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Some novel approaches to tackling California’s housing crisis are continuing to gain traction in the state Legislature this year.
Take AB 73 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco. This bill, supported by the California Apartment Association, would incentivize local governments to zone for more housing.
Tagged: Affordable housingLegislature
On a 5-1 vote, the Anaheim City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal that would have required the installation of expensive firefighting equipment in new high-rises, including multifamily housing.
The proposal called for firefighter air-replenishment systems in new buildings taller than 75 feet.
Such systems are designed to provide rapid air-refilling capabilities to firefighters’ breathing tanks, however, there is no guarantee that the devices make buildings any safer.
Tagged: News Orange County
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.
The Assembly has passed a CAA-sponsored bill to help prevent local governments from arbitrarily denying housing projects.
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… Read More
Tagged: Affordable housingLegislation
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.
For the remainder of 2017, lawmakers have shelved a bill that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, landmark legislation that’s protected California from extreme forms of rent control for more than 20 years.
Amid strong opposition from the California Apartment Association, legislators this week decided to make AB 1506 a two-year bill, meaning the Legislature won’t consider a repeal of Costa-Hawkins this year but could take it up again in 2018. The author will instead host a series of public hearings to determine what can be done on this topic.
Tagged: LegislatureNewsRent Control
Voters in Los Angeles on Tuesday soundly rejected Measure S, a ballot proposal that would have substantially blocked housing construction in the city for two years.
The California Apartment Association vigorously opposed Measure S, which threatened to exacerbate the housing shortage in Los Angeles, making it more difficult for renters to find places to live and further driving up rents.
Tagged: Elections Los Angeles
Members of the California Apartment Association from throughout the state converged on Sacramento on Wednesday to learn about this year’s rental housing-related legislation and engage in a series of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers.
CAA’s Legislative Conference began at the Sacramento Convention Center, where the association’s public affairs team reviewed key bills for 2017, including CAA’s own solutions to help solve California’s ongoing housing crisis. By increasing the state’s housing stock, CAA’s housing-production bills would help workers and their families live closer to jobs and schools. With more housing on the market, economic forces would help moderate rent prices and… Read More
In 2016, housing policy emerged as a major focal point for the California Legislature.
For the rental housing industry, perhaps the most significant highlight was CAA’s successful sponsorship of four housing-production bills to ease California’s housing shortage.
When California fails to build enough housing, rent prices rise precipitously, leading to calls for onerous policies such as rent control.
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a pair of bills that will help chip away at the state’s housing shortage by making it easier to build in-law units on residential lots.
The bills include CAA-sponsored AB 2299 by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, as well as SB 1069 by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont. Under the bills, local governments will lose the ability to mandate additional parking for second units when the units are within one-half mile of public transportation or ride-share parking areas.