{"id":2075669,"date":"2023-10-22T07:55:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T11:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-will-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones\/"},"modified":"2023-10-22T08:00:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T12:00:31","slug":"california-will-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-will-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"California to Speed Up Housing Project Approval in Coastal Cities, Fire Zones"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-will-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2075669&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>California Expands Streamlined Approval Process for Affordable\u200d Housing Projects<\/h2>\n<p>Since 2018, \u200bCalifornia \u200bcities that have failed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-signs-law-to-ramp-up-affordable-housing-production\/\" title=\"Newsom approves law to boost affordable housing production.\">meet state-mandated housing goals<\/a> have provided developers\u200b with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-may-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones-with-new-bill\/\" title=\"New bill may speed up housing project approval in coastal cities and fire zones in California.\">streamlined approval process<\/a> for affordable or multifamily housing\u200b projects. After the recent approval of a \u2062new law, coastal and fire zones that were previously excluded will now be eligible for \u200dthe same.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Bill 423, authored \u2062by\u2064 Sen. \u200cScott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will extend the former law that expires after 2025 \u200bby a decade and include some coastal and fire hazard zones. Gov. \u200dGavin Newsom signed \u2062the bill into law Oct. \u200b11.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia desperately needs to ramp \u200bup housing production, and the Governor\u2019s \u200daction today\u200d helps put us on a path to achieve\u200b that\u2062 goal,\u201d said\u202fMr. Wiener in \u2063a press release the day his \u200bbill received \u200cthe governor\u2019s signature.\u202f\u201cThe era of saying no to housing is coming to an end. \u200cWe\u2019ve \u200bbeen planting seeds for years to get \u200bus to a\u2063 brighter housing future, and today we\u2019re continuing strongly down that path.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/newsom-signs-california-stable-affordable-housing-act-5513000?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">Newsom Signs \u2063California \u2018Stable Affordable Housing Act\u2019<\/a><\/h3>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">10\/18\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/california-allocates-nearly-180-million-to-creating-710-housing-units-for-homeless-5508773?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\">California Allocates Nearly $180 Million to Creating 710 Housing Units for Homeless<\/a><\/h3>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">10\/12\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Under goals set forth \u200bby \u2063the \u2063state\u2019s housing \u2062department,\u200c California must \u200cbuild 2.5\u2064 million new homes in the next eight years, including 1 million for families earning low to very low incomes.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Hanlon, CEO of\u200d California YIMBY, an acronym for \u2062\u201cYes in\u200d My Back Yard\u201d\u2014a \u200bnonprofit that pushes pro-housing policies\u2014said he believes the new law will help bring \u2063affordable homes to the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernor Newsom has\u200c made it clear that he supports making it faster, \u2064easier, \u2063and\u2064 less expensive to build affordable homes in our\u2064 coastal cities \u2026 With SB \u200c423 \u200bnow law, many \u200dmore Californians from\u200c all walks of \u200clife will\u2064 be\u200b able to afford to live\u2014and\u2064 thrive\u2014in \u200dthe Golden State,\u201d he said in the same\u2062 press release.<\/p>\n<p>While SB 423 would remove the exclusion\u2064 of coastal zones, \u200careas identified as\u2063 environmentally \u200dsensitive\u2014such as those that could be affected by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pathetic-dishonest-virtue-signaling-hypocrites-megyn-kelly-rips-climate-alarmists\/\" title=\"\u2018Pathetic, Dishonest, Virtue-Signaling Hypocrites\u2019: Megyn Kelly Rips Climate Alarmists\">sea level rise\u2014<\/a>would still \u200cbe exempt.<\/p>\n<p>The bill would \u200balso streamline\u2064 approval of projects in fire \u200crisk\u200d zones\u2014as\u2064 identified by the state\u2019s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection\u2014so\u200b long as local and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-will-expedite-housing-project-approval-in-coastal-cities-fire-zones\/\" title=\"California to Speed Up Housing Project Approval in Coastal Cities, Fire Zones\">state-mandated fire mitigation \u200dprotections<\/a>\u200b are in place, according to an analysis of \u200bthe bill.<\/p>\n<p>The League \u2063of California Cities\u2014a nonprofit advocating\u2063 for cities across California\u2014in a\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calcities.org\/docs\/default-source\/advocacy\/sb-423-(wiener)-nascar-sen-floor-alert-5-24-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=d68f550_3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May \u200bletter<\/a>\u202fopposed the bill\u200b alongside 108 other cities, stating it and the existing law create a one-size-fits-all\u200b approach that\u2019s harmful\u200b to local\u200d jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSB \u2064423 is\u2063 the latest overreaching\u2063 bill. This measure would \u2063double-down \u2064on the recent trend of \u2064the\u2063 state overriding \u2064its own mandated local housing plans by forcing \u2063cities \u200cto approve certain\u200c housing\u2062 projects without regard to the needs of the community, opportunities for\u200d environmental \u2063review, or \u2064public input,\u201d they \u2062said in the\u2063 letter.