Butsko Utility Design

Creating more livable communities

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:55:07 +0000

San Francisco Chronicle
Tired of long commutes, heart-stopping gas bills and brown air? Private developers, local governments and the state of California are working on an answer. It’s called infill development. It strives to build the next generation of California’s housing in neighborhoods that are well-planned, walkable, have parks and green spaces, are near jobs and public transportation, and have shopping close enough that you don’t have to start up the minivan to get a quart of milk. This kind of development depends on government policies that promote infill development. Today, the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission will vote on such a policy. The MTC will recommend the amount of greenhouse-gas emission reductions our region should attempt to achieve through better planning and transportation.

Sacramento County may suspend local panels’ land-use power

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:55:07 +0000

Sacramento Bee
Facing a tide of incorporation drives, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors decided four years ago to give local communities more say over land-use issues. The idea proved popular – of the four communities given decision-making powers, only one, Arden Arcade, continued pushing for cityhood. But that may change today, when the supervisors are scheduled to suspend the powers of the four community planning commissions for one year – blaming it on the recession and limited revenue. County officials say that given current fiscal constraints, they can’t afford to provide the staff the commissions require – from planners to clerks to county counsel.

Small step for housing, big step for Redwood City’s effort to provide it

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:55:07 +0000

Contra Costa Times
Redwood City arguably has tried harder than many of its neighboring Peninsula cities to provide needed housing, but its efforts to deliver have often landed it in court. The city council approved a major downtown development plan in 2007 calling for thousands of new housing units, but the blueprint has been stuck in limbo ever since a property owner successfully sued to have it tossed. Then last summer the council approved a 21-unit condo project on Kentfield Avenue, only to see a neighbor sue to put that plan on hold. But this week, council members finally may see a project move from the paper phase to actual construction, albeit a relatively small one. In settling a lawsuit, the council has paved the way for a nine-home subdivision on Finger Avenue.

Sacramento County may open 20,000 acres to development

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:54:05 +0000

Sacramento Bee
Despite a home construction collapse caused by the recession, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is considering opening 20,000 acres of land to future development. Supporters say supervisors are being sage, freeing space for the region and its economy to grow. Detractors say they are abdicating their primary responsibility: to engineer transit-friendly "smart growth" over sprawl. But the draft plan update is based largely on pre-recession growth projections that the county would need an additional 100,000 housing units by 2030. Development proponents say that if recent history is an indicator, projections fluctuate wildly and could easily spike again, said John Costa, the North State Building Industry Association’s senior legislative advocate.

Villaraigosa nominates LoGrande to head planning department

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:54:05 +0000

Los Angeles Daily News
A new era in planning for Los Angeles began Monday with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa nominating a 15-year city veteran to serve as the new planning director. Michael LoGrande, 39, who most recently served as chief zoning administrator, was nominated to succeed S. Gail Goldberg as head of the department, which has undergone severe budgetary problems in recent years. "What I hope I can do is get people to understand the planning process and get involved," LoGrande said following a City Hall news conference announcing his appointment.

Another attempt at San Mateo Highlands housing

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:54:05 +0000

San Mateo Daily Journal
A proposal to construct houses in a steep section of the San Mateo Highlands now in its eighth year in the public planning process is heading back to county officials who, this time, want the public to help review the latest revisions. The project, known as Ascension Heights, is proposed for a 13.25-acre section approximately a quarter-mile from the College of San Mateo and bordered by Bel Aire Road, Ascension Drive and single family homes. The first proposal was for 26 houses and one 40-unit condominium on 97 acres — a plan that in 2004 worried the community about landslides like one that tumbled homes on Rainbow Drive. The developer is creating another scaled-down version. The latest proposal called for 25 single-family dwellings on 27 parcels.

Nation’s Home Prices Increase in May

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:54:05 +0000

Home prices were up across the country in May for the second straight month, with 19 of 20 cities showing gains in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, the Associated Press reports. Read more.
More industry news

Submission Period Opens for BALA

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:54:04 +0000

Entries are being accepted until Sept. 1 for NAHB’s Best in American Living Awards, which recognize residential design excellence in 32 different categories. Read more.
Judging criteria, entry details

Cannery developer wants senior housing

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:51:28 +0000

Santa Rosa Press Democrat
The developer of a transit-oriented project at Railroad Square wants to shift the location of affordable housing units in an attempt to jump-start a companion project. The John Stewart Co. is asking the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency for permission to move 68 senior housing units from the “transit village” on SMART’s property to the adjacent Cannery project Stewart also owns. Doing so could get the Cannery project going because financing is available for affordable housing, and a tenant, Club One Fitness Center, is lined up to take a major share of the building, said John Stewart, the company’s chairman. Railroad Square residents, however, are looking for a guarantee that if the units are moved, that someone won’t come back in the future and demand more affordable housing on the SMART project.

National builders buy Santa Rosa subdivisions

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:51:28 +0000

Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More than 300 homesites in six Santa Rosa subdivisions remain vacant three years after construction began, reminders of the housing industry’s steep economic tumble. Most were locally owned projects that stalled once builders ran out of cash. Now the landscape may be changing as national players enter the market and pick up where the locals left off. This month, two national companies purchased home sites in subdivisions south of the Sonoma County Fairgrounds that once were owned by Christopherson Homes. Miami-based Lennar Homes, the nation’s third-largest home builder, already is advertising sales in the Linwood Village subdivision.