California Apartment Association

The state Senate last week approved a bill aimed at issuing a $3 billion bond for affordable housing, joining a number of housing-production proposals still in play this year.

SB 879 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, is now in the Assembly. If the bond measure passes both houses of the Legislature, it will appear before voters in the Nov. 8 statewide general election.

Beall’s office said his bill would generate thousands of homes and apartments priced within reach of California’s families. It also would house thousands of homeless individuals, his office said in this news release.

“Senate Bill 879 enables Californians to set down roots in their communities,’’ Beall said. “By jump starting home construction, the bill will create jobs and stimulate the state economy. And the bond allows us to leverage federal tax incentives to attract developers.’’

The state senator’s proposal comes as California has seen a vast drop in public funding for affordable housing. The state, for example, has exhausted $6 billion in bond funds distributed through voter-approved Proposition 46 and Proposition 1C, which together created 183,000 units, Beall’s office said.

SB 879 joins numerous other proposals to promote housing construction. Among them is Gov. Jerry Brown’s push to limit local hurdles to below-market-rate residential development.

Under legislation suggested in Brown’s May budget revision, infill multifamily housing proposals that include affordable housing could be exempted from the local discretionary approval process, and in general, from CEQA review. Such legislation promises to constrain development costs, improve the pace of housing production and encourage an increase in housing supply.

Moreover, the California Apartment Association has sponsored several housing production bills, including proposals to make it faster and easier to obtain density credits and encouraging the construction of second units on residential lots. Learn more about those bills here.