Tainari88 wrote:I don't care what that Conman from Queens says to his followers. What needs to be observed is what his administration actually pushes through. That is what needs to be paid attention to.
2016 Legislative session[edit]
In September 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2406, AB 2299, and SB 1069, all of which reduce the cost and bureaucracy needed to construct an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit), also known as a "granny flat" or "in-law unit".[133] The Bay Area Council notes that if only 10 percent of the Bay Area's 1.5 million single family homeowners build ADU's, that would create 150,000 units of new housing.[134]
This change resulted in dramatic increases in applications for ADU building permits; Los Angeles saw 25 times as many applications in the 2017 calendar year than it did in the previous two years combined.[135]: 1
2017 Legislative session[edit]
In the 2017 legislative session, a package of 15 housing bills was passed. One bill legalizes microapartments as small as 150 sq. ft. and prohibits cities from limiting their numbers near universities or public transit;[136]: 1 another (SB 2) adds a $75 real-estate document recording fee (for everything other than property sales), which is projected to generate $250 million per year for affordable housing construction.[136]: 1 [137]: 1 [138]: 1 The total 2017 housing package is expected to have only a minimal impact on the shortage, because even the most optimistic predictions suggest that the measures will increase yearly housing production by about 14,000 units per year, still well short (14%) of the additional 100,000 new units needed yearly (in addition to the 80,000 being produced yearly) just to keep pace with population growth and prevent prices from rising.[34]: 1 [138]: 1 [35]: 1
Senate Bill 35[edit]
Main article: California Senate Bill 35 (2017)
Another bill was Senate Bill 35 (SB 35), authored by state Senator Scott Wiener which shortens the approval process by eliminating environmental and planning reviews for new infill housing in cities which have failed to meet their state housing production goals. The state sets goals for production of different types of housing: market-rate, low-income, etc., (to keep up with expected population growth) and this law applies only to development types for which the city is not meeting its production goal. To make use of the streamlined approval process, the developer must pay prevailing wage and abide by union-standard hiring rules.[136]: 1 [137]: 1 [138]: 1 [139][140] Wiener said, "Local control is about how a community achieves its housing goals, not whether it achieves those goals.... SB 35 sets clear and reasonable standards to ensure that all communities are part of the solution by creating housing for our growing population."[139] SB 35 has been used, for example, to redevelop the derelict Vallco Shopping Mall in Cupertino into a mixed-use development containing 2,402 apartments, half of them affordable, with no government subsidies, which will quintuple Cupertino's affordable housing stock.[141]: 1 [142]: 1 [143]: 1 [144]
2018 Legislative session[edit]
Senate Bills 827 and 50[edit]
Main article: California Senate Bill 50 (2019)
In 2018, Senator Wiener introduced SB 827, which would have required localities to allow buildings of at least 4 or 8 stories within a half-mile of a high-frequency transit stop, or within a quarter-mile of a bus or transit corridor, as well as waiving minimum parking requirements in those areas.[2]: 1 The bill was controversial, being opposed both by local governments concerned about the loss of local control of zoning, and by anti-gentrification activists concerned about displacement.[145] The bill was supported by a group of scholars who stated that it would help reduce decades of racial and economic residential segregation,[146][147]: 1-2 [148]: 1 as well as pro-housing groups nationally, and by over 100 San Francisco Bay area technology industry executives who voiced their support of the bill in a joint letter.[149]
Regarding the issue of local control, Wiener said: "In education and healthcare, the state sets basic standards, and local control exists within those standards. Only in housing has the state abdicated its role. But housing is a statewide issue, and the approach of pure local control has driven us into the ditch."[35] Anti-displacement provisions were inserted in response to gentrification concerns. It was subsequently defeated in its first committee hearing.[150][151]
In December 2018, Senator Wiener introduced a similar bill for the following legislative session, SB 50, which was defeated in a senate floor vote in 2020.
2021 Legislative session[edit]
See also: California HOME Act
In September 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of 31 housing bills, including the California HOME Act (SB 9) and SB 10.[152] The California HOME Act (SB 9) upzones most of California to allow building denser housing, up to a fourplex, on a lot. SB 10 streamlines the process for local governments to build dense housing around transit rich areas. Other bills aim to streamline the homebuilding process, reduce barriers to building affordable housing, and hold local governments responsible for building more housing.[153]
Other bills that Governor Newsom signed include SB 290, AB 1584, SB 478, and AB 602.[154] SB 290 expands California's density bonus law to include affordable housing for low income college students. Density bonuses allow developers to build denser housing, so long as a portion is set aside for affordable housing. AB 1584 makes void any housing covenants that would prohibit the construction of an ADU in certain circumstances.
