California Fails Again, Housing Crisis Continues
The California state legislature introduced three aggressive measures to battle the state’s raging housing crisis. All three measures have failed or been whittled down to virtually nothing. The homeless rate is still soaring, traffic unbearable and people leaving in droves.
California is quickly becoming an ideal case study of how not to react to a crisis. As Progressives look for leadership that will be able to handle a century on unprecedented challenges, hopefully, no one looks over to the sunshine state.
The first bill was Senate Bill 50, introduced by Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener from San Francisco.
The bill would have relaxed housing construction standards allowing developers to build multifamily units on single parcels and end some size restrictions dictated by local governments. The bill would have forced local governments to be more responsive to construction proponents as well.
Overall, the bill hoped to clear some of California’s red tape so the private sector could start making headway on the housing shortage. It wasn’t a perfect bill, and there were fears of aiding gentrification, but it was an important steppingstone to a housing tranquility. The state estimates that the housing market is 2 million units short.
