The California legislature’s ongoing efforts to remove impediments to the construction of needed new housing took a major step forward in late August with the passage of new legislation. If two specific bills are signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, they will be useful tools in a long-term battle over housing supply. But because of the bills’ complex and perhaps infeasible provisions and the many opportunities they offer for stalling tactics by recalcitrant municipalities, a supply-driven solution to the state’s housing crisis may face a longer, more difficult path to fruition than some hope.
Two of the bills passed by the legislature, known as AB 2011 and SB 6, cover similar ground. Both were approved as a result of a deal involving the two houses of the legislature, affordable-housing developers, and labor unions. (The law firm Holland & Knight offers a useful explainer comparing the bills.)
Read Full Article »