California lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to a bill that will allow building more homes in the neighborhood previously zoned only for single-family homes.
Plans to enact and implement this bill have long been present since last year. Under Senate Bill 9 by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), cities across California would have to allow duplexes, and in most cases four units, in most single-family home neighborhoods. The bill is only waiting to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and it will be implemented next year.
According to an article published in Los Angeles Times last year, “the bill would not have outlawed single-family houses. But it would have required local governments to permit applications to convert a house into a duplex or to demolish a house and build two units, either as a duplex or two single-family houses.”
“Property owners also could have split their lot in two and built two more units, thus allowing four homes where there previously was just one,” it further stated.
In an episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast,” the history of single-family home zoning was discussed as well as the advantages of allowing more development will help relieve the state’s housing problems, as supporters believed.
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The podcast’s guest is Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de Leon and he expressed his worries regarding the effects of the bill affecting the low-income Latino neighborhood he maintains on the city’s eastside.
“Gimme Shelter” is a podcast that airs twice and it delves into the current living circumstances in California and why it is too expensive to live in the state.
The podcast discusses ways what the state can do about it and features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times, and Manuela Tobias, housing reporter for CalMatters.