Governor Gavin Newsom says a new law he signed yesterday will reduce red tape when it comes to building more affordable housing in California.
Newsom signed this year’s housing budget trailer bill on an affordable housing job site, just steps from the Lake Merritt BART station in Oakland’s Chinatown.
It aims to make it easier for local nonprofits to build affordable housing by allocating half a billion dollars for state low-income housing tax credits. The law also limits the local impact fees governments collect that drive up the cost of development.
"You got some cities and counties, these impact fees are comical," said Newsom. "They’re outrageous. It makes it quite literally impossible to develop an affordable unit. It’s BS."
Counties argue limiting the fees they can collect will disincentivize them from pursuing affordable housing projects, an argument Newsom disagrees with.
"As a former county mayor," added Newsom, "talking to the wrong guy."
The new law also sets aside $900 million in grants for local governments to combat homelessness.
This year’s housing bill builds on past efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, in turn making it easier to approve housing projects.