Beverly Hills Reacts to the State’s Housing Crisis
You know when you’ve struck a nerve: when the whining starts. The wounded soul, in this case, is the Vice Mayor of Beverly Hills, John Mirisch, who cried and complained loudly about state legislation in this space recently. The source of the Vice Mayor’s rant was Scott Wiener, freshman Democrat occupying the San Francisco senate seat just-previously held […]
Millennials Prefer Suburban Living
To most builders, housing demand is meaningless unless it’s in their backyard or in some nearby community. That is, most homebuilders don’t stray too far from the markets they know. What we recently learned from the U.S. Bureau of the Census will be well received by those builders: thanks to the interest millennials are taking […]
Does Controversial Bill Aimed at Building Housing Next to Transit Have a Chance?
You got to hand it to Scott Wiener of San Francisco. Curing the state’s housing shortage was a plank in his election platform and, true to his word he’s been in search of that cure since he arrived in the state senate last year. Knowing that California had a supply problem – and recognizing that expanding […]
CEQA Abuse Confirmed
Finally, a thorough examination of the impact frivolous environmental litigation has on California has been done. A legal team, headed by Holland and Knight lawyer Jennifer Hernandez of the firm’s San Francisco office, studied lawsuits filed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) from 2010 forward and published her findings in the most recent edition of the Hastings Environmental […]
Homelessness – Do Locals Have the Answers?
Homelessness is a scourge of humanity and a bitter failure of government. The victims of this incompetence and malfeasance are, of course, the homeless. For homeless individuals with alcohol or other substance abuse it’s likely it is due to a lack of coordination of services. For those with mental illness, it’s an abdication – government […]
Too Many Housing Bills
As is my habit, I participated recently in a monthly conference call with the policy committee of one of my former housing clients. It was a real eye opener. Committee members were informed that number of bills their lobbyists would be tracking this year nears about 100 – a massive new record. All because the […]
Condo revival?
For many, condominiums (condos) are the answer to many questions that accompany California’s housing woes. First, condos present densities that are higher and more satisfying to those obsessed with planning and smart growth. Local elected officials, purportedly, like condos. But, many builders worry that if it was true affection these elected officials had for this […]
CEQA’s Got to Go
For new housing, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is more than a barrier to construction. It’s a menace. If the Legislature is serious about digging California out of the housing supply and affordability mess that it’s in right now, CEQA, the state’s premier environmental law, has to go – roots and all. CEQA has […]
Surprise, Surprise – Locals Not Approving Housing
A report recently published by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) – the erstwhile authority on all housing in the state – shows locals aren’t approving the housing they need. But, if so many jurisdictions are out of compliance with state goals – the report says 98% –doesn’t that signal that something’s […]
The Myth About New Housing Laws
Recently, a prominent periodical hailed last year’s housing legislation as a marvelous thing – that with it will soon come the end of California’s housing crisis. Similar statements have been made in the few months following the Governor’s signature – including by the Governor himself – on the passage of several new “housing” bills. “In […]