NONPROFIT HOUSING STALLED

CEQA used as a tool during pandemic to stall nonprofit housing

contribution by RUDY SALAS ASSEMBLYMAN DISTRICT 32

While the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has temporarily shut down major parts of our economy, the need for more affordable housing in California has not gone away. As we continue our progress and move towards slowly reopening the state in a safe and responsible manner, it is important to utilize this opportunity to reduce red tape, address burdensome regulations, streamline CEQA reform, and build more housing to ensure that working families can afford to live in California.

With unemployment numbers rising, we need to look at ways of funding “shovel ready” projects throughout the state and encourage development of more housing to make sure our local economies are able to put people back to work. Part of this solution is addressing the inherent issues in certain regulations like the California

Rudy Salas

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which continues to be used as a tool to stop affordable housing development. With so many people out of work and the high housing demands of the state, we cannot afford to allow a wealthy minority to continue using CEQA as a weapon to stall projects from nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity and others who are trying to provide affordable housing for real working families in the state.

California has set high goals to meet the increasing need for housing in the state. Due to the pandemic, production in many areas has stalled, but it has not gone away. If we are going to make a full recovery, both socially and economically, we need to utilize this opportunity to address regulations and barriers to housing. REALTORS® are essential to the fabric of our community by helping families fulfill the American dream of owning a home. I look forward to working with our REALTORS® to continue the discussion on how to remove barriers so that every family in California can one day achieve the dream of owning a home.