Office-to-Apartment Conversions – A Good Idea, but Tricky to Pull Off (Audio)
The Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act (H. 4977), signed into law on August 6, 2024, includes provisions intended to promote residential housing construction. These provisions: (1) require municipalities to permit accessory...more
Housing advocates touted the “Builder’s Remedy” as a clever way to circumvent NIMBY politics and get more housing built. But in the two months since the law has been available to Bay Area developers, few have submitted...more
AB 2221 and SB 897 Create Major Changes to California’s ADU Laws - In nearly every legislative session over the past few years, the California Legislature has enacted bills that reduce local control over the development of...more
As a result of skyrocketing housing prices in Israel, a number of major legislative amendments are being enacted to regulate pinui-binui (vacate-and-build) projects. The legislature announced that the purpose of these...more
UC Berkeley ordered to freeze enrollment due to CEQA lawsuit Associated Press – March 3 The California Supreme Court ordered UC Berkeley last Thursday to freeze its undergraduate enrollment at 2020-21 levels...more
The economy is strong and growing — perhaps too quickly as the labor market remains tight. A surprising number of people are choosing to stay out of the labor market, for now, contributing to the supply chain disruptions...more
San Jose considers end to single-family zoning in historic neighborhoods - The Real Deal – December 6 - While some California residents are fighting Senate Bill 9, a new state law targeted at ending traditional...more
As in previous years, the California Legislature passed a large volume of laws related to housing in the 2021 legislative session. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the final section...more
Los Angeles streamlines ADU permitting with over-the-counter ADU templates - Los Angeles Times – March 5 - A new initiative by Eric Garcetti’s office in collaboration with Building and Safety aims to change the...more
In 2020, California legislators considered but ultimately did not approve bills that would have substantially restricted the continued use of single-family zoning across the state. These efforts included SB 50 (Wiener), which...more
Berkeley considers ending single-family zoning - The Mercury News – February 12 - Berkeley was the first city in the nation to introduce “exclusionary zoning” in the early 1900s, and now it could be one of the first...more
California bill would allow a duplex on most single-family parcels - Los Angeles Times – August 26 - The California Assembly is considering a bill, authored by state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego),...more
Part 5: New California Housing Laws - As part of its response to California’s housing crisis, the Legislature passed a handful of new laws that further limit local regulation of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. The...more
New legislation passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 18 now authorizes the addition of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in new construction projects for single-family homes and multi-family buildings....more
Portland planning staff is proposing strict new limits on the size of houses that can be built or remodeled in most areas of the City. Included in the latest draft of its “Residential Infill Project” code amendments, the...more
Local governments may not rely on zoning rules to prohibit renters in multi-family housing developments. Many local governments (and residents) prefer property owners living in their communities rather than tenants. This...more