Category: Update

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NIMBYs lost the big arguments. Now they’re fighting over fine print State laws gutted the old arguments against new housing. So opponents are getting creative.

By Kevin V. Nguyen : sfstandard – excerpt

State laws gutted the old arguments against new housing. So opponents are getting creative…

Artist’s interpretation of the proposed Marina Safeway project by Leslie Lowinger.

Over nearly a decade, California has layered housing laws that narrow what cities and neighbors can do to block a project they don’t like once a developer files. Essentially, cities can’t change the rules mid-stream anymore, downzone a site, or use discretionary review to stall projects that qualify based on growth mandates and affordability carve-outs…

With few legal avenues for challenges to development on the grounds that it is too big, too dense, or “out of character,” NIMBYs are increasingly honing in on the fine print.

But cities that attempt to side with opponents of development can end up in court and owing legal fees. That’s what happened to Menlo Park, which was sued  this month by the developer of the former Sunset Magazine headquarters, alleging the city spent nearly three years stalling a mixed-use development by claiming it didn’t qualify for the state’s fast-track laws. (California Attorney General Rob Bonta had warned the city  about this conduct.)

‘If we apply them, let’s apply them as written’

In San Francisco, neighbors of the Marina Safeway redevelopment last month filed their intent to sue the developer, city, and PG&E in federal court, arguing that the project doesn’t qualify for streamlined approval under AB 2011 and that contamination at the site (stemming from when it housed a PG&E steam plant) wasn’t properly considered during the application process.

Specifically, they are challenging the city’s view that enough of the site’s perimeter borders “urban uses,” a test that gets a project fast-tracked. The neighbors argue that a yacht harbor and Fort Mason shouldn’t count as urban use and allege that the developer skipped a required assessment of the contamination.

Of note, the YesAnd group), which spearheaded the lawsuit, shares a founder with Neighborhoods United SF, a coalition that previously campaigned against “extreme and unnecessary development.”

Stu Gross of Gross Klein PC, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, declined to state why his clients are waiting to file their suit. However, the complaint references the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, a federal hazardous waste law, that has a required waiting period after providing regulators and responsible parties notice of intent to sue.

“Politicians and interest groups can debate whether these streamlining laws are appropriate,” Gross said. “But if we apply them, let’s apply them as written.”… (more)

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60 MINUTES TRANSCRIPT: HELIUM IN SHORT SUPPLY AS IRAN WAR CONTINUES, WITH SPOT PRICES TRIPLING

By Jon Werhaim and Lucy Hatcher :  cbsnews – excerpt
(link to 13 minute sequence)

Helium, key for semiconductor manufacturing and medical equipment (and munitions) , faces shortage | 60 Minutes 

You’ve no doubt noticed that since the war with Iran broke out, gas prices have spiked: up more than 50% since January. But there’s another, less well known, natural resource also impacted by the conflict: helium. The world — and the war — don’t function without it. No helium? No new cellphones, laptops, cars, MRI machines, missiles: all require this finite and irreplaceable resource. The closing of the Strait of Hormuz in February trapped one-third of the global helium supply. Then just weeks later: Iranian strikes on Qatar’s major gas facility further rattled the supply chain. With the extent of the damage unknown, American industry is left desperate for answers as the helium crisis remains up in the air… (more)

Qatar is a major supplier and nothing is leaving their ports now.

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Building Public Awareness

ONV Volunteers at the League of California Cities Conference Anaheim, September 23, 2026

In 2024, Our Neighborhood Voices, a 501(c)(4) campaign committee, welcomed the formation of a 501(c)(3) sister organization, Our Neighborhood Voices Education.  The sister organization was created to illuminate the issues and empower the public and city governments regarding their rights and possible solutions regarding local control.  It has built a statewide following and a network of local activist groups. Together, these groups increased public and local-government awareness of the issues and possible solutions, culminating in Friday’s vote of 253 California cities.

