The Assembly has passed a CAA-sponsored bill to help prevent local governments from arbitrarily denying housing projects.
Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra
The bill, AB 678 by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-San Fernando, adds much-needed teeth to California’s Housing Accountability Act.
The Housing Accountability Act requires that local governments follow certain legal mandates before denying housing projects that comply with their general plan and zoning rules.
AB 678 would impose penalties, including fines for governments that fail to comply with the act. That money would be placed in a housing trust fund for the construction of affordable housing. The bill now heads to the Senate for committee hearings.
Likewise, a companion bill authored in the Senate has won approval and now heads to the Assembly. That bill is SB 167 by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.