Land Use
The Complexity of California Housing Law
Byzantine statutory provisions in state housing law may produce unintended consequences
One of the most important state laws to advance housing production in California is the state density bonus law. At heart, that law extends an offer to developers seeking to build a housing project. If you add some affordable housing to your project, the state will let you build higher than local zoning might otherwise …
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CONTINUE READINGThe details of SEQRA reform
Looking at the specifics of how New York’s SEQRA reform efforts would work
I recently posted about proposed legislation in New York, advanced by the governor, to reform the state’s environmental review law (the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)) to facilitate infill housing – an approach similar to what California did last year. There’s now legislative text (available here) available to allow a close review of what …
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CONTINUE READINGUsing Maps to Make Housing Politics Easier
Setting clear borders as to where upzoning to advance housing would apply may help ease the politics of housing policy
A recent article in the SF Chronicle highlighted how it has been easier for housing advocates to get upzoning reforms that facilitate housing production in Oregon – with the upzoning provisions in Oregon having significantly fewer exceptions and carveouts than comparable provisions in California. The result is that Portland has seen more movement in housing …
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CONTINUE READINGThe ROAD to housing?
Initial federal legislation advancing more housing is limited in scope.
There’s been a lot of legislative action advancing housing production through reforms to land-use and environmental regulations at the state level, including California. Now, the federal government is every so gingerly stepping into the area. The ROAD Act passed unanimously through the relevant Senate committee last month. In this blog post I’ll provide a brief …
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CONTINUE READINGThe NIMBY Presidency
Peter Navarro hates foreign trade. He also hates housing.
Well what a surprise. Not: Before Peter Navarro designed trade wars for President Trump, he orchestrated housing wars in San Diego across five unsuccessful bids for local office. Navarro, then a UC Irvine economics professor, led San Diego’s slow-growth movement in the 1990s, drawing battle lines that still define today’s development fights. His zero-sum view on homebuilding then …
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CONTINUE READINGBanking and Exchange Programs to Mitigate Vehicle Miles Traveled
The 1950s has been called the decade of the American Dream. The United States economy grew by 37 percent, and homeownership surged as suburban houses—equipped with their white picket fences—“sold like hotcakes.” But this American Dream has come at a steep cost. Let’s fast forward to today; more than half a century of government housing …
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CONTINUE READINGHonoring Michael Zischke (1954-2025)
A Force in the CEQA World
Michael Zischke was a talented and award-winning land use and environmental lawyer, Mike was widely recognized for his extensive expertise in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) litigation and compliance.
CONTINUE READINGBalancing fire risk and housing
How can California reconcile the dual needs of managing for fire risk and producing more housing?
This is the last in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. In this blog post, we’ll discuss …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat is being built in the WUI?
What our data says about development in the WUI in California
This is the third in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. In this blog post, we summarize …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Law in the WUI
California’s legal framework for development in the wildland-urban interface
This is the second in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. These blog posts summarize our recent …
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