Del Mar hires legal counsel for housing
Del Mar City Hall
Feb. 3, 2021 10:55 AM PT
The Del Mar City Council has enlisted a specialized legal counsel to help the city navigate housing-related issues that have drawn warnings from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), including a referendum seeking to overturn a recent zoning change.
The city will pay up to $20,000 from the General Fund contingency for the new counsel, land use attorney Barbara E. Kautz from Goldfarb & Lipman.
Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland and City Councilwoman Tracy Martinez, who serve as the council’s Housing Subcommittee, met with Kautz to discuss the city’s upcoming decisions on housing.
Newport Beach City Council approves 4400 Von Karman housing development
A rendering of the proposed Residences at 4400 Von Karman development.
(Courtesy of city of Newport Beach)
By Matt SzaboStaff Writer
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The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve a development agreement of a planned residential project near John Wayne Airport.
Known as Residences at 4400 Von Karman, the 13-acre project was approved 6-0 following a public hearing. Councilman Will O’Neill recused himself due to his membership at the nearby Pacific Club.
A full reading of the adopted resolutions and ordinances will take place at the next City Council meeting on Feb. 9.
Great Start to 2021
Housing advocates have had a lot to celebrate. President Biden’s Executive Order extended the national eviction moratorium through March and a longer extension with increased tenant protections is on the horizon. In addition, flawed rent relief procedures issued by the Trump Administration to access the $25 billion already allocated were tossed and will soon be replaced. Biden ended his first week raising the FEMA reimbursement rate for housing the unhoused in hotels from 75% to 100% that’s a game changer for cities struggling to address homelessness.
Last week also saw the National Low Income Housing Coalition and over 2000 groups ramp up a national drive for significantly increased federal housing funding. I’ve followed national housing politics since Jimmy Carter’s presidency; this is the first time I recall “affordable housing” being highlighted by top officials on the first day of a new presidency.
SCAG Rejects Cities’ Appeals, Upholds Santa Ana Housing Allocation
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has rejected an appeal by four Orange County cities to shift state-mandated housing allocation requirements to Santa Ana.
The cities of Irvine, Yorba Linda, Newport Beach, and Garden Grove contested the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) quotas, arguing that Santa Ana should be required to build an additional 10,000 housing units.
The SCAG RHNA Appeals Board on Jan. 15 voted unanimously to deny all four appeals and upheld previous quotas requiring Santa Ana to zone land to accommodate 3,087 new housing units. The group is currently meeting to decide where affordable housing will be built in the region through October 2029.