Undermining state laws

It's well known that California is in the midst of a housing crisis that grows more severe all the time. For decades, we have seen too few homes built, and those that are built are too expensive. The poor and middle class suffer the most from the housing shortage, increasingly finding themselves priced out of homes and apartments located near good jobs and schools.

This problem has been well documented, so there is no excuse when our cities refuse to allow individuals to take steps to alleviate the housing shortage. Yet communities across California continue to oppose the simplest of housing reforms: allowing property owners to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, commonly known as "granny flats" or "in-law apartments."

As far back as 1981, the state legislature recognized that the lack of developable land is one of the key obstacles to increasing housing supply. There is land available to build on in California cities, but zoning codes strictly limit the use of undeveloped land. To open up more capacity, California adopted a statewide law that legalized the production of ADUs.

It was a win-win solution. By legalizing ADUs, the state unlocked previously unusable land, resulting in a massive increase of potential housing. Owners could build a rental unit to help with their mortgage payments, or build a cottage where their parents could age in place. Better yet, the cost of an ADU is typically a fraction of a stand-alone house or apartment unit, resulting in the potential for new affordable housing.

Many cities, however, continued to resist this modest reform, even as the housing shortage reached critical mass. So the state pushed back again in 2016 and 2019, amending the law to require - rather than request that cities allow ADU development as a right of ownership. The state law directs California cities to approve ADU permits that satisfy certain conditions, such as unit and lot size, without the lengthy and costly