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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 32m

👀 The Flats just changed hands. New owner appears to be Inland Real Estate Group out of Illinois.

$489k/unit or 180k/bed.

inlandgroup.com/about-inland

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 4h

But the definition of "urban transit county" doesn't appear to exclude Amtrak stations. The phrase "commuter rail" (which as you mentioned does exclude them) is not used in that definition.

bsky.app/profile/rory...

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 2d

Looking at the text, it seems all those myriad definitions of what constitutes "rail transit" and whatnot don't apply to the clause defining "urban transit county," which just specifies "passenger rail stations."

"Passenger rail stations" isn't further defined, so I think it's the plain meaning.

(q) “Urban transit county” means a county with more than 15
passenger rail stations.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 6h

Feels like print's decline has been on a longer time scale than 60% since 2020 (250k->100k in five years per the article).

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 9h

who needs USCG when SOUTHCOM will just blow up every foreign boat before it can reach the EEZ, amirite

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 10h

San Bernardino Downtown sees 80 trains a day on the Metrolink San Bernardino Line + Arrow by my count, making it a Tier 1 station.

(Helped out a lot by Arrow connections — the next most frequent station is Montclair, which at 44 trains is just short of Tier 2. Other stations see 34 trains.)

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 17h

It's plausible that no stops within San Bernardino County qualify as Tier 1/2 stops for SB79 today (haven't looked into that), but it still matters because the law differentiates between counties that were "urban transit counties" on Day 1 and those that only qualify in the future!

In smaller cities, defined as cities with a population of less than 35,000 residents, only the quarter-mile area of the TOD zone is covered. And if a county becomes an urban transit county after January 1, 2026, only heavy rail, light rail, and eligible commuter rail will be covered—not BRT.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 17h

Agree those matter for which transit stops get upzoned, but the definition for which counties qualify for the high-frequency transit stops within them to be eligible doesn't seem to limit to commuter/transit rail.

The CA YIMBY list might be before the language changed?

bsky.app/profile/rory...

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Looking at the legislative history, it seems that this was specifically changed from "rail transit stations" to "rail stations" when "more than 15" was edited to "15 or more" in May.

Then it was amended slightly again in July to get to the final wording of "more than 15 passenger rail stations."

Bill PDF Version:
05/28/25 - Amended Senate
SB-79 Housing development: transit-oriented development.(2025-2026)

Date Published: 05/28/2025 09:30 AM
Bill Start

Amended IN Senate May 28, 2025
Amended IN Senate May 13, 2025
Amended IN Senate April 23, 2025
Amended IN Senate April 09, 2025
Amended IN Senate March 05, 2025
Bill Text
CHAPTER 4.1.5. Transit-Oriented Development
65912.156. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(q) “Urban transit county” means a county with more than 15 or more rail transit stations.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB79

Bill PDF Version:
07/17/25 - Amended Assembly
SB-79 Housing development: transit-oriented development.(2025-2026)

Date Published: 07/17/2025 09:00 PM
Bill Start

Amended IN Assembly July 17, 2025
Amended IN Assembly July 08, 2025
Amended IN Assembly July 07, 2025
Amended IN Assembly June 23, 2025
Amended IN Assembly June 16, 2025
Amended IN Senate May 29, 2025
Amended IN Senate May 28, 2025
Amended IN Senate May 13, 2025
Amended IN Senate April 23, 2025
Amended IN Senate April 09, 2025
Amended IN Senate March 05, 2025
Bill Text
CHAPTER 4.1.5. Transit-Oriented Development
65912.156. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(r) “Urban transit county” means a county with more than 15 passenger rail stations.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB79

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 18h

Where are you seeing that?

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 19h

Seems to be!

bsky.app/profile/rory...

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

So San Bernardino has 12 Metrolink/Arrow stops, but it also has five Amtrak stops, one of which is colocated with a Metrolink stop (SNB), but four of which are not (Ontario, Victorville, Barstow, Needles). Isn't that 16 passenger rail stations?

Metrolink map subset showing 12 stops in San Bernardino County, including 11 on the San Bernardino Line + Arrow and 1 (Ontario East) on the Riverside Line

Amtrak CA system map showing ONA, SNB, VRV, BAR, NDL

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

I'd say MyCville, but they recently removed the anonymous reporting feature which seems insane and bizarre. Just create a pseudonymous alt I guess.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Looking at the legislative history, it seems that this was specifically changed from "rail transit stations" to "rail stations" when "more than 15" was edited to "15 or more" in May.

Then it was amended slightly again in July to get to the final wording of "more than 15 passenger rail stations."

