What I’m Reading
Delay Tactics: Planning departments in California cities are going to great effort to try to comply with California’s new housing mandates. Unions and environmental groups are using CEQA to stifle those efforts. Two stalled projects in my hometown of Newport Beach illustrate the problem. OC Register
Latest Excuse: Several major employers are pushing back their office return plans yet again, this time due to the omicron variant. The group most impacted will be the small businesses that rely on office employees. Wall Street Journal
Pile Up: Contrary to recent reports, trucking association officials say that the empty container situation at LA area ports is getting worse due to a shortage of productivity and efficiency – not drivers and trucks. Bloomberg
In the Dark: So-called dark stores – fulfillment centers in urban centers, which stock goods that a traditional convenience store would, deploying data and technology to determine where and what to sell – are raising billions in VC capital. As seen earlier in the coworking space, the key will be balancing growth with operating leverage. Globe Street
Civil War: California laws that essentially get rid of single family zoning local control over many land use decisions are set to take effect in 2022. However, recent polling illustrates that residents are still largely in favor of local control of these decisions. A signature drive for a proposition to make local control permanent is under way. NBC News My best guess is that it passes.
Chart of the Day
This should be yet another tailwind for the industrial market.
Source: Green Street
WTF
Surprise Ending: A married man who was being blackmailed for having an affair (allegedly) hired a crew to kill the blackmailers. MSN
Tis the Season: A man was arrested for slapping an elderly Salvation Army bell ringer in the head for no reason because Florida. Tampa Free Press
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related.
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