Issue Archive

active • Green Spaces

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

Despite its dense urban fabric, Daly City is making meaningful investments in parks and open space — a quality-of-life priority for a city where residents have limited private outdoor space. The city recently celebrated the ribbon cutting o…

active • Ethnic Communities

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

Daly City is home to the largest concentration of Filipinos of any city in the United States — a demographic identity that shapes everything from the city's food culture and commercial corridors to its civic organizations and political repr…

active • Traffic & Congestion

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

Daly City has committed to eliminating serious and fatal traffic crashes by 2035 through its Vision Zero Action Plan — but progress has been difficult in one of the most densely populated and heavily trafficked cities on the Peninsula. The …

active • Development

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

The 22-acre Serramonte Del Rey campus redevelopment is the most consequential development project in Daly City's recent history — and it is finally moving from planning to construction. The project, led by the Jefferson Union High School Di…

active • Emergency Management

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

San Carlos is actively engaging residents in planning for the full spectrum of natural hazards facing the Peninsula — a process that has become more urgent as climate-driven storms, sea level rise, and wildfire risk intensify simultaneously…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

San Carlos finalized its Downtown Specific Plan in January 2026 and is now racing to turn vision into reality. The Downtown Specific Plan, adopted by second reading on January 26, 2026 and effective February 25, 2026, prioritizes enhancing …

active • Fiscal Policy

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

San Carlos is heading toward a fiscal decision point that will define its infrastructure capacity for years to come. The city is moving toward a November 2026 ballot measure for a 0.5-cent sales tax to address a growing unfunded infrastruct…

active • Development

Last activity: Jun 6, 2026

San Carlos is on the verge of adopting the most significant land use document in the city's recent history. The City Council will hold a public hearing on June 8, 2026 to consider adopting the Northeast Area Specific Plan — a framework gove…

active • Emergency Management

Last activity: Jun 5, 2026

Millbrae is updating its Urban Water Management Plan — a state-required planning document that assesses long-term water supply reliability — with a public hearing scheduled for June 9, 2026. The update comes at a moment of genuine uncertain…

active • Elections & Civic Process

Last activity: Jun 5, 2026

Millbrae is navigating an unexpected governance transition at a critical moment in the city's development history. Mayor Reuben D. Holober announced his resignation from both the Mayorship and City Council to pursue a new career opportunity…

active • Development

Last activity: Jun 5, 2026

Millbrae sits atop one of the most extraordinary transit assets in California — an intermodal station where BART, Caltrain, and eventually high-speed rail converge — and the city is finally moving to build a true transit village around it. …

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

San Bruno's downtown San Mateo Avenue corridor has been the subject of repeated beautification initiatives, but the city's fiscal constraints keep bumping up against the cost of meaningful transformation. An original downtown improvement pl…

active • Traffic & Congestion

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

Traffic safety is one of the most urgent quality-of-life concerns in San Bruno — and a rash of high-profile accidents in late 2025 accelerated the issue to the top of the City Council's agenda. The City Council designated traffic safety and…

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

San Bruno is facing one of the most serious fiscal emergencies of any city in San Mateo County. The city's five-year financial forecast shows significant revenue losses driven by a sluggish economy, VLF replacement revenue shortfalls, and s…

active • Elections & Civic Process

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

Burlingame's November 2026 City Council elections will be only the second under its new district-based system — and at least one race is already shaping up as genuinely competitive. District 3 will feature a contested race, with both candid…

active • Mental Health

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

Burlingame has become the latest battleground in San Mateo County's struggle to site a desperately needed mental health treatment facility. After facing fierce opposition from residents to a proposed treatment facility location in San Mateo…

active

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

The Broadway Avenue at-grade rail crossing is one of the most dangerous and congested in the entire state — and a massive grade separation project is now finally within reach. The at-grade crossing at Broadway has been identified as the sec…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

Burlingame's Broadway district has endured a painful year — and its recovery is far from assured. In early January 2026, a petroleum product from a third-party source leaked into PG&E electric vaults in the Broadway area, causing multi-day …

active • Housing

Last activity: Jun 4, 2026

Burlingame has made meaningful progress on its RHNA obligation of 3,257 units by 2031 — but that progress masks a deep imbalance. The city has approved nearly 40% of its total RHNA units, but almost all are above-moderate income housing — i…

active • Stormwater & Flooding

Last activity: Jun 2, 2026

The City Council's top self-identified priority for FY 2026–27 is climate action — mitigation, adaptation, and resilience — reflecting Menlo Park's genuine and growing physical vulnerability to sea level rise, flooding, and extreme heat. Th…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Jun 2, 2026

