In memory:

The affordable housing industry lost one of its longest-serving champions this month, when our friend and colleague Pat Sabelhaus of the California Council for Affordable Housing passed away last week. There are few in our field who worked longer or harder to advance the cause of affordable housing production in California, especially through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. A celebration of Pat’s life will be held in Sacramento on August 24.

This week in affordable housing news…:

State Update:

• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earned a noteworthy victory for affordable housing this month, when HUD agreed to allow homeless residents to move more quickly into new permanent housing, without first producing identification and documenting their homeless status. “This addresses major roadblocks to moving Angelenos from interim housing in motels to permanent housing, putting housing first and bureaucracy last,” Bass said about the HUD waiver, which will allow residents to produce documentation after they have moved into affordable housing. While LA and other cities have been expanding efforts to move thousands of people from encampments into homeless shelters, many have struggled to expedite placement of residents in new permanent housing when it becomes available. The city first asked HUD for a waiver in March of this year, with Mayor Bass appealing directly to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to intervene on the issue this summer. “I want to thank Secretary Fudge, who I’ve worked with on this issue, for her fearless advocacy,” Bass said.

• The Legislature returned from their summer recess this week and has until September 1 to advance bills sitting in Appropriations committees. This includes several of CHC’s sponsored bills: SB 423 (Wiener), legislation that would extend SB 35 for another decade, which has incorporated new amendments this week to address concerns about its impact on the Coastal Zone; SB 440 (Skinner), a bill allowing local governments to create regional housing finance agencies to fund affordable housing; and AB 1307 (Wicks), legislation clarifying that the sound of residents’ voices should not be considered an environmental impact under CEQA. SB 439 (Skinner), a bill creating a new special motion to strike non-meritorious CEQA lawsuits against affordable housing, is on the consent calendar in the Assembly. AB 1449 (Alvarez), a bill extending CEQA exemptions to a range of 100% affordable housing project approvals, was ordered this week to the Senate floor. 

Federal Update:

• The National Leased Housing Association has launched a survey to produce data for policymakers on the issue of rising insurance costs. NLHA is seeking responses from all owners of Section 8 project-based rental assistance and project-based vouchers (including RAD); Housing Credit; Section 202/811; HOME assisted; and naturally occurring affordable housing. The survey is detailed and may require input from risk management teams, but the completion is estimated to take less than an hour. The deadline for completion is September 15, 2023. Please use this link to complete the survey.  

ICYMI – Top news stories:

California Republicans decry constitutional amendment aimed at increasing affordable housing
Sacramento Bee
California legislative Republicans and anti-tax activists came to the Capitol steps Wednesday morning to decry ACA 1, a proposed constitutional amendment that they argue is an end run around Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot measure that limits governments’ ability to raise property taxes. Jon Coupal, of the conservative Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, called the amendment “a direct attack on Proposition 13.” “Make no mistake, ACA 1 is a tax increase,” Coupal said. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) said that the measure “chips away at the critical taxpayer protections” offered by Prop. 13 and makes it easier for politicians to raise taxes.

New research shows some of California’s most affordable cities saw biggest rent increases
NBC Los Angeles
Residents of California’s inland cities, long considered cheaper alternatives to the state’s expensive coastal metros, are beginning to feel the effects of the state’s housing affordability crisis. Typical rent prices have shot up by as much as 40% in places like Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia and Riverside in just three years, according to data from economists at the real estate listings company Zillow. While rent in these cities remains considerably lower than the Bay Area or Los Angeles, they’ve seen the largest increases in rent across the entire state, putting sudden pressure on lower-income residents who rely on the lower costs of living of these areas.

Despite declining population, California needs more housing. But NIMBYs keep fighting it
San Francisco Chronicle
California’s population is expected to remain relatively flat through 2060, according to new state estimates, but—much to the chagrin of NIMBYs—that doesn’t obviate the need for new housing. A new Public Policy Institute of California analysis found that increased housing production in most large cities hasn’t offset pandemic-accelerated population declines. With lower birth rates and families flocking to suburban single-family homes, city household sizes are shrinking. As a result, fewer people are spreading out across more units—and supply still hasn’t caught up with demand. The state’s requirement that local governments plan for 2.5 million homes by 2030 is critical to addressing this glaring need. But when I checked on local governments’ progress, the results weren’t pretty.