Land Use & Development Image

Santa Clara County Land Use & Development Articles



Image caption: The roundabout joining Highway 12 and State Route 113 in Rio Vista, just south of the site for a proposed new city of 400,000 people.
Solano County May Get to Vote on New City in November

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
State, Lenders Seek to Recover $170 Million from Homekey Housing Developers

Shangri-La Construction took loans against state-funded housing projects, moved money into other bank accounts and left projects unfinished.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Newsom Administration Makes Progress on Tiny Home Promise

The state has chosen who will build the 1,200 tiny homes Gov. Gavin Newsom promised the state’s homeless residents. But it remains to be seen when they will be built. Nearly a year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to deploy …

Image caption: "Impact fees" add thousands to the cost of building new housing. The Supreme Court could end them.
SCOTUS Hears California Case That Could Make it Cheaper to Build Housing

The highest court in the land will soon decide how much leeway cities and counties have in offsetting new construction with fees to pay for infrastructure.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Supreme Court to Rule on Power of CA Cities, Counties to Impose Infrastructure Fees on Home Builders

The El Dorado County case before the state's highest court about impact fees could have huge consequences for new housing construction in California.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
CA Pot Hole Alert: Rise in Electric Vehicles Will Reduce Money for Road Repairs, Trains and Buses

As the state battles climate change and Californians drive fewer gas-powered cars, tax revenue will drop substantially, according to a state analysis.

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
Town officials getting frustrated as State continues to push them on housing

Rural home with gate in Los Gatos. (Drew Penner / Los Gatan)
Listening to Los Gatos’ elected officials talk about the most recent Housing Element rejection from the Department of Housing and Community Development, one might think the homes ministry …

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
‘I thought you were building the Taj Mahal,’ says neighbor to Vinodha and Rajeev Bala during fence dispute hearing

Planning Commission stepped-in to mediate a neighbor dispute about a fence, Dec. 13. (Town of Los Gatos)

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
New CA Housing Laws Aiming to Cut Housing Red Tape for Builders

California lawmakers made an effort in 2023 to remove red tape around building new houses.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
2023: California Closes Prisons and Transforms Others

As the state shutters prisons, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to turn San Quentin into a model for rehabilitation. Attorney General Rob Bonta is trying to catch up on police shooting investigations.

Morgan Hill Times logo LOCAL NEWS
A look back at 2023 in Morgan Hill

Members of the California Conservation Corps help a Morgan Hill resident load sandbags into a truck outside El Toro Fire Station Jan. 10, 2023.
Photo: Michael Moore

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Dozens of Near-Ready Affordable Housing Projects Likely To Be ‘Mothballed’

More than 100 developers backing 240 projects with approximately 20,000 proposed affordable housing units applied to the state's Housing and Community Development Department for more than $3.5 billion, but the state only has $576 million to award.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
New San Jose Non-profit Seats Board, Reveals Early Concepts for Plaza de Cesar Chavez

The Plaza Conservancy foresees an expanded park with fewer surrounding traffic lanes, a new stage and renovation of the more than century-old greenspace where the majestic old City Hall once stood.

Featured

Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does
How a nuclear plant, a real estate development and an oil spill led to a landmark law.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law
54-year-old environmental law is often blamed for causing the state’s housing crisis. Is it getting a bad rap?
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.
Join Us Today!