State lawmakers in California have proposed a large set of measures that would address the housing shortage and homelessness within the state. A group of lawmakers from the two parties recently put forward the new legislation aimed at temporarily help people who are at risk of evictions while solving deeper problems inherent in housing insecurity.
At its core is a bill that proposes a dramatic simplification of the bureaucratic maze that affordable housing developers currently have to navigate. That law would preempt local zoning ordinances in some places and permit the building of more intense uses closer to transit stations. Its advocates suggest that this step is necessary to raise the number of homes in the areas where demand is the highest – cities.
The second element of the legislative package is another bill on increasing subsidies for rental housing. Currently, the money designed for the city’s poor will be used to pay for both rent and utilities, with a greater emphasis placed on protecting seniors and children from homelessness.
The package also contains provisions to prevent the increasing problem of abandoned buildings in large cities. There was one bill launched which wants to increase taxes on the owners of properties with vacant apartments and houses for more than six months encouraging them to rent or sell the spaces.
In order to prevent homelessness, countries have called for enhancement of funds to support supportive housing. These are meant to offer not only housing, but also most necessary assistance including therapy, detoxification, and vocational preparation to enable them get out of the streets.
The legislative package has received support from advocates for affordable housing, business people and authorities at local level. Advocates say that this is because the causes of California’s housing shortage have diverse sources that require different solutions.
Nonetheless, the proposals have also been criticised by some people. Some local government officials worry that the proposed reform may mean a loss of authority to zoning decisions, while the property rights activists believe that more regulations are likely to dampen investments in housing market.
Struggles seen in these bills manifest the problems California has in setting up new affordable housing projects while respecting local politicians’ sovereignty and property owners’ rights. Being faced with such a daunting task of catering for the housing needs of the population, which continues to grow, coupled with the fact that the cost of housing in the state is still ranked among the highest across the country, finding best solutions hence has become more and more important.
The proposed legislation is for the fact that new statistics reveal that even as efforts to curb homelessness has been on, the rate of homelessness has increased in California. The latest state homeless Count carried out in July this year showed that the state was home to 6% more homeless people than in the same period last year and more stark rises in some municipalities.
According to economists and housing specialists, the following factors have contributed to the crisis: a lack of new housing stock, stagnation of wage growth for many employees, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed bills intend to solve these problems by means of the supply-side policies and the provision of direct supports for the required population.
When the legislative package goes to committee, legislators are expected to indulge in considerable bargaining over the drafts. They could decide the direction that the state of California takes toward housing and homelessness for years to come.
It is further highlighted by the worsening condition in the state’s communities that are already bearing the harsh effects of the housing deficit. Whether those are tent communities across large cities’ fields or families that can barely pay for rent in suburban neighborhoods, the demand for efficient ideas was never as high in the past.
While California is faced with these challenges, the legislative package proposes is proportional to be a solution for one of the biggest problems in California. This year will be revealing as to how such big plans will transform the lives of millions of Californians experiencing housing problems.
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