The release — which includes all of Southern California and marks the end of the agency’s two-month, statewide rollout — sets off a roughly five-month clock for L.A. city and county to receive public input, make adjustments, and begin enforcing heightened fire-safety regulations within the new zones.

The new Cal Fire maps are only for areas where local fire departments, like the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department, are responsible for responding to blazes. Previously, Cal Fire only mapped the highest severity rating, “very high,” for these local responsibility areas. The new maps include Cal Fire’s “moderate” and “high” zones as well.

New fire hazard zones for Los Angeles and Southern California

Local responsibility areas (proposed)

Cal Fire most recently updated all three zones for the areas where the state responds to fires in September 2023. However, the last time the agency updated its maps for areas where local fire departments are responsible was in 2011.

The city of L.A. saw its acreage in the “very high” zone increase by 7%. The addition of the new “moderate” and “high” zones led to the total acreage in the fire severity hazard zones increasing by 24%.

The unincorporated areas in L.A. County that rely on LACFD, however, saw their acreage in the “very high” zone more than triple. Much of the unincorporated areas — which make up over 65% of the county and include Altadena, the outskirts of Santa Clarita and Palmdale areas and Puente Hills near Whittier — are wildlands or exist at the wildland-urban interface, which are more prone to fire.

“Today’s release of updated hazard assessment maps from Cal Fire … underlines the ongoing wildfire crisis that California is experiencing,” Rep. George Whitesides (D-Agua Dulce) said in a statement. “We must act fast and at scale to protect our communities and make sure insurance markets work for everyone.”

With the rollout complete, California as a whole now has more “very high” hazard zone acres than ever before. Cal Fire mapped a grand total of 6.8 million acres into the local responsibility area hazard zones: “very high” zones grew 35%, from 860,000 acres to nearly 1.2 million; meanwhile, 1.2 million and 4.5 million acres were placed into the new “high” and “moderate” zones, respectively.

The hazard severity zone maps are referenced in more than 50 sections of California law. They require homeowners in “high” and “very high” hazard zones to follow fire-safe building codes for new construction — including installing multi-pane windows that are less likely to break in extreme heat and covering vents and other openings to prevent embers from entering the house. Homeowners in the “very high” zones must maintain defensible space around their properties and disclose the “very high” status when they put their houses up for sale

The legislature has also required local governments in heightened severity zones to routinely review evacuation routes and account for the potential peak stress on water supplies during a disaster. Local governments must also locate essential public facilities like hospitals and emergency command centers outside of heightened fire hazard zones “when feasible,” according to the law.

Cal Fire originally planned to release the maps in mid-January; however the L.A. firestorms that month forced the agency to delay as it moved significant scientific resources to supporting the firefight and relief efforts.

In the new maps, the Pacific Palisades and Malibu remain blanketed under a red “very high” zone, just as they did in Cal Fire’s old maps from 2011. Altadena, on the other hand, remains largely unzoned, indicating a hazard lower than “moderate,” just as it did in the old maps.

An analysis by The Times found that only 21% of the properties within the Eaton fire’s perimeter were designated as having “very high” fire hazard. Yet, an independent assessment by the public-benefit company First Street had identified 94% as having “severe” or “extreme” wildfire risk, meaning they had at least a 1 in 7 chance of experiencing wildfire in a 30-year window.

Cal Fire research manager David Sapsis, who oversees the agency’s mapping efforts, acknowledged that the models Cal Fire uses to create its maps cannot fully predict the dynamic spread of wildfire into urban areas. Cal Fire’s model instead accounts for the vegetation type, topology, climate and weather for wildland areas to calculate the probability of an area burning and the likely intensity of the blaze. From this, it calculates how far a blaze would likely spill over into urban areas.

The team also intentionally chose to leave out what it calls “outlier” events like the 2017 Tubbs fire, because, they said, it would have led to overly conservative zoning. Another outlier event: the Eaton fire, which, like the Tubbs fire, was driven by relentless, powerful winds that drove the blaze deep into a populated area.