Menlo Park's most contentious near-term planning battle centers on whether to redevelop the city's downtown surface parking lots — all 556 public parking spaces — into affordable housing while maintaining public parking access. The city iss…

active • Housing

Last activity: Jun 2, 2026

Menlo Park is making genuine progress on housing production — but that progress is deeply uneven. As of the end of 2025, Menlo Park had already permitted nearly 60% of its required higher-income units but had permitted a much smaller share …

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: Jun 1, 2026

Like every city in San Mateo County, Foster City is squeezed by the countywide vehicle license fee (VLF) replacement revenue shortfall that is draining millions from local general funds annually. Foster City's general fund is relatively lea…

active • Housing

Last activity: Jun 1, 2026

Foster City faces a new pressure from SB 79 — the state's transit-oriented housing law taking effect July 1, 2026 — despite not having a Caltrain station of its own. The city is served by SamTrans bus routes connecting to the Hillsdale Calt…

active • Elections & Civic Process

Last activity: Jun 1, 2026

Foster City is making a historic governance transition in 2026 — its first-ever district-based elections after decades of at-large Council seats. At a public hearing on December 2, 2025, the City Council adopted a district map and finalized…

active • Stormwater & Flooding

Last activity: Jun 1, 2026

Foster City completed the largest public works project in its history in February 2024 — a multi-year levee improvement program that is already earning national recognition. The Levee Improvements Project has been recognized by the Floodpla…

active • Housing

Last activity: Jun 1, 2026

Foster City is in a housing production emergency. Two years into the 2023–2031 RHNA cycle, Foster City has completed just 73 of the 1,896 homes it is required to plan for and has approved only 38 new units — roughly 3 to 4 percent of its st…

active • Elections & Civic Process

Last activity: May 27, 2026

The 2026 San Francisco Supervisor elections are among the most consequential local races anywhere in California. Five Supervisor races will be on the November ballot — and whether moderates can maintain their slim Board majority, won in the…

active • Housing

Last activity: May 27, 2026

San Francisco has a state-mandated RHNA obligation of 82,069 new units by 2031 — the largest allocation in the city's history. Progress has been deeply uneven: in 2024, nearly two-thirds of SF's housing production was affordable — but the a…

active • Immigration

Last activity: May 27, 2026

San Francisco is at the front lines of the national battle over sanctuary city policies and federal funding. Federal funding accounted for 6% of San Francisco's general fund for the last full fiscal year ending June 2025 — nearly $1 billion…

active • Transit

Last activity: May 27, 2026

San Francisco's Muni system is in the worst financial crisis in its history, and the approved budget is a triage measure, not a recovery. The SFMTA Board in April 2026 unanimously approved a balanced two-year operating budget of $1.5 billio…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: May 27, 2026

San Francisco's downtown office vacancy problem is the worst of any major American city — and it drives everything from Muni's financial crisis to retail closures to the city's tax revenue shortfall. The city's office vacancy rate has hover…

active • Public Safety

Last activity: May 27, 2026

Despite years of enforcement operations, open-air drug use remains the most visible symbol of San Francisco's urban crisis. After a record 806 overdose deaths in 2023, deaths declined 21% in 2024 to 635 — but rates began rising again in 202…

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: May 27, 2026

San Francisco's fiscal crisis looms over every other issue in the city. The city's projected two-year General Fund shortfall for FY 2026–27 and FY 2027–28 stands at $642.8 million — an improvement from a prior projection of $817.5 million, …

active • Development

Last activity: May 26, 2026

Redwood City's bayfront is the site of one of the most consequential development negotiations on the Peninsula. The City Council created a dedicated subcommittee in February 2026 to negotiate a major waterfront development agreement — a sig…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: May 26, 2026

Redwood City is in the middle of one of the most ambitious long-range planning processes on the Peninsula. The Greater Downtown Area Plan, which City Council reviewed in its first meeting of 2026, is a 25-year land use, economic development…

active • Homelessness

Last activity: May 26, 2026

Redwood City is taking a more structured, outcomes-focused approach to homelessness than most Peninsula cities. The City Council in February 2026 approved a two-year, $1.215 million contract with LifeMoves for encampment outreach, case mana…

active • Housing

Last activity: May 26, 2026

Redwood City is one of the most active housing producers on the Peninsula, but affordability remains a stubborn challenge. City Council reported in March 2026 that Redwood City issued building permits for 490 homes in 2025 and 1,321 homes s…

active • Housing

Last activity: May 25, 2026

San Mateo is one of the most expensive rental markets in the country, and the City Council took a significant step in December 2025 to protect existing tenants. The Council adopted a new Residential Tenant Protection Program, which requires…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: May 25, 2026

