opinion of CA bill SB 827

[politicallefty]

I'm willing to betray my ideology for solutions that reduce the cost of housing/rent in California. It's an interesting proposal, but I'm not sure it would totally rectify the problem facing the state right now.

It turned Houston into a sea of parking lots downtown. Leads to dead downtowns to please suburbanites who rarely go there anyways. At the same time NIMBYism is a cancer that can exacerbate good zoning by not letting anything can get built. I love strict zoning to keep cities urban and dense but need to check that to allow things to be built at all over NIMBYs or that might be slightly outside of perfect. Just can’t let a suburban style strip mall with large surface parking to be put there in its place.

Texas and California are completely different situations. California is facing a massive housing crisis. We don't have enough housing at a reasonable price. Like I said, I'm willing to betray my own ideology if it means we can lower housing/rent prices and expand affordability. Unless the affordability of housing and rent prices in California is soon dealt with, California is probably going to have to deal with a net population loss in the near future. An average 3 bedroom residence over $2000 (at minimum) is going to cripple the state.

[politicallefty]

I'm willing to betray my ideology for solutions that reduce the cost of housing/rent in California. It's an interesting proposal, but I'm not sure it would totally rectify the problem facing the state right now.

What ideology opposes new housing? Misanthropic communism?

That's not what I mean. I mean those that oppose housing developments in certain areas for some random reason. We can't build within 2 miles of a certain area because we're going to kill off the blue-green Northern California wood fungus or something. I'm exaggerating of course, but that's basically what we're dealing with in terms of trying to expand housing throughout the state. I think the state needs to go further than this bill and eliminate all local obstacles to new and affordable housing. The only remedy to the cost of housing in California is to build and build fast. Not only will that lower the cost of housing, but it would also create many good-paying jobs in construction and ancillary areas.

[politicallefty]

Oh, I'm pretty sure these "random reasons" aren't the real reasons. The real reasons include wanting to keep inflated property values and city-level xenophobia (especially if new transit or housing let "those people" into their bubbles).

In a state like California, there are a multitude of reasons including those I noted, but you're definitely not wrong as to part of the reasoning. That doesn't change what I think should be the solution, at least in large part. The state needs to obliterate all local obstacles to new and affordable housing developments. If the Democratic Party cannot support affordable housing for all, we are failing.

A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco now costs over $3200-3400/month. Housing all across the state is rising fast with no sign of slowing. California is at the epicentre of a full housing crisis and one that is mostly indiscriminately harming all but the richest amongst us.

[politicallefty]

Eliminate parking requirements and Prop. 13, that will work a lot better than this bill.

I don't disagree with you and I want Prop 13 gone too, but repealing Prop 13 requires a vote of the people. This bill is one of the best things we're going to get short of that.