Newsom places priority on homelessness, low-cost housing

After surviving last week’s recall, Governor Gavin Newsom quickly turned his attention to dealing with the state’s housing issues.

Newsom quickly signed bipartisan legislation last week designed to expand housing production, streamline housing permitting and increase housing density.

The legislation effectively allowing for more housing in smaller areas is the most controversial as Democratic State Legislators having been trying to increase housing density for years. But cities and counties have fought the effort saying that kind of effort takes away from local control.

Also last week, the governor announced the California Housing Accelerator, allocating $1.75 billion for the construction of 6,500 shovel-rade affordable multifamily units stalled due to a lack of tax-exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits. In all as part of his California Comeback Plan, Newsom wants to invest more than $22 billion to deal with housing and homelessness to create more than 84,000 new affordable homes, including more than 44,000 new housing units and treatment facilities for the homeless.

There would be $10.3 billion dedicated to housing and another $12 for the homeless. Of that $12, $1 billion would go directly to counties and another $1 bill would go directly to cities.

Legislation signed last week by Newsom is designed to deal with climate change and housing affordability and calls for denser housing closer to major business areas. The Governor’s office states this is a critical step toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions as it would allow people to live closer to where they work.

The Governor’s office also stated the legislation he signed will hold local governments accountable.

“The housing affordability crisis is undermining the California Dream for families across the state, and threatens our long-term growth and prosperity,” Newsom said. “Making a meaningful impact on this crisis will take bold investments, strong collaboration across sectors and political courage from our leaders and communities to do the right thing and build housing for all. “I thank Pro Tem (Tony G.) Atkins and all the Legislature’s leaders on housing for their vision and partnership to keep California moving forward on this fundamental issue.”

Last week the governor signed Atkins’ Senate Bill 9, the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act. President Joe Biden’s administration has backed the legislation to increase housing supply.

The HOME Act allows homeowners to build a duplex or split their current residential lot, which is designed to expand housing options for people of all incomes. The legislation will allow homeowners to add units on their existing properties. But again cities and counties don’t like the idea of possible overcrowding of housing and not having as much control over what kind of housing can be built in their jurisdictions.

The legislation does include provisions to prevent the displacement of existing renters and protect historic districts, fire-prone areas

and the environment.

“I appreciate Governor Newsom’s continued commitment to solving one of the most vexing issues facing our state — increasing the amount of housing and widening access for more Californians,” Atkins said. “SB 9 will open up opportunities for homeowners to help ease our state’s housing shortage, while still protecting tenants from displacement.

“And it will help our communities welcome new families to the neighborhood and enable more folks to set foot on the path to buying their first home. I’m grateful for the Governor’s partnership, and our shared determination to turn the corner on California’s housing crisis.”

Another piece of legislation that’s controversial, but also makes the zoning process for housing for cities and counties easier, signed by the governor makes it easier for multi-housing units to be built near transit and in urban areas. The legislation allows for 10 units per parcel to be built in such areas. The idea to build more housing in such areas has also been a controversial one.

But the legislation creates a voluntary process for local governments to access a streamlined zoning process to build more housing. The legislation simplifies the California Environmental Quality Act designed to give local leaders another tool to voluntarily increase density and provide affordable rental housing.

“California’s severe housing shortage is badly damaging our state, and we need many approaches to tackle it,” Wiener said. “SB 10 provides one important approach: making it dramatically easier and faster for cities to zone for more housing. It shouldn’t take five or 10 years for cities to re-zone, and SB 10 gives cities a powerful new tool to get the job done quickly. I want to thank the Governor for signing this essential bill and for continuing to lead on housing.”

Another controversial bill signed by the governor was SB 8 by Senator Nancy Skinner, D-berkeley which extends the provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 through 2030. The Housing Crisis Act of 2019, which was scheduled to expire in 2025. While the bill accelerates the approval process for housing projects and limits fee increase on housing applications, it also takes away the ability of cities and counties to reduce or limit the development of housing.

“California needs more housing, and we need it now,” Skinner said. “Thank you, Governor Newsom, for signing these bills that will enable homeowners and our communities to add much-needed and affordable housing efficiently and without delay. Housing close to jobs, schools and services helps our housing shortage, and is essential to meeting California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

“For too long, California has kicked the can down the road when it came to building more housing,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “The housing crisis is at the center of our state’s biggest challenges — with our children and our most vulnerable bearing the brunt of skyhigh costs and a severe shortage of housing inventory. Thankfully, Governor Newsom and our legislative leaders are taking bold action to address this shortage with a smart, targeted housing packing that will allow our communities to grow with inclusion and expand the dream of home ownership and housing stability to people across California.”

Not surprisingly, though, the California Building Industry supports the legislation that makes it easier for more housing to be built.

“Most Californians can’t afford a typical single-family home and our state’s desperately limited housing stock has a lot to do with it,” said President and CEO of the California Building Industry Association Dan Dunmoyer. “This suite of bills will ease some of the obstacles to home construction and help combat the already record-high cost of housing in our state. I am grateful to Governor Newsom and legislative leaders for their courage to enact policies that support the construction of low- and middle-income homes with the goal of providing attainable, secure housing for all.”

Newsom also signed AB 1174 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson, D-concord, an measure that makes changes to the approval process for housing development in jurisdictions that haven’t yet made enough progress towards toward meeting their housing needs.

Newsom has also made it clear he wants to hold cities and counties more accountable when it comes to developing housing. California has the Housing Accountability Act, the ANT-NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) law and Newsom has fought to make sure local governments don’t block new affordable housing.

Newsom also signed an executive order to create an inventory of all excess state land. As a result the state is working with cities to develop affordable housing on excess state land.