Bay Area Land News - October 16, 2018
US / California / Bay Area News
Proposition 10: California’s rent-control ballot measure explained
East Bay Times
California voters face a momentous decision this fall on the future of rent control — at a time when stress over high rents, displacement and homelessness has reached a boiling point.
Buzz over Bay Area exodus likely to intensify in 2019 as higher tax bills arrive
Silicon Valley Business Journal
Leaders at some of the Bay Area’s most promising startups talk in furtive whispers about their plans to open offices in other parts of the country, but quickly add that they’re not ready to talk about it publicly. At least not yet.
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The Urban Growth Debate: Cities, Suburbs, Exurbs
Forbes
Ever since cities began their resurgence some 25-30 years ago, there's been increasing debate over what facet of the metro area is actually doing the growing.
Bay Area housing rules perpetuate racism, segregation, ‘Color of Law’ author says at SF event
East Bay Times
Cities throughout the Bay Area are perpetuating unconstitutional racial segregation with their housing laws, local author Richard Rothstein said Wednesday during a talk about his groundbreaking book, “The Color of Law.”
As cities and the hotel industry struggle to curb Airbnb, voters are pushing back
The Mercury News
The explosive growth of short-term rentals around the country has pushed local governments to rein in the practice, with help from the hotel industry, which wants to stifle a formidable competitor.
Opinion: Why you should care who next leads the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
San Francisco Chronicle
There’s a quiet, little-observed process being conducted right now in the halls of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission: the search for a new executive director.
Ben Carson is joining the ranks of the YIMBYs, whether they want him or not
Washington Examiner
Ben Carson is aiming to become the nation’s highest-ranking YIMBY. That is, he’s aiming to encourage people to say “Yes in My Back Yard,” instead of “Not in My Back Yard,” or NIMBYism, as its known.
Ask a landlord: An owner’s take on the housing crisis, Prop. 10 and good/bad tenants
East Bay Times
For Gustavo Gonzalez, being a landlord runs in the family. His Mexican-immigrant parents own rental units in the Bay Area, and four of his five siblings are landlords too.
Real estate forecasters see cooling housing market in 2019
The Mercury News
Economists for the California Association of Realtors on Thursday offered a somber forecast for the state housing market in 2019, expecting rising interest rates and a lack of affordable housing to push more prospective buyers out of the market.
San Francisco News
San Francisco’s ‘dirtiest block’ defies tech-fueled housing boom
The Real Deal
The “dirtiest block” in San Francisco is only a short walk from the offices of multi-billion-dollar tech companies that have helped push the median price of a home in the city to over $1 million.
San Francisco’s Robust Coworking Market Keeps Growing, But Lack Of Available Space Could Be A Problem
Bisnow
As 2018 approaches its close, it is turning out to be another active year for flex office providers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Demand for space is rising as more providers enter the San Francisco market, but a low vacancy rate and lack of new construction could put a crimp on future expansion.
Potential fixes to Salesforce Transit Center's cracked beams already underway
San Francisco Business Times
Though officials need to sample the cracked beams to learn why they failed, engineers are already designing potential fixes.
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Officials can’t predict reopening date for SF’s Transbay Transit Center, park
San Francisco Chronicle
Transbay Transit Center officials said Thursday they’re working as quickly as they can to get the building’s cracked support beams repaired but still don’t have a date for resuming bus service or reopening the popular rooftop park.
Fremont Street under Salesforce Transit Center reopens for Monday commute
San Francisco Business Times
The heavily trafficked portion of roadway between Howard and Mission streets had been closed for nearly three weeks since crews discovered cracks in two steel beams in the above ceiling in the transit center’s third-level bus deck on Sept. 25.
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SF to cover Housing Authority deficit so poor families won’t lose homes
San Francisco Chronicle
An audit of the San Francisco Housing Authority has uncovered a deficit that could reach as high as $30 million, a shortfall city officials say they are scrambling to cover by December to protect thousands of low-income families who would face displacement if the funding gap is not filled.
