(CALMATTERS) – Standing in front of an affordable housing development in Oakland, Newsom on Tuesday signed into law a package of 27 bills intended to boost affordable housing across the state, hold local governments accountable for building their fair share of units and rectify housing discrimination. The package follows four ambitious housing bills signed earlier this month and a whopping $22 billion investment that the governor’s office says will create more than 84,000 new affordable homes for Californians, including 44,000 units and treatment beds for people exiting homelessness.
Here’s a look at what some of the new laws mean for California, a state with housing costs so high the median price of a single-family home hit $827,940 in August and where cities such as Fresno have catapulted onto the list of the nation’s hottest housing markets:
- The state will launch a Housing Accountability Unitto ensure local governments meet housing production goals.
- The state will limit local governments’ ability to restrict housing construction based on lot size.
- The state will help local governments expedite housing construction on their surplus land.
- The state will incentivize local governments to convert existing market-rate units into moderate-income housing for working families.
- The state will offer tax credits to affordable housing developers building intergenerational housing for the elderly and foster youth.
Newsom also signed a stack of miscellaneous bills Tuesday and vetoed three others, including one that would have boosted family leave payments. “This bill would create significant new costs … and would result in higher disability contributions paid by employees,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.