Capping a year of ambitious promises and unprecedented funding for housing, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed more than two dozen bills that attempt to spur new development while also holding cities' feet to the fire if they don't approve more homes to address California's housing shortage.
Newsom, who repeatedly has said housing is among his top priorities, signed the 27 bills in the courtyard of Oakland's Coliseum Connections — a 110-unit, half affordable, half market-rate apartment complex built in 2019. The new legislation follows a historic funding package that includes $10.3 billion for affordable housing and $12 billion for homelessness and is built on emergency housing programs that Newsom put in place during the pandemic.
While Newsom acknowledged in an interview with this news organization that the steps taken so far won't be enough to put the housing affordability crisis in the state's rear-view mirror, he said California is making radical progress. He expects this year's funding package — with the help of Tuesday's legislation — will lead to the creation of more than 84,000 new affordable homes.
"This is the number-one pre-existing condition in this state," Newsom said. "And look, if I have five more years as governor, we will not have solved the housing crisis. But I am committed to a path where there's momentum, and there's an irresistible desire to continue to do better and more than we ever have in the past — and make that an expectation of whoever comes behind me."
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 28: Governor Gavin Newsom takes part in a press conference to sign a number of housing bills at the Coliseum Connections apartment complex on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Newsom said he hopes to allocate even more money to affordable housing next year and in the years to come. While campaigning for governor, he set an ambitious target of building 3.5 million homes by 2025 — a number he has since said was a stretch goal. The state is still far from meeting that goal. The state will come out with new state and local target numbers in January.
Michael Lane, state policy director at Bay Area think-tank SPUR, said state lawmakers exceeded expectations with the housing legislation they were able to push through during a pandemic and in spite of a reeling economy.
"I think it was a successful year," he said, "even notwithstanding the significant challenges."
Tuesday's approvals follow four big-ticket housing bills approved earlier this month — including Senate Bill 9, which curtails single-family zoning in the state in most neighborhoods by allowing up to four units on many lots.
Newsom also announced creation of a new state Housing Accountability Unit intended to make sure cities and counties are following state housing laws and approving enough housing for their populations, an issue that has been a source of contention between the state and local governments for years. Staff in the new unit will work with local officials to help them comply. But if they fail to follow the rules, Newsom has threatened to take legal action — as he did against Huntington Beach. Both sides agreed to settle that lawsuit last year.
Assembly Bill 215 — part of the 27-bill package Newsom signed Tuesday — adds additional pressure by creating checkpoints cities have to meet and forcing those that fall far behind their housing targets to adopt new pro-development policies.
The state's growing intervention in local housing decisions has been met with an outcry from groups such as Livable California and the League of California Cities, as well as some local elected officials. But in an interview, Newsom said officials who publicly oppose pro-housing measures increasingly are confiding privately to him that they want more development.
"It was jaw-dropping how many of the mayors said 'Thank you, I wish I could do that. Now I have an excuse to move, and say the state made me'," Newsom said, adding that the state mandates create cover for politicians who fear losing re-election bids if they support new housing.
Newsom also signed SB 791 by Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, to create the California Surplus Land Unit — a new team of state employees tasked with helping local city councils, county boards of supervisors and school districts turn their unused government-owned land into housing.
He continued efforts to create more housing in the form of backyard in-law units, both with new legislation that makes them easier to build and money to offset the construction costs. A new $100 million program will give low and moderate-income homeowners grants of up to $25,000 to build so-called accessory dwelling units on their property.
SB 478, which author Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco called a "nerd bill," tweaks wonky zoning rules to make it harder for local governments to block certain small apartment buildings between three and 10 units. SB 290 gives developers incentives to build affordable units for low-income college students. And AB 602, sponsored by the pro-housing group California YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), reforms the way cities charge developers fees to build — in an attempt to make it more affordable to create housing.
"Today is a bright day for housing in California," said Assemblymember David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who chairs the Housing and Community Development Committee.
The governor also said his office still is considering a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate in schools and is talking with school districts around California about the logistical challenges of such a policy.
"As we said, it's on the table, but no announcement to make today," he said, nearly a week after California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly first announced that the state was mulling the mandate.
In the coming days, Newsom's office said the governor will sign a package of bills addressing homelessness.
"I know what people want," Newsom said. "It's what I want. I want to drive down the streets and not see encampments on the sidewalks. I want to walk down the street and feel safe and not see people out there that are suffering from drug or alcohol addictions, that are mentally ill, that are self-medicating. We all want that. And I get that."
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