In a major win for California housing development advocates, state lawmakers signed off Monday on a series of reforms that supporters say could clear the way to build hundreds of thousands of new homes statewide by significantly easing permitting requirements.
The political wave — under intense pressure from voters who consistently rankunaffordable housing and homelessness as top concerns — comes after months of tense negotiations between labor unions, Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) housing groups, tenant advocates and development opponents that have long fought related measures.1
The raft of new housing bills comes as cities across California debate how to meet increased state housing mandates. From San Francisco to Palo Alto, the so-called Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process and looming November ballot measures have already spurred new lawsuits and warnings of an impending “revolt” from cities with a history of opposition to new development.
Two of the bills passed by the legislature on Monday, AB 2011 and SB 6, would similarly allow for housing in commercial corridors currently set aside for offices, retail or parking. AB 2097 proposed getting rid of most parking requirements for new homes near transit. AB 2221 builds on several recent state laws designed to make it easier to build backyard in-law units, technically known as Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs.
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- 1. If signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bills would quickly open up large swaths of commercial land for new housing construction, eliminate minimum parking requirements for new homes near transit and make it easier to build backyard in-law units. But like other major housing policy changes in recent years, the prospect of densifying communities where homeowners have long financially benefited from scarcity is also likely to fuel new local political and legal battles in the Bay Area and beyond. “Holy hell, it actually happened,” Jordan Grimes, a housing advocate with Palo Alto’s Peninsula for Everyone, reacted on Twitter to the Monday evening passage of the parking bill. He called the votes as part of “a truly incredible day for housing and climate policy in the world’s fifth largest economy.”