SB 50 would help California produce more housing and get people off the streets

California’s Central Valley is known as the productive heartland of the United States. Our rich agricultural lands have made us the leading producer of food in the nation. We’re also home to the fastest-growing cities in the state, with a growing services sector bringing higher-paying jobs and international investment.

But there’s one area of production where California ranks nearly dead last: Housing. In fact, when it comes to housing production, California ranks 49th out of the 50 states. The housing shortage gripping our state has been estimated at around 3.5 million homes. Recently, the Madera City Council was forced to pass a moratorium on no-fault evictions for 30 families. Since Madera lacks low income housing units, these families would very likely have been homeless.

Nearly 20% of all households in the Central Valley spend more than half of their income on rent. A recent survey from the California Student Aid Commission found that an alarming 41% of Central Valley students report that they don’t have stable housing. Too many of our families say they’ve been forced to leave the state, or move away from their jobs and schools, to find housing in sprawling developments far from our job centers.

That is why I am in strong support of SB 50, the More HOMES Act. SB 50 would help relieve the acute shortage of affordable housing by making it legal to build more homes near existing job centers, transit corridors and vital amenities such as schools and hospitals. The bill includes strong protections for tenants and low-income communities against the displacement that has accompanied our housing shortage — including a prohibition on demolishing affordable rental housing.

The legislation also requires that a minimum of 15%–25% of new housing projects be set aside for lower-income residents — the first such statewide requirement for truly affordable housing.

SB 50 also protects local control, giving communities the ability to craft their own plans for how to grow. Cities across the state would have two years after the bill is signed to develop a housing plan that shows where new homes will be built, while respecting local input and preferences. Cities that produce local plans that allow for enough urgently needed housing — in locations that don’t force people to drive hours each day to get to work — will be free from any of SB 50’s other requirements.

In addition, the bill includes a “jobs-rich housing” incentive to ensure that communities with convenient, easy access to jobs, and in neighborhoods with high-performing public schools, allow a broader range of housing choices for people of all income levels.

For communities that have experienced high levels of poverty or historic segregation, the bill provides five years to develop their own housing plans that reflect the needs of the community. These communities will also gain the protections against demolition of affordable rentals, along with the requirements for housing for low-income renters. And, crucially, all housing projects will still be subject to environmental review and existing labor and employment standards. Local development fees, community processes and architectural design review remain as is. We will bring good paying construction jobs to our communities.

If communities fail to make their own plans, SB 50 serves as a contingency plan; cities have the option of taking the lead and tailoring their plans to local needs and priorities. But cities that fail to plan or continue to try to obstruct our need for more homes will no longer be able to ignore the housing crisis. In practice, SB 50 will give local governments a robust set of tools to help them solve the housing shortage.

As the City Council member in Madera, I view this initiative as a clear and positive first step to addressing our housing crisis. State Sen. Anna Caballero, a Democrat from Salinas whose district covers part of the San Joaquin Valley, is a co-sponsor because she recognizes the need for better housing solutions for our communities. I encourage all our state legislators to join her and other proponents in support.

California must remain a place of opportunity for all — and without more affordable housing, that’s impossible.