First Street approaches it somewhat differently. The company creates a virtual representation of California that includes both vegetation and human infrastructure of the state’s urban areas, and simulates how fires would likely spread, including into areas like Altadena. If Cal Fire’s model is a snapshot of how fire acts, First Street’s is a motion picture.

Sapsis acknowledged he’d like to use newer approaches like First Street’s in the future. For its 2025 maps, Cal Fire made only slight modifications to its model, including the use of more up-to-date climate and extreme weather data. It also used a new model for estimating how far embers can bring fire into developed areas.

Other changes in the real world — such as new housing developments that changed an area’s classification from wildland to urban — also resulted in modifications to the Cal Fire maps.

In the latest release — comprising all of Southern California, including San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties — the cities of Hesperia and Jurupa Valley saw the most significant percentage increase in acres zoned, with the cities’ total averages in hazard zones increasing more than 35- and 45-fold, respectively. Jurupa Valley saw its “very high” zone expand from 226 acres to 6,195. Hesperia’s grew from 715 to 15,359.

The cities of Chino Hills, Lancaster and Santa Clarita saw significant increases in their “very high” zones; in all three cities, the zones grew by more than 13,000 acres.

The number of acres zoned as “very high” in San Diego decreased by nearly 30%; however, its total acreage in hazard zones still slightly increased thanks to the new “moderate” and “high” zones.

Only a handful of cities across the state saw decreases in the total acreage zoned, including Rancho Palos Verdes in L.A. County and Oakland in the Bay Area.

“I’ll be quite honest with you, before these maps were produced, I thought the very high fire severity zones were really going to reach deep deep down into Altadena, and they haven’t,” said LACFD Deputy Fire Chief Albert Yanagisawa. “I asked Cal Fire, seeing as what happened, is there a reason the maps were not changed, and what they said was, specifically, their model is for wildland fire modeling. It’s not utilized and it shouldn’t be utilized for [urban] conflagration modeling.”

Cal Fire has so far declined to comment on what drove changes in specific counties and cities.

Now, local jurisdictions have 120 days to accept public input on the maps and work with Cal Fire to issue an official ordinance implementing them. Typically, ordinances take effect about 30 days after they’re issued. At that point, the heightened fire safety regulations would apply to the new zones.

Local jurisdictions like L.A. city and county are allowed to increase the severity of a zone and add additional acres to a zone; however, they cannot decrease the severity of zones or remove acres from them.

These maps are a “critical tool for identifying high fire hazard areas and strengthening fire safety policies across our communities,” said County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “For those working to rebuild after the Eaton fire, I want to emphasize that these maps provide essential information to guide your rebuilding efforts. They reflect the latest fire hazard assessments and will help ensure our homes and infrastructure are rebuilt with safety and resilience in mind.”

Fire safety advocates have attributed the continuing upward trend of acre zones to a litany of factors from development in fire-prone areas, ecosystem changes and climate change.

“Yes, climate change has obviously and absolutely impacted the severity of our wildfires and where they are happening, but way before there were climate impacts, there were land-use decisions,” said Howard Penn, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League, a California-based nonprofit. “We have been sprawling into the wildlands for the last 75-plus years with very little consideration of the impacts.”

The post New fire maps increase hazard zones in L.A. and Southern California by 3.5 million acres appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

In the race to register voters before what folks are apocalyptically calling THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF ALL TIME, which we think happens every four years, we are disappointed to report that California is trailing the numbers it hit back in 2020 (the last most important election of all time).

Eighty-five percent of the Golden State’s eligible voters were registered by September 2020.

On October 10th, only 83% are.

Granted, there are more actual voters registered now than back then (22.3 million vs. 21.2 million), but there are also nearly 2 million more eligible voters.

Two million eligible, unregistered voters! That’s more than the entire population of a dozen states! You have no right to complain if you do not vote. It’s one of the few civic duties asked of us, and it’s a lot easier than jury duty or getting drafted.

Los Angeles County is bucking the slowpoke trend and putting the rest of SoCal to shame: There, 85.7% of eligible voters are already registered (5.7 million).

Orange County hit the state average, with 83% of eligible folks registered (1.8 million people).

Riverside is trailing a bit, with 82% of eligible folks registered (1.3 million); as is San Bernardino, with just 81% registered (1.2 million).

