Once a year, about 2,000 Realtors from all over the state gather in Sacramento for the California Association of Realtors’ Legislative Day.
Realtors, representing each area in the state, meet with their Assembly and Senate representatives to present a unified voice on the issues most relevant to housing, home ownership and private property rights.
This is such a large and significant group; the governor even made an appearance.
As members of the Beverly Hills Board Association Of Realtors. Our very own Anthony Vulin, Chenee Coleman, Christopher Wookey and Tanner Brown where among the honored guest to attend this year.
Housing affordability and availability were this year’s key legislative issues.
Most of us agree that the current housing shortage and the high demand is a statewide problem. How to solve the problem is the issue at hand.
Here’s a brief summary of the terms, ideas, trends and roadblocks we discussed.
Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units: This is basically adding on to your existing home with more space to accommodate more people in your home.
Densification: This is the term used to describe cramming more people into the same area. Imagine transforming Mission Viejo into downtown Chicago or Manhattan by building soaring condo and apartment buildings. What would this do to traffic, water consumption, and waste management?
NIMBY – Not in My Back Yard: There are many who are all in favor of solving the short supply of homes by building more homes, including low-income housing, resulting in densification. They just don’t want this to happen in their city, community or neighborhood.
YIMBY – Yes in My Back Yard: Then there are others who are all in favor of building any form of housing in any and every part of their neck of the woods. Bring on the jobs, industry, and economic stimulation, they say.
CEQA – California Environmental Quality Act: Then, there’s the issue of the environmental impact of building more housing, the current regulatory hoops builders must jump through to get a project approved. As you might imagine, there are people lobbying both sides of this issue. Some are steadfast in their stance for open space, protecting California’s natural resources, flora and fauna, and endangered species. Others are fighting for the right to develop the vast expanses of land that make up our great state and could provide desirable dwelling options for hundreds of thousands of people.
Homelessness: There’s not enough space to speak about this situation, which is problematic throughout the state. Suffice it to say that all of us are aware and many are working to find solutions.
Just know that as Rome was not built in a day, these issues will not be solved overnight.
In all cases, you can be assured that our elected officials are actively working to find resolution to the housing shortage in California, and they welcome your input, just as they welcomed ours.
It’s complicated, and if you have ideas, share them with the folks you elected.
