This week saw a package of crucial affordable housing bills signed by Governor Newsom. This was the culmination of incredible leadership by some of our local legislators, including Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). SVCF and a coalition of regional partners – including the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, Public Advocates, Enterprise Community Partners and SV@Home – worked tirelessly to see these bills passed.
SVCF directly supported 15 housing related bills through lobbying and advocacy and are thrilled that these measures have been signed into law, which will help address California’s affordable housing shortage. Examples of their impact include:
- AB 1482 (Chiu): This tenant protections bill will help families stay in their homes by limiting extreme or unreasonable rent increases and preventing arbitrary evictions.
- AB 1486 (Ting): This Public Lands for Public Good bill will strengthen the state's Surplus Land Act to facilitate the transformation of unused public land into affordable housing.
- AB 1487 (Chiu): This Bay Area Regional Housing Solutions bill authorizes the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission to pursue new regional funding and programs to strengthen the Bay Area with more affordable homes and protections for longtime residents.
- SB 330 (Skinner): This bill temporarily suspends specific local rules and regulations that have been recognized as obstacles to housing production (such as parking requirements and fees), and establishes reasonable time periods for processing housing permits.
Together, these new laws utilize all three key strategies (the 3P framework) for combating the affordable housing crisis: 1) Production of new housing, 2) Preservation of existing housing and 3) Protection for tenants against unfair evictions and rent gouging.
“The passage of these bills is a testament to the hard work we have done alongside our partners and our strategic alignment around the 3P framework,” said Housing and Transportation Program Officer Vinita Goyal. “The movement-building efforts of tenant organizers and housing advocates were instrumental in translating research into policy action.”
The signing of these bills is a big step forward along the path that will lead us to a more diverse, vibrant and sustainable future for Silicon Valley and all of California. We look forward to capitalizing upon this momentum by continuing to advocate for affordable housing production, including offering our support for Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 50 in 2020, which will streamline the process for building housing near existing job centers and public transportation.
Learn more about SVCF’s public policy priorities here: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/public-policy