Governor Gavin Newsom, whose second and final term ends in January 2027, has made curbing homelessness and increasing housing key priorities. However, his recent budget cut proposal contains more than $1.2 billion in cuts from housing programs, including $300 million from regional planning grants, $250 million from programs aimed at building and preserving multifamily housing, and another $250 million from a program to acquire and rehabilitate properties at risk of foreclosure.
A California pro-housing group has filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles over decisions to stall new affordable housing near single-family neighborhoods. The lawsuit seeks to accelerate a developer’s plans to build 360 apartments for renters with low and moderate incomes along a stretch of Winnetka Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. The developer filed an application in early 2023 asking for approval of this project under Executive Directive 1 (ED1), the signature housing policy Mayor Karen Bass enacted during her first week in office. The project was later denied fast tracking after Bass changed the rules to forbid ED1 projects near single-family homes.
Construction crews are beginning to pour the foundation on an affordable housing project in Logan Heights — the first project to emerge in San Diego pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 4, which is commonly referred to as the "Yes in God's Backyard" legislation. The project will offer 25 one-bedroom apartments set aside for low-income seniors and veterans. A 2020 report from UC Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation found faith communities in San Diego County have an estimated 4,675 acres of potentially developable land.
Please see our recent legal alert for more information about SB 4 and other critical housing laws recently approved by Governor Newsom.
San Jose may soon see a major expansion of electric vehicle charging capacity as drivers in the city continue to shift away from traditional gas-engine cars. A proposed ordinance would require new San Jose developments to install an EV charging outlet next to every resident parking space. Elected officials say the new requirements will help encourage EV ownership among renters, who usually don’t have easy access to charging compared to single-family homeowners. The proposal, which would impact developments with four or more units of housing, will come before the City Council on January 23.
California will no longer allow new buildings that burn fossil fuels on-site to receive subsidies from utilities for electric line extensions, starting July 1, according to a recent decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). “Ending indirect incentives for natural gas system expansion helps us align state climate goals with our subsidies and financial incentives,” CPUC Commissioner Darcie L. Houck said in a statement. The move will also save ratepayers money, she said.
San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston is asking the state to weigh in on a long-delayed affordable housing project in Hayes Valley that is now home to a temporary community space, known as Proxy, that some residents are pushing to keep. Preston sent a letter last Friday to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) making the request, the latest salvo in a yearslong battle over what to do with the property. Neighbors have staunchly opposed the housing proposal and Mayor London Breed has largely stayed away from the debate. The letter and complaint to HCD comes after Preston unsuccessfully pushed Breed to commit to a timeline for construction on the site after she missed her own deadline to create a plan. Breed had promised that her office would set up a timeline by August for the 100-unit affordable housing project.
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