Downtown San Mateo is one of the strongest performing downtowns on the Peninsula, but it faces real headwinds from post-pandemic office vacancy, retail evolution, and the pressure of new high-density development along its edges. San Mateo's…

active • Stormwater & Flooding

Last activity: May 25, 2026

Flooding is one of San Mateo's most persistent and costly quality-of-life challenges, and its aging stormwater system is increasingly unable to handle intensifying storms. The city estimates it needs approximately $9 million per year to str…

active • Historic Preservation

Last activity: May 25, 2026

San Mateo is engaged in one of the most consequential — and contentious — historic preservation policy debates on the Peninsula. The City Council held an emotional January 26, 2026 study session dominated by broad concerns over property rig…

active • Development

Last activity: May 25, 2026

San Mateo has more to gain — and more to lose — from SB 79 than almost any other Peninsula city, with two Caltrain stations (Hayward Park and San Mateo) and dense El Camino Real frontage squarely in the law's half-mile radius. SB 79 takes e…

active • Development

Last activity: May 25, 2026

El Camino Real — Belmont's primary commercial and transit spine — is simultaneously the city's most important economic corridor and one of its most dangerous roads for pedestrians and cyclists. With substantial housing planned along El Cami…

active • Traffic & Congestion

Last activity: May 25, 2026

Belmont's hillside neighborhoods — governed by the Hillside Residential and Open Space (HRO) zoning districts — sit on some of the Peninsula's most geologically complex and slope-prone terrain. The HRO districts are subject to geologic and …

active • Housing

Last activity: May 25, 2026

Despite significant rezoning activity along its El Camino Real corridor, Belmont has not yet met its state-mandated RHNA targets for low and very-low-income housing. The California Department of Housing and Community Development has determi…

active • Development

Last activity: May 25, 2026

Belmont sits squarely in the path of SB 79, California's new transit-oriented housing law, with its Caltrain station at 995 El Camino Real serving as a Tier 1 qualifying stop. SB 79, which takes effect July 1, 2026, overrides local height a…

active • Police Accountability

Last activity: May 24, 2026

San Mateo County is still working through the fallout of one of the most dramatic law enforcement governance crises in the Bay Area in recent memory. In May 2025, an independent investigation found evidence of conflicts of interest, misuse …

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: May 24, 2026

San Mateo County is fighting one of the most consequential — and least publicized — fiscal injustices in California. The dispute centers on "in-lieu VLF" replacement funding that counties and cities receive tied to a vehicle license fee red…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Gilroy is pursuing a generational reinvestment in its civic core. The city has released a Draft Environmental Impact Report for a Civic Center Master Plan that proposes demolition of the existing City Hall, Wheeler Auditorium, City Hall Ann…

active • Traffic & Congestion

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

A tragic fatal accident in January 2026 that claimed two lives near a Gilroy school galvanized the city and school district into action. In a joint meeting on February 4, Gilroy Unified School District board members and City Council members…

active • Government

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Gilroy is making history in 2026. The city has transitioned from at-large elections to district-based elections, and November 2026 will be the first time Gilroy residents vote by district — with Districts 4, 5, and 6 on the ballot, and cand…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Gilroy has a state-mandated RHNA obligation of approximately 1,810 units for the 2023–2031 cycle, with a commitment to 40 opportunity sites for multi-family homes, a downtown expansion district, and a First Street mixed-use corridor. But de…

active • Homelessness

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Gilroy carries a homelessness burden that few California cities its size can match. Gilroy has more than 17 unhoused residents per thousand residents — one of the highest rates in the entire Bay Area — and while the city lacks large visible…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Morgan Hill's beloved downtown is in the middle of a housing transformation that is creating genuine friction between new residents, existing businesses, and a City Council trying to balance state law compliance with small-town character. P…

