Hundreds of business, civic and elected leaders gathered in Ontario on Friday to wrestle with a problem that keeps getting harder to ignore: how to build housing that Californians can actually afford.
The one-day Housing Attainability Conference at the Ontario Convention Center brought together Inland Empire and Southern California leaders for discussions on housing supply, affordability and development partnerships, according to a Los Angeles Daily News report. The event was organized by the Building Industry Association of Southern California and National CORE, which described its focus as using innovation and partnerships to expand housing opportunities across income levels.
State Lawmakers Talk Housing Crisis Solutions
A government-focused panel featured state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and state Sen. Bob Archuleta. The conference program said the discussion would examine concrete steps to address the housing crisis rather than simply admire it from another panel table.
Other sessions covered affordable housing and different housing types, including how various products can fit into larger master plans and development strategies. Builders and local officials also discussed public-private partnerships, market-rate projects, regulatory modernization and Opportunity Zones 2.0, according to the Daily News coverage.
Norma Torres Brings The Federal View To Ontario
Rep. Norma Torres, who represents Ontario in Congress, participated in a session billed as “The View From Washington.” The agenda also featured California Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez, State Treasurer Fiona Ma and recorded remarks from HUD Secretary Scott Turner, giving the event a distinctly state-and-federal flavor.
That broad lineup reflects how housing policy now reaches well beyond city planning departments and construction sites. Financing, permitting, tax incentives, state mandates and federal programs all shape whether a proposed apartment complex or subdivision moves from paper to actual keys in residents’ hands.
California’s Supply Gap Keeps Driving The Conversation
California’s housing challenge remains enormous even as construction and policy reforms move forward. The state Department of Housing and Community Development says California needs roughly 180,000 additional homes annually, while more than 3 million renter households pay over 30% of their income toward rent, according to state housing data.
That is the backdrop for the conference’s emphasis on attainability, a term that includes affordable housing but also homes for working families, first-time buyers, seniors and other residents who may not qualify for traditional subsidized programs. For Ontario and the broader Inland Empire, the challenge is turning all that agreement about the need for housing into projects that get approved, financed and built.
