![]() ![]() ![]() While some local leaders are sure to chafe under yet another state-imposed housing requirement, several big-city mayors are tentatively supportive. And cities that flout state housing law also are subject to the “builder’s remedy,” which allows developers to bypass local zoning laws for certain projects.īlakespear’s bill has gained some early support from housing activists, and recently passed out of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee by a 6-2 vote. Newsom’s administration sued the Orange County coastal enclave of Huntington Beach earlier this year for failing to adopt a housing plan. The idea comes at a time when the state is forcing local governments to take more responsibility for providing housing. Ideally, Blakespear said, the plans would require a unit for every single person counted. How much is yet to be determined, but it would be based on each city’s point-in-time census count of its homeless population. If the bill passes, local officials would have to include homeless housing in their plans. In all, the state requires cities and counties to plan for 2.5 million new homes over the next eight years - about 25% of which must be affordable for very low-income occupants.īut this method doesn’t require cities and counties to plan any housing that is specifically for homeless residents. “It will not result in homelessness going down.” California cities’ housing goalsĬurrently, the state makes sure every city and county plans for new housing through a process known as the regional housing needs allocation. “Everything we’re doing currently, it will result in homelessness growing,” Blakespear said in an interview. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, called it a “transformational idea” that could help move the needle on homelessness where other attempts have failed. It would go beyond just temporary shelter, also including permanent housing placements. Senate Bill 7 would - for the first time - require cities and counties to plan enough beds for everyone living without a place to call home. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers that getting people off the street is a top priority, there’s no state requirement for cities and counties to make sure they have enough shelters or housing for homeless residents.Ī bill working its way through the Legislature could change that, and potentially lead to sanctions against local governments that fail to plan for the needs of homeless Californians. But despite constant reassurances from Gov. Those massive gaps – which ensure thousands of people remain homeless – are visible in cities throughout California.
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