News: Affordable housing

Filter

At Glendale City Hall, the idea of pursuing rent control to increase housing affordability has received a chilly reception. During a public meeting July 26, City Council members agreed that rent control isn’t a good option, reflecting opinions in a report from the Housing Department. “While rent control/rent stabilization programs can have tremendous symbolic value, they have generally proven costly to administer, undermined by existing state law, and do not necessarily achieve the goal of housing affordability,” a report from the city’s Housing Department says. Instead of instituting rent control, the city’s housing department suggests that the council consider other… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles

A ballot measure that would provide a greater variety of affordable housing options in Healdsburg is heading to voters this fall. The City Council on July 18 voted to place the Healdsburg Housing Measure on the November ballot. At numerous community outreach meetings over the past two years, Healdsburg residents have repeatedly requested changes to the city’s Growth Management Ordinance, or GMO, which was adopted in 2000. The California Apartment Association supports the Healdsburg Housing Measure, which would help provide the city with a greater variety of housing, such as multi-family rental units, small-lot and higher-density projects. This would boost… Read More

Tagged: North Bay

As California lawmakers return from a month-long summer recess, they’ll get right to work on legislation relevant to the rental housing industry. On Monday, the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up a few housing-production bills supported by the California Apartment Association, including the following: 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. AB 2208 (D-Santiago) would require that, before construction, rooftops of public buildings be offered to private or nonprofit developers for the construction of affordable housing. AB… Read More

Tagged:

All five bills sponsored by the California Apartment Association this year remain intact as the state Legislature adjourns for its month-long summer break. The bills — four on housing production and one on medical marijuana — will continue their journey toward the governor’s desk when lawmakers return in August. The legislation on marijuana, AB 2300, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The CAA sponsored bill, authored by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, deals with smoking medical marijuana in rental properties. AB 2300 would clarify that owners have the right to prohibit the activity, just as they can ban the smoking… Read More

Tagged:

After signing the state budget, Gov. Jerry Brown continues to seek legislation that would streamline the approval process for residential housing in California. On Monday, Brown signed a $122 billion state budget for 2016-17, including $400 million for affordable housing programs sought by Assembly Democrats. The governor, however, has set aside that $400 million until he and the Legislature work out a deal to more quickly approve local housing projects. The details must be worked out before the legislative session ends in August. The governor’s proposal, supported by the California Apartment Association, would exempt certain multifamily housing infill projects from… Read More

Tagged:

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 —… Read More

Tagged:

A bill that would remove local barriers to adding second units on residential lots passed its first hurdle in the Senate this week. The Senate’s Transportation and Housing Committee on Tuesday approved AB 2299 by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, on a 7-0 vote with four abstentions. Under AB 2299, local governments would have to allow the construction of second units that meet specific standards and are within one-half mile of public transportation. The bill, sponsored by the California Apartment Association, now heads to the Committee on Governance and Finance. AB 2299 is one of four CAA-sponsored housing production bills… Read More

Tagged:

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… Read More

Tagged:

During a radio show Monday morning, CAA’s chief executive made the case for legislation that would streamline the approval process for multifamily developments that meet affordable-housing standards and other state criteria. The discussion took place June 6 on  UpFront, a program hosted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert on Berkeley’s 94.1 KPFA. Tom Bannon, CEO for the California Apartment Association, spoke in support of Gov. Jerry Brown’s push to speed up the approval process for qualified multifamily housing. Under the governor’s plan, multifamily housing projects with infill housing and a certain number of affordable units would be exempt from a drawn-out approval process… Read More

Tagged:

Facing opposition led by CAA, an inclusionary-housing bill failed to get off the Assembly floor by Thursday’s deadline, but it’s still alive. AB 2502 by Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, lacked the needed votes to advance to the Senate. So instead of taking a vote, the bill was referred back to the Committee on Local Government. This unusual move keeps the bill alive, although it’s unclear whether the committee will take it up again. Mullin’s bill would allow cities and counties to force below-market rate housing in new rental developments. It would overturn the Palmer v. Los Angeles court… Read More

Tagged: