While California legislators this week shelved SB 50, a bill aimed at forcing more housing density, and voters last year shot down rent control, there's still a clear realization “something” needs to be done to help with the state's housing affordability challenge. In our latest video, we ask Ben Metcalf about what voters have signaled when it comes to housing and what's next in the rent control debate.
See a list of other bills lawmakers put on ice for the year over at CALMatters.
While SB 50 sparked an important debate about where to put the new homes California needs, it doesn't get to larger questions of finding enough land for housing, nor the fiscal tools that will allow cities and counties to get that housing built.
To wit, read our latest in our housing series, “Debate needs broadening to find solutions to California’s housing crisis,” covering how the state could put to use “skipped-over” parcels of land for much-needed housing.
Then check out our story from California Forward's Fred Silva, who lays out strategies for improving upon the promise of California's Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts, a fiscal tool for funding housing and local infrastructure.
After the California Economic Summit used its “One Million Homes Framework” to help advance the 2017 housing package and support implementation this year, the new governor has raised the bar—calling for the production of 3.5 million units to bring California’s housing supply into balance with demand.
CA Fwd is working to highlight where new incentives could be targeted to have the most impact, like identifying infill opportunities in expensive job centers where both affordable and market-rate housing are sorely needed.
To get this housing built, CA Fwd is also working with regional partners to produce a set of fiscal incentives that encourage production of housing on the scale needed to meet state goals.