You can’t vote, people, vote, if you don’t register, people, register!

There’s still time. In California, registrations must be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than 15 days before Election Day, Nov. 5. That makes the deadline for registering Oct. 21, according to the Secretary of State.

Some props are due, though, to the SoCal counties, which have seen the largest increases in registration statewide since September 2020.

Riverside is tops, registering an additional 179,336 voters.

Orange is next, with an additional 140,571; then San Bernardino, with 122,454; San Diego, with 68,960; and Los Angeles, with 64,997.

What party are these registered voters affiliated with, you’re wondering? Statewide, 46% are Democrats; 25% are Republican; and 23% have no party preference.

It’s different, however, in the counties:

In progressive Los Angeles County, 52.4% are Democrats, 18% are Republicans, and 23% have no party preference.

Orange County still has strong conservative leanings, despite its new more progressive majority that backed Democrats in the last two presidential elections: 37% are Democrats, 34% are Republicans, and 23% have no party preference.

The Inland Empire counties, with a reputation for being more conservative than O.C., actually have more registered Democrats than O.C. In Riverside County, 39.6% are Democrats, 32% are Republicans and 20% have no party preference; while in San Bernardino, 40% are Democrats, 30% are Republicans and 21% have no party preference.

This is the most important election EVER!  And there are almost three weeks to register. Details on how to do that are at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration. Get on it, people! This is THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF ALL TIME!

At least until next time.

The post Lower percent of eligible Southern California voters are registered now than in 2020. Get on it, people! appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The abnormal scarcity — compounded by the region’s long-running underproduction of housing — emerged when homeowners chose not to sell and give up pandemic-era mortgage rates. The so-called seller strike helped pushed home values to new records, despite rising borrowing costs.

Now the inventory picture might be changing.

“It’s getting a little bit better,” said Eneida Contreras, a Compass real estate agent who specializes in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

In April, the number of homes listed for sale in most Southern California counties rose from the same month a year earlier, according to data from Zillow.

Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties turned positive for the first time since the first half of 2023, each recording an increase of at least 5%.

Orange was the only county to see a decline, while in San Diego, inventory has risen for two consecutive months and is 18% above what it was a year ago.

To be sure, the availability of homes remains at historically low levels. But as it rises, it opens the possibility that prospective buyers will have an easier time making the largest purchase of their lives.

Jordan Levine, chief economist with the California Assn. of Realtors, said more homes are coming onto the market because owners are increasingly accepting that the new normal is interest rates in the 6%-7% range.

As people get married, divorced and have children, the “benefit of the low rate starts to be outweighed by having a house that doesn’t work,” Levine said. “Ultimately, these are people’s homes, too, and they are not just straight-up investments.”

Levine said he expects inventory levels to increase and home prices to be lower than they would have been if inventory continued to shrink. However, he and other experts said home prices are unlikely to decline. That’s because though more owners are coming to terms with high rates, many will likely choose to keep their sub-4% mortgages — a phenomenon known as the lock-in effect.

Other factors are at play. The economy is growing, and while most Southern California households can’t afford to buy, there’s a sizable population of techies, Hollywood types and other white-collar workers who can funnel excess cash into large down payments that offset high mortgage rates.

“The current level of inventory rise — which is a little bit, but not a lot — is likely to slow price appreciation but not turn it negative,” said Mike Simonsen, founder of Altos Research, a real estate data firm.

The rise in inventory is providing opportunities for buyers with means, but the market is still tough.

Interest rates are above 7%, and even if home prices rise at a slower pace, they will set records.

In Los Angeles County, the average home price in April was $890,516, an increase of 1.4% from March and surpassing the previous record, set in June 2022.

The six-county Southern California region climbed above its 2022 average home price record in March. It set another all-time high last month, reaching $875,388.

If mortgage rates noticeably decline, the lock-in effect could lessen and bring more homes onto the market. Falling mortgage rates would also immediately make housing more affordable.

Whether falling rates provide much relief is another question. Lower borrowing costs may bring a flood of additional buyers who quickly gobble up new listings and supercharge price growth.

