Chris Pederson
@chpederson.bsky.social
Enviro who loves cities. Transit fan. Former chief counsel at California Coastal Commission
I think we should take another run at repealing Prop 13 for non-residential properties, but this time coupled with a sweetener, such as a cut to the statewide sales tax.
December 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I think we should take another run at repealing Prop 13 for non-residential properties, but this time coupled with a sweetener, such as a cut to the statewide sales tax.
And a liar, too.
December 10, 2025 at 6:54 AM
And a liar, too.
Thanks to SB 951, San Francisco is now treated the same as other coastal cities. Simplifying somewhat, projects in coastal cities that are inland of the first public road, more than 300' from the beach, & more than 100' from a wetland aren't appealable to the Coastal Commission.
December 6, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Thanks to SB 951, San Francisco is now treated the same as other coastal cities. Simplifying somewhat, projects in coastal cities that are inland of the first public road, more than 300' from the beach, & more than 100' from a wetland aren't appealable to the Coastal Commission.
Here you go: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNa... It was from the 2023-24 legislative session.
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
December 6, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Here you go: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNa... It was from the 2023-24 legislative session.
FYI the Safeway near Ocean Beach is in the coastal zone, but - thanks in part to SB 951 (Wiener) - outside the Coastal Commission's appellate jurisdiction. The Commission won't have authority over it unless for some reason it requires an LCP amendment.
December 6, 2025 at 1:48 AM
FYI the Safeway near Ocean Beach is in the coastal zone, but - thanks in part to SB 951 (Wiener) - outside the Coastal Commission's appellate jurisdiction. The Commission won't have authority over it unless for some reason it requires an LCP amendment.
That would be quite something considering that it's far outside the Coastal Commission's jurisdiction. (BCDC has jurisdiction over the bay. The Coastal Commission's jurisdiction in San Francisco doesn't extend east of Land's End.)
December 6, 2025 at 1:26 AM
That would be quite something considering that it's far outside the Coastal Commission's jurisdiction. (BCDC has jurisdiction over the bay. The Coastal Commission's jurisdiction in San Francisco doesn't extend east of Land's End.)
My household has owned a plug-in hybrid for almost 12 years. We bought it when EV options were very limited and expensive. The vast majority of our driving has been in electric mode, though the gas back-up has come in handy from time to time, especially in areas where charging options are limited.
December 1, 2025 at 7:23 PM
My household has owned a plug-in hybrid for almost 12 years. We bought it when EV options were very limited and expensive. The vast majority of our driving has been in electric mode, though the gas back-up has come in handy from time to time, especially in areas where charging options are limited.
Res ispa loquitur
November 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Res ispa loquitur
Other socially and environmentally beneficial programs currently paid by ratepayers should also be paid by taxpayers, e.g., subsidies for low-income ratepayers and for residential solar panels.
November 24, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Other socially and environmentally beneficial programs currently paid by ratepayers should also be paid by taxpayers, e.g., subsidies for low-income ratepayers and for residential solar panels.
That’s a typo. It ran over a cat.
November 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
That’s a typo. It ran over a cat.
I was a Tolkien fanatic in my teens (decades before the movies came out). I can't get my head around Nazgul-like tech overlords invoking Tolkien. Have any of them actually read the books? Or do they just compulsively replay the bloated battle scenes from the movies?
October 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I was a Tolkien fanatic in my teens (decades before the movies came out). I can't get my head around Nazgul-like tech overlords invoking Tolkien. Have any of them actually read the books? Or do they just compulsively replay the bloated battle scenes from the movies?
Generally speaking, measures that are put on the ballot by a public agency can be subject to CEQA (depending on the topic of the ballot measure). Measures that are put on the ballot via citizen petition are not.
October 21, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Generally speaking, measures that are put on the ballot by a public agency can be subject to CEQA (depending on the topic of the ballot measure). Measures that are put on the ballot via citizen petition are not.
Did the committee vote on any amendments? Or were they all punted until Nov. 3rd?
October 21, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Did the committee vote on any amendments? Or were they all punted until Nov. 3rd?
I hate IPAs. I don't mind that almost every bar on the west coast gives patrons the choice of many different IPAs. I do mind that they give so few choices to patrons who don't like IPAs.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 AM
I hate IPAs. I don't mind that almost every bar on the west coast gives patrons the choice of many different IPAs. I do mind that they give so few choices to patrons who don't like IPAs.
It's academic at this point (at least for Emeryville), but SB 79's definition of commuter rail excludes Amtrak's long-distance routes.
October 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
It's academic at this point (at least for Emeryville), but SB 79's definition of commuter rail excludes Amtrak's long-distance routes.
I much prefer reading the transcript of a video podcast to watching one. It takes much less time. If a podcast doesn't produce a transcript, then I ignore it. Apparently I'm a minuscule minority, though.
October 15, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I much prefer reading the transcript of a video podcast to watching one. It takes much less time. If a podcast doesn't produce a transcript, then I ignore it. Apparently I'm a minuscule minority, though.
Plus 5 San Joaquin round trips, 10 individual trains
October 15, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Plus 5 San Joaquin round trips, 10 individual trains
And back in the good ol’ days, crime rates were much higher
October 11, 2025 at 5:48 PM
And back in the good ol’ days, crime rates were much higher
I suspect people are interpreting the definition that way, but I don't think the definition compels that interpretation. I don't see why stations on portions of a line that operate like heavy rail should be treated like light rail simply because other portions of the line operate like light rail.
October 11, 2025 at 12:14 AM
I suspect people are interpreting the definition that way, but I don't think the definition compels that interpretation. I don't see why stations on portions of a line that operate like heavy rail should be treated like light rail simply because other portions of the line operate like light rail.
How about getting rid of the tariffs instead?
October 7, 2025 at 12:06 AM
How about getting rid of the tariffs instead?