CHC Industry Insight

Industry Insight - October 2021

Note from the Executive Director

It has only been a little over a month since the legislative session ended, but a group of housing leaders in the Assembly are already well on their way to developing new ideas for next year—wrapping up a statewide series of roundtables this week focused on the growing need for affordable housing in every community.

Organized by Asm. Tim Grayson (D-Concord) and Asm. Robert Rivas (D-Salinas), the newly formed Assembly Housing Working Group made eight stops around the state over the last three weeks, inviting stakeholders in every region to examine barriers and explore solutions for building more housing. The events were held in collaboration with Asm. David Chiu (D-San Francisco), outgoing chair of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, and they provided a rare opportunity for more than a dozen new and veteran members of the Assembly to engage directly with the experts on the complexities of housing policy.

CHC members and staff attended several of these events—including a Bay Area meeting hosted by Asm. Grayson and Asm. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), two Central Coast meetings hosted by Asm. Rivas, and a Los Angeles meeting hosted by Asm. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale). We shared our perspective on the urgent need for more affordable housing and the importance of ongoing support for the state’s housing tax credit, the new California Housing Accelerator, and steady funding for the many successful affordable housing programs we all rely on.

What struck me most in these meetings was not just that so many members were willing to take the time to participate, with almost no break, just after the session ended. Every one of these events was well attended, and it was clear members were listening closely and educating themselves on an issue that everyone agrees is now one of the biggest in the state.

After years of political gridlock, Assembly leaders also seem committed to developing an even more comprehensive set of solutions than in the past—exploring ideas that could impact every corner of housing policy, from single- and multi-family housing to renting and homeownership to providing new wealth-building opportunities to millions of Californians living in poverty.

Solving California’s housing crisis will take all of this and more, and it’s heartening to see so many members of the Assembly willing to stand up to do the job.

We thank Asm. Grayson and Asm. Rivas for starting this conversation anew, and we look forward to working with CHC members and the Assembly’s housing leaders in the year ahead.

Sincerely,

Ray Pearl

Executive Director

In Case You Missed It

Governor Newsom signed more than two dozen housing bills that, paired with this year’s state budget investments, he says will lead to the creation of more than 84,000 new affordable homes. “The acute affordability crisis we are experiencing in California was decades in the making, and now we’re taking the necessary steps to fix it,” said the Governor. “This package of smart, bipartisan legislation boosts housing production in California—more streamlining, more local accountability, more affordability, more density.” Among the bills signed was AB 215 (Chiu), CHC-sponsored legislation that will expand the state’s ability to enforce local housing laws. “CHC was pleased to sponsor this bill, and we are proud to see it signed into law,” Ray Pearl said in a statement. “It’s another important step toward helping all jurisdictions support affordable housing.”

The state’s eviction ban and paid sick leave program both expired on September 30, a few weeks after the federal government ended a series of unemployment programs that will cause about 2.2 million of the 3 million Californians currently receiving some form of unemployment insurance to lose their benefits. The state is ramping up its efforts to distribute $5.2 billion in relief to renters impacted by the pandemic—announcing this week that it has paid out $649 million thus far to a total of 55,000 households. CalMatters has a helpful explainer on what you need to know about California’s eviction rules and financial relief programs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last week that it will continue to prohibit the eviction of tenants for nonpayment of rent from HUD-subsidized public housing and properties with project-based rental assistance even after the expiration this fall of state eviction moratoria. The new HUD rule, published on Thursday, requires landlords to provide tenants with a 30-day notice period that includes information about the above noted federal emergency rental assistance.

Asm. David Chiu (D-San Francisco), a longtime champion of affordable housing in the Capitol and chair of the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee, announced this week that he would be vacating his seat to serve as the San Francisco City Attorney. Chiu, who was scheduled to term out of the Assembly in 2022, was appointed to serve in this new role by San Francisco Mayor London Breed. He tentatively plans to vacate his seat on October 31, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Chiu’s departure will open up several races to watch in the Assembly—including a campaign among progressives to win his seat in a special election. Jockeying is expected in the Capitol as well among Assemblymembers seeking to replace Chiu as chair of the housing committee. “While we all wish David success in his new job and with his political future, his loss in Sacramento will be significant,” Ray Pearl wrote this week in a note to CHC members. “We will definitely miss him!”

Affordable Housing in the News

This month in affordable housing news, it was a tale of two editorials about the next big test of California’s commitment to affordable housing: the next cycle of the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. Major urban areas have seen significant boosts in the amount of housing they are required to plan for over the next eight years through RHNA: The Los Angeles region has been allocated 1.3 million housing units (three times more than in the last cycle), for example, while the Bay Area will have to plan for 441,000 units (up from 187,000 between 2015-2023).

But views differ on whether the first wave of local Housing Elements will actually accomplish these goals: After reviewing San Diego’s housing plan (which must include a total of 171,000 housing units), the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board said “California is on the verge of flushing six years of housing progress down the toilet”—noting that several small cities in the region continue to be out of compliance with state guidelines, ignoring desegregation mandates, and including “transparently fake” sites in their plans. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, had a much different take on the City of LA’s housing element, giving the plan a “gold star” for its strategy to develop 455,000 units of new housing—almost 185,000 of which would be affordable to lower-income households. “This is the moment for Los Angeles to embrace change,” the Times concluded, “and the Housing Element sets the stage for a much-needed transformation.”

Both stories acknowledge the newly strengthened role HCD is expected to play in this cycle of housing production to ensure these plans translate into actual housing production. As Senator Scott Wiener, author of several recent RHNA reform bills, put it: “We put these rules in place for a reason. HCD needs to enforce the rules to the letter.”

CHC Member Spotlight

CHC Member: Many Mansions

Project Name: Summit View Apartments

Location: Sylmar

Units: 49

Opening Date: Q1 2022

State & Federal Funding Sources:

Tax Exempt Bond and 4% Tax Credits, HCIDLA Proposition HHH, LACDA AHTF and MHHP, Home Depot Funds, City of LA Community Development Block Grant

In a multi-agency partnership between Many Mansions, LA Family Housing, Veterans Affairs, Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency, Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Development Authority, and the Los Angeles Housing Department, this hillside property adjacent to the Hansen Dam will provide 49 apartments and life enriching services for homeless veterans.

CHC 2021 Special Event Sponsors