Governor Gavin Newsom was in San Francisco on Thursday to advertise a housing package he signed that, amongst other things, goals to crack down on construction-resistant cities and force local authorities to hurry up approval processes for brand new housing projects and homeless shelters.
To cities that “turn their backs” on the housing crisis, Newsom said: “We are putting pressure on them.”
The package includes 32 latest housing laws. Among the doubtless only are:
SB1037: Allows state agencies to impose latest fines on cities that don’t greenlight construction of latest housing or provide an approved plan for his or her future housing goals.
Already under Newsom, the state has sued or threatened to sue cities across California accused of violating state housing laws. Earlier this 12 months, Newsom threatened legal motion against Half Moon Bay for delaying a farmworker housing project. In 2022, the state attorney general sent a warning letter to Woodside after the affluent Silicon Valley suburb tried to avoid a state housing law by declaring itself a mountain lion habitat.
FROM 1893: Clarifies that starting next 12 months, cities and counties that fall behind on state approval of their eight-year housing plans can be required to just accept applications from developers for “builder assistance.” Builder assistance is a penalty designed to force agencies to approve housing projects which can be much larger than local zoning codes allow.
In the Bay Area, developers in 18 cities have proposed a minimum of 98 redevelopment projects. But some, including San Jose, argued that current state law doesn’t require them to approve the projects. This bill seeks to clear up that ambiguity.
SB1395: Optimizes the approval process for “Temporary accommodation“Homeless shelters, such as tiny homes and converted motel rooms. Unlike traditional dorm-style group housing with strict rules and little privacy, transitional housing is designed to provide residents with single rooms to give them a more welcoming and stable environment while they receive assistance in finding permanent housing.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan pushed the city to build hundreds of new tiny homes to get many of the roughly 4,400 homeless residents off the streets while clearing more encampments. He was a staunch supporter of the housing bill.
“We can now get more people indoors faster and create a better quality of life for everyone – not just in my city, but in every city in California,” Mahan said in a statement.
While some homeless advocates support the bill, they say the creation of additional shelters is only a temporary solution and criticize recent decisions by San Jose and other cities to divert funds intended for affordable housing to building shelters.
“We all have a goal to get people into secure housing as quickly as possible. But we won't have the opportunity to sustain that effort if we don't give people more options for housing,” says David Low, director of policy and communications at Destination: Home, a South Bay homeless services nonprofit.
To that end, Newsom announced Thursday that starting in November, local officials will be able to apply for $2.2 billion from Proposition 1 — a mental health bond that voters narrowly passed in March — to help build assisted housing. The money is set to be disbursed in May 2025 and will fund more than 4,000 housing units for the homeless and those with mental health issues.
At the San Francisco press conference, Newsom also answered questions about Proposition 36, a ballot bill that would increase penalties for drug and shoplifting and has received overwhelming voter approval in recent polls. Newsom and his allies have opposed the bill, and he once proposed and then withdrew a competing ballot bill before signing a property crimes package.
“The impact it's going to have on the black and brown community is at a complete latest level,” Newsom said of the upcoming ballot measure. “The incontrovertible fact that I saw a poll today that said 70% of individuals wish to support it — it made me wonder what state I live in.”
Nevertheless, Newsom indicated that he wouldn’t campaign against Prop 36.
He had less to say about Proposition 33, a measure that may allow cities to expand rent control. Opponents argue that it could make it harder to construct latest housing and meet the state's goal of making 2.5 million units by 2030. When asked concerning the initiative, Newsom declined to comment.
“To be honest, I haven’t even had a chance to delve deeper into the subject,” he explained.
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