Workers paint a wall on a Factory OS construction project in West Oakland. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters.
###
Toni Atkins stood on the state Senate floor in January and vowed, come hell or high water, that 2020 would see the state pass a bill to build more homes in California.
Even her wrangling as Senate pro tem wasnt enough to save Senate Bill 50, a zoning reform proposal pushing for more apartment buildings around California, from a third straight year of failure. The wonky bill had provoked the kind of polemical discourse typically reserved for Supreme Court nominations or Reddit threads on single-payer healthcare.
I want to personally commit to each and every one of you, and to the people of California, that a housing production bill to alleviate our housing crisis will happen this year, said Atkins, Democrat from San Diego, imploring her colleagues to bring productive ideas to the table to solve Californias most vexing issue making it cheaper to live here.
While neither hell nor high water materialized, a pandemic did.
Nevertheless, this week, Atkins and Senate Democratic leaders unveiled a suite of compromise legislation aimed at making it easier to build more housing. While no individual bill is as sweeping as SB 50, developers and housing experts say collectively the six proposals could make a meaningful dent in Californias housing shortage should they become law.
But while championing the art of the possible, Atkins admits that Californias new coronavirus-normal limited what the state could realistically pull off.
Things have altered and we had to pivot a bit because the world looks very different today, she said.
Heres what you need to know about California lawmakers latest plans to create more housing, and how COVID-19 has changed them.
Atkins suite of bills retains one of the more controversial provisions of Senate Bill 50, the upzoning proposal from Sen. Scott Wiener, Democrat from San Francisco: the elimination of single-family-only zoning throughout California.
Wide swaths of cities around the state currently prohibit any type of housing more dense than a single-family home. A new jointly-authored bill from Atkins and Wiener would force cities to allow homeowners and developers to convert single family homes into duplexes or even fourplexes, if the property is big enough. Those conversions would not have to be reviewed for environmental impacts by local governments, an often lengthy and expensive process.
There are hundreds of thousands of two-car garages that are just jammed with crap. And its ready for a builder to come in and demo the garage and scrape it and drop in a new home , said Ben Metcalf, managing director at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation and former head of the state housing department. Theres lots of potential here.
There are hundreds of thousands of two-car garages that are just jammed with crap. And its ready for a builder todrop in a new home. Ben Metcalf, UC Berkeley Terner Cener
While technically California ended single-family-only zoning with the passage of a 2019 law that allows homeowners to build accessory dwelling units granny flats in their backyard, the prospect of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes popping up next door is sure to engender more pushback from homeowner groups resistant to more visible changes to their neighborhoods.
I would not like to see fourplexes going up here, said Susan Kirsch, an anti-development activist in Marin County who founded a statewide lobbying group to help defeat Wieners earlier proposals. These streets are very narrow, its going to increase traffic, itll hurt parking.
Kirsch cautioned that if local governments wanted to pursue denser development, they should be allowed to. But she chafes at the idea of the state issuing a top-down edict.
As a state law, I think its an intrusion on community rights, pushed by developers with huge pots of money, she said.
The idea of loosening local zoning rules has gained traction in national progressive circles, with Democratic lawmakers in Minneapolis and Oregon prohibiting single-family-only zoning last year. Local ordinances prohibiting denser development have historically been associated with excluding renters, who skew lower income and non-white, from more affluent communities.
Atkins says she doesnt think single-family-only zoning is inherently bad policy, and cautions that the option of converting a home into a fourplex wont erode neighborhood character.
I love my neighborhood, I live in a neighborhood that is single-family and has some multi-family spread throughout and it works, said Atkins. I wouldnt call this the death knull of single family neighborhoods. I would think thats a mischaracterization.
Eliminating single-family-only zoning has a new allure for lawmakers in a post-coronavirus world: It doesnt cost the state any money.
Conspicuously absent from Senate Democrats housing package is any proposal that would devote new state dollars to building low-income housing or allow cities to beef up infrastructure to accommodate it. Confronting a recession-induced budget deficit the Newsom administration has pegged at $54 billion, Atkins said proposals that might have been possible in January simply arent feasible right now.
In the moment we have to be strategic and focused, but it doesnt mean all those things go by the wayside, said Atkins.
Instead, Atkins package tries to incentivize market-rate developers to include more low-income units in their projects. A bill from Sen. Nancy Skinner, Democrat from Berkeley, would enhance an existing state density bonus program that allows developers to build taller and denser if they charge below market-rates for some of their units.
