A wood frame of a house under construction in rural California. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)
Wood frame of house under construction, Lone Pine, CAOPINION: When it comes to California’s housing crisis, policy makers have often taken the narrow approach of throwing money at efforts to boost supply of sub-market rate units, with comparatively little focus on the dynamics that are driving demand for low income housing.
Housing in a San Francisco neighborhood. (Photo: Bertl 123, via Shutterstock) ANALYSIS: While most electoral contests in San Francisco are a fierce fight, incumbents up for reelection tend to have an easy run. A year ago, few thought that State Senator Scott Wiener would have difficulty defending his District 11 seat. When activist and first-time candidate Jackie Fielder came in second in the spring primary – 33% to Wiener’s 56% — people started to comment on the race.
A billboard urging approval for SB 50 in Santa Clara. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)Moments after the state Senate failed to pass SB 50, a bill that would have relaxed zoning laws to combat the state’s housing crisis, Senate Leader Toni Atkins vowed to pass housing legislation this year. But after three attempts — and three failures — to get SB 50 to the governor’s desk, the outlook rains uncertain.
An aerial view of housing density in a Los Angeles suburb. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: A new presidential panel aimed at easing the affordable housing crisis is top heavy with business and developer interests, and does little to get at the roots of the problem. President Trump’s executive order created the “White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing” in June.
The California coast along Redwood National Park, north Humboldt County, (Photo: Don Forthuber, redwoods.info)OPINION: It’s been a year since I resigned from the California Coastal Commission, and it’s time to tell a few stories of what I learned as a Coastal Commissioner. Each and every month I learned that not everything was how it seemed. My first lesson was learning that developers love farmers.