State Passes Two Bills to Spur Housing Construction

California has passed two bills aimed to encourage housing growth in the state.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 423, which extends and expands a state law that allows developers to skirt parts of the permitting process in cities behind on their state-mandated housing goals, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The Legislature also passed Senate Bill 4, which allows religious institutions and nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on their land, even if it bucks local zoning.

Both housing bills go to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must sign or veto them before Oct. 14.

“Enacting SB 4 and 423 will add powerful tools to our arsenal in combating the housing crisis,” the bills’ author Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said in a statement.

SB 423 extends the 2017 state housing law SB 35 that applied to affordable housing set to expire in 2026, while expanding it to allow developers of mixed-income apartments or condominiums to take advantage of the streamlined approvals.

Its backers expect it to build on SB 35, whose streamlining approvals have led to more than 18,000 new homes across the state. California is still short of its goal of building 2.5 million homes in the next eight years.

“SB 35 has done more to build affordable housing in California than any other state law or local measure,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY, in a statement. “With the passage of SB 423, we have the chance to double down on this successful legislation and build more homes affordable to people at all income levels.”

Several California cities opposed SB 423, saying it blocks their ability to regulate housing.

The League of California Cities, which lobbies on behalf of local governments, said it was concerned about a provision in the law that would allow the state to control housing developments or land that they own or lease, without obeying local zoning or development standards.

“This measure would double down on a recent trend of the state forcing cities to approve certain housing projects without regard to the needs of the community, opportunities for environmental review, or public input,” the league’s lobbyist, Jason Rhine, said in a statement. “We cannot streamline our way out of this housing crisis.”

The California Coastal Commission argued SB 423 would spur the construction of luxury ocean-front condominiums, rather than generate affordable housing.

It later took a “neutral” position after Wiener accepted amendments clarifying that the law would not apply to “environmentally sensitive or hazardous” areas, like those vulnerable to sea-level rise.

SB 4 was Wiener’s third attempt at making it easier for churches to build housing. A 2020 study by UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation said the bill could unlock nearly 40,000 acres for development.

Part of a broader “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement, the bill was sponsored by several housing associations and faith groups, including the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California and the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California.

— Dana Bartholomew