“Building more housing is really what is going to break that cycle,” said Nicole Bachaud, a senior economist with Zillow.

According to the latest forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Assn., rates will remain high but will drop to 6.4% by the end of 2024.

Carol Otero of Rodeo Realty is among the Los Angeles agents seeing an increase in inventory. She estimated that the number of homes for sale in some San Fernando Valley neighborhoods has at least doubled in the past few weeks.

Buyers are eager.

Last Friday, Otero listed a four-bedroom home in Northridge. She said she has received six offers, all above the $869,000 asking price.

The post Buying a home in Southern California? There are now more options appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The suspects, all residents of Jurupa Valley, were identified by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department as:

• Thomas Balandran, 50
• Sherri Alvarez, 48
• Brianna Balandran, 19
• Unidentified juvenile, 17

On April 24, deputies responded to a business in Temecula where thieves attempted to steal over $1,000 worth of merchandise.

Investigators identified the suspects and discovered they were responsible for at least 10 retail thefts throughout Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties. The family had reportedly stolen over $7,000 worth of items during those incidents, authorities said.

On May 13, a search warrant was served at a home in the 6800 block of Valley Way in Jurupa Valley.

During the search, deputies found a large amount of stolen merchandise with price tags still attached. Other items, including narcotics and paraphernalia, were also found in the home.

Detectives learned there were additional homes connected to the thefts that involved suspects knowingly buying stolen goods to resell for profit, also known as “fencing.”

On May 14, two additional warrants were served in Moreno Valley where over $3,000 worth of stolen items were found.

The adult family members were arrested on charges of organized retail theft, burglary, conspiracy, and grand theft. The 17-year-old juvenile was released to a family member and charges will be filed with juvenile probation.

Deputies discovered that Balandran was on probation for grand theft at the time and additional charges were added to include violation of probation and drug-related offenses.

Investigators believe there are more retail thefts involving the family that have not been reported.

Anyone with additional information can call Deputy Christina Weber at 951-696-3133.

“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has zero tolerance for these offenses and will continue to work proactively with our allied agencies, loss prevention partners, and the District Attorney’s Office to combat organized retail crime,” authorities said.

The post Southern California family arrested for series of alleged retail thefts appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

With summer fast approaching, toxic algal blooms are beginning to pop up at Inland Empire lakes, posing a threat to people and their pets.

The blooms of cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, often look like streaks of spilled paint.

Their presence has prompted state and regional officials to urge lake visitors to take precautions.

In recent weeks, “caution” advisories have gone out for Lake Elsinore and Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County, Puddingstone Reservoir at San Dimas in Los Angeles County, and Silverwood Lake in the San Bernardino County foothills. Signs were posted around those lakes specifying what activities should be avoided.

State officials said the signs at Silverwood Lake were taken down early this week after tests confirmed copper sulfate treatment had eliminated the threat there, for now.

Mary Fahey, a spokesperson for the California Department of Water Resources, said via email, however, that visitors should still look out for and avoid algae and scum, both in the water and along the shore.

Fahey wrote that “patches of algae may still be present in the lake, such as in back coves where the treatment could not reach.”

It’s important, too, said West Bishop, an algae scientist and water quality research manager with EutroPHIX, to recognize that tests represent a snapshot in time of a particular water sample.

“It’s likely to come back at some point,” said Bishop, who is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and treated Silverwood, a State Water Project reservoir, for a bacteria bloom several years ago.

Two other prominent Inland Empire reservoirs — the State Water Project’s Lake Perris near Moreno Valley and Metropolitan Water District’s Lake Skinner near Temecula — aren’t under advisories, officials said.

Pets are especially vulnerable

There are three levels of advisories issued when harmful bacteria is present in the water: caution, warning and danger.

Under current caution advisories, swimming is generally permitted. But people are urged to stay away from algae and scum, to avoid drinking the water or using it for cooking, to not eat shellfish from the lake, and to keep pets out of the water.

“Dogs are very sensitive to toxic algae and can ingest it when they lick their fur after swimming,” Fahey wrote.

It’s OK to eat fish caught in a lake under a caution advisory, officials said, but the guts should be thrown away and filets should be cleaned with tap water or bottled water before cooking.

