The end of single family homes

[Mick]

When I was born in San Jose in 1962, there were 16 million citizens in California. Twenty years ago, that had grown to 36 million. At the time, I purchased a residential property that was a very deep lot, consisting of two parcels. I tried to construct a 600 square foot ADU (additional dwelling unit, a/k/a Mother-in-Law quarters) that consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchenette and a living room.

I was told it would not be approved under any circumstances, and this is by the City of San Jose, which has allowed monster homes and all manner of odd residential dwellings, at least at the time. It was really the wild, wild, west…at the time.

Today, California has almost 40 million people (that we know of), a scorching homeless problem and a massive housing shortage of at least 50,000 units. To combat the shortage, California’s SB 9 has effectively allowed up to four separate dwellings to be built on single home lots. Around the corner from my house is a single-family lot, less than a quarter-acre, with a duplex and a single-family house built on it, both with very tall highlines.

Separately, where there was a small series of bungalows two blocks from my house, 85 separate condos are being wedged into a small, 5 acre spot, one car garage for each condo. My street is already choked from the overflow parking, and I suspect it will get much, much worse as these high-density housing units are sold.

Lawmakers are moving ahead with SB 450, a bill signed into law by Gavin Newsom that virtually eliminates local authorities to reject SB 9 projects.

I haven’t lived in a trashy slum since my Mom left my dad with three kids aged six and under. Can’t wait for the neighborhood to continue to deteriorate.

California quietly ended single family zoning, allowing four homes per lot

• This topic was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Mick.

[Beeg_Dawg]

This is what you get with disjointed and conflicting policies.
1) Urban Growth Boundaries
2) Expensive and Lengthy permitting process
3) Policies that favor (incentivize) large mutifamily projects over single family dwellings.
4) State agencies, like the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), can penalize cities that fail to comply with state driven mandates.
5) Environmental requirements delay or prevent single-family developments. Multi-family or transit-oriented projects are prioritized because they align with environmental goals.

Couple that with an influx of 10 million illegal aliens we can’t absorb but must be paid and cared for, blue cities and states are scrambling for new sources of revenue (AKA Wealth Tax).

Liberals specialize in spending money they don’t have and kicking the can down the road.  Here is great example – https://apnews.com/article/low-income-housing-tax-credit-affordable-harris-8f68bcf189c17f910459142ee8a50289

So the answer is, provide subsidies to build low income (subsidized ) housing.  Of course, shock and disbelief set in as property owners raise rent when subsidies end.

Shocking.

[Mick]

Good points. Let’s also throw in the state override law, in which the state can override local building processes as long as the builder has a substantial percentage of “affordable” housing. In October 2022, California’s Governor (who is desperate to add to the housing stock) the “Affordable Housing and High Roads Jobs Act” which allows affordable housing to bypass the approval process. This is on land that is located in commercial corridors, otherwise typically used for strip malls and parking lots.

Also, the Housing Accountability Act set new standards for “Builder’s Remedy” projects. The law has some pretty interesting elements, including exemption from appeals to the California Coastal Commission. Say goodbye to that pristine coast. Also, they want ADUs now. And fee deferrals for builders, building code amnesty for noncompliant ADUs and other goodies:

California’s 2025 Housing Laws: What You Need to Know | Insights | Holland & Knight

Combine that with the recent law that allows up to 10 housing units on existing single family home lots…well, California had to do something to accommodate all the illegal/unauthorized (pick your euphemism) aliens living here.

The bill had an analysis performed that indicated it would produce between 300,000 and 400,000 affordable homes across CA.

[Author]

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