On the frontline of California's ongoing housing crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom's Housing Accountability Unit has been making tangible strides toward increasing the state's housing inventory. Since its inception, over 7,500 new housing units have been "unlocked" for development – a term used to signify that these homes have been greenlighted by surmounting legal and bureaucratic hurdles in partnership with local governments or through enforcement of existing California law. Gov. Newsom's office announced the figures recently, spotlighting the unit's latest move to expand its oversight into the arena of homelessness.
In a decisive first step since the expansion, a Notice of Violation was issued to the city of Norwalk for its recent enactment of a ban on constructing new homeless shelters. "There is no community in our state that is exempt from doing its part to address homelessness and create new housing," Governor Newsom asserted in a statement obtained by the Governor's office. This aggressive approach aims to quickly step in and challenge municipalities that are not in compliance with state housing laws.
The Housing Accountability Unit's efforts have been linked to a notable surge in housing starts in the state, hitting a 15-year high. The unit's cumulative contributions include a hand in the development of 2,765 affordable housing units out of the total 7,513, as mentioned in the Governor's announcement. Further underscoring the breadth of the unit's impact, Tomiquia Moss, the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, spoke of the state's significant progress in housing over 73,000 Californians facing homelessness last year across various demographics.
Among actions to bolster housing law observance, a suit has been filed against Huntington Beach and settlements have been reached with cities like Coronado, San Bernardino, Malibu, and Fullerton, as detailed by the Governor's office. Often these cases revolve around a city's failure to plan for adequate housing based on Regional Housing Needs Allocation guidelines or other state mandates. Recent successes tell of the possibility of not only directly challenging but also constructively working with municipalities willing to regularly and meaningfully contribute to lessening the housing shortfall.
When confronted with cases of NIMBYism (Not In My BackYard), where local opposition tries to stymie housing developments, the unit has not been reticent to step forward. For instance, in Elk Grove, the unit's involvement ensured approval for a supportive housing project after the city showed reluctance to give the same-area approval for a market-rate project. Likewise, defeats in court for cities like Anaheim and La Cañada Flintridge who sought to block projects have underscored the strong stance being taken against anti-housing moves. Moreover, under the Surplus Land Act, a settlement was reached with Moreno Valley, which committed to ensuring a portion of new development will be affordable housing, according to details from the governor's report.