Adam Gufarotti, Lake Elsinore community support manager, said the advisory there won’t prevent the 11th Annual Dream Extreme Fishing Derby from taking place Saturday, May 18.

Nor will it halt boating activities, he said.

Rebecca Kimitch, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Water District, said a caution advisory covers all of Diamond Valley Lake, the huge drinking-water reservoir near Hemet.

Diamond Valley is 4.5 miles long, 2 miles wide and 250 feet deep, when full.

Among other things, a sign at the marina warns visitors to keep children away from algae, and not to use the water for drinking, cooking or cleaning fish. Instead, fish should be cleaned with tap water or bottled water.

Swimming is never allowed at the reservoir, Kimitch said.

Swim season approaching

At Puddingstone Reservoir in Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, however, people can swim in a designated area during the season.

Derek Elleri, lake aquatics manager at for Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, said the swimming season will begin on schedule Memorial Day weekend, despite the advisory there.

Visitors are allowed to fish, boat and get out on the water with stand-up paddle boards and personal watercraft, Elleri said.

“We’re at the caution level,” he said. “We tell people to be mindful of the risks and try to avoid contact where they can.”

Elleri said workers spotted algae growth at Puddingstone a couple weeks ago.

It was “almost like a paint sheen on the water,” he said.

Test results received Monday, May 13, confirmed harmful bacteria in the 250-acre lake, he said.

When bacteria levels rise higher and “warning” advisories are issued, swimming is forbidden at affected lakes, according to a state website.

Under a “danger” advisory, visitors are asked to avoid eating fish caught at those lakes as well, and to stay out of the water.

Algae problem grows

The timing of the bacteria blooms’ appearance at some Inland Empire lakes before the summer heat arrives is cause for concern.

“It’s definitely concerning, not necessarily a surprise, unfortunately,” said Bishop, the algae expert.

Such blooms are occurring earlier and lasting longer around the country, Bishop said, as reservoirs age andaccumulate nutrients and as climate change fuels a rise in water temperatures.

Other factors include increasing carbon dioxide levels and stronger ultraviolet light penetration, Bishop said.

The cyanobacteria blooms are dangerous because they can produce many different toxins — ones that harm the liver, kidneys, brain, digestive system and skin, he said.

“I don’t want to be a fear monger, but these toxins have been likened to ricin and cobra venom,” he said.

According to posted signs, toxins can irritate peoples’ eyes and cause skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhea. Pets can also suffer from vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions, and even die.

Because the bacteria are so toxic, Bishop said, “We need to get this under control.”

Bishop said one of the biggest needs is to reduce the nutrient load in lakes. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus pile up as rain washes residential and agricultural fertilizer, human waste and animal waste into bodies of water.

“These nutrients jumpstart these blooms, and allow these blooms to achieve higher densities,” he said.

Silverwood Lake is more than 50 years old and, as a result, has accumulated many nutrients, he said.

Lake Elsinore, Southern California’s largest natural freshwater lake, also has much nutrient material because it’s at the end of the San Jacinto River drainage.

“With that all sitting there and accumulating, there is very little flushing out,” Bishop said.

Lake Elsinore also is shallow. So it tends to heat up earlier than other area lakes, Bishop said.

Oxygen-rich bubbles are helping

In Lake Elsinore, city officials are taking steps to address the problem.

Gufarotti, the community support manager, said the city on Feb. 6 launched a “nanobubble” technology project. The $2 million system purchased from Hawthorne-based Moleaer uses microscopic gas bubbles 2,500 times smaller than a grain of salt to release oxygen in the water.

“It’s introducing oxygen-rich bubbles at the bottom,” Gufarotti said.

It’s a two-year pilot project focused on the eastern part of the lake, he said, adding that the city may expand the system to cover the entire lake after the trial period ends.

Elevated bacteria levels — which were in the lower part of the caution range — were detected at two of five monitoring sites, Gufarotti said. Those are near the West Marina and Perret Park.

Harmful bacteria wasn’t detected at three other stations near the nanobubble equipment, Gufarotti said.

