Legislative and Housing Policy Update:
Housing Production Legislation in Sacramento
Generation Housing has been hard at work supporting a bevy of bills working through the Senate and Assembly. One of those efforts centers around the Senate housing production package.
On May 20, Senate President Pro Tem Toni G. Atkins and Senate leaders, announced a package of bills designed to increase the supply of housing and aid California’s economic recovery due to the COVID-19 crisis. Joined by Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Senators Caballero (D-Salinas), Durazo (D-Los Angeles), Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), Roth (D-Riverside), and Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Senate leadership’s housing production package is an effort to spur affordable housing production and remove existing barriers by further streamlining the development process.
The package of bills include SB 902, SB 995, SB 1085, SB 1120, and SB 1385. Together, these bills have the potential to increase the number of construction jobs and apprenticeship opportunities that could strengthen the economic recovery and stability of working families in Sonoma County.
SB 902 (Weiner) gives local governments a streamlined path to zone neighborhoods for gentle, middle income density. SB 995 (Atkins) extends the sunset date for a law that expedites reviews for environmentally superior housing projects. SB 1085 (Skinner) improves and clarifies the State Density Bonus Law, expanding its use for middle-income and student housing production. SB 1120 (Atkins) promotes small-scale housing production by streamlining the process for homeowners to add units. SB 1385 (Caballero) encourages affordable housing development on vacant or underutilized commercially zoned land parcels.
“California had a housing crisis before this pandemic and the need is even greater now with the virus ravaging the earnings of working families and the most vulnerable. The Senate’s housing package focuses on desperately needed relief for renters, ushers in innovative solutions to spur smart development by expediting the transition of dead and dying malls and it advances small- scale infill development. Senate President pro Tempore Atkins has worked day and night on this package, ushering in bold solutions that will have a positive impact in every corner of the Golden State,” said McGuire.
Generation Housing is also excited to support two additional state bills outside of the Senate housing production package. First 5 Sonoma County Commission and Generation Housing have partnered to support AB 2405 (Burke), a forward-thinking bill, –that establishes housing as a right for our most vulnerable California residents. Focused on families and children, the bill would seek to move beyond the sole creation of shelter by codifying best practices to preventing homelessness, providing emergency housing, and transitioning families and children to permanent housing. The second bill, SB 899 (Weiner), is a top priority for our partners at Nonprofit Housing of Northern California, and which Generation Housing is excited to support, that permits affordable housing production on land owned by religious organizations and nonprofit hospitals.