The notion of owning an accommodation location with a back garden has been in the so-called California Dream for a long time. However, the reality for almost everyone in California concerns renting a house or flat that they can hardly afford.
There are not enough affordable housing options in California. On the other hand, most residential properties in the US state are zoned for houses for single families. That applies across the Los Angeles County (LAC), where there are numerous million-dollar residents and $795,000 is the median rate of a house. That is a nightmare for individuals who try to discover a fairly priced residence to purchase or rent. The situation is worse for thousands of homeless individuals in LAC who lack a building that comes close to a house with a door and walls.
To encourage the development of more housing options, the California State Legislature passed two bills that would allow some increased density. Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed the bills into law, and those pieces of legislation will be effective on January 01, 2022. Senate Bill 9 will allow as many as four housing units on a lot where the owner is constructing or has built a single-family unit. Senate Bill 10 will let a local administration rezone land, which includes single-family home lots, to permit a building with at least 10 units. The property should be an urban infill development or around public transport.
City governments and homeowners are attempting to put caps on the laws. Judging by their negative reactions to the laws, you might feel that these bills were mandating tall buildings with many stories in communities zoned for single-family occupants. The bills are not doing that. We are discussing allowing fourplexes, small apartments and duplexes in California’s residential communities, which was a prevalent practice. Senate Bill 9 necessitates one who owns a piece of property to reside in any of the housing units for 3 years once a lot gets split.
There has been strong pushback against the bills from the start. The Council opposed the process of passing these bills. After the passage of these, some cities in the US have been attempting to form policies to block or blunt the effects, which include imposing unrealistic size/height limits or mandating parking spaces. An effort is underway to make a measure a part of the ballot next November that would keep California from canceling local zoning rules again.
Opponents should have a closer look at the things that LAC constituents think about these recent zoning measures.
According to a recent Los Angeles Business Council Institute survey, 27% of the constituents polled oppose SB 9 but 55% of the voters support the bill. On the other hand, 13% of the voters who took part in the survey oppose Senate Bill 10 but 68% back it. The survey asked the participants to make the following considerations.
- Whether Senate Bill 9 would let homeowners add granny units or convert their house into a triplex, fourplex or duplex location to build 4 more units upon their lots, irrespective of whether their property is zoned as just single-family.
- Whether they oppose or support this new real estate law in California.
If you feel that the survey question oversold Senate Bill 9, reconsider.
Outrageously, community groups and city governments go against the desire of the population who wants more accommodation options. There is shameful action to undermine the two bills that will enable a modest rise in the house count in the neighborhoods that are reserved to construct single-family houses.
LA is no castle. Homeowners in Los Angeles cannot stop more people from coming to the city or tell the masses to go elsewhere. The county and city should discover a way of accommodating a moderate rise in housing options in every neighborhood. There is a philosophical decision-making situation between wanting more accommodation locations and not allowing the same in the popular stretches that are zoned for just single-family houses. Some local elected representatives and homeowners are involved in that situation. It is high time to know that Los Angeles has room for further housing options that will not desecrate neighborhoods.