Gufarotti told the Lake Elsinore City Council in a Tuesday, May 14, report that the lake is clearer and bluer than it was this time last year because of the project.

Chris Stephan, Moleaer global director of sales for surface water, said there is more oxygen in the lake and less harmful algae.

Still, summer is around the corner and rising water temperatures will present a challenge.

“Water holds less oxygen when it’s hot,” Stephan said.

Gufarotti said the city, in addition to deploying the nanobubble system, is gearing up to apply a treatment to kill algae twice a month.

“The summer is going to be tough,”  he said. “And we’re going to fight back.”

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ADUs are one of the few bright spots for the state’s housing market at a time of rising construction costs, high interest rates, and continued local resistance to greater housing density. These unassuming units, often basement apartments, backyard cottages, and converted garages, are far more affordable to build than other housing options and have become a politically palatable infill alternative to apartment complexes.

With median construction costs of about $150,000 in California, ADUs cost less than a third of traditional, federally subsidized affordable housing. As a result, the median ADU in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast is affordable (costs less than 30% of income) for a low income family, 31% of ADUs in Los Angeles County are affordable, and large numbers of ADUs are affordable in other regions, as well.

Over the past eight years, ADU construction has skyrocketed. California went from about 1,000 ADU permits in 2016 to 5,000 in 2017 to 25,000 in 2022.

This boom did not come easily. Many local governments have resisted ADUs, fearing they would overcrowd single-family neighborhoods. While some of these concerns are legitimate, the state’s housing crisis has persuaded state lawmakers that cities must allow more housing construction, even in built-out areas — and ADUs are one way to achieve that.

California lawmakers have worked for decades to limit local governments’ authority to block construction of these units. The effort began in 1982 when the legislature prohibited cities from categorically barring ADUs. Local governments responded by placing what a report from the Furman Center at New York University called “cumbersome and unpredictable discretionary  review requirements on applications for ADUs.”

Local resistance prompted the state in 2002 to mandate ministerial (rather than discretionary) local approval of ADU permits. Yet ADU production remained low.

Reforms in 2016 finally made inroads. That year, the legislature adopted two bills, AB 2299 and SB 1069. These required cities to allow ADUs on single-family lots. They also prohibited them from requiring design features such as direct pathways to the street and setbacks for garages converted into ADUs. These laws also eliminated parking requirements for ADUs near transit stops and for ADUs attached to existing houses; prohibited cities from requiring new water, sewer or utility connections for ADUs, or from charging utility fees for ADUs; and required ministerial permitting of ADUs to occur within 120 days.

More state laws followed, as legislators and advocates identified and removed other barriers to ADU construction.

Suddenly, ADU production surged across the state. According to the California Department of  Housing and Community Development, ADUs will meet 3% of the state’s housing needs for the period from 2021-2028.

Yet this growth has been uneven. In a recent study, the Rose Institute of State and Local Government analyzed differences in ADU production in Long Beach, San Diego, Anaheim, Pomona, Ontario, and Corona in light of the state’s assessment of these cities’ housing needs. In  Long Beach, the state’s per capita ADU leader, these units have met 5% of housing needs. By  contrast, ADUs make up only 2.6% in Anaheim. Within the Inland Empire, only 1% of housing needs are met in Ontario, 1.1% in Corona, and 2.2% in Pomona.

The report found that variations in ADU production can result from several factors, including the local housing market. For example, Ontario, like other cities in the Inland Empire, is still developing outward into greenfield sites, potentially reducing the demand for ADUs due to the availability of new single-family homes.

Familiarity with ADUs also matters. Planners in Long Beach, a leading producer of ADUs, describe these units as part of the fabric of their city, and say the knowledge they have gained processing ADU applications helps them approve permits faster than in some other cities. By contrast, other cities have less experience with this form of housing.

Local policies can affect ADU production, as well. Although the state has limited local control over ADUs, standards can still vary on several important dimensions. This is where local governments can most make a difference.

To help meet housing production goals, cities should assess where their regulations may be holding back ADU production and consider loosening standards in those areas. In particular, local lawmakers should look closely at three factors: parking requirements, structural setback requirements, and fees.

