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Go to TempleCityTribune.com for Temple City Specific News THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 - SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
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Since 1996
VOL. 10 , NO. 37
CALIFORNIA FACES HOUSING CRISIS OF
‘HISTORIC PROPORTIONS’
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Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) offers more questions than answers
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California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis are hurting millions of Californians, robbing future generations of the chance to call California home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining the State’s environmental and climate objectives”.
Construction of new homes, condos and apartments in our immediate area still don’t address the Catch-22 workers face in 2019. – Photo by Terry Miller/ Beacon Media News
Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
I
t comes as no surprise that we here in California are in a major housing crisis. Just take a look at the staggering number of homeless men, women and children on Los Angeles County and local city streets. SB 330, known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 — a bill that aims to speed up housing development and protect low-income housing — recently passed through the California State Legislature. The bill, also called the “Housing Accountability Act,” was introduced by progressive Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. The bill places prohibitions on which
housing projects can be disapproved by agencies and prohibits the raising of fees on projects after a proposal has been submitted. The bill places a special emphasis on projects aimed at low-income housing and emergency shelters. According to a press release from Skinner’s office, the senator hopes the bill will usher in faster housing developments in California, which she hopes will help alleviate the housing crisis. “Our failure to build enough housing has led to the highest rents and home ownership costs in the nation,” Skinner said in the press release. “SB 330 … gives a greenlight to housing that already meets existing zoning and local rules and prevents new rules that might limit housing we so desperately need.”
Lack of supply and rising costs are compounding inequality and limiting advancement opportunities for many Californians. The majority of California renters, more than 3 million households, pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and nearly one-third, more than 1.5 million households, pay more than 50 percent of their income toward rent. Even the White House has now stepped in in an effort to understand and hopefully help with California’s homeless epidemic. Last week, Trump sent a research team from his administration to witness the plight of the homeless in Los Angeles. The outcome/ synopsis of this trip has yet to be revealed. California is experiencing a housing supply crisis, with housing demand which far outstrips
supply. The lack of housing, including emergency shelters, is a critical problem that threatens the economic, environmental, and social quality of life in California. In 2018, California ranked 49th out of the 50 states in housing units per capita. Consequently, existing housing in this state, especially in its largest cities, has become very expensive. Seven of the 10 most expensive real estate markets in the United States are in California. In San Francisco, the median home price is $1.6 million. Read More on our website under News