Swalwell’s 90-day housing permit deadline: Will it speed up building in CA?
California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell has a promise he is making on the campaign trail: On his first day in office, he would put a 90-day time limit on state agencies to act on housing permits.
“We need certainty,” he said at a recent campaign forum. “A goal, to me, without a deadline, is a dream.”
The idea is a key part of Swalwell’s platform, which also vows to speed up the review of housing-related lawsuits, reduce regulations and be tougher on cities that don’t build enough homes. The Democrat, and one of the frontrunners in the field, is aiming to make California a more affordable place to live and to help quickly increase the supply of available homes.
But will his 90-day time limit pledge actually achieve that?
The effects will likely be more limited.
California law already places an array of restrictions on how long state agencies can take to act on permits in certain circumstances. In some cases, they are already required to make decisions in 90 days or even more quickly.
That said, there also circumstances where agencies have months beyond the limit Swalwell is vowing to impose, meaning that the so-called “shot clock” could speed up reviews.
One of the agencies he has highlighted when making the pitch is the California Coastal Commission, which oversees land use along the Pacific Ocean. The powerful body has faced calls by legislators in recent years to make it easier to build more affordable housing next to the coast and Gov. Gavin Newsom has suspended commission rules in the wake of last year’s Southern California fires.
Sarah Christie, a legislative director for the agency, declined to comment on the idea.
“If we put more deadlines in place, we’ll see fewer reports and more rooftops,” Swalwell said at another recent campaign forum, where he also mentioned the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as other agencies he wants to be subject to the limit.
State agencies can play a key part in the fate of projects and housing permits. Still, cities and counties play a much bigger and more frequent role. So, if his plan remains only focused on state departments, Southern California land use attorney Morgan Gallagher said the policy won’t be as effective as it could be.
“In order to make a big impact on housing, in order to solve the housing crisis, it would need to be broader than that.”
Christopher Elmendorf, a UC Davis law professor who closely watches California housing laws, said time restrictions are less important than who is working at the departments themselves.
“If you want your state agencies to approve housing,” he said, “put people in charge to approve housing.”
Despite the questions about the significance Swalwell’s idea, people who want more housing in the state see the proposal as a positive step to try and make it cheaper and easier to buy and build homes.
”It’s excellent to see anybody running for governor who wants to take a crack at that problem,” said Daniel Golub, a land use attorney based in San Francisco, who has represented developers in disputes over project approvals.
“We think this is a good message and good direction,” said Dan Dunmoyer, CEO of the California Building Industry Association. “We very much want to see a governor push his agencies to be more responsive, and more quickly, even if it is to say yes or no.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 10:45 AM.
