Solving SoCal’s housing crisis means zoning for more than 1M new homes, the state says

The figure is 3 times more than what local governments had proposed

Governer Gavin Newsom and homes in California (Credit: iStock and Getty Images)
Governer Gavin Newsom and homes in California (Credit: iStock and Getty Images)

Attention, NIMBYs.

Southern California will now need to rezone for 1.3 million new homes in the next decade, according to state officials.

The figure from the state housing authority comes amid Los Angeles and California’s growing housing crisis and is more than three times what local governments suggested they needed earlier this summer, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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State law requires cities and counties must evaluate their zoning measures every eight years to account for population increases. The Southern California Association of Governments had originally proposed zoning for 430,000 new homes during the same time period. It’s now looking into how to divide the goal of 1.3 million new homes around the SoCal area.

According to the state law, more than 40 percent of the new homes should be reserved for lower-income residents. Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously said that he wants developers to build more than 3.5 million new homes across the state in the next decade.

As evident of the need for more housing, a new multifamily report from Marcus & Millichap showed that despite an infusion of more than 10,000 apartments in L.A. County in the last year, demand remained strong as vacancy rates dropped. [LAT]Natalie Hoberman