But while low-income housing advocates say they are pleased Senate Democrats are still addressing housing issues, they want a stronger focus on helping those who were already struggling before the novel coronavirus threatened their livelihoods.
The last two decades have shown that the market is not working to build supply for people at the bottom of the income spectrum and its never worked for communities of color. Chione Flegal, Policy Link
My sense is that theres a real desire to see the market help fix our problems, and I think thats kind of fundamentally at odds with our perspective, said Chione Flegal, managing director at PolicyLink, an organization that advocates for greater equity in housing policy. Although theres certainly a role for the market, the last two decades have shown that the market is not working to build supply for people at the bottom of the income spectrum and its never worked for communities of color.
Flegal and other advocates say more density must also be accompanied by stronger protections for communities sensitive to gentrification and displacement pressures.
Some of the precious dollars cities and low-income housing advocates are seeking have instead found their way into another part of Atkins housing proposal: a $300 million to $500 million annual plan to help renters and landlords impacted by coronavirus.
Unveiled last week but included in this package of housing bills, the program would give renters 10 years to pay back rent bills missed because of COVID-19 directly to the state. Landlords would be compensated with tax credits they could sell on secondary markets for cash.
Beyond Atkins package, other proposals for affordable housing dollars are still circulating in the Legislature. But the pandemic-induced budget deficit has made the road ahead for those bills daunting.
A proposal that would have eliminated the mortgage interest deductions on vacation homes to fund homeless housing died earlier this week. Two remaining high-profile bills that would spend billions annually on low-income housing have not identified a new revenue source, meaning cuts would have to come from elsewhere in the budget to offset their cost.
Cash-strapped local governments are especially dismayed at how the pandemic has reshaped state housing proposals. Before coronavirus struck, they had hoped to see portions of a January budget surplus devoted to low-income housing, infrastructure grants and local planning departments.
That hope has dimmed significantly. And while Gov. Gavin Newsoms post-pandemic budget proposal preserves funding for an important tax credit program for low-income developers, it claws back some money cities had hoped they could tap for housing-related programs.
A spokesperson for the League of California Cities, which represents municipalities across the state, said it was still reviewing Atkins proposals and not yet taken a position on the package.
Cities did score one housing-related victory because of the pandemic: A slew of bills aimed at reducing the impact fees local governments could charge developers on new projects has been shelved as cities cling to any source of revenue they can get their hands on.
The economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus could contain a silver lining for California: When that big box retailer or shopping mall goes out of business, all that real estate could be converted to new housing.
The new Senate housing plan tries to seize on that opportunity. A bill from Sen. Anna Caballero, Democrat from Salinas, would make more land zoned for office parks or retail outlets eligible for housing development and streamline the approval process for developers who want to build on that land.
There is real interest in combining housing and retail, said Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Association, the primary developer lobbying group in the capital. Some of the national home builders and regional builders are looking at these sites.
If youre going to be forced to shelter in place, do you want a two-bed, two-bath condo in a city or do you want a three-bed, two-bath home with a backyard? Dan Dunmoyer, California Building Industry
While homebuilders may be bullish on converting retail to housing, they are less enthusiastic about incentivizing construction in denser, urban environments near public transit.
A bill from Sen. Wiener included in the Senate housing package would give cities the option to speedily approve smaller-scale housing developments in transit-rich areas and urban infill sites.
Although outbreaks of novel coronavirus have been more associated with overcrowded housing than density, Dunmoyer says that the pandemic could be reshaping where Californians want to live.
If youre going to be forced to shelter in place, do you want a two-bed, two-bath condo in a city or do you want a three-bed, two-bath home with a backyard? said Dunmoyer.
For his part, Wiener doesnt believe demand for living in urban environments close to jobs will be all that affected by the pandemic.
People have a lot of different reactions to the virus, but anyone who is really looking at the facts knows that the whole notion that housing density fuels COVID is simply false, he said.
Key to any housing bills moving forward in the state Legislature is the support of the State Building and Construction Trades Council, the construction workers union that donates heavily to state Democratic lawmakers.
Asked if he supported Atkins housing package, council president Robbie Hunter said that while hes still reviewing all the proposals, overall the package works for his members.
You cant address poverty in housing by driving construction workers into poverty to build it. Robbie Hunter, Building and Construction Trades Council
Shes made an effort to make sure that workers that work in construction, particularly affordable housing, are paid a fair wage, said Hunter. You cant address poverty in housing by driving construction workers into poverty to build it.
