SAN JOSE, CA (KMJ) – Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses California’s housing crisis, and lays out his proposal to tackle the problem.
Gov. Newsom was hosting a housing affordability roundtable on Tuesday in San Jose with the city’s Mayor Sam Licardo.
Newsom said he signed two executive orders early Tuesday morning, one order to inventory all state excess properties, “every single plot” of land.
“And I’ve directed the Department of General Services (HCD) which is our Housing/Community Development agency to put the inventory online, map it out in a transparent, digitized way by April 30th,” said Gov. Newsom.
The second executive order moves permitting forward, as Newsom wants to receive proposals to build affordable housing on those sites by Sept. 30, and have the new units built within three years.
California’s Governor has floated the idea of withholding transportation funds from local governments — those cities and counties that don’t approve enough new homes and fail to meet his housing production targets.
“We have to build more supply at all income levels, with a sense of urgency,” said Gov. Newsom.
The Governor said current production levels are “deplorable, we need to be closer to 3-4 hundred thousand per year.”
Speaking to San Jose residents who participated in Tuesday’s roundtable at the Seven Trees Branch Library & Community Center, Gov. Newsom said he’s trying to prevent migration out of the state.
“So unless you hear something substantive, from us, not platitudes, and know there’s real strategies and real plans then you’re gonna have every reason in the world to leave, and I don’t want to have that happen,” said Gov. Newsom.
At the event, Governor Newsom laid out components of his plan to tackle the housing affordability crisis for families:
- An executive order, signed today, to spur affordable housing development on state land;
- $1.75 billion in new housing production dollars, laid out in his budget, to help incentivize housing production; and
- Asking the Legislature to work collaboratively on efforts to help renters and protect families from out-of-control rent increases.
Some residents shared stories of extremely long commutes to work – 2 and 3 hours – because of a lack of affordable housing.
Newsom took to Twitter: “Nuemi cannot afford to live near her job. She wakes up at 4:30AM every day and drives 2 hours to work. She gets home just in time to see her 3 kids go to bed. The cost of rent and housing is too high for too many. We have to address this crisis head on.”
Newsom’s proposed 2019-20 Budget has put forward $2.3 billion in new low and moderate-income housing and homelessness spending.
As part of his California for All housing plan, the Governor proposes:
An unprecedented and historic effort to incentivize housing production: To address California’s housing affordability crisis, the Governor’s budget proposal includes $1.75 billion to spur housing development and promote economic growth. The budget allocates $500 million for incentives for localities that create new housing and $250 million to provide technical assistance to cities and localities to responsibly ramp up zoning and permitting processes. The budget also invests in housing solutions for the missing middle class that too often cannot find affordable housing near their jobs. This includes $500 million for tax credits and $500 million for home construction.
Developing affordable housing on state lands: Governor Newsom signed an executive order to develop affordable housing on excess state lands. The executive order directs the Department of General Services (DGS) to take an inventory of all state-owned lands for potential development no later than April 30, 2019. The Department of Housing and Community Development and Housing Finance Agency will be directed to develop new screening tools to evaluate state lands and, where appropriate, state agencies can consider exchanging excess state land with local governments for other parcels, for affordable housing development. DGS, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development, can issue Requests for Proposals on individual parcels and accept proposals from developers of affordable housing interested in entering into low-cost, long-term ground leases of parcels on the priority map.
Working with the Legislature to address the rising cost of rent: The Governor is committed to increasing protections and relief for renters. He looks forward to working with the Legislature to find common ground on efforts to prevent rent spikes and create stability for renters.
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