the next 100 years — with at least a 95% chance for the Bay Area.