California's housing crisis got more attention this week from its governor and two big-city mayors.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, asked tech companies to contribute millions to help build more housing during a joint press conference with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Surrounded by San Jose families Newsom said are contemplating leaving the state, because of the high cost of housing, the governor asked Silicon Valley companies to provide developers with low-interest loans to build housing for teachers, nurses and other middle-class Californians.
The governor’s aim is for private companies to provide $500 million matching the amount he’s allocated in the state budget for local incentives. Newsom included funding totaling $1.75 billion in the $209 billion budget he unveiled last week. He also asked the Legislature to work with localities on efforts to help renters and protect families from out-of-control rent increases.
Liccardo, a Democrat, pledged $10 million from San Jose city coffers toward the effort.
Newsom signed two executive orders this week to inventory all state excess properties and put the list online with the aim of having proposals to build affordable housing on those properties by Sept. 30 and new units built in three years.
The governor called his
Nearly 50% of the state's residents can't afford a house in their local market, according to the governor. S&P Global Ratings has cited it as a concern in ratings reports on the state for the past few years.
Newsom called housing costs the defining quality-of-life issue in the state, one that threatens its long-term prosperity.
“That is why I am proposing a series of unprecedented actions to tackle this crisis head-on,” Newsom said.
While the governor focused on programs to create more middle class housing, Republican San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer outlined proposals to help house homeless people in his State of the City address.
In prior years, Faulconer has allocated funding, but this year’s efforts are focused on changing zoning laws to allow for increased density and speed up the approval process.
He also asked the city to embrace a “yes in my backyard” attitude. Both San Diego and Los Angeles officials have had problems deploying some of the money set aside to develop new affordable housing projects because of opposition from existing residents.
He proposed an unlimited density bonus for developers who build projects that include affordable housing and housing for the homeless. He also wants to remove height limits for buildings outside of the coastal zone and allow affordable housing and units intended for the homeless to be built by-right, reducing the number of hearings and appeals that slow the process. His plan would also lower the parking requirements for apartment buildings.
“We need to think about homes in the same way that we think about water and streets. These aren’t ‘nice-to-haves.' They are essentials,” Faulconer said. “The bureaucracy has been set up to empower anti-housing forces that delay or deny projects at every turn. We need to get government out of the way, so constructing homes becomes easier, less expensive and faster. We need to radically overhaul the system.”
He also announced several programs to increase services to homeless people including an expansion of an outreach program. The city will also open a new regional homeless shelter that will also provide so-called navigation services to help get homeless people services and into housing.