SB 478 creates a minimum floor area ratio and a minimum lot size for multi-family housing that's between 3 and 10 units. SB 478 also prevents local governments from imposing a lot coverage requirement that would make it impossible for a housing project to achieve its minimum floor area ratio. AB 602 regulates impact fees that local governments can charge on housing. AB 602 makes impact fees more transparent, and requires local governments to make impact fees proportional to the square footage of the house.
2022 Legislative session[edit]
In September 2022, Newsom signed a package of housing bills, including AB 2011, SB 6 and AB 2097.[155]
AB 2011[edit]
Main article: Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act
AB 2011 has officially gone into effect as of July 1, 2023.[156] The policy allows for affordable and mixed-income housing to be built on commercially-zoned property on a ministerial, by-right basis, as long as the projects fulfill affordability and environmental criteria, and pay prevailing wage.[155] Additionally there is a requirement for the use of apprenticeship programs that are approved by local governments. When these contracts are being accepted by contractors they will also be provided with health care expenditures.[157] This being a new and more recent Bill studies will be conducted by the Department of Housing and Community Development which will be used to present to legislature on the effects and results of the additional housing developments.
SB 6 and AB 2097[edit]
Main article: California Assembly Bill 2097 (2022)
SB 6 allows for residential use on commercially zoned property without requiring a rezoning, as long as a percentage of construction workers hired are unionized.[155] AB 2097 removes parking minimums for homes and commercial properties within one mile of public transit stations or in neighborhoods with low rates of car use.[158] California became the second state after Oregon to eliminate parking minimums near public transit.
SB 897 and AB 2221[edit]
SB 897 and AB 2221 both clarified rules regarding compliance of ADUs with building codes and streamlined permitting.[159][160]
2023 Legislative Session[edit]
In October 2023, Newsom signed another package of housing bills. Notable bills include SB 4, SB 423, SB 555 and AB 1033.[161]
SB 4[edit]
Main article: Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act
SB 4 makes it so that religious institutions or higher education institutions can submit applications for streamlined approval for building housing on their lands, granted that it satisfied criteria and that all of the units are made available for lower-income households.[162] The bill is part of a greater movement by faith communities in the U.S. to build affordable housing called "Yes, In God's Backyard."[163] The movement has, in the past, struggled with getting past the red tape over adaptive reuse of their property, especially with city or local opposition. SB 4 is part of a series of California bill efforts since 2020 to make it easier for churches, as well as other faith communities and higher education institutions, to build on their lands, including an assembly bill (AB 1851) which reduced or eliminated parking requirements for such projects.[163] A UC Berkeley study found that this law opens up about 170,000 acres of land (about half the size of Los Angeles) for potential affordable housing development across the state.[164]
SB 423[edit]
SB 423 comes as an extension of SB 35, a bill that expedites processes for housing developments in areas with higher needs. Such need is assessed using Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), which was part of what was written into law in SB 35. SB 423 specifically expands the streamlining outlined in SB 35 by allowing the state to supersede the local government in passing the review and to make it easier for multifamily developments in coastal zones.[165] This is a victory for pro-housing advocates, as the California Coastal Commission has been a major source of opposition to housing developments on the coast. Opponents are concerned about the housing threatening the local beach environment and wildlife. Pro-housing advocates argue that housing must be built everywhere, but the coast provides an especially good opportunity as it is nearer to jobs, recreation, and less car-centric living, which ultimately means less pollution.[166] Beyond advocates and opponents, the commission itself historically has blocked almost all housing on the coastal zones, with the consequence being even higher housing prices than in other areas.[167]
SB 555[edit]
The introduction of SB 555 indicates a shift in housing priorities, turning away from solely the private rental market or homeownership to explore alternative forms of tenure. The bill introduces a plan to implement 1.4 million units of social housing, which is permanently kept from the private market and being bought out.[168] This provides protections for renters and hopes to create a subsection of housing that is not based on speculation and instead creates secure mixed-income communities.[169] The bill first mandates that its department of housing (HCD) completes a California Social Housing Study completed by the end of 2026, which will create recommendations and analysis on social housing and what the best options for the state are.[168]
SB 684[edit]
Main article: California Senate Bill 684 (2023)
SB 684 requires cities to ministerially allow property owners to subdivide multifamily lots to create subdivisions with up to 10 houses, townhouses or condos. At the time of passage, it was not applied to vacant lots in single-family zones.
