News: affordable housing
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Long Beach is considering a policy that could ultimately require landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers.
During a presentation Tuesday, city staff told council members it could adopt source-of-income protections to prevent rental housing owners from rejecting rental applicants based on their use of Section 8. Such ordinances, adopted by local governments including San Diego and Marin County, effectively force owners to take part in the federal Housing Choice Voucher program.
Tagged: Section 8 Long BeachLos Angeles
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 14, will convene a special workshop focused on finding ways to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Council members at the session will examine possible funding sources that could bolster the city’s Housing Trust Fund, which now has just $2.5 million, or enough to subsidize about 15 units. Staff will also present ideas for how to speed the construction of more affordable housing by reducing parking requirements, expediting project reviews, waiving fees, and other steps.
At the request of Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento City Council is expected to discuss tenant protections, such as rent control and tenancy-termination restrictions, as well as ways to increase funding and streamline the permitting process for construction of affordable housing. CAA members are encouraged to attend the hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14.
In an editorial published by the Sacramento Bee, the mayor outlined a proposal he intends to present to the City Council. While lacking specifics, his general intent is to cap rent increases at 5 percent when vacancy rates are low; require owners to state… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Sacramento Valley
A newly introduced bill would waive environmental-review requirements for certain affordable housing projects in some of California’s poorest communities.
Under AB 3030 by Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, qualifying affordable housing projects in low-income “Opportunity Zones” would be allowed to proceed without review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The Opportunity Zones are being created in low-income census tracks across the country as part of the federal tax law passed last year.
Tagged: Affordable housing
A pair of bills have emerged in the Legislature this year to help California college students secure housing near campus without breaking their budgets.
SB 922 by Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Garden Grove, focuses on turning surplus property near college campuses into housing for college students.
It would authorize the California Department of General Services to offer unused properties within two miles of any University of California, California State University or California community college to local governments or nonprofits for the construction of such housing.
Tagged: Affordable housingLegislation
Pacifica voters on Saturday received a thorough education on the flaws and consequences of the rent control proposal appearing on November’s ballot as Measure C.
Measure C is modeled closely after rent control and eviction control ballot measures rejected by voters last year in San Mateo and Burlingame.
Joshua Howard, senior vice president of the California Apartment Association, took part in Saturday’s panel discussion, as did Pacifica Vice Mayor John Keener and representatives of both No and Yes on Measure C campaigns. The breakfast-time discussion was hosted by the Pacifica-Daly City Democrats Club.
Tagged: ElectionsRent Control Tri-County
The California Legislature has passed a package of CAA-endorsed and sponsored bills intended to help solve the state’s housing crisis.
Gov. Jerry Brown will have until Oct. 15 to sign or veto the bills.
The legislative package seeks to remove regulatory hurdles to residential development — a key to fixing the state’s jobs-to-housing imbalance.
The package also seeks ongoing funding sources for affordable housing programs, including a bond measure and fee on certain real estate transactions.
“Today we took a step toward addressing a housing crisis that has been plaguing California for years,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said Thursday,… Read More
In 2017, solving California’s housing crisis remained a top goal of the state Legislature.
The result? More than 130 housing-related bills in the first half of the year.
The California Apartment Association’s Legislative Steering Committee examined each of these proposals — and CAA’s public affairs staff helped advance the best of them.
Here are some notable examples of 2017 bills intended to solve California’s housing crisis and the status of each:
All three housing-production bills sponsored by CAA this year have now won approval in the state Assembly and have advanced to the Senate, taking them roughly halfway to the governor’s desk.
The latest victory for CAA-sponsored bills came May 30, as the Assembly passed AB 943 by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles. This bill would raise the voter threshold for passing no-growth measures in California cities.
A CAA-sponsored bill that would boost construction of micro apartments — especially in areas near public university campuses and public transit — has advanced to the state Senate.
On Thursday, the Assembly unanimously approved AB 352 by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles. The bill is now awaiting a hearing date in the Senate’s Rules Committee.
The bill, one of three housing-supply bills sponsored by the California Apartment Association this year, would help prevent local governments from establishing roadblocks to “efficiency dwelling units,” which usually measure 220 square feet or less. Like AB 943, Santiago authored this piece of legislation.