California

California

Another eminent domain measure headed for ballot

San Francisco is about to charge forward with a game plan designed to keep the 49ers in the city instead of moving to Santa Clara, despite the team’s intention to relocate even if a new stadium is approved for Hunters Point.

Hopefully, this will be enough time for advocates of a $600 million transportation measure to rally public support.

Property rights activists are once again pushing a ballot measure aimed at restricting government’s use of eminent domain, but this time there’s a secondary target - rent-control ordinances.

A controversial bid to change long-standing height limit restrictions in Walnut Creek has failed, but the issue is not dead.

The city’s Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously rejected a challenge to height limits established when voters passed Measure A in 1985. The commission, however, agreed that the frozen height limits have handicapped redevelopment of some parcels such as the site of a vacant former co-op store at 1510 Geary Road, leaving them underutilized.

Plans presented Thursday for spending Measure D monies - if Santa Barbara County voters renew that transportation tax next year - focus on highway and road improvements in the North County.

The University of California’s governing board voted Thursday to oppose a ballot measure to boost funding for the community colleges, saying it would shrink the pool of discretionary money available from Sacramento for the state’s universities.

We’re both surprised and saddened that Measure A, the vague, voluminous and misleading communication user’s tax, was approved by Gilroy voters last week.

A local developer is challenging height restrictions that have limited building construction in Walnut Creek for more than 20 years.

Silverwing Development wants to replace a dilapidated, vacant gray building considered an eyesore on Geary Road near North Main Street with a three-story townhouse project containing as many as 85 units.

Dueling measures could be on the state ballot next June on the issue of rent control. One would repeal it — the other— protect it. Both sides are facing a petition deadline at the end of this month. ABC7 News has the story from San Francisco, which has one of the toughest rent control laws in the state.

The director of California’s high-speed rail board on Wednesday defended his recommendation of the Pacheco Pass as the primary route for bullet trains to the San Francisco Bay area, saying it was more efficient and environmentally sound.

People who live in Los Gatos can expect a bruising campaign as the question of whether the town should build a skateboard park goes to the voters.

Despite strong opposition from nearby homeowners, the town council last week agreed to put the issue on the Feb. 5 presidential primary election ballot.

A ballot measure adding an estimated $300 million a year in guaranteed state funding to California’s public schools and community colleges may get opposition from an unlikely quarter - the University of California and California State University systems.

In the battle over gay rights, this fall was supposed to be a slow period, almost like a political time-out. Both sides were expected to spend the next few months preparing for a California Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is reportedly exploring the possibility of a ballot measure next year designed get uninsured motorists off the state’s roads and highways. Industry sources confirmed the development initially reported in newspaper accounts quoting a consultant who advised Poizner on his successful 2006 commissioner campaign, Wayne Johnson of Sacramento, Calif.-based JohnsonClark Associates.