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Morgan Hill is managing a slow-building fiscal challenge that its leadership is now openly addressing. Mayor Mark Turner confirmed at the April 1, 2026 City Council meeting that the city's general fund reserve is not expected to drop below …

active • Utilities

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Morgan Hill is now a defendant in a high-profile federal lawsuit that puts its climate policies directly in conflict with the Trump administration. On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in the Northern District of Ca…

active • Transit

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

One of the most emotionally resonant civic debates in Palo Alto centers on the Churchill Avenue rail crossing — and what its future means for community safety and connectivity. Residents have clashed over a proposal to close the Churchill c…

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Palo Alto is facing a structural fiscal crisis that is constraining nearly every policy decision. A long-range financial forecast presented to the City Council shows budget deficits every fiscal year through 2032, larger than previous proje…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Palo Alto is confronting a housing mandate of 6,086 units by 2031 — and the arrival of SB 79 on July 1, 2026 is dramatically raising the stakes. One of the primary concerns for city officials is the numerous historic sites in the SB 79 "spl…

active • Green Spaces

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Monte Sereno’s identity is closely tied to its natural landscape — mature trees, hillsides, and open space — but that environment is under constant pressure. Development proposals, even at small scale, can raise concerns about tree removal,…

active • Government

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Monte Sereno operates with a minimal municipal footprint, relying heavily on Santa Clara County and neighboring cities for essential services — from policing and fire protection to roads and public health. That structure keeps the city lean…

active • Environment

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Situated in the wildland-urban interface at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monte Sereno faces elevated wildfire risk. Dense vegetation, narrow hillside roads, and limited evacuation routes compound the danger — especially as climate …

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Monte Sereno has long defined itself by low-density zoning, large lots, and a quiet, semi-rural identity — but state housing mandates are forcing change. Like every city in California, Monte Sereno must plan for additional housing under the…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Saratoga is navigating two major Builder's Remedy housing applications that have galvanized community opposition and raised serious safety questions. The first is the Masson Estates project on Pierce Road: a 25-unit single-family developmen…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 30, 2026

Saratoga faces perhaps the most acute tension between state housing law and physical geography of any city in Santa Clara County. Roughly half of the city is located in the Wildland Urban Interface — the area most at risk for wildfire — and…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 29, 2026

Los Altos Hills is making a significant long-term investment in community-owned fiber optic internet infrastructure — an unusual civic project that reflects the town's commitment to self-reliance. The Los Altos Hills Community Fiber (LAHCF)…

active • Environment

Last activity: Apr 29, 2026

Wildfire is the single greatest physical threat to Los Altos Hills. The Los Altos Hills County Fire District identifies wildfires, earthquakes, power outages, storms, and landslides as the primary hazards facing the community, emphasizing t…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 29, 2026

Los Altos Hills is now the subject of active fair housing litigation — one of the most consequential civic battles in the town's history. The California Housing Defense Fund (CalHDF) filed suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court on April …

active • Traffic & Congestion

Last activity: Apr 28, 2026

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 28, 2026

Los Altos faces one of the most difficult RHNA challenges in Silicon Valley relative to its existing character. The city's current allocation is 1,958 housing units for the 2023–2031 cycle, of which 1,105 are required to be affordable — an …

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 28, 2026

Los Gatos is in an unusual and legally precarious position: the Town Council voted to rescind the Land Use Element and Community Design Element of its 2040 General Plan in April 2024, following a resident-driven referendum, leaving the town…

active • Ethnic Communities

Last activity: Apr 28, 2026

A closely watched land use and civil rights dispute has emerged around the West Valley Muslim Association (WVMA), which operates a mosque at 16769 Farley Road and applied for a conditional use permit modification to extend its operating hou…

active

Last activity: Apr 28, 2026

Los Gatos is one of the most litigated housing battlegrounds in California. The town was late in adopting a compliant Housing Element, triggering the state's "Builder's Remedy" — a mechanism that allowed developers to file projects the town…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Campbell has a state-mandated obligation to plan for 3,870 new homes by 2031, with 1,542 designated as affordable. Progress has been slow: as of its most recent annual progress report, the city had counted only 117 homes toward its state-ma…

active • Downtown Revitalization

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Campbell's beloved downtown strip on East Campbell Avenue is at an inflection point. A 90-home, five-to-six-story development proposed at 600 E. Campbell Ave. — a vacant lot sandwiched between The Pruneyard and the historic downtown core — …

active

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Even before SB 79, Campbell has been navigating a fierce fight over the Starter Homes Revitalization Act (SB 684/SB 1123), which allows up to 10 small homes on vacant residential lots. Campbell passed a policy last year that allowed develop…

