SB 518 parking reform bill amended into something entirely unrelated to parking

On Wednesday, the California State Assembly amended SB 518, Sen. Alan Lowenthal's parking reform measure -- passed by the Senate earlier this year -- so radically that it now has nothing to do with parking reform.

Instead, the bill as amended now concerns the adoption of building standards for graywater systems.

So far, Sen. Lowenthal has not said anything publicly about this devastating turn of events for parking reform in California.

I've made an inquiry with his office, and will post here if and when I get a reply. (UPDATE: "No comment," says a spokesman.)

The way this played out suggests there is a lot I do not understand about the legislative process in California.

SB 518 referred to Assembly committee

SB 518, which would help cities move from free parking to parking paid for by motorists, continues its trek through the California state legislature.

Yesterday, the bill, already passed in watered-down form by the state Senate, was referred to the Assembly Committee on Local Government. No date for a hearing has been set yet.

Periodic Table of City Planning Elements

Planetizen's Periodic Table of City Planning Elements looks like a joke at first blush, but it could be an interesting way of representing the chemistry of communities.

Out-of-balance infrastructure

U.S. PIRG: "Federal and state policies—which should provide strong guidance in the wise use of taxpayer dollars—often fail to achieve the proper balance between building new infrastructure and taking care of what we already have built."