Parking requirements can add significant costs to new development, making them infeasible for homeowners without access to large capital flows. Structural setbacks can make larger ADUs geometrically infeasible, limiting the variety of options available to would-be buyers and renters. Finally, fees place high up-front costs on ADU developers, who often are individual homeowners,  further dissuading them from realizing their property’s potential.

Giving homeowners a little more wiggle room in how they build their ADUs could make the difference between catching up to statewide ADU production levels and missing out on a powerful tool to meet housing needs.

The post ADUs can help the Inland Empire meet housing needs appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — A 29-year-old man was arrested early Monday, 36 hours after the ambush killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was shot as he sat in a patrol car, authorities said.

The suspect barricaded himself inside a home in the city of Palmdale for several hours, but later surrendered and weapons were recovered, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told a news conference. Sheriff’s officials identified the arrested suspect as Kevin Cataneo Salazar of Palmdale.

Luna said authorities have not yet determined a motive for the killing of 30-year-old Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer on Saturday evening. He described the situation as “fluid” and said there could be more arrests.

“I feel extremely confident that we have the right person in custody,” Luna said.

“Our deputy was in uniform in a marked black-and-white police vehicle right in front of the station,” Luna said. “Why did he do this? I have no idea. Was he targeted? I’m assuming he was but … our intent is to find out.”

Luna read a statement from Clinkunbroomer’s family, saying he was dedicated, hardworking and proud to serve.

“Ryan made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so,” the statement said. “Ryan was recently engaged to the love of his life. As our firstborn son, Ryan will be greatly missed by his family, friends and the sheriff’s department as a whole.”

The suspect’s mother, Marle Salazar, told the Los Angeles Times her son was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic about five years ago. He would say he was hearing voices in his head, she said, and sometimes claimed that cars or people were following him. He twice attempted suicide, she said.

“My son is mentally ill, and if he did something, he wasn’t in his full mental capacity,” she said in an interview with the paper.

Clinkunbroomer had just left the sheriff’s station in Palmdale, a city of more than 167,000 residents in the high desert of northern Los Angeles County, when he was shot and killed. A “good Samaritan” spotted him and alerted station personnel.

The department later released grainy surveillance video of a dark-colored sedan that pulled alongside the patrol car in the moments before the shooting.

Luna said community members came forward with information that led homicide investigators to identify the suspect and the vehicle.

Early Monday, a SWAT team from the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau served a search warrant at the residence and called for all occupants to come out, the sheriff said.

Family members came out but the suspect barricaded himself inside, he said. Deputies used de-escalation techniques including negotiators before they “deployed chemical agents” and the suspect surrendered, Luna said. He did not identify the weapons that were seized.

Marle Salazar said she called deputies at least twice in the past, asking for help when her son refused to take his medication and grew aggressive toward himself. She said he had never hurt anyone before, and his aggression was always self-directed.

“I have called the police several times,” she told the Times. “In the end, they would say, ‘He’s an adult, so if he doesn’t want to take (his medication), we can’t do anything.’”

Sheriff’s department spokesperson Nicole Nishida said investigators were looking into whether there were law enforcement calls at the home.

Salazar said she didn’t know her son owned a gun, but was told by detectives that he had legally purchased a weapon that was used in the attack.

The sheriff said Clinkunbroomer had been assigned to the Palmdale station since July 2018, and that his father and grandfather had also served in the department.

“Deputy Sheriff Ryan Clinkunbroomer and his family are an integral part of the very essence of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and this heart-wrenching murder cuts to the very core of our being,” Richard Pippin, the president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the deputies’ union, said in a statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the killing “horrific, unconscionable and shocking.” He ordered flags at the state Capitol flown at half-staff in Clinkunbroomer’s honor.

“In this time of mourning, we honor this legacy and send our deepest sympathies to Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s fiancée, his loved ones, and the men and women of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” Newsom said in a statement Sunday. “Deputy Clinkunbroomer’s devotion to community and country will never be forgotten.”

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Los Angeles County has two months to move about 300 young people out of its troubled juvenile halls after California regulators on Tuesday determined the facilities are “unsuitable for the confinement of youth.”