active • Density & Upzoning

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

No city in Santa Clara County faces a more proportionally dramatic impact from Senate Bill 79, the new state transit-oriented housing law effective July 1, 2026, than Campbell. Campbell — covering just 6.5 square miles with a population of …

active • Mental Health

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Hillview Court, a 134-unit permanent supportive housing complex for formerly homeless residents at 1000 Hillview Court, has been the site of an alarming pattern of deaths. Milpitas police recorded multiple calls for service where people wer…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Milpitas is in the middle of one of the most ambitious urban redevelopment efforts in Santa Clara County. The Milpitas Metro Specific Plan, adopted in 2023, covers approximately 510 acres in the city's southern corridor centered on the Milp…

active • Stormwater & Flooding

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

A large swath of northern Mountain View faces serious long-term flooding risk. City projections show the Bay could rise between 23 and 42 inches by 2070, potentially flooding a large portion of the city's northern Shoreline community. The c…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

Mountain View approved the largest development project in its history in 2023: Google's North Bayshore Master Plan, covering 153 acres and including up to 7,000 housing units, 3 million square feet of office space, 26 acres of parks and ope…

active • Historic Preservation

Last activity: Apr 27, 2026

The most urgent land-use battle in Mountain View right now centers on Senate Bill 79, the state's new transit-oriented housing law. Signed by Governor Newsom in October 2025, SB 79 goes into effect July 1, 2026, and sets statewide zoning st…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 26, 2026

Cupertino's hillside and foothill neighborhoods face genuine and growing wildfire exposure, and the City Council is updating its Health and Safety General Plan element for the first time since 2014. State law now requires expanded requireme…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 26, 2026

The former Vallco Mall site is among the most watched development projects in Silicon Valley. The Rise is planned to include thousands of housing units, extensive office space, retail, and community features — but its long timeline, rising …

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 26, 2026

Cupertino is in a sustained clash with the State of California over housing production. The city has entitled 2,929 units but issued building permits for only 368 units, leaving a shortfall of 4,220 units to meet its RHNA numbers. The situ…

active • Development

Last activity: Apr 26, 2026

Traffic safety has become a quality-of-life priority for Santa Clara residents. The city has launched a "Please Slow Down" initiative to encourage lower driving speeds, with free yard signs available to residents. A recent fatal collision i…

active • Entertainment

Last activity: Apr 26, 2026

Santa Clara is the only city in the country to host both the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup in the same year City of Santa Clara — a remarkable distinction that has also put real strain on city resources and sparked political controversy…

active • Environment

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

A federal judge ruled in March 2026 that Sunnyvale violated the Clean Water Act, finding the city responsible for more than 1,200 violations involving bacteria pollution discharged from its stormwater system into Stevens Creek, Calabazas Cr…

active • Immigration

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

In one of the most watched civic actions of 2026, the Sunnyvale City Council unanimously voted to prohibit ICE agents from using city-owned property for civil immigration enforcement, joining a growing number of Santa Clara County municipal…

active • Housing

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

Sunnyvale is under mounting state pressure to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) — the mandated number of units each California city must plan for every eight years. In the current RHNA cycle, Sunnyvale has built just 272 of …

active • Transit

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is navigating a dual mandate — running a regional transit system while developing affordable housing on underutilized land near stations. Ten VTA projects currently in active development…

active • Budget Priorities

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

The county is confronting $70 million in anticipated lost federal funding it will need to backfill, with the Office of Supportive Housing facing the largest losses of $29 million. Federal Medi-Cal cuts are driving multiple departmental shor…

active • Mental Health

Last activity: Apr 25, 2026

The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department is facing a $100 million deficit for fiscal year 2026–27, driven by federal Medi-Cal cuts triggered by H.R. 1, changes in state funding, the end of one-time COVID-19 dollars, and …

active • Entertainment

Last activity: Apr 13, 2026

San Jose is preparing for a series of major national and global events in 2026. This issue tracks how those events impact tourism, downtown activity, infrastructure, and long-term economic momentum.

active • Education

Last activity: Mar 26, 2026

Several school districts serving East San Jose are grappling with significant closures and budget cuts, driven by two overlapping pressures: declining enrollment and fiscal deficits. Why closures are being considered: California has see…

active • Workforce Development

Last activity: Mar 20, 2026

On March 18, 2026, the New York Times published a bombshell investigation alleging that Cesar Chavez — the revered founder of the United Farm Workers and one of the most celebrated Latino civil rights icons in American history — sexually ab…