Local builders have long bemoaned the fees the county wants to charge for the “vehicle miles traveled” their new home projects will create. The farther you build from where people are likely to go to work and shop the more you have to pay to make up for the environmental cost. They say it’s shut down home building.

Now they think new laws to reform the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, to allow for more home-building gives them an opening to make the case to state leaders: You aren’t going to make it easier to build if you don’t touch the fee.

The fee is supposed to go back into a state bank fund that will pay for transportation projects and affordable housing. 

Leaders of the Building Industry Association of San Diego and San Diego Chamber of Commerce are trying to push for a legislative fix. The fee undermines the purpose of new CEQA reforms to make housing more accessible and affordable, they argue. 

Read the Sacramento Report here.

Dig in: Last year, our Lisa Halverstadt looked into what happened with the vehicle miles traveled policy in San Diego. The county decided that projects that conformed to its existing general zoning plan would not have to pay additional fees.

Politics Monday: First, the Congressional Q&As

In his Politics Report this weekend, Scott Lewis talked to Ammar Campa-Najjar and San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert about their competition to see who gets to try to unseat U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a play which could get a lot easier if Proposition 50 passes and the district is redrawn to include more Democrats.

Campa-Najjar said he would rethink running if Proposition 50 doesn’t pass (though he thinks it will because President Trump won’t be able to leave it alone). On the other had, von Wilpert said she would continue running regardless but also thinks it will pass.

Also: Lewis has the latest on all the deals local institutions are trying to make to avoid having to pay a higher minimum wage the San Diego City Council appears set to pass for tourism workers.

The Politics Report is for members and it’s here.

Next: Will Rodriguez-Kennedy’s Return to the County Democratic Party

After a three year hiatus following sexual assault allegations, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy is back at the helm of the San Diego County Democratic Party. 

The civil lawsuit against him was dismissed, and Rodriguez-Kennedy sat down for an interview with KPBS to discuss the future of the Party.

The chairman discussed at length why areas like southeastern San Diego lost Democratic voters last November, and how he plans to win them back. Looking ahead to the special election on Nov. 4, Rodriguez-Kennedy emphasizes why voters need to get behind Proposition 50. Read the full story here. 

Politics Report: 

The Audio Version, a Podcast: Minimum Wage Fight Kicks Off

City hall is wheeling and dealing as the debate heats up for a new $25 minimum wage across the tourism and entertainment industry. With the City Council vote on the horizon on September 16th, our editor Scott Lewis dove into the different stakeholders trying to get out of paying their workers.

Listen to the full episode here. 

Finally, the Director of County Safety Net Programs to Retire 

As the county prepares for federal cuts to hit Medi-Cal and food stamp recipients, it’s also preparing to move forward without the director who’s overseen those programs for more than a decade.

Rick Wanne, the county’s director of Self Sufficiency Services, is set to retire in December after three decades at the county.

County spokesperson Tim McClain said the county expects to begin searching for his replacement soon.

McClain noted that Wanne shaped the county’s self-sufficiency operations into a “data-forward, public-facing department” with enrollment that has surged on his watch.

“During Rick’s tenure, Self Sufficiency Services has seen a large expansion in the number of people assisted, including Medi-Cal (up 110 percent), CalFresh (up 50 percent), CalWORKS (up 68 percent) and General Relief (up 333 percent),” McClain wrote.

County officials have projected that federal changes could force additional eligibility checks for 96,000 CalFresh recipients and 130,000 Medi-Cal recipients. More than 325,000 Medi-Cal recipients could also be subject to new work requirements. Those changes are expected to significantly increase the county’s workload.

On a related note: County supervisors recently voted to create a subcommittee of Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe to further develop county plans to respond to federal safety net cuts. 

In Other News 

  • The Union-Tribune reports that the Metropolitan Transit System will be increasing their fare for the first time since 2009 in efforts to combat their budget crisis. Other parts of the plan include dipping into their capital funds and some cuts to bus and trolley services to cover operating expenses. 
  • ABC 10 breaks down the price people will have to pay if they choose to opt out of special event parking in Downtown. The price to park with the new special event rate is $10 per hour for meters within a half-mile radius of Petco Park. Funnily enough, ABC 10 pointed out a parking ticket is just $55, compared to the $60 full rate if you were to park for six hours. 

The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.