Focus
New San Diego proposal goes beyond housing to seek ‘complete communities’
The San Diego-Union Tribune – December 5
San Diego officials say they want to begin taking a more holistic approach to solving the city’s housing crisis that would focus on creating vibrant and complete communities, not just building more housing units. The City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee unanimously endorsed the proposal last Thursday. An environmental analysis must be conducted before it can be considered by the Planning Commission and City Council for approval, which is expected to happen next spring or summer. Under the proposal, developers would be eligible for a variety of incentives if they meet a set of criteria that aims to achieve the city’s goals, City of San Diego Planning Director Mike Hansen said. The criteria include building apartment or condominium projects near transit lines, include rent-restricted units for low-income residents and adding neighborhood amenities. The site of a project must already be zoned for multifamily housing, and the plan does not include zoning changes.
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News
California officials need to move faster on sea level rise, legislative study finds
Los Angeles Times – December 10
In one of the most comprehensive assessments of the crisis that rising seas pose to California, an influential state panel this Tuesday urged local officials to take ownership of the issue and lawmakers to move fast and consider much-needed legislation. The Legislative Analyst’s Office, a nonpartisan arm of the California Legislature, found that the state is already behind on the issue and made the case that any action — or lack of action — within the next 10 years could determine the fate of the California coast. In just the next decade, the sea could rise more than half a foot — with heavy storms and cycles of El Niño projected to make things even worse. Critical roads and infrastructure are already mere feet from toppling into the sea and homes are flooding, but cities up and down the coast have been paralyzed by the difficult choices ahead. The report serves as a road map for lawmakers as they think about bills and budget priorities for next year.
Airbnb and Santa Monica reach deal on short-term rentals
NBC Los Angeles - December 10
Airbnb reached a settlement with Santa Monica Tuesday to collect money from renters for affordable housing in the city and ensure compliance with strict short-term rental rules. A federal appeals court in March unanimously rejected Airbnb's challenge of Santa Monica's 2015 home-sharing ordinance, which prohibits short-term rentals if the owner is not on the premises. City officials adopted the ordinance after receiving complaints of disturbances in normally quiet residential neighborhoods. Airbnb will now require all listings to have a license number issued by the city. The company will permit each host to list only one dwelling and no more than two rooms in that home. Airbnb also will collect $2 a night from renters and pass it on to the city to be used for affordable housing. The company charges similar fees in other cities.
California needs more housing, but 97% of cities and counties are failing to issue enough RHNA permits
The Orange County Register - December 9
California needs between 1.8 million and 3.5 million new homes by 2025, state and private reports say. To get there, cities and counties would have to approve two to four times the number of homes they’ve been permitting in the past few years, a new Southern California News Group analysis of state data shows. The report found that 97 percent of all cities and counties were behind in permitting new housing sought under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process. Until recently, RHNA goals have been mostly voluntary, and few municipalities met their targets to actually build housing. Although state leaders have enacted several measures designed to “put teeth” in RHNA, few sanctions exist for cities and counties failing to meet actual construction goals. Senate Bill 35 forces communities failing to meet RHNA construction goals to automatically green-light residential projects meeting zoning and planning rules and other standards. But so far, just 44 projects around the state have sought approval under SB 35, mainly for affordable housing, according to data compiled by the Bay Area News Group.
California asks federal government to release money to fight homelessness
The Mercury News – December 4
California Governor Newsom asked President Donald Trump last Thursday to stop withholding federal housing vouchers that could benefit 50,000 homeless people. Newsom told Trump he could “immediately order” the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue federal housing vouchers, a program to help low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled find affordable homes in the private market. An estimated 130,000 people are homeless in California on any given day, more than any other state, HUD says. Newsom last Wednesday allocated $650 million directly to counties and cities to address homelessness across the state, saying he was frustrated with the federal government’s slow process in allowing him to release the state funds.
California fines CVS $3.6 million for failing to recycle
Associated Press – December 9
California is fining the nation’s largest pharmacy health care provider a record $3.6 million for failing to redeem deposits on bottles and cans at some of its locations, regulators said this Monday. The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, better known as CalRecycle, said its investigation found that 81 of CVS Pharmacy’s 848 retail stores in California refused to redeem the recyclables or pay a required $100 daily fee as an alternative. Department spokesperson Lance Klug said that it is the largest enforcement action against a retailer for failing to redeem recyclables. The vast majority of nearly 4,000 beverage retailers have agreed to redeem bottles and cans if consumers can’t find another convenient recycler. But Consumer Watchdog estimated from limited data that half to two-thirds of those retailers may be refusing to do so.
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