While the 2020-2021 California Legislative Session was dominated by the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis and the ultimately unsuccessful Gubernatorial recall election, there were significant efforts made to change statewide housing policy. Last week, the Governor began signing some of those new housing bills into law—including the widely discussed SB 9, which is regarded as the
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San Francisco Board of Supervisors Adopts Further Commercial Tenant Relief in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the commercial real estate market, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is pursuing relief for certain categories of commercial tenants, including adoption of an ordinance creating a rebuttable presumption that a commercial tenant’s legally required shutdown excuses rent owed for the shutdown period.
We previously reported on San…
As California Opens for Business, Public Hearings Allowed To Continue Remotely Through At Least September 30, 2021
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20, suspending open public meeting requirements under the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene Act thereby allowing state and local public agencies – including Boards of Supervisors, City Councils and Planning Commissions – to meet by teleconference without requiring a physical…
SB 7 Breathes New Life into CEQA Streamlining Process
AB 900, a law that provided for speedy resolution of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) litigation, was allowed to “sunset” at the end of the 2020 legislative session, without an anticipated legislative extension. On May 20, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 7, the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021, to…
UPDATE – Status of Eviction Moratoriums Protecting Residential and Commercial Tenants in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
Since we last reported on this topic, many of the residential and commercial eviction moratoriums that were enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been amended, replaced and/or extended. These moratoriums are generally set to expire on June 30, 2021. Depending on how COVID vaccination and the broader economic recovery play out in…
AB 1561 Extends Housing Entitlements by 18 Months
The state has granted an 18-month extension to certain housing development entitlements that were otherwise due to expire before the end of 2021. AB 1561 (Garcia) was enacted last year to support continued housing production in light of the ongoing economic and administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its provisions apply to approvals, permits,…
What 2020 Land Use Cases Taught (Or Reminded) Us About Litigation Basics
By Skye Langs
Last year brought the legal profession many things that we never expected, like trials conducted by Zoom and virtual happy hours, just to name a few. But it also brought a handful of new CEQA and land use decisions that, like many of the events of 2020, reminded legal practitioners to focus on the fundamentals.…
San Francisco Kicking Off General Plan Update Process: Virtual Workshops Coming March 15th
The San Francisco Planning Department is updating the City’s General Plan, and Department staff will be holding a two-week series of online workshops on the proposed General Plan updates beginning Monday, March 15th. All development projects must be consistent, on balance, with the General Plan’s objectives and policies, so these updates are of high interest…
Cities Tackle the Future of Single-Family Zoning, As State Takes Up the Issue Again
In 2020, California legislators considered but ultimately did not approve bills that would have substantially restricted the continued use of single-family zoning across the state. These efforts included SB 50 (Wiener), which would have required increased residential density near qualifying transit, and SB 1120 (Atkins), which would have allowed duplexes on most residential lots across…
San Francisco Considers Reducing Commercial and Condominium Tax Assessments Pending Data on How the Pandemic has Impacted Property Values
In 1978, California voters passed Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to allow a temporary reduction in assessed value when the market value of a property has fallen below its factored base year value as of the January 1 lien date (a “Prop. 8 Reduction”). Because residential properties change hands much more frequently, California…