On February 3, 2017 the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) held a public workshop in Sacramento on its 2025 Statewide Housing Assessment, California’s Housing Future: Challenges and Opportunities (Assessment). This was the fourth workshop held to elicit feedback on the Assessment, which outlines expected housing-related challenges in the next ten years, and identifies some options for addressing those challenges.
The foremost issue is that housing supply continues to not keep pace with housing demand. HCD outlines six total housing challenges, including the lowest homeownership rate since the 1940’s, and rent to income disparities. The Assessment presents options to the challenges that include reforming land use policies to address the barriers to housing development created through the planning process. This is in line with the Governor’s efforts in 2016 to streamline the affordable housing process by creating a “by-right” pathway for specified projects. Though those efforts failed last year, the Governor once again set this as a priority in his proposed 2017-18 State Budget released January 10, 2017. We expect to see legislation to implement solutions proposed in the Assessment document during this legislative session.
The Statewide Housing Assessment is required by law, with the last report released in 2000. HCD will be holding two more workshops during the public comment period, which ends March 4, 2017. Detailed information about those workshops and the Statewide Housing Assessment can be accessed here. The Assessment is expected to be finalized by this summer.