Development Approvals

A New Player in Planning Los Angeles: Marqueece Harris-Dawson
The new chair of the Planning and Land Use Management committee of the Los Angeles City Council will influence how the city grapples with homelessness, an expanding rail system, and the 2028 Olympics.

More Planning Staff Needed to Keep Up With the Amazon Boom in Northern Virginia
The arrival of Amazon's HQ2 facility in Northern Virginia is expected to multiply development investment in the area, requiring more planners to review project proposals.

By-Right Approval for Affordable Housing Projects Proposed in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor London Breed is fighting hard to make it easier to develop affordable housing in the cost-impacted city. A fight will likely be required.
10-Story Apartment Project Tests the Limits of Minneapolis' New Comprehensive Plan
A proposed development in Minneapolis would add affordable units in exchange for extra height. A neighborhood group worries about the precedent the project would set.

Corruption Investigations Sullies L.A.'s Downtown Development Success Story
Bombshell revelations about an FBI investigation into corruption and conspiracy in Los Angeles City Hall made the news recently. At the center of the story is development financing from Chinese companies.

Neighbors Demanded a Wall Around a Habitat for Humanity Development in Florida
Habitat for Humanity agreed to build a wall around 166 new affordable homes as a necessary compromise for approval.

New York Approves a New 'Union Square Tech Training Center'
The Union Square Tech Training Center overcame concerns about overdevelopment in the neighborhood.
Google Headquarters Expansion Trips Near the Finish Line
Negotiations between the city of Mountain View and tech giant Google over the latter's plans to expand its headquarters recently took a strange turn.

A Quick Look at State-By-State Building Permit Data
Building permit data provides a barometer of the development market, which is a reflection of development processes and planning regimes. The arc of the country's housing construction trends bends toward Texas.
Georgia City Decides One Approval is Enough for Some Variances
Grayson, Atlanta exemplifies the kind of administrative considerations that can make or break development approval processes.

San Francisco Rejects Environmental Review for Lack of Gentrification Analysis
In what could be a first, but potential not a last, the power of the California Environmental Quality Act was invoked in San Francisco with regard to concerns about gentrification.

Facebook Campus Expansion Moving Forward in Menlo Park
A proposal to expand Facebook's footprint in the city of Menlo park gained key approval from the city's planning commission recently. The full City Council still needs to approve the plan.

Denver Planning Department Hiring to Keep Up With Permit Backlog
As Denver's development industry achieves post-recession levels of activity, the city's Department of Community Planning and Development needs staff for pre-recession levels of capacity.
Pagination
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research