California’s perpetual dearth of housing and the state’s ongoing efforts to address that situation have been featured regularly in this blog. Concerns over this predicament have extended to the highest levels of California government: In 2017, Gavin Newsom promised to “lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025” if he were elected … [Read more...] about More legislative approaches to California’s housing crisis heading down the pike
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News and updates on Opportunity Zones
Last November, I wrote a piece here about Opportunity Zones, a feature of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act geared towards spurring new capital investment in specific low-income areas by providing capital gains deferral, reduction and avoidance for long-term infusions of working capital in these selected regions. In that article, I noted that the IRS had issued proposed regulations … [Read more...] about News and updates on Opportunity Zones
San Jose’s energy and water use benchmarking program for large commercial and multifamily buildings starts soon
California’s policymakers have long been advocates of sustainability, especially regarding energy and water use, mainly for reasons of necessity. Towards this end, back in 2007, the state’s lawmakers enacted AB 1103, which imposed energy consumption benchmarking obligations for nonresidential buildings. In 2015, due to the difficulties in putting these requirements into effect, … [Read more...] about San Jose’s energy and water use benchmarking program for large commercial and multifamily buildings starts soon
Palo Alto reverses course on commercial development cap
Some time back, I wrote about the City of Palo Alto’s struggles in addressing the amount of commercial development it should allow, in grappling with the ongoing disparity between employment growth and housing in Silicon Valley. Since then, city government has continued to wrestle with this problem, adopting a variety of tactics in its efforts to bridge this gap, including … [Read more...] about Palo Alto reverses course on commercial development cap
Are we seeing a rash of ADA issues in Silicon Valley?
Enacted in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is a landmark paradigm of U.S. civil rights legislation, modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to bar discrimination against and ensure opportunities for people with disabilities. While the goals of this law are unquestionably laudable, however, its implementation in practice has produced mixed results. … [Read more...] about Are we seeing a rash of ADA issues in Silicon Valley?