Latest News
NOTE: The opinions expressed in the news items cited here do not necessarily represent the opinion of Catalysts for Local Control. We try to present a balanced picture of the news on the subject of housing and legislation.
50-story S.F. condo tower: Drawings reveal new details of what Sunset skyscraper would look like
By Danielle Echeverria
San Francisco Chronicle
The 680-unit building, proposed for a site across from the San Francisco Zoo, would rise more than 580 ft in a neighborhood currently defined largely by low-rise buildings and single-family homes. City officials have said that, while they encourage density and residential development in the area, the proposed project is several times taller than what regulations allow in the neighborhood.
‘I don’t want to become San Francisco’: Urban woes spur state action on housing
By JORDAN WOLMAN
Politico
Officials in Washington state and Vermont looked at the housing crisis in San Francisco this year and took action to prevent the same thing happening in their states: They effectively banned single-family zoning.
Et Tu, Mother Jones?
By Michael Barnes
48 Hills
The one-time radical left magazine has gone all Yimby on us
I have written the following rebuttal because I wanted to set the record straight on many of the contentious housing issues that are being misrepresented in the media.
California homelessness: Largest study in decades reveals ‘fundamental problem’ behind issue
By Mallory Moench
San Francisco Chronicle
California’s homeless population is predominantly made up of people who lived in the state before losing their housing, with nearly half over the age of 50 and a disproportionate number who are Black and Indigenous, according to a statewide study released Tuesday.
Housing Report: Blame Ourselves, Not Our Stars
By Wendell Cox and Joel Kotkin
in California, Reports
No issue plagues Californians more than the high cost of housing. By almost every metric—from rents to home prices—Golden State residents suffer the highest burden for shelter of any state in the continental U.S. Its housing prices are, adjusted for income, as much as two to three times higher than those in key competitive states.
Focus on surplus properties for housing
By Leon Huntting
We do not have a housing crisis, we have an affordability crisis. You can build as much housing as you want, but that doesn’t mean people can afford to buy or rent it. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) mandate for the Bay Area is 441,176 new units. Several sources, including the state auditor, have shown that this is very overstated.
Unintended Consequences of High Density Housing.
Losing candidates offer up sound ideas
By DICK SPOTSWOOD
Marin has been blessed with multiple candidates with diverse talents for local offices. Some win and others lose. It’s good practice to reflect on some first-class ideas that some losing candidates offered.
In the recent Novato City Council election one first-time candidate who failed to prevail, Jim Petray, offered a set of suggestions aimed at remedying the city’s long-term financial difficulties.
Catalysts On A Crusade
By Jack Metz April 10, 2023
Early tomorrow morning, residents of numerous California counties will congregate in Sacramento to demand legislators rethink everything about state land use policy. Thanks to the impressive orchestration efforts of Catalysts, a grassroots network based in Mill Valley, dozens of partner organization members will break out into teams and meet with various Capitol decision makers.