California’s housing market is broken—but legislative reform can turn things around, consultant says
Timothy L. Coyle, a veteran California consultant specializing in housing, proposes actions by which local legislators can make California’s housing market affordable and fulfill high demand. For instance, the housing element law and CEQA as we know it should be abolished—making way for cost-effective construction opportunities.\
On top of the myriad regulations they already impose on development, over the years state and local elected officials have unleashed a typhoon of preferences and requirements on which housing has to deliver to get project approval.
Whether they were aiming to promote affordability or energy savings politicos have systematically ignored housing markets and simply have asked housing to do too much. They’re not inclined to pull back, either.
As said, attitudes have to change before anything meaningful can be done to turn things around. When they do, however, here are a few reforms legislators and members of city councils or county boards should consider:
Restore redevelopment, to provide a steady and reliable source of cash for affordable housing construction and rehabilitation.
Scrap the state’s housing element law and replace it with large financial/infrastructure payments for locally approved housing.
Consolidate and cap local fees development-impact fees; and
Repeal CEQA and replace it with a process for one and only one locally performed – and much trimmer – environmental review of a housing project.
That’s a start at systematically making more affordable housing in California.
This article originally appeared in Fox & Hounds Daily. Read the whole thing here.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
Image by Wikimedia Commons