To effectively address California’s housing crisis, the state must simply build more places to live. In fact, the Department of Housing and Community Development says about 180,000 units need to be added every year to keep up with housing demand. Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) has four bills taking effect next month that aims to increase the housing supply.
The most impactful may be the strengthening the state’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA) under AB 1633, which clarifies that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) cannot be used to endlessly delay or block housing projects, once all legal requirements have been met. The legislation does not alter CEQA in any way and will promote climate-friendly infill housing.