Bay Briefing: How SF innovation breeds transit inconveniences
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco’s transportation woes can be boiled down to this: Every highly touted innovation seems to make everything else much, much worse.
SF District Two
San Francisco Chronicle
District Two is the wealthiest part of San Francisco, much of it perched on hills with views or situated along the waterfront.
SF District Four
San Francisco Chronicle
Out by the beach and frequently blanketed by fog, much of San Francisco’s District Four feels insulated from the headaches of the rest of the city.
Uber, Lyft cars clog SF streets, study says
San Francisco Chronicle
Uber and Lyft cars contribute heavily to San Francisco’s traffic slowdowns, especially in the downtown and at night, according to a report being released on Tuesday, which both companies said used a flawed and incomplete approach.
New SF ballot measure takes aim at ‘dark money’ in local politics
San Francisco Examiner
Ethics watchdogs plan to file a campaign finance reform measure called the “Sunlight on Dark Money Initiative” at City Hall Thursday, in the newest effort to loosen the mighty dollar’s grip on San Francisco politics.
Harvey Milk Plaza makeover not the right change for Castro
San Francisco Chronicle
More than buildings, which can revel in aesthetics or craft, public spaces need a shot of common sense to succeed long-term. If there isn’t some reason to be there, week in and week out, even well-designed spaces can become voids once the novelty fades.
Plan to revive rivers pits SF against California
San Francisco Chronicle
The rivers that once poured from the Sierra Nevada, thick with snowmelt and salmon, now languish amid relentless pumping, sometimes shriveling to a trickle and sparking a crisis for fish, wildlife and the people who rely on a healthy California delta.
SF proposes relief for desperate taxi drivers. They say it’s too little, too late
San Francisco Chronicle
The line of San Francisco cabdrivers — six, seven at a time — sat bumper-to-bumper, waiting.
SF Mayor Breed endorses school teacher Trevor McNeil in District Four
San Francisco Chronicle
Three weeks before the November election, Mayor London Breed added one more endorsement to the list of candidates she’d like to see on the Board of Supervisors: District Four contender Trevor McNeil.
Big SF landlord Veritas sued by long-term renters claiming harassment to drive them out
San Francisco Chronicle
One of San Francisco’s biggest landlords was sued Thursday by 68 tenants, who accused the property owner of harassing long-term, rent-control residents in an attempt to drive them from their homes so they could be replaced with new people paying higher rents.
South Bay News
Sand Hill starts demolishing Vallco while mulling its next move
Silicon Valley Business Journal
The developer has begun demolishing the Vallco Mall in Cupertino — a milestone that marks the beginning of the end for the nearly empty shopping center, even as the site's future remains uncertain.
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Familiar foe rises up against newest development plan for Vallco mall
The Mercury News
Although the bustle has returned to Cupertino’s Vallco Shopping Mall in the form of demolition work that began Thursday to make way for a massive housing, office and retail development, not everyone is in the mood to celebrate.
Iconic office tower with rooftop gardens proposed for downtown San Jose near Fairmont
East Bay Times
An iconic office tower to be crowned with rooftop gardens would rise in downtown San Jose, a striking project that bids to dramatically reshape the skyline of the Bay Area’s largest city and could attract a big tech company, according to a new proposal on file with city planners.
Cupertino approves Vallco development plan near Apple Park
Curbed SF
Update: Sand Hill spokesperson Matt Larson announced via email that Cupertino gave the final go-ahead to the company’s attempt to invoke SB 35 and move ahead with its proposed 2,400-unit housing plan at Vallco.
Editorial: Keep Sunnyvale City Council rolling on right track
The Mercury News
After four years of discord, the Sunnyvale City Council has in the last two years returned to civility in its workings and taken strides toward restoring the city’s status as a well-run city.
North Bay News
378,000-square-foot Solano County project targets San Francisco Bay Area warehouse shortage
North Bay Business Journal
The developers of a new 378,405-square-foot distribution warehouse in Fairfield are looking to attract companies whose needs for distribution and storage space are bumping against scant availabilities and rising rents.
