All posts by discowk7

Housing, water

More housing and more drought calls for more thought

By Rick Johnson, Special to CalMatters : calmatters – excerpt

Legislators promoting high-density housing need to meet up with state and local water agencies to hammer out realistic approaches to our changing reality.

Although 41 of California’s 58 counties are in drought conditions, legislators are debating bills, such as Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, that address the construction of housing to meet the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation.

Between 2023 and 2031, the state mandate for the nine-county Bay Area is 441,000 units, representing an expected population increase of 1,102,500. The allocation for Los Angeles County is 1,327,000 housing units to accommodate an expected population increase of 3,317,500.

The state’s propensity to accept the RHNA numbers ignores our drought conditions. Nowhere does the legislation indicate where the additional water for these units will come from, nor does it address impact on infrastructure, such as sewer lines.

Furthermore, none of these bills make mention of the California Department of Water Resources water plan through 2050.

The current version of the plan forecasts an increase of 10 million people by 2050. It also predicts multiple droughts and considers a triad of ways to deal with the state’s water needs.

First, the plan suggests the transfer of agricultural water to urban use. But what effect would that have on farm economy, food supply and prices? A good deal of agricultural land already is lying fallow due to decreased or suspended water allotments…(more)

 

Uncategorized

State legislators write more anti-single family housing bills and add more threats and punishments for non-compliance

New documents that describe the growing number of threats the state is using to override the constitutional jurisdiction of local government. Share them with your city and county councils.

Forward the docs below to your City Council or neighborhood association. Use public open time during a CC meeting to distribute and talk about your concerns re: top-down mandates.  Write about them in a Letter to the Editor of your local paper. Circulate them along with the video of the RHNA Town Hall.

3a 1 RHNA Appeals

3a 2 Consequences of Non-Compliance with Housing Laws 

CEQA, Housing

The West’s Water Restriction Nightmare Is Just Beginning

By Dharma Noor : applenews – excerpt

Oakley, Utah placed a moratorium on any new construction projects that would tap into the city’s water system.

A small city in Utah is taking an unprecedented step to adapt to megadrought conditions in the West: halting any new construction projects that would tap into the local water. It’s the first municipal ordinance of its kind.

Last month, officials from Oakley, Utah—a city of 1,500—finalized a moratorium on new development extending through November. The ordinance prohibits the “erection, construction, re-construction or alteration of any structure” that needs new water connections.

“The city is concerned that the current drought conditions will result in critical water shortages and require further drastic curtailment measures that would be detrimental to the entire city and cause significant public harm,” it says…

Oakley is hardly alone, though. The West’s water resources have come under increasing pressure from rising temperatures tied to the climate crisis…(more)

Housing

Invesco Backs Mynd to Spend $5 Billion on Single-Family Rentals

By Gillian Tan : bloomberg – excerpt

Funds managed by Invesco Real Estate are backing Mynd Management to spend as much as $5 billion, including debt, purchasing about 20,000 single-family rental homes in the U.S. in the next three years.

The partnership marks a “significant moment” for the single-family rental industry, Doug Brien, chief executive officer and co-founder of Mynd, said in an interview. More than half of the country’s multifamily properties are owned by institutional investors compared with an estimated ownership of 2% to 3% of single-family rentals, a gap that he expects to narrow in time.

“As traditional commercial real estate investors that invested in multifamily as their key strategy have moved into single-family rental, we’re seeing the market flooded with institutional capital,” Brien said. He acknowledged that dynamic will make it more competitive for Mynd to find properties, but touted its data-driven technology as better enabling it to make offers across the U.S…(more)

Could the rush to invest in single family homes be driven by the billions of dollars being pushed into political machines intent on up-zoning and gentrifying those neighborhoods?  Easy to drive up the prices so that individual homeowners cannot afford to buy, when governments allow by-right laws to remove all obstacles from the density plans. Will the American public figure this out in time to stop it?

