Sacramento County Land Use & Development Digest

In the days and weeks following the January Los Angeles County wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his office moved quickly to manage the response and begin recovery efforts after the blazes were contained. Since then, the governor has been singularly focused on the region, describing his approach as “an extended period of engagement” with L.A. during a press conference in Altadena last week.

Read on for details about the $227 million Truxel Bridge over the American River, approved by the Sacramento City Council in their February 18 meeting.

Against the recommendation of his staff experts, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara denied a request from State Farm to green light “emergency” rate increases for insurance policy holders.

AS HOST TO the largest battery storage facility in the world, on a site that just had its fourth fire in four years, the people of Monterey County have grown to realize that Moss Landing is a learning laboratory for California’s green energy transition.

In the wake of the Los Angeles fires, State Farm asked for an “emergency” premium increase of 22% on average for California homeowners. Lara today denied the request pending more information.

Read on to learn more about the Capital Area Development Authority plans to build affordable housing on R Street in Sacramento.

State Farm, which already has rate increase requests pending, asked state officials to approve more insurance price increases.

The City of Sacramento released renderings for a planned new bridge over the American River. Read on for more information.

In the wake of the fire earlier this month at Vistra Corporation’s Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed new standards for battery energy storage facilities.

Following their closure for a year following repeated damage from vandalism, the east side restrooms at Rusch Community Park in Citrus Heights have been repaired and reopened.

Read on to learn why a neighborhood association is suing to block the development of an 81-unit apartment complex in Carmichael.

In a January 21 meeting attended by about 75 people, commercial real estate developer Ethan Conrad presented his plan to revitalize the Sunrise Mall. Read on to learn more about the ideas discussed at the meeting.

Damages in the ongoing Southern California wildfires are topping $250 billion, on track for the costliest disaster in US history. Read on to learn more.

In their January 22 meeting, the Elk Grove City Council heard about design and naming options for the zoo project, but funding remains a question. Read on to learn more.

The president’s order has no immediate effect on offshore wind leases already authorized, including two large areas off California’s coast. But it sends a current of uncertainty through the fledgling renewable energy industry, which relies on federal and state support.

With President Donald Trump bound for Los Angeles today and once again threatening to withhold wildfire aid to California unless the state abides by his water policies, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Thursday to provide $2.5 billion in state funding for wildfire response and preparedness.

It would be impossible to overstate the complexity of water supply management in California.

At the Pasadena City College disaster resource center, the long, methodical work of putting lives back together is underway.

A look at how the rebuilding effort is going in the California town of Paradise, wiped out in a 2018 fire, and how it offers insights for the tough road ahead for residents in neighborhoods destroyed in the fires of Southern California.

Some schools destroyed years ago in the Sonoma and Butte fires are just now reopening. The long, expensive process of rebuilding in LA may eat up much of the money voters approved in November for school repairs statewide.

Sacramento County has launched a three-year pilot program to offset developer fees in a bid to encourage the building of more multi-family affordable housing. Read on to learn more.

Read on for the latest progress in the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project to raise the dam at the San Luis Reservoir to add storage capacity.

As wildfires ravage southern California, state mandated defensible space requirements legislated in 2020 haven't been encoded into enforceable regulations. Read on to learn why.

The wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles County communities have destroyed at least 10,000 homes so far and more are in the path of still-uncontrolled flames.

The LA fires have left domestic workers and day laborers jobless. They may soon be hired for wildfire cleanup work, where they can be exposed to ash and other toxins.

Read on for details about recent progress in the Elk Grove Boulevard Library Improvement Project.

The state’s plan to fix the insurance crisis had barely rolled out when the Los Angeles fires began. Can the market recover and stabilize?

As climate change warms the planet, wildfires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic. California has 78 more annual “fire days” — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California’s wildfire season? It is now almost year-round.

The Delta Stewardship Council, a state-appointed agency that works to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while preserving it as a major water source, recently released a draft adaptation plan called Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future. 

Read on to learn about the two new California National Monuments to be declared by outgoing President Biden.

Read on to learn about efforts underway by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership to revitalize and district, which is slowly rebounding from the downturn caused by of the COVID pandemic.

The Sacramento Bee looks back on its most impactful stories from 2024.