Shock. Depression. Relief. Those were just some of the reactions as the year’s most controversial state housing bill met its sudden demise. But very few people—supporters, opponents, and even the author himself—can claim to have seen this coming.
The Appropriations Committee decided Thursday not to leave SB 50 in suspense forever, but also that it won’t come up for a vote until January of 2020. In a statement after the hearing, Wiener said he’s “deeply disappointed” by the decision and added, “We have a housing crisis right now. […] We’re either serious about solving this crisis, or we aren’t.”...
In the rugged hills to the east of the Napa Valley, chainsaws and bulldozers converted a steep hillside of scrubby oak woodland and rockpiles into another vineyard. “That was an incredible rock-hopping wonderland, with frothing, amazing, waterfalling cascades every time it rained—I mean, it should have been a park,” said nearby resident Kellie Anderson of what is now a plot of grapevines at Bremer Family Winery, in the small community of Deer Park.
Still stymied by Senate Bill 50, State Sen. Scott Wiener’s major proposal to increase housing along some of California transit hubs? Don’t worry. Berkeley illustrator and housing activist Alfred Twu, who designed the fantasy BART apartment complex and this previous flowchart, has a new chart to help explain SB 50, the MORE Homes Act.
Over the past decade, housing costs in the United States have risen faster than incomes. While housing affordability has long been a problem for low-income families, middle-income families are increasingly facing affordability challenges, especially in urban areas with strong labor markets. How do current housing policies help – or harm – the well-being of middle-class families?...
San Diego took a step toward becoming a less car-reliant city on Monday when the City Council voted 8-1 to eliminate parking requirements for new condominium and apartment complexes in neighborhoods near mass transit.
Providing parking hikes cost of local housing. On Monday, the San Diego City Council will consider Mayor Faulconer’s plan to reform parking standards for new residential development around the city’s busiest transit routes.
Three entirely affordable housing developments in Redwood City totaling 217 units are one step closer to breaking ground after the City Council signed off on funding strategies earlier this month.
Housing is a big part of America’s story of innovation, productivity, and economic growth. For much of the industrial 20th century, housing helped to drive the economy by stimulating demand. Building more housing—especially in the suburbs—stoked the demand for more cars, washing machines, and other durable goods from America’s factories, creating good jobs for American workers and setting in motion a virtuous circle of economic growth.