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, it's unfortunately common for planners & electeds to make shortsighted decisions based on complaints from business owners who are assumed to know their own businesses. That's why it's important to provide context when they say things that aren't accurate.

x.com/RoryStolzenb...

Rory Stolzenberg on X: "you hate to see it https://t.co/KWSimaLXss" / X

you hate to see it https://t.co/KWSimaLXss

x.com

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Odd to call her a "senior prosecutor" when literally a month ago she was deputy Commonwealth's Attorney in Culpeper County, before she was appointed as interim EDVA US Attorney prior to the Truth Social post demanding Halligan instead.

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

In Maine the governor would appoint an interim senator until an election is held. It's not like a representative slot that can only be filled by special election.

legislature.maine.gov/statutes/21-...

Title 21-A, §391: United States Senators

legislature.maine.gov

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Again, this is a pattern the world over. Business owners drive to their stores, so they assume all their customers get there the same way.

Study after study shows they drastically overestimate car mode share among their customers and underestimate other modes.

ggwash.org/view/96602/s...

Chart showing shop owner perception of shopper travel mode drastically overestimates cars

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

So when Karen Walker says: "Older customers or customers with children do not have to make their way down three or four flights of crowded municipal parking to reach my store.
They can park right outside."

… you should probably take that with a grain of salt, because the same was true on 2nd St NE.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

For example, Hedge Fine Blooms did not move to 4th St from the Mall. They moved from 112 2nd St NE, where they also had street parking right out front and a large parking lot across the way. Their lack of walk-by traffic was probably because that street is even more hostile to pedestrians than 4th!

Google Street View of Hedge Fine Blooms at 112 2nd St NE in 2015, showing them on an asphalt side street with street parking across from a large surface parking lot.

January 2016 Economic Development Vacancy Report, listing Hedge's old location at 112 2nd St NE.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile the restaurant directly next door to that one (owned by the same restaurateur!) is thriving, and was absolutely packed this weekend. You simply can't take business owners' claims at face value, particularly when they're looking for someone else to blame for their businesses' failures.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Business owners are famously bad at understanding where their customers come from. Silly to take some anti-Mall business owners moving to the suburbs as some broad validation of the idea that the Mall is a failure.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Incredible content.

Nextdoor screenshot of people saying the Downtown Mall ruined Charlottesville.

Text:
13h·Forest Lakes

The only thing that would make me happy about the downtown mall is get rid of it!

Author
13h·NDRA

Curious. Why so? In 1975 the area was a disaster.

11h·Forest Lakes

The mall destroyed our 'small town ' feel, along with the city council!

7h·
Locust Grove

for for all the time before 1974 .. it was a Beautiful safe bustling busy viable & thriving downtowns for all those to enjoy . W/ wonderful shops & restaurants . Everything that you ever needed or wanted ; it was always downtown. It took a miserable 25 years to make the downtown viable & now look at the miserable mess it is again …. Heartbreaking.

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Reposted by Rory Stolzenberg

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 1d

Grid scale batteries are changing our electricity system. Excellent new visual story on batteries in FT today shows just how far this technology has evolved.

Fasten your seatbelts, this is just the beginning.

ig.ft.com/mega-batteri...

41 440 1.4K

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

So San Bernardino has 12 Metrolink/Arrow stops, but it also has five Amtrak stops, one of which is colocated with a Metrolink stop (SNB), but four of which are not (Ontario, Victorville, Barstow, Needles). Isn't that 16 passenger rail stations?

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Can you clarify if the definition of "passenger rail stations" for "urban transit county" is actually constrained to rail *transit* stations as defined elsewhere, as opposed to actually all passenger rail stations?

It seems like it isn't from the definition text: bsky.app/profile/rory...

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 2d

Looking at the text, it seems all those myriad definitions of what constitutes "rail transit" and whatnot don't apply to the clause defining "urban transit county," which just specifies "passenger rail stations."

"Passenger rail stations" isn't further defined, so I think it's the plain meaning.

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Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 1d

seems to have had the desired effect

S&P futures up 1.14% on Sunday, following Trump's "it will all be fine" tweet

Reposted by Rory Stolzenberg

jacksonp42.bsky.social @jacksonp42.bsky.social · 2d

I've liked this idea since the first time I saw it:
nacto.org/latest/stree...

Street Edge Alternatives (SEA) Street Pilot, Seattle - NACTO

Project Length: 660 feet Contributing Drainage Area: 2.3 acres Right-of-Way Width: 100 feet Participating Agencies: Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Department of Transportation Timeline: Completed S...

nacto.org

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