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
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 by city and county governments, a back-and-forth often fueled by NIMBYism (not in my backyard).
The governor made fast-tracking multifamily development at the local level a priority in his May revise of the state budget. Brown proposed to do so by requiring ministerial “by right” land-use entitlements for multifamily infill housing developments that include affordable housing. This would make qualifying multifamily housing projects exempt not only from the discretionary approval process, but 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, the governor’s office has said.
Brown’s plan also aligns with AB 2501, a CAA-sponsored bill that would make it faster, easier and more economical for developers to obtain density bonuses in exchange for including affordable housing in developments.
These types of proposals, though, have drawn some opposition. During Monday’s radio show, Peter Cohen, co-director of the San Francisco Council of Community Housing Organizations, expressed concerns over cities and counties losing their ability to shape the characteristics of specific housing developments.
For Bannon, however, the need for a significant infusion of new housing, particularly with an affordable component, trumps a city’s desire to tinker with a particular project.
He pointed to the Bay Area’s addition of 400,000 jobs over the past five to seven years while only permitting 107,000 housing units.
“I think the big issue is California has a very serious housing shortage, and the importance of building housing for the state’s economic vitality has got to be a priority,” Bannon said during the program. “There are a number of people who are waiting for housing and the importance of getting it done quickly should really be something we celebrate.”
Click here for the entire radio segment.
Related content:
- Bills on Affordable Housing Density Go to Senate (The Independent, June 9)
- Can’t afford housing? California leaders are working on it (Sacramento Bee, June 6)
- All four CAA housing-production bills reach Senate (Videos) (CAA, June 2)
- Revised budget: Streamline development process to boost housing affordability (CAA, May 18)