Peninsula News
Prop. 10 becomes litmus test in council race
Mountain View Voice
For a Mountain View City Council race in which many candidates hold similar positions, Proposition 10 is driving a sharp wedge into the field.
Council candidate, city employee get into altercation
Palo Alto Online
An argument over the hot-button issue of banning oversized vehicles in East Palo Alto turned into a shouting match that nearly became physical between a candidate for the City Council and a city employee during a city meeting on Sept. 19, according to witnesses.
Election 2018: Council contenders
Palo Alto Online
When the Palo Alto City Council convenes for its first meeting of 2019, it will undoubtedly look and feel like a new day at City Hall.
Editorial: Filseth, DuBois and Cormack for City Council
Palo Alto Online
This year's Palo Alto City Council election is notable for two reasons: The size of the council is shrinking from nine to seven and only five candidates are running — the least competitive race in decades.
Guest Opinion: Stanford GUP should not be negotiated in secret
Palo Alto Online
Board of Supervisors set to discuss process, timeline to review, vote on university's proposed growth.
Editorial endorsement: Newcomers deserve seats on the Menlo Park City Council
The Almanac
Much has changed in Menlo Park since 2010, when two incumbents who are now running for re-election to the City Council were elected to their first council terms. And though change is inevitable and some of the changes in the last eight years have been positive, too many have adversely affected the quality of life for residents — or threaten to do so in the future.
Menlo Park's Josh Becker announces 2020 state Senate run
The Almanac
As voters start to receive their ballots for the November election, one Menlo Park man is looking two years ahead to a state Senate bid.
Menlo Park City Council: Three seats, eight candidates
The Almanac
During Menlo Park's inaugural district elections, there are eight candidates vying for three City Council seats – each of those seats contested by people passionate about their platforms.
Council may put curbs on vehicle dwellers
Mountain View Voice
Vote to fund Terra Bella safe parking site could pave way for new restrictions.
Menlo Park: Anonymous ethics complaint filed against City Council candidate
The Almanac
The California Fair Political Practices Commission has received an anonymous complaint against Menlo Park City Council candidate Cecilia Taylor, FPPC spokesperson Jay Wierenga confirmed Oct. 10.
To spur housing production, Palo Alto rewrites zoning rules
Palo Alto Online
City's planning commission recommends lower parking requirements, higher density for housing developments.
Divisive downtown project suffers setback
Palo Alto Online
Architectural Review Board rejects Elizabeth Wong's proposal to make design changes to proposed development at 429 University Ave.
Despite higher-than-ever demand, Peninsula developers struggle to get housing built
Silicon Valley Business Journal
Sky-high construction costs, a shortage of labor, lengthy entitlements, lawsuits and pushback can delay a project for years, or make it impossible to build.
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County supervisors warned about entering into a development agreement with Stanford
Daily Post
Santa Clara County officials are cautioning the county Board of Supervisors about a proposed development agreement from Stanford that they say offers even less housing and housing funding than the university is legally required to pay the county.
Exclusive: Peninsula developer teams with Goldman Sachs for $1 billion project in South San Francisco
San Francisco Business Times
Developer Lane Partners and investor Goldman Sachs want to build 2 million square feet of new office or lab space in South San Francisco.
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Council intrigued by San Antonio condo plan
Palo Alto Online
In years past, the 54-unit housing development currently proposed for a site on San Antonio Road in Palo Alto probably would have withered at the starting line.
East Bay News
Berkeley’s homeless may have to scale back under plan to curb accumulation
San Francisco Chronicle
Think about it: If you were suddenly forced to live on the streets for an extended period of time, what would you take with you to make homelessness bearable and less extreme?
Exclusive: Developer wants to add 600 more waterfront homes to Oakland's largest housing project
San Francisco Business Times
Brooklyn Basin is already slated for 3,100 homes on a 64-acre waterfront site.
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Oakland’s $9 million homelessness solution: City launches new preventive program
The Mercury News
As growing tent encampments sprawl over the city’s sidewalks and run-down vehicles turned into homes of last resort line the streets, Oakland on Monday launched a $9 million program intended to keep residents from ending up as another statistic in the city’s growing homeless population.