Lawmakers in the Golden State have passed more than 100 laws affecting planning, zoning, permitting processes, and building since 2017, as reported by Washington-based nonprofit Brookings, to alleviate the housing shortage in Southern California. Even so, reforms have failed to make a dent in the state’s production problems. The state needs millions of homes to […]
California to remove restrictions on ADUs, add enforcement if cities and counties don’t comply with housing laws.
Senate Bill 1037 was authored by Senator Scott Wiener and was sponsored by Attorney General Bonta in February 2024. SB1037 takes effect January 2025. The bill explicitly seeks to help address the statewide housing shortage by addressing local governments’ “delay and, at times even refuse, to undertake required actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the […]
California experiences largest annual increase in home sales since June 2021
California had its largest yearly increase in existing home sales since June 2021 in November, but overall, the housing market remained a work-in-progress. Despite a double-digit growth rate from their year-ago level, sales of existing single-family homes remained well below the pre-Covid norm of 400,000 units, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reports. Closed escrow […]
Younger Americans Who Bought Their Homes During the Pandemic Will Be 2025’s Biggest Sellers.
Younger Americans who bought homes during the COVID-19 pandemic could account for a surprisingly large share of home sellers in the coming year, as boomers who have owned their homes for decades mostly refuse to sell, a new survey finds. Younger Americans who bought homes during the COVID-19 pandemic could account for a surprisingly large […]
NEW LAW – SB 1211: Regarding: “Accessory Dwelling Units”
SB 1211 contains new requirements that will apply to all local ADU ordinances — and any local ordinance that does not conform to SB 1211 changes to state ADU law will be rendered null and void as a matter of law on January 1, 2025. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, authorizes a local […]
California’s housing crisis has gotten worse, not better, over the last 30 years.
Housing, or the chronic lack thereof, is arguably the most important of those issues, since it lies at the core of so many of California’s existential challenges. They include the nation’s highest levels of homelessness and poverty, a yawning gap in generational wealth, and the outflow of people and jobs to other states with more […]
Fire protection districts sign on for unification.
With unanimous votes in favor from their respective boards of trustees, two local firefighting agencies entered into the Local Agency Formation Commission process Thursday, Nov. 21, which will see the Diamond Springs-El Dorado Fire Protection District annexed into the El Dorado County Fire Protection District. The move to combine the two agencies has been a […]