California needs a leader who knows how to build housing

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OPINION—Within the crowded field of candidates running for governor, California’s housing shortage has dominated every campaign agenda, and will remain a critical topic through the general election in November and beyond.

Voters are right to demand action on this issue.

But it is necessary to acknowledge that California’s housing policy crisis has deepened despite years of political attention.

When Gov. Newsom campaigned for the job, he set a goal of building 3.5 million homes by 2025. Nearly eight years later, we remain far short of that goal. The lackluster progress is evident: over the past five years, just 677,000 new housing units have been built in California, according to the Public Policy Institute (PPIC).

Some leaders, including Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Sen. Scott Wiener, have worked steadfastly and surgically to chip away at barriers to housing production, with progress grinding slowly but noticeably forward. Creative ideas like manufactured homes are being offered by them, while others push finger-pointing approaches, like banning institutional investors from owning multiple rental home properties, which is not helpful.

Yes, innovation can help, and an all-of-the-above approach should not be discounted, but California’s housing crisis won’t be seriously addressed with smaller incremental steps.

California needs active leadership from someone with real knowledge of how homes get built and what gets in the way. We offer the following advice to all the candidates for governor so whoever gets elected can start and finish strong as a leader who solves the housing crisis.

As a baseline, the next governor must acknowledge the core problem: local fees and unnecessary local and state regulations make housing unreasonably expensive.

Fees heaped on housing projects and permitting delays make it hard, if not impossible, to build homes that lower-and middle-income Californians can afford. This includes our civic leaders—teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers.  It also includes our children.

California currently has the most complex and time-consuming entitlement and permitting processes in the nation. Every new fee, mandate and delay adds to the cost of a finished home, pushing ownership further out of reach for working Californians.

So, step one is to stop the madness of more requirements. Policymakers should treat cost-adding legislation and regulations as a direct threat to affordability and homeownership. The next governor must promise to veto any bills that raise fees, increase delays, or expand cost mandates – and follow through on that promise.

For example, one concerning idea that is currently being pushed is to require all residential construction to be built by union workers. While this is not a problem in theory, in practice, it would add an additional $100,000 per home.

This increase in cost would make homes unattainable for nearly everyone— including union workers— and is why unions in New York and Illinois do not support union labor requirements for new home construction.

Every candidate for governor who claims to be committed to improving affordability should oppose this proposal.

Step two is to reevaluate the regulatory burden that home builders must navigate. California’s building codes are the nation’s most stringent. In some cases that can be a good thing, with fire safety and energy efficiency baked into California home construction.

But duplicative, overly complex, and expensive mandates are a different story. California’s current 6-year pause on adding new building code updates is a smart first step. We should use this window to identify and eliminate codes that are not working for Californians.

A great place to start is the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) requirements that punish people for having to drive long distances from their jobs to homes they can afford.

Step three is to encourage and reward communities that build more housing. Cities and counties that approve housing should receive tangible state incentives. Communities that obstruct development of more homes should face real financial accountability—not endless lawsuits and jawboning.

Californians should not be shut out of living in their own community by inertia or local NIMBY veto power.

Finally, step four is to lead with clarity and consistency. Leadership means publicly opposing measures that make housing more expensive before they gain momentum, not after. Clear, consistent, and committed messaging from the top will shape legislative proposals, and accountability will guide the actions of relevant state and local agencies.

To make a real difference, our next governor must start from day one with an understanding of what it actually takes to put a roof over someone’s head. It is not enough to simply have good intentions.

We need a governor who will achieve practical policy solutions that deliver homes that Californians need and can afford.

Dan Dunmoyer is the President and CEO of the California Building Industry Association.