Local Governments on High Alert as New Statewide Ballot Measure Seeks to Restrict State and Local Revenue
A statewide initiative seeking to further restrict the ability of state and local governments to raise public funds through fees and taxes is ready to appear on the November 2024 ballot. Given the potential dire consequences of this measure, many local governments are taking actions now to address it.
Based on Recently Passed SB 54, Local Governments May Consider Banning Certain Single-Use Foodware Items Before Year’s End
The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act may encourage local governments to ban certain single-use packaging and plastic food service ware materials before January 2024 to avoid its collection requirement.
Constitutional Limits to Abating Homeless Encampments, and Best Practices for a Cooperative Approach
California is home to nearly one-fourth of the nation’s unhoused population, and homelessness in California continues to rise. For example, according to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, from 2019 to 2022, California’s unhoused population increased from approximately 151,000 to 171,000. Of the 171,000 unhoused individuals counted in 2022, 67%, or 115,000 persons, […]
Vacant House Taxes: One Tool to Ease Housing Pressures
Housing affordability – whether buying or renting – remains a critical challenge for California cities and their residents. An April 2022 report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found that a record number of Californians are housing cost burdened. State housing cost burdens have surged over the last two decades, with home value […]
Changes Coming in 2023 to State Energy Code and Green Building Standards
In late 2021, the California Energy Commission approved updates to California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code), which regulate energy and water efficiency for newly constructed buildings. The Commission also approved energy-related updates to the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), which both mandates and encourages sustainable construction practices. Both sets of updated standards take […]
Planning for Environmental Justice: Implementing SB 1000
A Valuable Tool for Equity Due in part to a long history of unequal land use planning and discriminatory housing and industrial policies, communities of color and low-income communities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms. Large polluting industries tend to be sited in or near these communities, leading to higher rates of long-term health […]
SMW Attorney Teaches Land Use Law at UC Berkeley School of Law
SMW Partner Andrew Schwartz taught Land Use Law at UC Berkeley School of Law for the Spring Semester 2021-2022 and will repeat the class Spring Semester 2022-2023. Mr. Schwartz also teaches Land Use Law at Stanford Law School.
SMW Attorney Updates Land Use Law Treatise
Andrew Schwartz and his co-author updated their chapter on Exactions in the California Land Use Practice treatise published by the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
With FPPC Enforcement on the Rise, Public Agencies Navigate Gray Area in Use of Public Funds for Election Communications
Local agencies walk a fine line when producing effective informative materials for ballot measures without inadvertently ‘campaigning’. This article reviews current FPPC rules around spending public money to inform the electorate, how to steer clear of enforcement gray areas, and opportunities for the Legislature to authorize limited public agency electoral campaigns.
SB 244: Focus on Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities in Land Use Planning
Systemic issues in land use planning have historically plagued small, low-income, unincorporated communities on the urban fringe. SB 244 took a first step to address the legal, financial, and political barriers affecting disadvantaged unincorporated communities in California. This article describes SB 244 requirements and looks at implementation progress.