League of California Cities - Housing & Land Use

pimg vspace=0 hspace=0 border=0 src=http://www.cacities.org/resource_files/26586.Division Banner small vBW.jpg / /ppThe Los Angeles County Division's strongPresident's Message /strongis here every month with the intention of keeping you fully informed about important events, the legislature or general information regarding the Division, please a href=http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp?zone=loccpreviewStory=25349click here to read more./abr / /ppstrongstrongBy the way, did you know that the Los Angeles County Division represents:/strong /strong/pullistrongOver 11 million people live in the Division/strong /lili88 cities (of which 86 are Division members) /lili4,500 square miles (one of the Nation's largest) /liliOver 550 elected officials br clear=all //li/ulp./ppLeague of CA Cities, Los Angeles County Mission Statement/ppemAs a part of the League of California Cities, the Los Angeles County Division is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all the residents of its member cities by representing them through advocacy, innovation, information and education./em/pp style=font-style: italic;emFor a printable version, please click /ema href=http://www.cacities.org/index.jsp?zone=loccpreviewStory=26389here/a /p

pCity officials will recall that the 2008-09 state budget included a one-time raid of $350 million in redevelopment funds, which redevelopment agencies would be required to pay in Spring 2009. The League and the California Redevelopment Association strongly opposed this raid and repeatedly warned state lawmakers and the Administration that taking redevelopment funds to balance the state's budget is unconstitutional. /p

pCall for nominations!  br /br /Application deadline is strongDecember 19, 2008./strong/p

pstrongSenate Appropriations Committee Will Hear AB 1252 Monday /strong/ppAB 1252 (Caballero, Saldana) has been gutted and amended to include the allocation of an additional $150 million in funding from the Proposition 1C Infill Infrastructure and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Fund for FY 2007-08: $100 million for infill and $50 million for TOD. /p

pThe California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is releasing its plan online today, Friday, Nov. 14 for distributing funds to local governments under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The plan can be found on the HCD a href=http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/nsp/index.html target=_blankWeb site/a. HCD is accepting comments on the plan until Nov. 28. /p

pSaying that it was the quot;sequelquot; to AB 32, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 375 (Steinberg) into law on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The League supported this legislation because it addresses implementation of the 2006 Global Warming Act. Most importantly, Sen. Steinberg's bill assures that the decisions about how to achieve greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks will remain in the hands of locally elected officials. /p

pstrongLegislation Expected to Help California's Struggling Cities/strong/ppSeveral weeks ago, iPriority Focus/i reported that the League was preparing an analysis of the recently signed Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, (H.R. 3221). This quot;white paperquot; is now available and has been posted on the a href=http://www.cacities.org/resource_files/27194.HR%203221%20White%20Paper%20FINAL.pdf target=_blankLeague's Web site/a. /p

pThe League of California Cities Annual Conference is steadily approaching. The last day to register is tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 5)! Make sure to mark your calendar for these important dates. The League Partners will have a booth located next to the Helen Putnam booths on the concourse level of the Convention Center- stop by and say hello and pick up your League Partner pin.br /br /strongSept. 24, 4-6 pm:/strong Opening General Session, Terrace Theater Long Beach Convention Center - The League Partners will present a video strongannouncing the winners of the 2008 Helen Putnam Awards/strong. br /br /strongSept. 24, 6-11 pm:/strong Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach- strong3rd Annual Leadership Gala Casino Night/strong hosted by Willdan along with support from Keenan amp; Associates. Our CitiPAC Casino is hosted by De La Rosa amp; Company (casino games starting at 7 pm). Contact Mike Egan at (916) 658-8271 or egan@cacities.org for more information. br /br /strongSept. 25, 4 pm:/strong strongPlatinum Partners only - Priority booth space drawing/strong in Exhibitors Lounge on the show floor, Long Beach Convention Center. br /br /strongSept. 26, 8:15-9:30 am:/strong Hyatt Hotel, Beacon A Room- strongLeague Partner Recognition Breakfast with the League Board of Directors/strong. Platinum Partners receive 4 tickets, Gold Partners receive 3, Silver 2 and Bronze 1. To RSVP contact Melissa Lienau at (916) 658-8216 or a href=mailto:mlienau@cacities.org target=_blankmlienau@cacities.org/a.br /br /strongSept. 26, 9:30-11:00 am:/strong Hyatt Hotel, Sea View Room- strongLeague Partner Steering Committee Meeting/strong. Open to Bronze level and higher League Partners. The Steering Committee will discuss the Partner work plan and begin to outline the program's 2009 priorities. br /br /strongSept. 26, 8 am-12:30 pm:/strong strong2009 Annual Conference booth space drawing/strong held inside the Exhibitors Lounge on the show floor, Long Beach Convention Ctr. /p

