the battle over SB9 — which could ultimately help add hundreds of thousands of homes across the state by allowing up to four units on some properties that had just one before — is ramping up again before the law takes effect in January, as cities that opposed the measure move to limit its impact on their communities.
In September, Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 into law. Among other things, SB 9
“would require a local agency to ministerially approve a parcel map for an urban lot split that meets certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the urban lot split would not require the demolition or alteration of housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of moderate, low, or very low income.”
Following Attorney General Rob Bonta’s announcement of the creation of a Housing Strike Force, League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman released a statement.
This year, ABAG, as a tool of the state Housing and Community Development (HCD) agency, is rolling out the 8-year housing quotas. The state’s overall goal for the 9-counties and 101 Bay Area cities has more than doubled. HCD is mandating 441,000 new homes or apartments in the 2023-2031 cycle. Marin is expected to add 14,405 new units.
Two bills making their way through the State Legislature, SB9 and SB10, will allow developers to tear down existing single-family homes, especially in communities of color, for market-rate and luxury housing only the affluent can afford.
