SF CEQA

By Louis Hansen : marinij – excerpt Retired planner opposes high density development in single-family neighborhoods T. Keith Gurnee was an urban planner for four decades, working in California communities up and down the coast. Gurnee, originally from Atherton, wanted to be an architect when he started college at Cal Poly in the 1960s. He … More Battling for local control over California, Bay Area development

By Julie Jones, Perkins Coie :jdsupra – excerpt On remand from the California Supreme Court’s decision in Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, 6 Cal.5th 502 (2018) (“Friant Ranch I”), a court of appeal has held that CEQA requires full decertification – not partial decertification – of an EIR that has been adjudged inadequate in … More Fifth District Holds Defects in EIR’s Air Quality Impact Analysis Require Decertification of Entire EIR

By Zelda Bronstein : 48hills – excerpt Study of housing agency finances veers into politically disputed territory. The appalling incompetence of California’s state housing agencies was recently a top story in the mainstream media. Documented in “California’s Housing Agencies,” a report issued on November 17 by State Auditor Elaine Howle, the dereliction includes the loss … More State auditor attacks local land-use authority

By Theresa Clift : sacbee – excerpt Six months after the Trump Administration blocked Sacramento officials from opening a large homeless shelter under the W-X freeway, Caltrans is allowing the project to move forward anyway. Caltrans earlier this month signed a lease agreement with Sacramento, allowing the city to move forward with the project on … More After Trump administration yanked approval, Sacramento homeless shelter will move forward

justvoteno – excerpt Artificial Intelligence, in one form or another, is everywhere. We invite it into our homes and feed it on social media. Businesses that have the resources to automate, will. Every sector of the economy utilizes AI in some form. It is nearly impossible to find an industry that is not looking to … More After AlphaGo There Is No Stopping AI

by Bob Egelko : sfchronicle – excerpt Californians can go to their local Superior Court to challenge the state Energy Commission’s approval of large new power plants that use natural gas or other fuels, a state appeals court has ruled, overturning a state law backed by energy companies. The law, passed in 2001 during an … More Challenges to new California power plants now allowed in Superior Court

by John Ferrannin : ebay – excerpt Progressive LGBTQs are making known their opposition to a proposal in San Francisco that would ban people from smoking tobacco and cannabis in their apartments. San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee introduced the legislation, which also includes vaping, that applies to apartment buildings of three or … More SF apartment smoking ban proposal includes cannabis; draws opposition

By Lathrop GPM : jdsupra – excerpt The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Final Rule today in the Federal Register, viewable at 85 Fed. Reg. 46932 (August 3, 2020), announcing fee adjustments affecting all aspects of patent practice before the USPTO. The fee adjustments, which will go into effect on October … More USPTO Announces Across the Board Patent Fee Increases

By Carly Graf : sfexaminer – excerpt Widespread pushback yields possible compromise allowing more flexibility, emphasis on transit The Metropolitan Transportation Commission might back off from a telecommute mandate passed in September that would have encouraged many Bay Area employers to make 60 percent of their workforce telecommute on any given workday. Stakeholders, including high-profile … More Regional planners back off from mandatory telecommute goal

By Elizabeth Castillo : calmatters – excerpt (includes audio track) In the latest installment of the “Future of Work” series, California mayors explain their cities’ most pressing issues…(more) The Future of Work #4: A Q&A with California Mayors As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, several California mayors described how the crisis has affected their cities, … More California mayors share how the pandemic shapes their cities