Sen. Bill Dodd announced legislation this week that would assist in the creation of affordable housing in California by identifying excess state property that could be used for development, advancing earlier initiatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom to address the state housing crisis.
“The rapid creation of affordable housing is vital to Californians, who are experiencing increased homelessness and instability because of extreme prices,” Dodd, D-Napa, said in a press release. “To accelerate construction of these much-needed units, we must continue to prioritize the use of excess state land. My bill will ensure we continue to identify which properties are available and get these projects going as economically and efficiently as possible.”
The state’s need for affordable housing is significantly outpacing its production, which is negatively affecting Californians, Dodd said. According to a report from the California Housing Partnership, 1.4 million low-income California households lacked access to affordable housing last year. Despite California’s need for affordable housing, the state has annually fallen 100,000 units short on its affordable housing creation goals for many years, the release stated.