Opinion: Housing Battle Heats up in Signature Season

By Tom Elias, Columnist

Even before a proposed homeowner-inspired measure aiming to restore full zoning powers to local governments hit the streets looking to qualify for next fall’s ballot, the battle over who would control housing decisions in California began heating up.

Proponents will need just short of 1 million valid voter signatures to put their plan on the ballot, but because many non-voters also sign petitions, they’ll likely need to gather almost 1.5 million names to be certain.

That should not be too hard, once most homeowners understand how fully state legislators attempted last year to usurp the most basic powers cities and counties have long exercised.

As long as California has been a state, the most basic function of local governments has been to decide where housing will be placed, where it won’t go and how much to allow. Voters have passed countless ballot initiatives instructing their local governments in how to do that.

But with two strokes of a pen wielded by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, that all may have ended. When he signed new laws known as Senate Bills 9 and 10, most city council members might as well have gone back to being ordinary citizens.

The two new laws allow at least six times as much building as before in areas formerly zoned for one home per lot. The ratio goes much higher for properties anywhere near rapid transit stops or “major transportation corridors.”

All without any requirements for either new parking spaces, water, schools or even a single affordable housing unit.

If ever there’s been a plot to let developers get rich quick, this is it. In fact, many of the liberal Democratic lawmakers who voted for these two bills see their election campaigns at least partly funded by developers.

Homeowner groups view these new laws as a license for unbridled development at a time when almost everyone believes California has a massive housing shortage. This perception is furthered by the homeless encampments that abound in almost all parts of the state.

When he ran for office in 2018, Newsom vowed to spur the building of 3.5 million new housing units by 2026, eight years later. But new home construction lags far behind that pace, and units that do get built often languish unsold for many months, even if they are supposedly affordable.

One reason is cost. The average affordable housing unit now runs more than $450,000 to construct, and most families with income below California’s median of $75,200 per year (half the households in the state earn more than that yearly, the other half do not), can’t afford so-called affordable housing.

There’s an illusion in the public consciousness that the unhoused will somehow benefit from new affordable housing. But almost none of them have the cash to buy in.

Meanwhile, state officials do nothing to promote and speed conversion of vacant office space into residences, many of which would cost far less to create than today’s supposedly affordable units.

Into this picture now come developers with large bankrolls offering to buy up existing one-home lots and build as many as six units on each, with no new amenities for the surrounding community. The same developers are behind another initiative that would completely counteract the one aiming to save single-family zoning. The way this one is written, whichever measure gets more votes will govern, period. No compromises here.

Many homeowners now getting behind the initiative to cancel SB 9 and 10 and give land use decisions back to local officials appear unaware of the competing initiative, but both will almost certainly make the ballot.

This promises to be a battle unlike anything since 1978, when Proposition 13 clashed with another measure known as Proposition 10, a softer version of 13’s property tax limits. Both passed, but 13 got more votes and has governed ever since.

Meanwhile, websites and organizations are popping up regularly with names like “Our Neighborhood Voices” and “Liveable California.”

The upcoming competition is vital because so much of California’s character would change if SB 9 and 10 were allowed to let developers proceed without concern for either anything aesthetic or the infrastructure they have traditionally had to provide when erecting new subdivisions.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net

Related Posts

More Than $50 Billion in Damage: What January’s Wildfire Cost the City of Los Angeles

July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025

Nearly 11,000 Properties, Many in Pacific Palisades, Affected; True Losses Likely Higher Nearly $52 billion in residential real estate across...

$54M Palisades Estate Hits Market With DTLA-to-Ocean Views

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

Amenities include a wine cellar, rooftop deck, a wellness center with a gym and sauna, and a lower-level ballroom A...

Metro D Line Resumes Today After 70-Day Closure

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

The shutdown, which began May 17, enabled Metro to connect the current line to newly built tunnels extending west under...

Herbie Hancock to Headline Hollywood Bowl in August

July 25, 2025

July 25, 2025

Known for his decades-spanning career, Hancock is one of jazz’s forward-thinking voices Jazz legend Herbie Hancock is set to return...

County Offers $58M in Parks Grants, Hosts Info Session Wednesday

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

The grants aim to enhance park equity, access, and environmental benefits, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $4 million The...

(Photos) See Inside This $60M Holmby Hills Mansion Inspired by a Madrid Museum

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

Soaring 30-foot ceilings, adorned with 400-year-old Moorish columns and 16th-17th century Florentine carvings, greet visitors Nestled on the prestigious 133...

Palisades Real Estate Faces Shifting Market Trends Post-Fire

July 20, 2025

July 20, 2025

Marguleas, of Amalfi Estates, predicts a peak of 500 active land listings by mid-to-late 2026 if the current pace of...

One-Acre Riviera Lot Listed for $7.25M After Fire Loss

July 13, 2025

July 13, 2025

The site includes completed Phase I and II plans featuring an accessory dwelling unit, infinity pool, sauna/gym, and sport court...

Over $100M Allocated for Affordable Housing in Wildfire Recovery

July 9, 2025

July 9, 2025

Applications for the first phase of funding open July 21 with a deadline of August 21 at 4 p.m. Six...

Multi-Family Venice Property on Rare Double Lot Lists at Over $5M

July 7, 2025

July 7, 2025

In total, the four units provide 5,398 square feet of living space A multi-family property located one block from Venice...

Vacant Alphabet Streets Lot Lists for $1.99M After Price Cuts

July 7, 2025

July 7, 2025

The site previously held a 6,001-square-foot residence built in 2018, which included a basement, possibly streamlining the permitting process for...

Six-Bed Mar Vista Hilltop Home Under Construction Lists for $5.3M

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

The private backyard is complete with a pool, spa, fire pit, built-in BBQ, and areas for outdoor dining A stunning...

Three-Bed Palisades Highlands Townhouse Hits Market for $1.7M

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025

The Mediterranean-style property, located at 1529 Michael Lane, is part of a 71-unit community A remodeled 1,919-square-foot townhouse in the...

Benefit Concert to Celebrate Fire Recovery This Weekend at Pepperdine

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Proceeds will benefit the Malibu Fire Relief Fund, with the concert also serving as a tribute to longtime parishioner Betty...

After Losing Medals in Wildfire, Olympian Leaves Palisades for South Florida

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Hall, who had lived in the 1958-built Pacific Palisades home since 2020, ran his successful water safety school, Sea Monkeys...