Focus
Manhattan Beach’s short-term rental ban voided until state Coastal Commission approves
The Beach Reporter – July 30
The Los Angeles Superior Court late last month voided Manhattan Beach’s short term rental law, ruling that the legislation violates the California Coastal Act. The court on June 25 ordered the city to either rescind a ban on short term rentals in the city or submit a coastal zone-specific ordinance to the Coastal Commission for review. Prohibiting stays shorter than 30 days doesn’t align with the Coastal Act’s goal of protecting shoreline access, including overnight access, according to the court decision. The city still has local control over commercial areas in the coastal zone, the decision reads. Manhattan Beach currently requires permits for short-term rentals in commercial zones, city attorney Quinn Barrow wrote in an email Tuesday, including within the Coastal Zone. A judgment hearing is set for August 25. Once the decision is formalized, Barrow added, the City Council will consider appealing it.
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News
Trump signs Great American Outdoors Act into law
PBS – August 4
President Donald Trump this Tuesday signed into law legislation that will devote nearly $3 billion annually to conservation projects, outdoor recreation, and maintenance of national parks and other public lands. Congress overwhelmingly approved the measure. Supporters say the Great American Outdoors Act is the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century. The law requires full, mandatory funding of the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund and addresses the maintenance backlog facing America’s national parks and public lands. The law would spend about $900 million a year — double current spending — on the conservation fund and another $1.9 billion per year on improvements at national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and range lands.
San Diego falls short of 10-year housing goals, but sees promising growth
KPBS – July 28
According to San Diego’s 2020 Housing Inventory Annual Report, released this Tuesday, the region has fallen drastically short of housing production goals. Housing production in San Diego fell below the Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals for the 2010- 2020 cycle with only 48% of the total needed units constructed. The report presents progress made in 2019 towards regional housing production goals and discusses recent city initiatives and those in development to help incentivize more production in the future. Last month, the City Council adopted the updated General Plan Housing Element in which the city laid out plans for the construction of more than 108,000 new housing units by 2029.
Coyote Valley deal closes, and public input sought for 937-acre San Jose property
The Mercury News – August 3
The largest remaining piece of property connected to San Jose’s agricultural history as the “Valley of Heart’s Delight” began a new chapter this Monday with the finalizing of a $93 million deal to purchase 937 aces in Coyote Valley. The close of escrow ends development battles dating back 35 years and started a new chapter on a public process to help shape the property’s future uses. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, a government agency based in San Jose, on Monday unveiled a website to solicit input from members of the public to share their experiences and memories of Coyote Valley by filling out an online questionnaire, and also listing what uses they’d like to see on the property in the years ahead.
California developers lining up to use CLT, project manager says
Bisnow – August 4
California could be opening itself up to a wave of wood development when the economy restarts post-coronavirus. As early as next week, the California Building Standards Commission will formally vote on whether the state’s local jurisdictions can adopt an International Building Code standard allowing mass timber buildings of up to 18 stories, following Oregon and Washington. The use of mass timber, which often takes the form of cross-laminated timber, or CLT, in construction offers the potential for development cost savings, significantly more sustainability and potentially faster building than traditional stick-frame construction, experts say.
Sea level rise to choke Bay Area traffic as far away as Santa Rosa and Napa, study shows
San Francisco Chronicle - August 5
As climate change dials up sea levels and storm surges, the Bay Area will see not only more flooded streets and shorelines, but more traffic, a new study shows, with commuters converging on drier routes and backups rippling sometimes 20 miles or more from the water. The research, released this Wednesday by Stanford University scientists, suggests that some of the region’s biggest traffic delays from flooding will be in Santa Rosa, Napa, and Vacaville, all far from where the flooding occurs. In these areas, with water just a foot higher along San Francisco Bay, as many as half of commuters would face backups of 30 minutes or more within the next 20 years, the study shows.
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