 

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Home News Political Notebook: Among D8 supe candidates, Nguyen lone backer of Castro historic district

by Matthew S. Bajko : ebar – excerpt

Now that Manny’s out, the field is narrowing.

Gary McCoy, left, and Michael Trung Nguyen are the Bay Area Reporter’s first and second choices, respectively, in the race for District 8 supervisor. 

Establishing a historic district in the heart of San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood may not have as enthusiastic a supporter of it once gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman leaves office in January. Of the four candidates seeking to succeed him at City Hall, just one has come out in full support of the creation of the historic district.

Gay Twin Peaks resident Michael Trung Nguyen, a patent attorney also known as drag queen Juicy Liu, told the Bay Area Reporter “absolutely, absolutely” when asked if he would support the designation for the Castro. As the B.A.R. was first to report last week, Mandelman introduced a resolution September 22 to initiate the process to incorporate the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street and several blocks on adjoining streets into a Eureka Valley Commercial & Castro Village LGBTQ+ Historic District.

It must first move out of the supervisors’ land use committee then be brought up for a full vote at the board before taken up by the city’s historic preservation and planning commissions. Once those oversight bodies weigh in, then an ordinance to officially establish the historic district will need to be introduced at the board and be approved by the supervisors.

With just three months left to get anything adopted by the board this year, it is likely it will fall to Mandelman’s successor to designate the 93 parcels identified by planning officials as part of the city’s 15th historic district. It would be the first centered around an underserved community… (more)

RELATED:

Editorial: The B.A.R. makes its SF supervisor choices

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NEW CALIFORNIA LAW LIMITS PROSECUTORS’ POWER TO REINSTATE DISMISSED CHARGES

By Nicholas Petty From davisvanguard.org – excerpt

September 26, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation changing how prosecutors can reinstate charges dismissed by a judge at a preliminary hearing, requiring prosecutors to present evidence and obtain judicial approval before those charges can be restored. The bill signed by Newsom, AB 1917, or the Respect Judicial Decisions Act, would require district attorneys to file a motion to add charges dropped by a judge during a preliminary hearing…  (more)

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Mayor Lurie declares ‘rent emergency’ as San Franciscans struggle

By Silas Valentino : sfgate – excerpt (audio)

Proclaiming a “rent emergency” in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a series of tenant protections Thursday morning that he says will fight the city’s rapidly escalating affordability crisis.

The mayor’s proposed reforms include six ordinances and more than $30 million in investments, and addresses three areas fueling the rent emergency: protections from unwarranted evictions and “sudden rent spikes” while beefing up the city’s enforcement of tenant rights.

Lurie did not announce any immediate action and it’s unclear when renters in the city can expect any tangible relief as the median rent in San Francisco has risen over 25% in the last year.

The incredible increase in prices has allowed some landlords to take advantage of the booming economy by driving rents up to “astronomical” levels, according to City Attorney David Chiu. The city is now asking renters to report any wrongdoing to the city attorney’s office….

While local and state law limit some rent increases, there are numerous carve-outs to those laws that leave many San Francisco renters at risk of unlimited rent increases. Some tenants have seen rent increases as high as 90% during this latest housing crisis…

The mayor’s most progressive effort is to reaffirm his support for District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s proposed legislation to prevent evictions that are issued for less than a month’s worth of unpaid rent.

Introduced this month, the law would bar a landlord from evicting a tenant for nonpayment unless they’re owed at least one month of the fair market rent…(more)

Still no mention of the numerous unfilled housing units that exist in the city today. Seems like that filling those should one a priority. Read the rest of the article to see more suggestions by other supervisors.

