After surviving holiday family dinners, a few-too-many champagne toasts, and a record-breaking snowstorm, this team is ready to turn its sights to a new year and the exciting projects that are in store. To kick off our 2022 newsletter season (and hopefully in better fashion than the Sacramento Kings), we thought it would be helpful to summarize a few of California’s noteworthy new-for-2022 laws.[1] There aren’t any earth-shattering changes that will require substantial deviation to standard operating procedures, but some represent new requirements that will need to be considered in upcoming projects.
In the highly publicized and controversial SB 9, the California legislature changed the process for review of subdivisions in single-family residential zones, which some have designated as the “end of single-family zoning.” Specifically, this bill streamlines the process by which the owner of a single-family lot can subdivide that lot into two separate parcels, and to subsequently construct up to two units per parcel. In other words, a single-family lot can now bear up to four homes, subject to certain conditions. Proponents of the bill contend this will facilitate the construction of increased housing and density, helping to solve the ongoing housing crisis. Opponents contend this change will undermine communities and is unlikely to make a material impact on the demand for housing in urban areas. This bill became effective January 1, 2022, and is part of a series of...
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says his unfounded claim that Coun. Sean Orr distributed illegal drugs didn't damage his reputation, because Orr's own previous statements showed he "supported drug use." S...