The California Apartment Association’s fight against rent control reaches far beyond city council votes and local ballot measures.
It stretches back to Sacramento, where four CAA bills to increase the production of housing continue to progress through the state Legislature.
CAA’s bills would prevent local government from delaying or blocking many housing proposals, including those opposed by NIMBYs, short for Not in My Backyard.
For California to achieve a balance between new jobs and new homes, cities and counties must allow developments to move forward without unreasonable delay.
Otherwise, families can’t find affordable housing near their jobs and schools — and calls for rent control will only grow louder.
These are among the chief reasons that CAA has made a priority of streamlining the approval process for new housing. Just this week, progress in the state Legislature continued.
Advancing from a key Senate committee Tuesday, June 21, was a CAA-sponsored bill that would allow housing advocates and tenant groups to file lawsuits when local governments illegally deny housing projects.
The bill, AB 2584 by Assemblyman Tom Daly, D-Anaheim, expands the enforcement of the Housing Accountability Act by allowing groups that represent tenants or housing providers — such as CAA — to bring a legal action when a local government fails to comply with the act.
After winning approval on a 10-1 vote in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, the legislation heads to the Senate floor.
Other CAA-sponsored bills to increase housing production include:
- AB 2299 (Bloom) would mandate that local governments allow for the construction of second units on residential lots if those units meet specific standards and are located within one-half mile of public transportation.Mandate that local governments allow for second units on residential lots based on specific findings. Location: Transportation and Housing Committee.
- AB 2501 (Bloom) would make it faster, easier and more economical for developers to obtain density bonuses in exchange for including affordable housing in the developments. Location: Transportation and Housing Committee.
- AB 2180 (D-Ting) proposes to expedite the building permit process by shortening the number of days that a local government must take to approve a new housing project. Location: Appropriations Committee.