pThe recently signed Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, (H.R. 3221), is expected to help California's housing market. There is $3.9 billion designated for local governments for foreclosure and abandoned home assistance. H.R. 3221 also includes provisions to create further underwriting opportunities for mortgages that are in danger of being foreclosed upon, establishment of a national Housing Trust Fund, and several other service oriented provisions that fund housing programs for specific need populations. /p

pEarlier this week, the League board of directors voted to support SB 375, as amended. The League's final support of SB 375 (Steinberg), a bill with significant land use and transportation policy implications, was the result of many months of negotiations by the League, various stakeholders, and Sen. Steinberg (D-Sacramento), the bill's author. Sacramento Mayor and League First Vice President Heather Fargo joined Sen. Steinberg and others at a news conference at the Capitol on Wednesday, Aug. 6, to announce the League's support of the bill with amendments. /p

pThe Assembly Appropriations Committee will take up SB 375 (Steinberg) again next week when it meets on Aug. 7. Sen. Steinberg's (D-Sacramento) legislation addresses greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) related to cars and light trucks on a regional basis. Negotiations on SB 375 are extremely fluid at the moment but tremendous strides have been made on the bill recently. /p

pThe U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive housing and foreclosure crisis response package on July 23 containing $3.9 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization Funding for state and local governments to use for foreclosed property acquisition and rehabilitation. The President rescinded his original veto threat on the measure (HR 3221) Wednesday morning. He had objected to the inclusion of the neighborhood stabilization funding. The bill is now being considered (and expected to be approved) by the Senate. The President is expected to sign the measure into law this weekend. /p

pHouse leaders reached agreement this week on a plan to include $3.9 billion in funding for state and local governments for foreclosed property acquisition and rehabilitation in the House version of a foreclosure crisis response package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) were instrumental in working with House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to retain the funding in the measure. /p

pOn June 3 the League of California Cities worked with a coalition to successfully defeat the destructive Proposition 98 and lead Proposition 99, responsible eminent domain reform, to an impressive victory. Proposition 98 would have been devastating for redevelopment and infrastructure in California. It would have hurt renters and mobile home owners and weakened our state's environmental protections. In contrast to Proposition 98, Proposition 99 presented responsible eminent domain reform that specifically addressed the Supreme Court's iKelo/i decision. The voters of California clearly understood the difference between these two measures. 62 percent voted to support Proposition 99 with an almost equal percentage opposing 98. /ppThis campaign brought together a broad coalition including local governments, environmental groups, redevelopment agencies, labor organizations, tribal nations, business groups and individuals from across the state. The collaboration that went into this campaign shows what can be achieved in California when so much is at stake. /ppA special thanks to these Partner companies that gave $10,000 and above. These organizations will also be recognized in the League's Board Report for the July 25-26 Board meeting. /pp /pPGamp;E $100,000 (CitiPAC) /ppSouthern CA Edison $100,000 (CitiPAC) /ppATamp;T $30,000 (CitiPAC) /ppBest Best amp; Krieger $25,000 (CitiPAC) /ppRichards Watson amp; Gershon $25,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppLewis Investment Company $20,000 (CitiPAC) /ppMcDonough, Holland amp; Allen $20,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppPala Band of Mission Indians $20,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppTribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations $20,000 (CitiPAC) /ppDe La Rosa amp; Company $15,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppStone amp; Youngberg $15,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppWaste Management Company $11,500 (CitiPAC) /ppEcology Auto Parts $10,000 (CitiPAC) /ppMuniServices $10,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /ppSan Manuel Band of Mission Indians $10,000 (No on 98 Yes on 99) /pp /pWe thank these Partners and all those who take an active role in protecting the priorities of local government. /p

pThe Senate is expected to approve HR 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act on Friday, July 11. In addition to containing $3.9 billion of funding for state and local governments for foreclosed property acquisition and rehabilitation, the measure also provides for a regulatory overhaul of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a plan to help borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing through the Federal Housing Administration and a $14.5 billion package of housing-focused tax breaks. /p

pSB 375 is a bill authored by Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) that seeks to minimize the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from cars and light trucks by linking transportation funding to a compact development pattern. The League has been very concerned with some of the language in the bill that seems to conflict with the land use authority of cities and counties./p

pLocal government officials and their planning staff have a new resource to help address climate change. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) recently published a new technical advisory on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and climate change./p

pLegislation that fast-tracks additional allocations of bond funding authorized under Propositions 1C and 1B (2006), was approved by the Assembly and sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, June 26. AB 1252 (Caballero) provides an additional $150 million for infill infrastructure and transit-oriented development (TOD) programs initiated through Prop. 1C. This allocation was requested by the Administration in response to the heavy demand for these funds at the local level. /p

pPeriodically, the League updates its members on policy-making at the federal level and our lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. on behalf of cities. /p