Land Use and Planning

Overview

Land Use and Planning

Courson Arts interior of art gallery.

Palmdale’s latest housing innovation: the Courson Arts Colony

In recent years, the city of Palmdale saw housing costs outpace the area’s income levels, resulting in a shortage of affordable housing in the area. The Courson Arts Colony, the latest component of Palmdale’s city center revitalization and housing innovation, provides affordable housing and incorporates an arts component to serve as a healing element for veterans who may be suffering from PTSD.

Alisal Vibrancy Plan Addresses Equity Issues in Salinas

This plan is the result of advocacy and a collaborative process with city staff, community-based organizations, and residents that increased public engagement, public dialogue, and trust and brought new leadership into planning processes.

Article Legal Notes by Valerie Escalante Troesh and Matthew R. Silver

SB 450: A Path Toward Improving Communities

By waiving environmental review for qualifying projects and incentivizing investments, SB 450 may aid cities’ efforts to combat homelessness.

Article Features

Tips on Temporary Use of Public Property for Private Business

What cities should know about accommodating businesses in public spaces.

Article Features by Stephanie Hunting and Liz Moody

From Vision to Reality: Lessons Learned in Complete Street Implementation

These projects can be challenging, but they improve traffic and support healthy lifestyles.

Article Features by Curtis Wright

Code Enforcement During a Pandemic: Lessons Learned

Many cities have employed code enforcement staff in unique ways to protect the public and advance pandemic protocols.

Article Local Works

Affordable Housing: More Than a Mandate in San Marcos
How San Marcos Leveraged Affordable Housing for Smart Growth

In an area that lacked basic infrastructure, two mixed-use affordable housing developments brought improvements including new streets, drainage, and lighting. A complex mix of federal, state, and city funding, matched with private-sector loans, covered the costs.

Article Features by Jill Oviatt

Redwood City’s Quest to Bring Back Missing Middle Housing

Reducing the minimum lot size for duplexes and triplexes and revising current open-space requirements are among the city’s proposed zoning updates.

Article Features by Daniel Parolek and Tony Perez

How to Ensure That Missing Middle Housing Is Not Missing From Your City’s Policy, Planning, and Zoning

“Missing middle” housing helps to address the growing demand for walkable communities, respond to shifting household demographics, and meet the need for more housing choices.

Dublin Provides Affordable Housing for Veterans

An innovative public-private-nonprofit partnership transformed a former car dealership site into housing for veterans, comprising 66 units that are 100 percent affordable.

Encinitas Retools Planning to Increase Housing Options

The city retooled its existing zoning and standards to make it easier for property owners to add accessory dwelling units, also known as granny flats. Encinitas also successfully sponsored state legislation to make the changes possible.

Article Features by Melissa Kuehne

Cities Reframe Community Conversations About Housing

While most people agree that California needs more housing, the conversation often becomes complicated when it turns to how, where, and why in a specific community. Cities are involving their residents and communities in discussions about housing from a new perspective.

Article Features by Gurbax Sahota

Build Economic Development Momentum With Tools, Teams, and Tactics

In most cities, economic development competes for resources and attention as local officials deal with urgent issues that include affordable housing, emergency response, and more. Despite these challenges, many cities are building momentum in realizing their economic development goals. This article explores some of the tools, potential team members, and tactics that can help your city boost its economic vitality.

Article Features by Dan Carrigg

2019 Legislative Year in Review

When the 2019 legislative session began, Democrats had gained historic supermajorities in the Legislature. Yet progress for the progressive Democratic agenda was muted. And in the face of multiple attacks on local zoning authority and other challenges, the League and cities emerged surprisingly well.

Article City Forum by Eve Maldonado O’Toole

California Cities Lead on Affordable Housing and Homelessness Services

A bipartisan coalition of 26 mayors, CEOs and stakeholders representing nearly 17 million residents intends to ignite a national conversation about the fact that strong housing policy is pro-family, pro-jobs and pro-investment — and helps hardworking people.

Article Features by Michael McLaughlin

Connecting the Dots on Emergency Preparedness, Recovery and Resilience

The challenges associated with disasters include tech-related issues, risk management and the need to create incentives for updating and retrofitting homes to improve wildfire and earthquake resilience.

Article President’s Message by John F. Dunbar

Partnering With the State to Support Affordable Housing Development: Get Ready

The shortage of affordable housing is a crisis for cities statewide and the focus of a League 2019 strategic goal. The League’s hard work on this issue was boosted by an executive order from Governor Newsom earlier this year.

Article Features by Ken Striplin

Tackling Homelessness

Cities do not have to wrestle with this issue alone.

Article President’s Message by Jan Arbuckle

Tales From the Dusty Trail: City Voices on Statewide Issues

A summary of insights and issues from League divisions statewide.

Article Executive Director's Message by Carolyn Coleman

Coming Together to Learn and Celebrate Our Progress

Join us in Long Beach for the League’s 2019 Annual Conference & Expo.