The Homework: December 20, 2024
Welcome to the December 20, 2024 Main edition of The Homework, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team.
News from Sacramento
The State Legislature reconvenes on January 6, 2025, and we expect many new bills to be introduced on day one. February 21, 2025 is the deadline for bills to be introduced for the upcoming legislative year.
Thus far, California YIMBY has introduced SB 9 (Arreguín). This bill clarifies that previous legislation exempting ADUs from owner-occupancy requirements applies to all ADUs, not just newly built ones. The bill is intended to send clarification to cities that have interpreted existing law to only apply to new ADUs, and continue to impose owner-occupancy requirements on ADUs built before the state ban was passed.
Our Legislative team is expecting to roll out the balance of our legislative priorities early next year. Watch this space for more detailed news for our plans on zoning reform, historic preservation, ADUs, bringing down construction costs, and permit streamlining.
Still no news on the complete list of committee assignments, either on the Assembly nor Senate side – stay tuned for updates after the holiday. And remember: The best gift you can give your friends and family is your love and affection; the second best gift is, a free subscription to The Homework (and tell them to follow California YIMBY’s Twitter and Bluesky channels, @cayimby and https://bsky.app/profile/cayimby.bsky.social, to stay current on housing policy research, news, and legislative updates).
We wish everyone a restful and relaxing holiday and a Happy New Year … filled with housing abundance!
Housing Research & Analysis
The Biggest Move in Climate Action: Legalize Infill Housing
Adding to a growing body of research on the intersections between climate and housing policy, a new report prepared for the Colorado Energy Office looks at the impact of various land use policies on residential growth and greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado.
Key Takeaways:
- Land use reform can significantly shift new housing development away from sprawl and toward compact housing typologies in more energy-efficient locations.
- Parking reform is particularly impactful in their model, generating two to three times as many new homes as accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reform and legalizing transit oriented development (TOD).
- Zoning reform to allow infill housing can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and housing by significant amounts.
Construction Costs Up: Time is Money in New Housing
In a report for the RAND Corporation, Jason M Ward looks at construction costs for permanent supportive housing funded by Los Angeles Measure HHH, a 2016 ballot initiative that required the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for projects with 65 or more units.
Key Takeaways:
- Project labor agreements that mandate union construction labor raise the cost of developing permanent supportive housing by 21%, or $92,700 per unit.
- Projects with PLAs took an average of 8 months longer to complete than non-PLA projects.
- Policymakers should consider ways to offset these costs by cutting fees, reforming inclusionary zoning requirements, or offering tax abatements.
Houser Headlines
- Make It Legal to Build – The American Prospect
- Housing reforms will help California tackle living costs. Berkeley might show us how | Opinion
- There’s no protecting California values without building more housing
- Don’t count on monetary policy to make housing affordable
- 2025 Housing Market Predictions: Can the U.S. Climb Out of ‘Unprecedented’ Crisis? – The New York Times
- Billions of dollars later, California’s homeless crisis persists under Newsom | Opinion
- Three Decades of Housing Challenges in the Golden State – Public Policy Institute of California
- Insurers Are Dropping Homeowners as Climate Shocks Worsen – The New York Times
- California’s fourth-largest home insurer to drop all condo, rental policies
- Dramatic Insurance Spikes Could Tank California’s Homeless Housing | KQED
- Looking into the crystal ball – POLITICO
- 2024: The Year of the YIMBY – Beyond Chron
YIMBY Social – Top Posts
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