A new law failed both housing and environmental needs.
In 2023, the California Legislature considered re-authorizing a bill to facilitate in-fill housing, including affordable housing, in jurisdictions not doing their fair share for housing. The original bill had wisely excluded biologically sensitive areas as well as California’s Coastal Zone. The Coastal Zone was created by a citizen initiative and subsequent legislation (the Coastal Act) in 1972. A new land use authority, the Coastal Commission, was put in place, as were strong policies to protect natural resources, coastal access, and other public benefits.
However, the new bill eliminated the Coastal Zone exclusion, taking away unique biological protections and important sea-level rise analysis. It was also flawed in fire safety in and out of the Coastal Zone. The amount of new affordable housing constructed in the Coastal Zone would be minimal. Far better options for increasing housing supply were ignored, such as returning the affordable housing requirements the Legislature eliminated from the Coastal Act in the 1980s, at the behest of developers.
EHL and other groups pointed out the many problems with this approach. In an article (“California Housing Advocates Target Coast,” Law360, Aug 16, 2023), EHL’s Dan Silver was quoted.
"If you're looking at a narrow set of policies that you're trying to put everywhere, that may
not always get you to a solution with the most benefit," said Dan Silver, president of
Endangered Habitats League, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. "I think there's a better policy
approach."
Ten percent affordable housing "really isn't doing much," Silver said.
Over the objections of the Chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, who particularly criticized the lack of proper planning for fire evacuation, the bill passed and was signed by the Governor. This precedent-setting undermining of the Coastal Act will open the door to further attempts to build high-end housing at the expense of resource and safety standards.
