Thread by @cafedujord

Hey, folks! Want to hear from California legislators on how to solve the state's affordable housing crisis via new legislation? @HACdotorg, @cayimby, @gbeltalliance and @yimbyaction have you covered!

Sign up below, or follow along here! 🧵

actionnetwork.org/events/afforda…

First up is Assemblymember @BuffyWicks: says we need $100B over the next 10 years for affordable housing, which is why she's introduced a new housing bond.

"This issue has metastasized into such a crisis that we have to grapple with that."

Asm. Wicks continues, talking about starting the select committee on social housing! Says we need all ideas on the table.

"We put people on the moon, we can solve homelessness if we want to. We just need the political will."

Asm Wicks: there are things we can't control, like interest rates. But there are things we can control, like regulatory barriers.

Says we need CEQA reform, is authoring a bill responding to the UC Berkeley case exempting people's voices from being considered an enviro impact.

Asm. Wicks on labor issues: "Saying no is no longer an option. It's off the table. And I think we can do that, and protect workers at the same time."

(via requiring prevailing wage provisions)

Asm. Wicks on local control: it's important that cities be active participants in being part of the solution. It's a unifying issue, and she applauds the Governor/Attorney General and the DOJ Housing Strike Force.

Says some cities are good actors, shouting out Emeryville.

Next up is housing king @Scott_Wiener! He starts off praising @BuffyWicks, says that she "continually helps light a fire under me."

Sen. Wiener: "I'm so excited by this entire movement, because we're winning. We've completely shifted the narrative over the last decade."

Sen. Wiener talking about his bills #SB4 and #SB423, which despite opposition from the California Labor Federation and Building Trades, which in the past would've killed the bills, passed overwhelmingly through their first committee yesterday!

Says a sea change is happening.

On the topic of building new housing in exclusionary areas, Sen. Wiener touts #SB4, which allows faith communities/religious institutions to sidestep zoning regs to build affordable housing on their land.

Says studies show this land is disproportionately in high-income areas.

On CEQA reform, Sen. Wiener says it's one of the hardest things to attempt in California politics.

Shouts out the Planning & Conservation League's efforts on the enviro side years ago, that he's working on it and it needs to happen, but that it's extremely difficult.

On new bill #SB83, Sen. Wiener discusses a weird issue exacerbating the housing crisis: PG&E and other utilities are taking an inordinately long time to actually hook up new housing projects to the grid.

His bill will create deadlines for the utilities to hold them accountable.

On local control: it's a system designed to fail. We've tried it for 50 years, and it obviously hasn't worked.

"We have created a mess. It's time to fix it. It's not about demonizing elected officials. Hate the game, not the player. The game we've set up is terrible."

Continuing on local control, Sen. Wiener likens housing policy to education policy.

Says he would be correctly laughed out of the room if he proposed allowing local jurisdictions to do whatever they wanted on eduction, which is how housing works now. That has to change.

Sen. Wiener had to leave early, but his legislative analyst Tate is answering more questions.

On #SB4, he says 200 individual organizations supporting the bill thus far, especially faith groups. Says it could unlock thousands of affordable homes in high income communities.

Last in the housing all-star lineup is Assemblymember @alex_lee!

Asm. Lee says he's here tonight about his social housing proposal, #AB309. We start with a picture of social housing project Alt Erlaa in Vienna, and folks, it's gorgeous.

Asm. Lee says while it's important to reform the market to allow more housing to be built that way, we should also allow the state to create housing.

His idea is to have a public developer that could build mixed use, mixed income housing near transit where everyone can live.

Asm. Lee says that in addition to Europe, Asia, and South America, which already successfully build social housing, we do it here at home in California -- look no further than the UC system!

Highlights UC Irvine and UC San Diego specifically as good examples of what's possible.

Asm. Lee says a main tenet of social housing is that everyone should be able to live there, rich or poor, and that we have to do away with means-testing.

Says no one should be able to tell your economic status by the home you live in.

Some specifics on how #AB309 would actually work!

A few wrap up questions about Asm. Lee's land value taxation and single-stair study bills, and we're out! Thanks for following along!

The webinar was recorded, so DM me if you'd like a link when it's out (likely in a few days).