Uncategorized

State housing agency says it’s ‘listening’ — but in closed sessions

By Zelda Bronstein : 48hills – excerpt

Speaking at a SPUR forum in February, former California Department of Housing and Community Development Director Ben Metcalf compared his old agency to the CIA.

The analogy came to mind on the morning of May 25, as I attended HCD’s online “listening session” for people in the Bay Area to provide “input” into an updated Statewide Housing Plan.

It’s all about manipulating the process.

“North” and “Valley” sessions had already taken place; future sessions were scheduled for the “Central Coast” (in the afternoon of May 25); for the “South” and “Tribal” (both on May 27); and for a tentative, non-regional “Make Up Session” (June 6). Each one lasts 2.5 hours and has the same agenda: a half-hour introduction and presentation from HCD staff, followed by 15 minutes of “Housekeeping and Questions;” a ten-minute break; and breakout sessions lasting 75 to 90 minutes, each with ten or fewer people…(more)

Uncategorized

Stop misleading housing bills

By Linda Koelling : smdailyjournal – excerpt
Editor,

If you think that Senate bills 9 and 10 are the answer to the affordable housing needs, I invite you to consider the facts. Housing affordability and homelessness are said to be among the most critical issues facing California cities. The Legislature continues to introduce housing bills that remove local zoning control from cities and evade citizen input.

The results of these bills will create significant, environmental impacts. Where will the funds come from for municipalities’ ability to provide and maintain the additional infrastructure, and public services required for water, schools, sewer treatment, roads, police, fire? Can we expect an increase in taxes to meet the requirements for the additional infrastructure needs? If so, then what is the use of having affordable housing when the cost of living in the area will be too high for anyone to handle. It makes no sense!…

SB 9 AND SB 10 FACTS:

SB 9: Ends single-family zoning;

SB 9: Allows 4-6 units of housing on single-family lots;

SB 9: Allows the splitting of every single-family lot in California;

SB 10: Allows up to 10 units per parcel in any residential area (job-rich, transit-rich) ;

SB 10: Allows local councils to remove any land use initiative without the vote of the people;

SB 9 SB 10: Cause mass removal of our trees;

SB 9 SB 10: Eliminate yards and permeable soil protection;

SB 9 SB 10: No affordable units required;

SB 9 SB 10: No infrastructure upgrades required; and

SB 9 SB 10: No CEQA environmental review required.

Who are our leaders really representing? No on SB 9 and SB 10

Linda Koelling, Foster City

The letter writer is the former mayor of Foster City…(more)

SB9 is the brainchild of Senator Atkins and Senator Winer gets credit for comping up with SB10. Together they will spell the death knell of the single family homes and neighborhoods in our state and make the security of home ownership more difficult for anyone who is not lucky enough to own a home yet. SB10 will remove citizen’s ability to enforce ballot initiatives that their local authorities don’t approve of. And this doesn’t event take into account what the Assembly is cooking up for us.

CEQA

Redding Costco opponents taking fight to court

By David Benda, Redding Searchlight – redding. – excerpt

Corrections & Clarification: The Bonnyview Bechelli Coalition is the group challenging the city’s approval of the Costco project. This story has been updated to reflect that.

Costco Warehouse’s controversial plan to relocate its store in Redding is facing another obstacle.

Opponents have notified the city they are moving forward with a lawsuit to challenge the project’s approval under the California Environmental Quality Act. The notice of commencement of action was filed Tuesday in Shasta County Superior Court…

Mark Wolfe, a San Francisco land-use attorney, is representing the Bonnyview Bechelli Coalition in the lawsuit. Wolfe didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment…

Wolfe also represents the Pleasanton Citizens for Responsible Growth. That group for the second time sued the city of Pleasanton in March, a month after the city council unanimously approved a new Costco near Interstate 680, according to news reports…

RELATED LINKS:

https://www.protectceqa.org/ 
http://www.mrwolfeassociates.com/firm.html  
https://www.facebook.com/protectceqa/ 
https://www.facebook.com/nocostcoonbechelli/posts/the-bonnyview-bechelli-coalition-needs-your-help-the-proposed-river-crossing-mar/827128224292821/