The Board of State and Community Corrections voted unanimously to impose a 60-day deadline for the closure of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights.

The state board, which inspects the youth prisons, said the county has been unable over a period of two years to correct problems including inadequate safety checks, low staffing, use of force and a lack of recreation and exercise.

Board members rejected requests from the county for more time to address the issues. “We have stayed in this process much longer than I’m comfortable with,” board chair Linda Penner said. “I’m concerned with the youth who are there right now, and we really must address that. The time has come to take this extraordinary move.”

The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile halls, said while it was disappointed by the imposed deadline, “It is time for the department to discontinue using these facilities for housing pre-disposition youth.”

The young people will be moved within two months to the currently shuttered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, which was closed four years ago amid a dwindling population and allegations of abuse by staff. “As we look forward to the methodical and smooth transition to Los Padrinos, we will also continue working on the more complicated issues of staffing and culture within the department,” Interim Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the BSCC, the California Department of Justice, and court-appointed monitors to ensure a level of long-term constitutional care for our youth.”

The nonprofit Youth Justice Coalition, which has advocated for the halls’ closure, called the board’s decision a “long overdue step toward accountability” for the probation department. “The inability of the department to meet minimum regulations and provide adequate care has caused irreparable trauma to incarcerated youth,” the coalition said in a statement.

The board’s decision comes while California is in the process of phasing out its three remaining state-run youth prisons and shifting the responsibility to counties. The shift to local control is the final step in a lengthy reform effort driven in part by a class-action lawsuit and incentives for counties to keep youths out of the state system. The state-run system has a troubled history marked by inmate suicides and brawls.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County has two months to move about 300 young people out of its troubled juvenile halls after California regulators on Tuesday determined the facilities are “unsuitable for the confinement of youth.”

The Board of State and Community Corrections voted unanimously to impose a 60-day deadline for the closure of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights.

The state board, which inspects the youth prisons, said the county has been unable over a period of two years to correct problems including inadequate safety checks, low staffing, use of force and a lack of recreation and exercise. Board members rejected requests from the county for more time to address the issues.

“We have stayed in this process much longer than I’m comfortable with,” board chair Linda Penner said. “I’m concerned with the youth who are there right now, and we really must address that. The time has come to take this extraordinary move.”

The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile halls, said while it was disappointed by the imposed deadline, “It is time for the department to discontinue using these facilities for housing pre-disposition youth.”

The young people will be moved within two months to the currently shuttered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, which was closed four years ago amid a dwindling population and allegations of abuse by staff.

“As we look forward to the methodical and smooth transition to Los Padrinos, we will also continue working on the more complicated issues of staffing and culture within the department,” Interim Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the BSCC, the California Department of Justice, and court-appointed monitors to ensure a level of long-term constitutional care for our youth.”

The nonprofit Youth Justice Coalition, which has advocated for the halls’ closure, called the board’s decision a “long overdue step toward accountability” for the probation department.

“The inability of the department to meet minimum regulations and provide adequate care has caused irreparable trauma to incarcerated youth,” the coalition said in a statement.

The board’s decision comes while California is in the process of phasing out its three remaining state-run youth prisons and shifting the responsibility to counties.

The shift to local control is the final step in a lengthy reform effort driven in part by a class-action lawsuit and incentives for counties to keep youths out of the state system. The state-run system has a troubled history marked by inmate suicides and brawls.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

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The total of 635 hate crimes reported in 2020 was a 20% increase over the previous year, and 61% were racist crimes, the report said.

African Americans, who are just 9% of the county population, were 42% of racial crime victims, according to the report. Anti-Black crimes increased 35% to 169.

Anti-Latino crimes were up 58% to 106 and anti-white crimes jumped to 50, a 127% increase. The report’s statistics also reflected the trend of hate crimes targeting Asians. Anti-Asian crimes increased 76%, from 25 to 44.

“This report is another alarming reminder that we have a long way to go in building a more inclusive and just society,” said Hilda L. Solis, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The county Commission on Human Relations has produced a report on hate crimes since 1980. The commission compiles and analyzes data from law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and community-based organizations.

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