California AG creates a “Housing Strike Force”.
On November 3, 2021 California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the creation of a Housing Strike Force within the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the convening of a series of tenant roundtables across the state. Attorney General Bonta today also launched a Housing Portal on DOJ’s website with resources and information for California homeowners and tenants. Together, the Housing Strike Force, roundtables, and Housing Portal are part of DOJ’s new effort to advance housing access, affordability, and equity in California. DOJ’s Housing Strike Force will draw on the expertise of attorneys from the Land Use and Conservation Section, the Consumer Protection Section, the Civil Rights Enforcement Section, and the Environment Section’s Bureau of Environmental Justice to address the housing crisis and to alleviate its effects.
“California is facing a housing shortage and affordability crisis of epic proportion,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Every day, millions of Californians worry about keeping a roof over their head, and there are too many across this state who lack housing altogether. Our Housing Strike Force, along with the tenant roundtables and Housing Portal, will allow DOJ to ramp up our efforts to tackle this crisis and advance housing access, affordability, and equity across California. This is a top priority and a fight we won’t back down from. As Attorney General, I am committed to using all the tools my office has available to advance Californians’ fundamental right to housing.”
Joining forces, not “strike forces,” needed to house Californians
Sacramento – Following the Attorney General’s announcement of the creation of a Housing Strike Force, League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman released the below statement:
“California cities have been taking our state’s housing crisis seriously for years and have made significant progress planning for and approving housing across all income levels within their communities. They have been doing this using their own plans, while abiding by the state’s myriad of everchanging laws. By the end of next year, all of the state’s major regional governments, including cities, will have identified and planned for more than two million units of additional housing statewide. Those two million units are on top of the millions of homes that cities have already planned, zoned, and approved previously.
“The comments made during the Attorney General’s press conference today, demonizing all cities for things they do not control will not put roofs over the heads of Californians. Cities do not build homes, and for years have endured whiplash from the state’s scattershot approach to passing housing laws that are often in direct conflict with each other and counterproductive to our shared goals to increase housing supply.
“If the state is looking for a real solution to this decades-in-the-making housing crisis, we urge a pause on unproven top-down state mandates and enforcement policies and call on the state to work as a true partner with local governments to get housing built for all Californians.”
Established in 1898, the League of California Cities is a nonprofit statewide association that advocates for cities with the state and federal governments and provides education and training services to elected and appointed city officials.