In Santa Barbara County and elsewhere in coastal California, the cost of both rental housing and home purchase is extremely high, taking up an ever-increasing portion of family income. However, this housing affordability crisis is not universal across the United States. The most expensive housing nationwide is found in California. At least part of the explanation for this may be the unintended consequences of Proposition 13, the 1978 property tax limitation initiative.
Moreover, the problem is actually getting worse. In California, home values climbed 4.9 percent over the past year, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, and rents similarly continued to increase. While the general rule is that tenants shouldn’t pay more than 30 percent of their household income toward rent, almost half of California renters exceed 35 percent of their household income. As a consequence, neighborhoods age, with fewer young families who can afford to move in, and businesses have a more difficult time recruiting and retaining employees.
In response the governor recently signed a series of bills aimed at the lack of affordable housing, as well as expanding the housing supply overall. The bills seek to streamline the construction of certain new housing by reducing local agencies’ ability to deny or reduce the density of new housing developments. If a proposed development satisfies certain conditions, cities would be unable to restrict or halt the proposed development. Similar legislation was passed last year that required cities to automatically approve accessory dwelling units (ADUs) under certain conditions.