The Almost Daily Briefing
Published news articles from local, regional, and national media on topics of interest to the #LoveLafayette Community separately
LOCAL NEWS
New Housing Model Takes Root In Contra Costa County With Money Pledge - Lafayette has moved a long-discussed affordable housing project from vision toward construction, after city councilmembers approved plans Monday for a housing complex designed for renters with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (Patch)
Related:
OTHER NEWS
Measure to change landmark California Environmental Quality Act has enough signatures to qualify for ballot, backers say - The California Chamber of Commerce has collected more than 945,000 signatures — nearly twice the 546,651 required — to qualify a measure on the November statewide ballot to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA. On Monday it will begin turning them in to elections officials. The changes, if approved by a majority of voters, will help lower housing, energy and water costs, supporters say, by cutting burdensome regulations and making it easier to build everything from homes to reservoirs to solar farms. Environmental groups call the measure a giveaway to developers and are lining up to fight it. The contest is expected to be the first clear indication in years about whether Californians are willing to rewrite environmental regulations, which they have traditionally supported, as concerns about housing prices, utility bills and other costs have soared to the top of polls. (Mercury News)
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
Emergency Preparedness Commission
Lafayette Chamber Artisan Walk Saturday, May 9
The Weekly Roundup
Lafayette Vistas – Spring Edition now available
Lafayette Planning Applications Received
Major Development Projects Map
Lafayette Community Information & Emergency Radio AM 1670
Shop, Dine & Gather in Lafayette
Contact the City
HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND CITY PLANNING
Why It’s Taken Concord 40 Years to Turn a Former Bomb Site into a Neighborhood - All the while, there was a lot of cleanup and bureaucracy. The Navy had to remove arsenic and lead from the soil and groundwater. The city had contracts with two developers before the current one. One jumped ship, and one was booted. But the slow and deliberate pace the Navy and city have been on is not necessarily a bad thing, the current master developer said. (KQED)
Mayor celebrates progress bringing permitting into the digital age - Mayor Daniel Lurie is celebrating the progress that The City has made in developing a digital permitting system that added a key feature for building contractors this month and is expected to roll out more functions by summer’s end […] “We’re seeing strong adoption, faster processing, and more flexibility for applicants, exactly what San Francisco needs to move projects forward,” Lurie said. (San Francisco Examiner)
Decades in the works, Brisbane development to add 2,000 housing units nears final review - The Brisbane Baylands development project, which has been in the works for over two decades, proposes adding 1,800 to 2,200 housing units, up to 7 million square feet of commercial space, and more than 100 acres of open space and amenities.
The project is nearing the last steps of the review process, which includes getting evaluations and approvals from the Brisbane Planning Commission and the City Council. (Local News Matters)
Apple promised Cupertino growth. It got that, and a pricier, more pressured city - Apple promised Cupertino prosperity with Apple Park — and the city got more money and prestige, but also pricier housing, heavier traffic and a sharper divide over who can still afford to live there. (Mercury News)
Survey Finds Housing Affordability a Top Priority for Sacramento Region - Housing affordability remains the dominant economic concern across California’s Capital Region, with a new public opinion survey finding that seven in 10 residents want their communities to do more to address rising costs and limited access to homes. (Davis Vanguard)
As e-bikes surge across the Bay Area, deaths and injuries reveal a gap in oversight – A 13-year-old boy died last month in an e-bike crash in East San Jose. Weeks earlier, a 4-year-old Burlingame boy was killed and a 6-year-old girl injured in a chain-reaction crash sparked by an e-bike. In Half Moon Bay, a 16-year-old boy died after crashing an electric motorcycle into a box truck. The deaths, unfolding within weeks of each other across the Bay Area, reflect a broader shift on local streets: a surge in electric bikes and motorized two-wheelers with which regulators and law enforcement are struggling to keep up. (Mercury News)
MIXTAPE
Benicia refinery fined $3.25 million for air quality violations
Dozens of trees were red-tagged for removal in West Oakland. Now the plan is on hold
Mountain View declares state of emergency as more than 60 houses remain without drinkable water
Cyclists continue push for path along western span of Bay Bridge despite high price tag
California Bill Ending Tax Break for Corporate Landlords Fails to Advance
Here’s a curious way to say ‘California homes are wildly expensive’
AND FINALLY…
Extinct butterfly at San Francisco Presidio being replaced with close relative
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The Almost Daily Briefing (ADB) is an aggregation of links to news articles from local and regional newspapers, magazines, websites, and other news sources. Its purpose is to alert readers to current issues and affairs that may impact Lafayette. The ADB does not promote, favor, disfavor, support, reject, or endorse any position, candidate, campaign, or proposition, and nothing about the ADB, including the selection, presentation, arrangement, or content of the links presented should be construed as an advocacy position.
At times, the ADB features articles from sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. The Contra Costa Library offers access to multiple newspapers online for all cardholders, including the Los Angeles Times (via the ProQuest E-Library digital resource) and the New York Times Digital. Visit the library’s website to learn how to get a library card or access digital services.
If you have questions about the ADB, please contact the City of Lafayette's Communications Analyst, Suzanne Iarla, at siarla@ci.lafayette.ca.us. You can subscribe to the ADB and learn more about Lafayette’s publications and social media sites here.