Both Caballeros retail-to-housing bill and a separate Atkins proposal to grant larger housing projects the same speedy environmental reviews as sports stadiums contain provisions guaranteeing that union-level wages be paid to construction workers.
But labor backing doesnt guarantee a housing bill becomes law. Wieners SB 50 was blessed by labor, and even with Atkins support couldnt make it past a Senate floor vote.
While still controversial, none of the individual proposals in this housing package are as aggressive as SB 50. That allowed Atkins to build support for the package from a variety of lawmakers, including those who opposed Wieners previous measures.
Obviously I spent years trying to pass SB 50 and we were swinging for the rafters and it didnt cross the finish line, said Wiener. But (Atkins) handled this very wisely. She decided the way to do this was to convene a working group of senators who havent been quite vocal, senators who were on both sides of SB 50.
If it passes the Senate, the new housing package will have to get through the state Assembly a body filled with the types of moderate suburban lawmakers and veterans of city government typically opposed to encroachments on local control.
Atkins said she had briefed the governors staff on the housing package, and is hoping the governor can lobby reluctant lawmakers.
We would love to have his support obviously, as soon as he would like to give it, it would be helpful, said Atkins. But the Legislature has its own process and Im optimistic about our chances with this package.
###
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
- Construction begins on 33-story apartment building in downtown St. Pete - St. Pete Rising - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Inside Elyria-Swansea's 16-story apartment building that has a plant-filled canyon running through it - Denverite - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Here's the status of major apartment projects in Lancaster County - LNP | LancasterOnline - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- San Diego apartment wave: More than 4000 units opening this year - The San Diego Union-Tribune - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Construction marches on for new low-income senior apartments in Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs Gazette - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Affordable housing projects take steps toward construction - Your Observer - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- 'Negligent' engineer whose botched inspection led to NYC apartment building collapse agrees to fine, ban - New York Post - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- 114 affordable Yesler Terrace units on track for May finish - Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Fatalities as fire engulfs apartment blocks in Spain - Construction Briefing - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- HASTINGS designs two workforce housing complexes in Nashville - The Architect's Newspaper - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Cladding under suspicion as four die in Valencia tower blaze - Global Construction Review - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Construction begins on new apartment building coming to Norwood in 2025 - News 12 Bronx - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- NYC Building Permits Spike But Only for Homes, Not Apartments - Commercial Observer - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Nine states pledge to transition to heat pumps for residential HVAC and water heating - Building Design + Construction - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Construction to begin on 164-unit affordable housing property in Rosemount - St. Paul Pioneer Press - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Construction on a new apartment complex to begin in Fox Lake - WiscNews - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Park Slope's Grand Prospect Hall-Replacing Build Hits Snags - Brownstoner - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Crews Quickly Put Out Brush Fire Near Apartment Building Under Construction - Times of San Diego - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Construction to begin on Lawrence apartments in Buffalo - Buffalo News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Austin Rents Fall as Apartment Construction Accelerates - Planetizen - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Construction of 190-apartment residential neighborhood in Sugovushan continues [PHOTOS] - AzerNews.Az - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- The Mill at Prattville's historic downtown gin shop wraps construction - Montgomery Advertiser - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Tempe residents will see 4 new high-rise apartments take shape in 2024 - The Arizona Republic - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Crane Watch: Apartments, apartments and more apartments being built as multifamily sector booms in Austin - The Business Journals - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- 10 new Detroit developments to get excited about in 2024 - Detroit Free Press - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Developer hopes to have prefab apartments in seven CT towns - Hartford Courant - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Apartment building destroyed after fire in Southeast Fresno - KMPH Fox 26 - April 5th, 2023 [April 5th, 2023]
- Commercial and Multifamily Construction Starts Post Solid Recovery in 2021 - Construction.com - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- More high-end apartments on the way at Tobin estate as second phase of construction starts - San Antonio Express-News - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- 49-unit WDM affordable apartment project expected to be completed by fall - Business Record - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Construction of Willow Valley Communities' 20-story downtown building to begin after sales of its apartments - LNP | LancasterOnline - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- New Zealands bipartisan housing reforms offer a model to other countries - Brookings Institution - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- HDC Hyundai Development raided in connection with Gwangju apartment building collapse - The Korea Herald - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Bend's big shift from single-family homes to more multifamily housing tops city's expectations - KTVZ - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- New Construction Is Not Always the Answer - ArchDaily - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Boston-based boutique hotelier buys Wilton Manors apartment building for $8M - The Real Deal - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Says City Is Growing Faster Than Ever At Panel Discussion With Developers - CBS Miami - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- These Will Be the Hottest Up-and-Coming NoVA Neighborhoods in 2022 - northernvirginiamag.com - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Downtown DeLand CRA throws big incentive to apartment developer - The West Volusia Beacon - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Why a 4-storey apartment could be coming to a residential street near you - CBC.ca - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- He Was in Witness Protection in Maine. But His Harlem Life Kept Calling. - The New York Times - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- NYCs Wealthy Enclaves Lost Housing in Past Decade as Combining of Apartments Outpaced New Construction - THE CITY - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Holladay planning $27M apartment project in Fletcher Place by former Milano Inn - Indianapolis Business Journal - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Building construction price indexes, Q4 2020 - Lumber still an issue - Electrical Business - Electrical Business - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- WHATS THIS? ANOTHER 50+ AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - Florida Keys Weekly - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- 538 new houses, condos and apartments proposed on Ann Arbors north side - MLive.com - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- 7-story building with parking garage, restaurant and apartments to be built near new courthouse in Harrisburg - PennLive - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Developer of in-progress $31M housing project in Williamsville seeks tax breaks - Buffalo News - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Downtown Vancouver is on the rise - The Columbian - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Demolition in Ohio City signals big visible first step toward creation of park at Irishtown Bend - cleveland.com - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Developer closes on financing for $124M apartment project in West St. Paul - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Apartment Developers Increasing Unit Sizes For New Projects In Response To Pandemic - Bisnow - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- A makeover for Norfolks deluxe apartment in the sky - WAVY.com - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Teacher housing plan moves ahead in Palo Alto - Palo Alto Online - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Guilderland and Pyramid seek to reverse ruling that halted companys projects - The Altamont Enterprise - February 9th, 2021 [February 9th, 2021]
- Another South U block demolished to make way for next Ann Arbor high-rise - MLive.com - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- The Pandemic Disproved Urban Progressives Theory About Gentrification - The Atlantic - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- The Sydney apartment tribes reshaping the harbour city - Sydney Morning Herald - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- Editorial: Changes needed to build more middle-income housing - The Daily Herald - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- 1 dead in 4-alarm Yonkers apartment building fire - Yahoo News - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- ATF helping to investigate massive fire at Waldo Heights apartments - KMBC Kansas City - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- With little effect on ground, work on Minneapolis 2040 plan continues behind the scenes - Minneapolis Star Tribune - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- Construction of housing project for the elderly begins in Dupont - Insurance News Net - January 3rd, 2021 [January 3rd, 2021]
- COVID will leave lasting changes in Minnesota office and apartment projects - Minneapolis Star Tribune - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Three-story office building proposed to slide in between apartments, alley in Downtown Boise - boisedev.com - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- US apartment construction boosts housing supply in November - Yahoo News - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Looking ahead: Fishers major projects in 2021 include the Nickel Plate Trail tunnel and First Internet - Current in Carmel - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Downtown development to focus on apartments | News - Bowling Green Daily News - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Developer Who Almost Landed Amazon HQ2 Planning Scores Of Apartments In Its Place - Bisnow - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Avenue breaks ground on 34th Street apartment complex - The Leader - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Hayle Harbour development celebrates milestone with topping out ceremony - In Your Area - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Here are 2020s most active architects - The Real Deal - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Apartments planned along Columbia River between Camas, Washougal - The Columbian - December 23rd, 2020 [December 23rd, 2020]
- Building law reform for NSW residential apartment buildings: Beware builders and developers - Real Estate and Construction - Australia - Mondaq News... - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- Clean Air: The Next Luxury Apartment Perk - The Wall Street Journal - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- Mill Creek Begins Construction on Washington, DC-Area Community - Multi-Housing News - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- AvalonBay buys Somerville site from Somerset Development, ready to build apartments and more in transit-oriented development - ROI-NJ.com - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- Mitch McConnell urges Senate to pass the $741 billion defense bill Trump has vowed to veto - Business Insider India - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- A Couple Explore the Towers of Long Island City. Which of These Apartments Would You Choose? - The New York Times - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- KWA Construction Tops Out 293-Unit Upscale Waterfront Apartment Community in Las Colinas Area of Irving, Texas - MultifamilyBiz.com - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]