Despite the city’s best efforts, the development of affordable—and moderate-income—housing remains well below targets outlined by the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), which projects housing needs and the number of units each city must create to keep up with that need.
Landlords across California can, with certain exceptions, once more evict tenants who are behind on rent.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two controversial housing bills into law Thursday that could affect neighborhoods currently reserved for single-family housing, but the effect they will have on Long Beach will likely be less severe than what some opponents have claimed.
After signing into law Senate bills 9 and 10, Newsom said, “The housing affordability crisis is undermining the California Dream for families across the state, and threatens our long-term growth and prosperity.”
The city’s Department of Developmental Services is proposing offering developers more incentives to build moderate-, low- and very-low-income housing, particularly along transit corridors and near job centers.
Senate Bills 9 and 10 would allow for certain single-family home lots to be converted into duplexes or larger developments if they have the room, or in the case of SB10, if the council agrees to rezone areas to allow 10-unit developments.
Council members Al Austin, Stacy Mungo Flanigan and Suzie Price are signed onto a request authored by Austin that will be voted on at the City Council’s Tuesday meeting.
The Long Beach City Council is preparing to vote on a moratorium that could block evictions driven by landlords pursuing remodels to buildings. Property owners and tenants rights groups disagree over how broadly the ban should be applied.
Statewide housing affordability reached its lowest level since mid-2018, as higher prices fueled by a shortage of homes for sale pushed the state’s median home price more than 22% higher on a year-over-year basis, according to the California Association of Realtors.