AB 1033[edit]
The passage of AB 1033 allows homeowners to convert their ADUs into condominiums and sell their ADUs independently of the primary residence.[170][171]
2024 Legislative Session[edit]
On August 27, Newsom signed two bills passed to address the crisis, including AB 2835, which allows motels and other temporary housing to allow homeless residents to stay for longer than 30 days without triggering local rent control laws, and AB 3057, which streamlines the approval process for the construction of ADUs by granted same exemption to environmental review for junior ADU ordinances as given to standard ADU ordinances.[172] On September 19, Newsom signed a larger package of bills, including:
• SB 1211, which allows people to build up to eight detached ADUs on a lot, expanding the maximum from two ADUs per lot;
• SB 1164, which allows new ADUs to be exempt from property taxes for up to 15 years;
• SB 312, which streamlines approval for environmentally sustainable student housing;
• SB 937, which allows home builders to delay the payment of local development and impact fees until a certificate of occupancy is issued for their project;
• SB 450, which clarifies the intent of the California HOME Act and allows state agencies to enforce its terms against city governments in court;[173]
• SB 1123, which extends eligibility for projects constructed under SB 684 to vacant lots in single family zones.
County and municipal[edit]
Sacramento[edit]
In February 2024 (implemented in March 2024), the city of Sacramento passed the 2040 General Plan which updated the zoning code to eliminate parking minimums citywide for new housing. In addition, the General Plan eliminated caps on the number of units that can be built in a single-family zone, instead allowing for property owners to construct multi-unit housing based on a floor area ratio citywide.[174][175] In September 2024, the city council passed an ordinance allowing small apartment buildings up to three stories tall in all residential areas previously zoned for single-family housing, but maintained existing bulk control standards.[176]
City of Los Angeles[edit]
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles closed its Section 8 wait list for over a decade due to high demand, and only reopened in 2017.[177]
San Francisco[edit]
Main article: San Francisco housing shortage § Responses
Silicon Valley reforms[edit]
Main article: Affordable housing in Silicon Valley § Affordable housing initiatives by city
Parking mandates repeal[edit]
As of 2024, parking mandates have been repealed citywide in Sacramento, Culver City, Alameda, Emeryville, San Francisco and San Jose.[178]
Other efforts[edit]
Since 2014, several YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) groups have been created in the San Francisco Bay Area.[179][180] These groups lobby both locally and in Sacramento for increased housing production at all price levels, as well as using California's Housing Accountability Act ("the anti-NIMBY law")[179]: 1 [180]: 1 to sue cities when they attempt to block or downsize housing development.[179] One activist, in a comment to the San Francisco Planning Commission supporting the construction of a new 75-unit mostly market rate housing development stated that: "The 100 or so higher income people, who are not going to live in this project if it isn't built, are going to live somewhere...They will just displace someone somewhere else, because demand doesn't disappear."[181]
As of 2018, there were over 400,000 deed or use-restricted affordable housing units in California which were built with the provision that they remain affordable for the following decades (generally between 30 and 55 years) in exchange for subsidies.[182] The state's Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) estimates that there are more than 35,000 units whose affordability requirement will expire by 2021 and that many of these will likely be converted to market rent units. HCD has made the preservation of these units as affordable housing a priority.[non-primary source needed]
Under the federal government's Section 8 voucher system, residents pay 30% of their salary and the Housing Authority pays the difference of the rental cost.[183] As indicated by Metcalf (2018), "In 2015, 2.2 million households, comprising 5 million people, used rental vouchers to secure housing in the private market" though these figures are for the entire United States.[183] Unlike other public assistance programs (such as SNAP or Medicaid) there are only a limited number of Section 8 vouchers, meaning that most people who apply and qualify for the program are not able to participate in the program, and instead
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Note from all the above that Democrats have been passing legislation to address the housing problem in California. They are correct that NIMBYism has been a problem. So has been the basic economics of supply and demand.
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