California housing bill gets major makeover — and it gives local governments more control
Last year, California local governments effectively blocked the broadest proposal out of the Legislature that attempted to boost home construction across the state.
This year, lawmakers behind that bill are trying to win over cities and counties by promising them a lot more control over their zoning laws.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, modified Senate Bill 50 after months of negotiations with local government leaders who raised concerns about the state infringing on local regulations. Wiener and other housing advocates view local zoning restrictions as obstacles to home construction, and want to legislatively require cities to clear a path for more development.
The updated bill would give cities some flexibility to achieve home construction targets on their own before losing authority over their zoning standards.
The revisions still require cities to plan for more housing, with SB 50’s provisions to serve as guidelines. But the changes give local leaders two years once the bill is signed to create a development blueprint that caters to their region’s needs, according to Wiener’s office.
If that plan is approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, the city would receive an exemption from most of the home construction law. At a minimum, the bill would require cities to zone for the same amount of housing that SB 50 would create.
The cities would also have to “meet or beat” a goal in SB 50 to reduce car trips. The bill would forbid local governments from concentrating production in low-income areas.
Tenant protections written into the proposal would prohibit the demolition of buildings with renters and larger projects would have to designate at least 15 percent of the units as low-income space.
Wiener has argued that the legislation would dramatically increase housing production amidst a statewide shortage that’s spurred an affordability and homelessness crisis. Proponents of SB 50 said that it’s also a necessary strategy to propel multi-family construction that would ultimately shorten commutes and ease environmental concerns exacerbated by transportation emissions.
“We have a multi-million unit home deficit in California,” Wiener said during a call with reporters on Monday. “And we want to make sure that as we build those homes that we definitely need, we aren’t building sprawled.”
Wiener said the amendments allow local officials to construct “shorter buildings in one area, taller buildings in another,” according to their own housing plans.
“Cities will have that option to meld it and move the density around but produce the same number of units,” he continued.
If cities don’t develop their own ideas, SB 50’s stronger language would kick in to authorize increased building height limits, remove parking requirements and allow for a higher “density” of units in specified areas.
The changes also include a five-year implementation delay for “sensitive communities” that lack resources and remain vulnerable to gentrification.
SB 50 maintains a roster of high-profile endorsers, including housing advocacy organization California YIMBY, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Labor Federation. Four Republicans have signed on as co-authors of the legislation.
“We believe that SB 50 will help us achieve our vision for a California for everyone where nobody is shackled by the circumstances of their birth or bad luck,” said Brian Hanlon, YIMBY’s president and CEO, continuing that the legislation would “help undo a century of race and class segregation” and stymie the flow of residents into other states.
The League of California Cities said it maintains its “opposed unless amended” position from last year, when it raised concerns over an undermining of locally adopted housing plans. The league said it will redetermine its position once the changes are analyzed.
The bill faces a Jan. 31 deadline to pass the Senate.
The deadline arrives as Gov. Gavin Newsom faces increased pressure to fulfill his goal of building 3.5 million new homes by 2025, which tallies to half a million new units per year. Local governments were on pace to approve building permits for 111,000 new housing units in 2019, a dip from 117,000 in 2018.
Newsom in recent months has signaled support for pro-construction ideas like SB 50.
“We need to continue this kind of energy to focus on increasing that supply,” the governor said in October during a ceremony to sign housing legislation. “Continuing to do the good work that Scott Wiener has been doing raising the issue of production in this state, and trying to do what he can to help his colleagues be convinced that they’re going to survive if they just come on over and help support, a little bit more, an indulgence in the construction side of things.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 9:20 PM with the headline "California housing bill gets major makeover — and it gives local governments more control."