 

 

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S.F. teacher housing at 18th and Mission is on ice, emails show

By OSCAR PALMA : missionlocal – excerpt

After nearly a decade of efforts by the Mission Economic Development Agency to build teacher housing on the corner of 18th and Mission, the city quietly hit pause. Oscar Palma reports on a series of emails from last year that reveal MEDA’s inability to secure financing, and city housing officials’ rejection of MEDA’s requests for additional funds…

For nearly 20 years, the corner building at 18th and Mission has sat empty — and derelict. Not much remains of the structure, which was modernized in the 1930s with a sleek curved front, neon clock and large windows and that once housed the largest stove store on the West Coast. It has become a canvas for graffiti, wheatpasted advertisements and the backdrop for street vendors.

Then, in 2017, it became a symbol of some small hope: 63 below-market-rate condos for teachers were to be built on the lot, part of a push to make living in San Francisco affordable.

That project is now on hiatus. More than a year ago, after nearly a decade of trying, the city quietly hit pause on the Mission Economic Development Agency’s plans to build teacher housing. The city cited a lack of both funds and a feasible financing plan, according to emails obtained by Mission Local… (more)

Obviously SF priorities are elsewhere. The city has limited fund and they are less concerned with this project than they are with supporting the highly contested SFMTA and Rec and Park projects.
Housing, transit and parks are all in the same pot of fundable projects that seem ripe for turning into slush funds.

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How cities are going to lose all control over housing development, soon

The Wiener Way Is getting a lot of pushback as people realize their rents are not going down as he promised they would. Question for our readers: Will the voters get the message that his way has not worked the way he claimed it would and quit supporting him?

Scott is pushing the towering plans for Marina Safeway.

Wiener’s housing laws are set up for cities and counties to fail, allowing developers to do almost anything they want, for many years to come Wiener’s housing laws are set up for cities and counties to fail, allowing developers to do almost anything they want, for many years to come
August 26, 2026  By MICHAEL BARNES…(more)

The bizarre incompetence of Wiener’s SB 79
Do that math: This will never work. And it undermines all the twisted efforts cities are making to comply with RHNA
September 22, 2025 By MICHAEL BARNES…(more)

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Sprint to the finish at the Capitol

By Lynn La via email from calmatters – see email for action items

With days to go until the end of the legislative session, lots of things are brewing at the state Capitol:
  • California Forever setback: Solano County supervisors voted against proposed legislation that would have allowed the billionaire-backed California Forever to speed up the creation of a new shipbuilding facility by exempting parts of it from environmental review. The vote threw a wrench in California Forever’s wider efforts to develop a new city and manufacturing hub in the county. Read more from Kate Wolffe and Yue Stella Yu.
  • Coastal carveouts: Newsom is pushing a plan that would give an environmental carveout to an oceanfront project belonging to Jeff Worthe, a Santa Monica developer who is also a donor to the governor. Environmental advocates are slamming the last-minute proposal and oppose any backdoor deals that sidestep a state law limiting development along the coast. Read more from Stella.
  • Cheaper GLP-1 drugs?: A bill that aims to lower the price of anti-obesity medications, or GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, is one step closer to reaching the governor’s desk after clearing the Assembly earlier this week. If passed, the state would partner with a drug maker to produce cheaper GLP-1 drugs and distribute it through the state’s CalRx program. But it’s unclear how long this could take: California’s $55 insulin took three years to bring into market under CalRx. Read more from Ana B. Ibarra.

Meta to pay $17B — and limit ‘likes’ for teens — in social media settlement with states // CalMatters (free)

Taxing the rich cracks open the Democratic coalition // Politico (free)

Trump can’t cut off funding to communities whose policies he opposes, court rules // The Mercury News (gift link)

Nearly 300,000 K-12 students are homeless in CA, UCLA report says // EdSource(free)

Years late, billions over budget: CA’s high-speed rail hasn’t laid a track // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)

CA gas prices ‘shaping up to be the highest on record.’ What you’ll pay // The Sacramento Bee (paywall)

CA lawmakers sound alarm about urgent need for $2B for Olympics transportation // LAist (free)

SpaceX windfall presents dilemma for CA pension fund // Bloomberg (gift link)