The idea behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to stem the state’s housing affordability crisis was simple: Make it easier to build houses.
If developers pledged to set aside some units in their projects for low-income residents, the governor’s proposed legislation would have eliminated some local hurdles to building, likely leading to a modest increase in construction.
Yet the proposal the governor unveiled in May represented a profound shakeup in how the development process would have worked in California. The measure challenged the primacy of local control over housing, inflamed powerful entrenched interests and was eyed warily by the very groups representing those the plan was supposed to help.
Because of the resistance, Brown’s effort became so unpopular in the state Capitol that not one of 120 lawmakers was willing to publicly stand behind it. After weeks of little action, the plan died a quiet death last month, never having received a vote in the Legislature.
“I think it was an aggressive proposal that touched a lot of nerves,” said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), the chairman of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
The defeat of Brown’s effort reveals the high obstacles in the way of the governor and legislators who hope to make meaningful increases to home building in California at the same time the problem is getting worse. The state’s average home price of $466,900 is nearing 2 ½ times the national figure and rising.
Don Perata, the former president pro tem of the state Senate and now a lobbyist and executive director of the California Infill Builders Federation, said the governor’s struggles convinced him that the issue won’t get resolved without a statewide ballot measure.
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