San Joaquin County Land Use & Development Digest

What happens when voters take to the ballot to thumb their nose at state housing law? Courts haven’t offered a clear answer.

California Forever’s announcement July 22 that it has decided to pull a ballot measure that would have let voters decide on a controversial planned city in rural Solano County drew swift reaction from political leaders and opponents.

On July 22, California Forever announced it was withdrawing its initiative to amend the Solano County General Plan off the November ballot and would instead begin working with the county through the normal, though less expeditious, process.

The Tracy City Council approved the rezoning of a 5-acre site on Byron Road for single-family homes.

The City of Ripon draft Housing Element Update is available for public comment.

In their July 2 meeting, the Tracy City Council approved the contract for Phase 2 construction of the temporary emergency housing development on Arbor Avenue.

No significant changes will result in City of Lodi enforcement of local ordinances are anticipated in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v Johnson.

Officials announced $500,000 in federal funding has been received to go towards development of the Salas Senior Housing project to be constructed on South Stockton Street.

Nearly every major environmental group in California opposes a bill that would modify the state’s signature environmental law to speed up upgrades to power lines. Supporters say it would help free the state from fossil fuels and make the grid more reliable, but opponents fear it would damage state parks.

In their June 26 meeting, the Lodi Planning Commission approved rezoning a three-acre lot on Century Boulevard for development of a senior housing complex.

On June 20, the contract was approved to move forward with development of a homeless shelter on a 4.8 acre site on Arbor Avenue in Tracy.

A push to bolster housing production in California's coastal communities in recent years has led to heated battles over potential state reforms. Below, a veteran elected official believes the debate has created a false choice between housing and protections. The opposing view: A former attorney for the Coastal Commission says the state Coastal Act has failed to deliver on what it envisioned.

In the June 18 meeting of the San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency, an unofficial count of mail-in ballots from stakeholder property owners indicate passage of an increase in property tax to fund levee repairs and upgrades. The count will be verified and certified in July.

On June 19, California YIMBY announced support for the California Forever project going to the Solano County ballot in November.

A new round of litigation began when environmental groups opposed to the Sites reservoir in Colusa County filed an appeal on a ruling which dismissed their suit seeking to halt the project from proceeding.

A recent court ruling exempted five charter cities from a controversial housing law. That’s given anti-density advocates across California an idea.

The Ripon Planning Commission approved the construction of a 12-court tennis complex on a 5.63-acre site on East Clinton South Avenue.

Plans have been submitted for the development of two new neighborhoods in Manteca adding 1,073 homes to the city.

On June 11, Solano County elections officials announced the verification of necessary signatures for the California Forever sponsored initiative to amend the county General Plan to be on the November ballot.

The two-day CalMatters Ideas Festival wrapped on June 6 with more than a dozen events examining critical policy issues impacting the lives of millions of Californians.

A rendering for a Solano Sports Complex development with facilities for baseball, basketball, football, swimming, tennis, volleyball, pickleball and other sports was released as part of the California Forever project in east Solano County.

A proposal for a new 324-unit apartment complex of fourteen three-story buildings joins the 3,457 units being planned or already under construction in Manteca.

On June 6, the Solano Land Trust announced its opposition to the California Forever project to build a new community housing up to 400,000 people in the county.

Researchers say if California could collect and treat more stormwater in cities, it could provide enough water to supply a quarter of the state’s urban population.

These community projects can give renters and low-income homeowners a chance to go solar, but the PUC’s action is unlikely to give them the option.

A bill to ban homeless encampments statewide near parks, schools and transit hubs failed to get out of the same legislative committee as last year.

It’s been almost a half-century since I first heard the term “peripheral canal” uttered by William Gianelli, who was then-Gov. Ronald Reagan’s top water official. The project, in one form or another, had already been kicking around for decades.

The Manteca Unified School District is allocating $1.4 million for the purchase of nearly 9 acres to expand the Nile Garden School campus.

On May 21, the California State Senate advanced reparations legislation, which will now be taken up by the state Assembly.

Residents and supporters of self-governing homeless "Camp Resolution" marched to Sacramento city hall on May 15 in opposition of city plans to close the camp.

The Elk Grove City Council voted to approve the move of the Sacramento Zoo to a 100 acre lot at Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway.

Sacramento is seeking public comment on its "Urban Forrest Plan" to increase the trees in the city with priority given to areas in North and South Sacramento.