<\/p>\n<p>They argued the new bill would not help the state meet its housing goals and \u200dcalled on\u2064 the governor and lawmakers\u2064 to instead set aside $3 \u200bbillion annually\u200d in the state\u2019s \u200cbudget \u200bfor cities to spur residential\u200c development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia \u2063will never produce \u2062the number of\u2062 homes needed with an increasingly state driven,\u200d by-right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/it-now-takes-three-years-to-get-a-building-permit-in-san-francisco\/\" title=\"It Now Takes Three Years to Get a Building Permit in San Francisco\">housing approval process<\/a>. What is really\u200d needed is a \u200dsustainable state investment that matches\u2062 the scale of this decades-in-the-making crisis,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The cities\u200c of Newport Beach, \u200bBeverly Hills, Tustin, Palm\u2062 Desert, San Clemente, Thousand Oaks, Apple Valley, Huntington Beach,\u200d and 100 others were\u2063 listed as\u2064 opposed.<\/p>\n<p>Councilman Casey\u200c McKeon\u2063 of Huntington Beach\u200d told\u2063 The\u2062 Epoch Times he believes the new law\u200b is yet another one of the state&#8217;s\u2064 overreaching \u2064policies that\u2062 force housing in the wrong places.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s \u200cjust another heavy-handed\u2064 overreach from the \u2063state that violates our\u200c local control. If they really want to\u2064 develop affordable housing, they should encourage development in undeveloped \u2062areas and \u2064stop trying to jam more \u2062units \u2062into fully \u200cdeveloped cities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>While the City\u200c of Costa Mesa didn\u2019t register a position on the bill, Councilman \u200cDon Harper \u200bsaid, personally, he\u2019s against state-mandated policies that affect local control \u200cover\u2063 housing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the state of California is going to mandate how we fulfill our housing needs, what\u2019s the \u2062purpose \u2062of local \u2062government?\u201d he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u2062 Wiener additionally said in a September\u200c press release the previous law on\u200b the issue has \u201cproven one of the strongest tools in our toolbox \u200dfor\u200c driving affordable housing \u200cdevelopment.\u201d According to the \u200dsenator, the older law has helped develop over 18,000 units\u2063 of\u2062 affordable housing in the four \u2063years since \u200dit\u200b was\u2062 passed in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>According to an Assembly analysis,\u200b the older\u200d law was\u2062 limited \u2064in its \u200beffectiveness not\u200d only because\u2064 it excluded coastal \u2062and fire zones but due to increases in interest rates and building materials in the last few\u2063 years, \u2064and certain labor\u200b requirements were also too strict.<\/p>\n<p>But now under the new law some\u2063 labor requirements have been removed.<\/p>\n<p>The Oakland-based California Conference \u200bof Carpenters\u2014which advocates for better working conditions for its workers\u2014supported the bill and said it \u201cwill create massive work\u2064 opportunities for current Union members and will also\u200b foster organizing opportunities unseen \u2062for \u2062decades.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The new law becomes effective Jan. 1.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the potential benefits\u2062 of extending\u2063 the streamlined approval process to coastal and fire \u200czones \u2062in California?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ente, and Pleasanton were among the cities that opposed the bill. They argued that the streamlined approval process takes away local\u200d control and does not consider the unique needs and characteristics of\u200c each community. They also expressed concerns about the potential impact on infrastructure, traffic, and schools.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these concerns, proponents of the bill believe that\u200b it is a necessary step towards\u2063 addressing the housing crisis in\u2063 California. The state has been grappling with a severe shortage of\u200c affordable housing, resulting in skyrocketing rents and a high rate \u200bof homelessness. By streamlining the approval process for affordable housing projects, it\u2063 is hoped \u2064that more\u200d homes can be built\u2062 quickly and efficiently, making housing more affordable and \u2062accessible for Californians.<\/p>\n<p>The extension of the streamlined approval process to coastal and fire zones is significant. These areas are often desirable places to live but\u200c face unique challenges related to environmental risks. By including them in the streamlined process, \u200bit is expected that\u2062 more affordable housing will\u200b be built in these areas, providing opportunities for people of all income levels to live there.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c approval of\u2063 Senate Bill 423 is seen as\u2063 a step\u200b in the right direction for California&#8217;s housing goals. It signals a commitment from the state government to address the affordable housing crisis and recognizes the need for a streamlined approval process. However, it is also important to consider the concerns raised by cities and ensure\u2062 that the \u200cprocess is balanced and\u2063 takes into account the specific needs of each community.<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward, \u2062it will be crucial to monitor the implementation of \u2063the new law and assess its impact on housing production in California. It may \u2064require adjustments and refinements along the way to ensure that it is effective in achieving its\u200b intended goals. Ultimately, the success of the streamlined approval process will be measured by the number of affordable housing units that are built and the positive impact they have on California&#8217;s housing market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since 2018, California cities have offered developers a simplified approval process for affordable or multifamily housing projects if they failed to meet state housing goals. A new law, Senate Bill 423, extends this eligibility to coastal and fire zones previously excluded from the streamlined process. Sen. [Author&#8217;s Name] introduced the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1349,"featured_media":2075670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2075669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2075670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}