Assembly Members Wicks, Bloom, Grayson, Quirk-Silva, and Villapudua Principal coauthor: Senator Wiener Coauthors: Assembly Members Berman, Mike Fong, Reyes, Robert Rivas, and Blanca Rubio
The bill further reduces local control over housing and promotes multi-unit housing over single family development, presumably to aid in increasing affordable housing. The bill creates a “use by right” for housing development in previously commercial zoned areas which bypasses local government and is administered instead by state agencies.
From the bill analysis: “This bill facilitates the development of two kinds of housing – 100-percent affordable housing, and mixed-income housing. To qualify to utilize the by right provisions of this bill, both kinds of housing projects must be located in zones where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use. Mixed-income housing projects would be limited to sites that abut a "commercial corridor," which is a local road with a right-of-way of 70 to 150 feet (generally, four to six lanes). These commercial corridors are typically the location of strip retail centers and parking lots. Directing new development along these existing thoroughfares can facilitate transit use and other non-vehicular modes of transportation.”
Many additional labor regulations and environmental regulations are outlined in the bill. Developments would not be required to provide parking except for electric vehicles and handicap.
POSTED: June 8, 2022
STATUS: Senate – Referred to Environmental Quality Committee on 06/02. Hearing not yet set.
POSITION: Oppose
Thoughts for consideration:
“The Great Reset” authored and promoted by the Marxist World Economic Forum has among its goals centralized control over housing and promotion of renting over home ownership leading to “Own nothing and be happy”. This bill furthers that goal.
The legislature last year passed SB 9 and SB 10 which effectively remove local zoning in many cases. AB 2011 continues that centralization of housing regulation to the state.
The cities in opposition to the bill argue that it would remove local control and the ability of cities to determine the adequacy of sites for housing and the ability to provide affiliated infrastructure.
Bureaucracy to administer the provisions of the bill would increase greatly as the bill contains a myriad of regulations over zoning, construction, labor, and environment.