The Biden administration last Thursday announced further steps to lower housing costs and boost supply. The administration is looking to incentivize municipalities to lift restrictive land use and zoning policies by “incorporating land use and zoning into the grant criteria for the historic Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program and also into the Economic Development Administration’s grant programs,” said Biden economic adviser Daniel Hornung said. Additionally, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is announcing a new program, the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, which will provide communities with $85 million in funding to “identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation.” On financing, the administration is rolling out a $27 billion fund via the Environmental Protection Agency for energy efficient and climate resilient housing.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved three bills promising a significant pivot in housing policy as the city faces continued pressure from Sacramento to build more homes. Two of the bills form a package aiming to ease construction of more multifamily housing by temporarily easing affordable housing requirements and changing impact fees that developers blame for making many projects too expensive to build. The other would ease conversion of single-family homes to smaller multi-unit plans.
The growth of mega-mansions in Bel-Air and other hillside L.A. neighborhoods sparked new city rules over the last decade aimed at stopping overdevelopment. Now, the city is poised to crack down again on home-building in the hills, this time in the name of preserving wildlife habitats. A proposed ordinance, targeting the Santa Monica Mountains between the 405 and 101 freeways, would make it harder to build mansions and additions, as well as bigger homes on steep hillsides. It would add regulations to limit development near open space, protect soil and trees, and consider the pathways of wildlife, such as deer, bobcats, or mountain lions. The City Council is poised to pass the ordinance later this year after it cleared a key City Hall committee in June.
California voters in 2024 will once again consider repealing a law that limits cities’ ability to expand rent control. The Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday announced an AIDS Healthcare Foundation initiative to repeal the 1995 Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act had gathered enough signatures to be eligible for the November 2024 ballot. This marks the third time in four elections the Foundation has appealed to Californians to end the law. Costa Hawkins bars localities from limiting rental increases on apartments and single-family homes built after 1995.
Oceanside has proposed a new cap on the number of homes per acre in the combined residential and commercial developments blossoming in downtown neighborhoods. City staffers are suggesting a maximum of 100 dwellings per acre, a response to the Oceanside City Council’s concerns about recent state density bonus laws that encourage the construction of affordable housing. The city’s Downtown Advisory Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend approval of the 100-unit maximum when the proposal goes to the City Council, acting as the Community Development Commission, later this year.
Improving passive energy efficiency performance in buildings prevents deaths and keeps occupants safer during extreme weather events, a recent U.S. Department of Energy report found. Sample results showed that implementing passive building measures to meet or exceed current codes can improve habitability by as much as 120% during extreme cold and up to 140% during extreme heat. The report addressed whether energy-efficient buildings could keep occupants safer during power outages. This idea has been a key element of a pilot credit on passive sustainability in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, or LEED.
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