In a move that may signal more to come, Governor Newsom is backing up his get-tough language with California communities by announcing that he is taking the City of Huntington Beach to court for failure to meet its housing need. The unprecedented action startled some at the Capitol while pleasing many who remarked that the […]
Can anything be done in California about its chronic housing crisis? Yes, say the academics and other experts. They conclude that the state suffers a chronic housing crunch because it doesn’t build enough annually. So, like newly minted Governor Newsom, they say just construct more housing each year. But, a key constituent disagrees. Californians, it […]
If local demonstrations or a lawsuit using the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) don’t stop a new housing project, just vote it down. That’s the new NIMBY (“not in my backyard”) sentiment prevailing among residents of San Diego County. To back up their concerns about new housing, they’ve qualified an initiative for the 2020 ballot […]
The new developments may look different – including having a fair share of higher-density housing – but the trend appears to show the suburbs are attracting more people than center cities. This, despite a belief among demographers that younger generations preferred more urban living. This turn of events is baffling the experts, too. According to […]
Skylines emerge. Neighborhoods are transformed. And, life is forever changed. Count on all that happening when new development comes to town. And, yes – rents rise, too. Sometimes rising rents will displace existing residents, sometimes they won’t. But, to be sure – as time marches on so does growth, and all that it brings to […]
You know them best as NIMBYs (not in my backyard) and, if you’ve been watching development in the state you know how much clout they have over the local decisions on growth. NIMBYs aren’t alone, though. There are NIMTOOs (not in my term of office), BANANAs (build anything nowhere and nothing anywhere) and, by far, […]
About now, the California Republican Party – surely licking the deep wounds it suffered during the mid-term election of 2018 – must be asking itself “What now?” Here’s an answer: How about an injection of some Jack Kemp? Kemp, now deceased, was an 18-term Member of Congress and Bush (41) cabinet secretary – and an […]
It is heartwarming to hear that in Richmond, with its super-high housing costs, a teacher is starting the academic year as a first-time homebuyer – affordably living in the town where she teaches public high school. Less gratifying is that this teacher and her fiancé bought their home at the expense of, say, a cop […]
As has been reported in this space many times, the vexing problem of homelessness is a national disgrace but, so say the experts, it’s also a pretty tough problem to solve. Despite a recent survey by the Zillow Group implying there is a direct correlation between homelessness and the lack of affordable housing, most knowing […]
In California, it’s legal to be a squatter. That is, the law allows individuals to occupy a rental house or apartment without a lease or filling out a rental application or going through any sort of renter-qualification process. They can just pick a vacant residence, live there and be virtually shielded from eviction. That’s precisely […]
