A wave of housing-related bills fresh with ink from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature is aimed at dealing with local governments trying to oppose the state's attempts to increase home production.
One measure, Senate Bill 450, strengthens an earlier law that effectively ended single-family zoning statewide but that ran into legal challenges from several cities. Another, Assembly Bill 1893, provides more certainty for developers using the so-called builder’s remedy that lets them overcome roadblocks from local officials who aren't meeting state housing benchmarks.
Both bills, along with 30 others that were signed into law in the past week, aim to help California's lofty goal of building 180,000 homes annually to meet demand. That's a far cry from the 80,000 homes built on average each year over the past decade, according to the state housing agency. Newsom set a goal before he was first elected in 2018 to build 3.5 million new homes by 2025.
Newsom also approved several measures to provide housing for some of the state's estimated 181,000 homeless people as of 2023. One bill makes it easier to build tiny homes where people can live more independently than in shelters.
The governor pushed cities to crack down on people living in encampments on public sidewalks and in parks before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that cities can do so even if they can’t provide shelter for anyone who needs it. The governor also released guidance on how to use up to $2.2 billion in state funding to house people with mental illnesses.
“No more excuses,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking action to fix the decades-long homelessness, housing, and mental health crises.”
Dividing lots
Senate Bill 450 builds on the changes launched in 2021 by another recent piece of legislation, Senate Bill 9, that allowed property owners to divide their lots in areas zoned for single-family homes into two and to build duplexes.
A number of cities made it difficult for people to take advantage of the new law through design, building setbacks, height rules and other restrictions, according to an analysis by the advocacy group California YIMBY.
The new law prevents cities from imposing different rules on people who divide their lots for duplexes than they would on other landowners. The bill also aims to stop cities from delaying action on these projects by requiring them to respond to applications within 60 days of it being filed.
The “builder’s remedy” law that led to Assembly Bill 1893 is also known in California as the “anti-NIMBY” law because it was written to thwart development opponents. The law, dating from 1982, says that a city can’t stop a building proposal if it lacks enough housing to meet goals set by the state, even if the project runs afoul of local zoning rules.
Because the law didn’t set a specific density cap, cities frequently denied projects and left developers no option other than to seek relief from a court. The new law sets specific density standards of 10 to 65 homes per acre, depending on where the project is located.
“The bill moves from a theoretical, ‘unlimited density’ builder’s remedy to one that will lead to significantly more housing production than under the status quo,” according to a California YIMBY statement.
SLH Investments is one developer seeking to leverage the so-called builder's remedy for a housing and hotel project in Beverly Hills, according to prior CoStar News reporting. Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit group sponsored by the California Association of Realtors, filed a lawsuit against Beverly Hills at the end of June after the city council voted not to approve a 165-unit multifamily development five blocks from the pricey Golden Triangle retail area.