NEW MEASURES THAT IMPACT CALIFORNIA HOUSING

According to the 2000 census, Los Angeles County boasts a population of 3,694,820 – 1/10 of California’s 36 million people. Our state’s population grows by 600,000 newcomers yearly, yet the state has not approved a statewide growth plan in 25 years; one of the reasons we are forced to endure terrible traffic and long commutes.

Meantime, the average price of an existing, single-family detached home in California set a new record during the second quarter of 2004, rising to $461,730, according to the California Association of Realtors. The state Department of Housing and Community Development HCD projects an unmet need of 3.7 million units of subsidized housing by the year 2020. Any ideas on how to best house our growing population?

Our Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is taking steps to remedy our housing crisis. He recently signed a one-page piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 1268, which allows cities and counties to "express community intentions regarding urban form and design" regarding their long-term general growth plans.

AB 1268, introduced by Assemblywoman Patricia Wiggins, states that long-term land-use plans "may differentiate neighborhoods, districts and corridors; provide for a mixture of land uses and housing types within each; and provide specific measures for regulating relationships between buildings and between buildings and outdoor public areas, including streets.”

According to the paper accompanying AB 1268, this philosophy is in contrast to the traditional system of planning, "in which many specialists design, separately, the components of sprawl. The land-use planners choose a zoning map color for each piece of land, the traffic engineers calculate how many lanes of traffic are necessary to avoid gridlock, and architects and planners calculate how many parking spots are needed.”

This action comes just as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded the nation's 3,107 public housing authorities a total of $2.5 billion in funding to make major improvements to existing public housing units or to build or acquire new units for public housing.

"This funding is about the residents," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "It is given to housing authorities to upgrade their developments to ensure their public housing are safe and decent for their residents."

This funding comes from HUD's Capital Fund program, is distributed annually to local public housing authorities (PHA) to fund major capital improvements, such as updating old plumbing or electrical systems, replacing roofs, installing new windows or any major modernization activities, or to construct or acquire new units. HUD is a federal agency that implements housing policy.

Another bill of interest that recently got California state senate committee approval is Assembly Bill 2702, which aims to increase the housing stock by easing the construction of second housing units.

The bill passed with a 7-3 vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee. "AB 2702 does not alter local zoning laws, but allows second units to be built under those laws without forcing homeowners to have to go before a public hearing," said Ann Pettijohn, president of the state association.

Also, the bill would broaden the range of residents who could occupy second units. "The bill would prohibit a local agency from adopting an ordinance that requires an owner's dependent or caregiver to occupy the primary dwelling or second unit or that limits occupancy based on familial status, age, or other specified characteristics."