Sen. Scott Wiener blasts ‘extreme’ local control over housing issues

State Sen. Scott Wiener on Wednesday blasted what he called “extreme local control” for hampering housing production in California, but he said he’s optimistic about the future.

“We’ve told cities you can do whatever you want,” the San Francisco Democrat told a packed meeting of the Rotary Club of San Jose on Wednesday afternoon.

With many housing proposals generating intense pushback from nearby homeowners and the years it typically takes to see a project to completion, Wiener acknowledged that there is “a big political incentive not to do meaningful housing work.”

But the senator — perhaps best known for his proposal to get rid of zoning restrictions near major transit lines — also told the room full of developers, lawmakers and others that how the state approaches housing ultimately will determine whether California “continues to be a thriving economy” and affect everything from climate change to the diversity of communities.

The former San Francisco supervisor pointed to education as a model, where local communities have a good deal of control but the state also dictates some standards. Instead, he said, the state has allowed cities to use restrictive zoning, burdensome impact fees and extended approval timelines to limit the number of homes being built.

“Over and over again we’ve made it harder and harder to build housing,” Wiener said, adding that housing production has declined even as the state’s population has climbed.

And he criticized Washington, D.C., for not doing enough to push more affordable housing construction, saying, “The federal government has been AWOL since Ronald Reagan was president.”

The state still needs to streamline some things — like the California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA, Wiener said. Opponents of various housing proposals have tied up developments in court for years using sometimes dubious environmental objections.

“We’re trying,” Wiener said.

But Wiener said he’s encouraged by recent changes at the state level, such as legislation he put forward that requires cities that haven’t met their state housing goals to streamline approval for some proposed projects, and a push across the state to make it easier for residents to build backyard granny flats. He also applauded the passage of a statewide rent cap law.

“It’s still shocking to me we passed it,” Wiener said, adding that the idea wouldn’t have been politically viable five years ago.

“It is a very, very hard issue,” Wiener said. But, he continued, “I am an optimist.”