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About Senate Bill 50

ABOUT SENATE BILL 50 LET’S TALK

Briana Frazier

For a moment, we all thought that California had a chance to turn the tables around and make housing in the state work. The controversial bill requires cities and the county governments to alter the local zoning laws to allow for more modern, denser housing near the job centres and public transportations. Right now, the state is required to come up with means to house about 150,000 homeless people, this bill could have provided the answer, but unfortunately, it died in the state senate.

Developers, landlords, Facebook, construction unions, the state Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, environmental groups and even the AARP wanted to see the bill pass. And so, did the big city mayors including San Francisco’s London Breed and San Jose’s Sam Liccardo. The list goes on to include Senator Toni Atkins, Democratic leader of the State Senate who is very vocal in matters deciding which bills make it out of the Chamber.

Nonetheless, even with the support of the “big fish” the bill failed to get enough votes in the California senate. The bill was particularly crucial for the Governor, and now the question floating around is; how will he meet the plan to build millions of new homes? And if cities and anti-gentrification activists and suburban homeowners could stymie the assortment of powerful interests backing the bill, what pro-development policy options are left? While California is facing the wrath of Coronavirus, added to the list is the housing crisis. It has been blamed for all sorts of maladies, from homelessness to emigration y businesses and business seeking a more affordable environment. The blame for the shortage of housing in the state has been attributed to all sort of things; conservatives tend to complain about environmental and building regulations while progressives blast about the greedy landlords and developers and the state tax code that is typically to freeze the property ownership. However, everyone agrees on one thing; NIMBYism is the problem. And the Governor could not hold himself. In a recent State of the State address, he blasted stating that almost every Californian is a NIMBY. The speech went ahead to detail a roster of forces that are responsible for the housing crunch, including blaming the not-in-my-backyard.

Well, the Governor is 100% right in tying the inaction to self-interest. This is a natural defence mechanism against change in almost all situations, especially when an issue like housing put trillions of dollars of wealth at stake. “Time and time again, bigger, bolder reform hasn’t happened — in part because of some legitimate concerns,” his prepared text reads.

of their communities because of gentrification. Middle-class homeowners fear that their single-family home could lose its value — a scary prospect given a house is often a family’s biggest asset. The Governor is quite tactical, and shaming in action is such a laudable act. However, one unspoken challenge is that the status quo is precisely what a chunk of the real estate industry wants. On his part, the Governor says that sacrifices are needed from the homeowner who’s bet their life savings on the California home. He suggests the same feat for the renters in the state who instead accept dumpy rentals because there’s no better option and they live a layoff away from becoming homeless. “ These real concerns should not be brushed aside. At the same time, we also know the status quo is simply unacceptable — we aren’t building enough housing.”

requirements in favour of more housing, and enable more buildings in high-income areas. Smaller cities, those with less than 50,000 people would have to add up to 15 extra feet of height to their permits, essentially adding flor of housing, in areas within halfmile from the transit.

Critics of the bill were equally also diverse as advocates, but a little more vociferous. Some critics said that the loss of control for the city and county planners, who say they know the needs of their communities best. The board of Supervisors across the state were against the measure, along with dozens of city governments and the League of California Cities, an association of city officials. Suburban dwellers were also actively engaged in opposing the bill argued the need to preserve their single-family homes.

Even after a campaign trail to appease the critics of the bill, Weiner still couldn’t get them on board, despite the amendments. New amendments were introduced at the beginning of the year, allowing more time for the communities to make changes and offer plans as long as the plans would boost the density to the same level as SB 50.

The Governor promised to build some 3.5 million new homes by 2025 and analysts say that roughly, to actualize that goal, about half a million new units will be needed to be built per year to reach that goal. Just last year alone, about 111,000 new permits were approved by the local governments, 6,000 less than in 2018.

While the Governor had not endorsed the bill, reporters say that he was working closely with the lawmakers to see that the bill made it through.

“We are not giving up, we are going to continue to work aggressively to address production in this state,” he said on Wednesday before the vote.

The bill proposed a more vibrant denser environment, requiring that the local governments approve a four-story building within half a mile of transit and five-story building within a quarter-mile. The bill also gave the state more control over the local parking The bill has some of the most robust anti-demolition protections under state law, making it an additive bill and not what it has been thought to be, replacing the existing communities. This legislation will allow for local design standards, defers to the local height limits, and has an affordability provision to encourage low-income housing development.

“We are not all the way there yet on this bill, but we will get there,” Weiner said. “Voters want us to act. They want us to take bold action. They want us to stop the pain.”

Sources & Work Cited

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/ politics/2020/01/30/californias-controversial-housing-billsb-50-fails/4614387002/ https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/stategovernment/sb-50-failed-now-what/ https://www.ocregister.com/2020/02/21/newsom-callsout-all-californians-for-being-nimbys/

Life in Corona CA, WHAT’S IT LIKE?

Jenny Gonzalez

Corona county is part of the Riverside-San BernardinoOntario Metro Area. Corona is one of the places filled with the southern California life all over the 38 square mile town in Riverside county. It boasts of excellent education, bountiful business and notable neighborhoods, which makes it one of the best places to live in California.

About the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metro Area This area borders riverside County and San Bernardino County to the north which forms this metro area. It extends far into the uninhabited desert areas, in this case, east through the Mojave Desert to the Nevada/Arizona border.

The metro area is larger than nine US States, it is often referred to as the inland empire. The cities that lie in the western portion of this metro like Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario and a patchwork of other communities and neighborhoods are developed suburbs of the LA area with a rapidly growing and stable economy.

Of the more commercial areas within this metro area include Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Colton and most are on the 1-10 corridor. Others off the main roads and against the area’s many mountain ranges like the Loma, Linda, Chino Hills and many other parts of the Riverside area tend to be more residential.

Today, the main economic activities include a host of diversified light manufacturing, international trade and offices of overseas companies. And although rapidly rising, the cost

of living and housing remain relatively affordable as compared to areas like the LA and southern California.

These areas today face many challenges LA is currently confronting, like overcrowding, sprawl, poor air quality and long freeway commutes. But, much as these areas are offering many of the Southern California advantages, they are also bringing the negatives in somewhat smaller doses.

COST OF LIVING IN CORONA CA

Compared to most other areas, the cost of living is low at 8.1 percent less than the state average. However, compared to the national average, Corona cost of living is 20.6 percent higher. Yet, the median family income of roughly $77,021 seemingly averages out the high price of livelihood. However, most families in town seem to be making more money than the average American households. The median home prices come in at $506,347 and the average onebedroom apartment costs around $1,765 a month and up depending on location and luxury. Also depending on the family size and usage, utility costs may vary, obviously costing less for a family of few.

EMPLOYMENT IN CORONA

Mainly, education is the lead employer in Corona and in the region with the Corona-Norco Unified School District has the highest number of employees- almost 5,000 staff members. Coming in second and close is the Corona Regional Medical Center with almost 1,200 workers.

Additionally, Corona County is home to several leading companies in the aeronautics and food processing and staff more than 1,000 employees in the pharmaceutical industry at Watson. Corona is also endowed with many diverse manufacturers who help keep the unemployment rate low at 3.10% percent. The Corona employment rate grew by 3.37% between years 2016 to 2017. The Corona Chamber of Commerce can be credit for some of that growth as it is always offering education and incentives to the local merchants in the are that help keep their business strong.

MOVING IN LIGHT OF PANDEMIC

At this point, movers haven’t been disrupted as much. That being said, the decisions about closures may be left to the individual franchise owners. If you had previously scheduled a move and haven’t heard anything, assume that your moving company is still operational, unless told otherwise. If you are worried about moving during the pandemic, for a move that is still schedule to happen, it is still hard to say what will and will not be available in the months to come. As such, continue doing some research on companies and ask directly the steps being taken when you reach out.

Suppose you want to see some great properties in Corona, be it for residential or commercial purposes, get in touch with one of out VIP agents, Jenny Gonzalez in Corona CA. to learn more about the program, click here.

Jenny has ben in the real estate business since 1998, climbing the ranks to become one of the most respected, and renown real estate agents in Corona. To learn more about Jenny, click here.

Sources & Work Cited

https://www.movers.com/moving-guides/moving-tocorona-ca.html https://www.bestplaces.net/jobs/city/california/corona https://datausa.io/profile/geo/corona-ca/#economy https://www.zillow.com/corona-ca/home-values/ https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ ca/corona/

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