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White House executive order seeks to speed up rebuilding of homes destroyed by Los Angeles wildfires
Associated Press – January 27
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to "cut through bureaucratic red tape" and speed up reconstruction of tens of thousands of homes destroyed by the January 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires. The order directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to find a way to issue regulations that would preempt state and local rules for obtaining permits and allow builders to "self-certify" that they have complied with "substantive health, safety, and building standards."
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Clairemont Community plan, aiming to bring 14,000 new homes, signed into law
NBC7 San Diego – January 23
After 30 years without an overhaul, Clairemont's revamped community plan was signed into law by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Friday, paving the way for 14,000 new homes. The San Diego City Council approved community plan updates for two neighborhoods, Clairemont and the College area, last week, the first comprehensive overhaul for both in more than 30 years.
San Jose eyes thousands of new homes after new housing policy, incentive changes
The Mercury News – January 28
San Jose has approved a slew of housing initiatives and incentives — including some for office-to-residential conversions downtown — to jump-start the construction of thousands of units previously stalled by unfavorable market conditions. Despite the city approving tens of thousands of housing units since 2020, fewer than a third have broken ground, leaving San Jose well behind the state's mandate to plan for 62,200 units by 2031.
California housing reform faces new test as LA Metro resists transit zoning law
HousingWire - January 23
California has become a test lab for housing reform. The latest flashpoint struck this Thursday, as the Los Angeles transit agency board voted against implementing Senate Bill 79, a transit-oriented development law that city council members passed in 2024. The same transit agency board, following a staff report, now threatens to oppose a bill this session that would reflect technical fixes to last year's law unless lawmakers change it.
California launches portal to expedite conversion of state buildings to housing, businesses
The Sacramento Bee – January 26
The state's property manager unveiled a new dashboard on January 26 designed to speed up California's efforts to sell excess government property that can be turned into commercial projects. The portal is designed to reduce how long it takes for developers to begin construction on state-owned surplus property, the state's Department of General Services announced in a Monday news release.
Southern California lawmaker wants to make it easier for churches and colleges to build affordable housing
Los Angeles Daily News – January 27
Two years after a state law went into effect allowing churches and other faith-based institutions, along with independent institutions of higher education, to build affordable housing units on their properties, a Southern California lawmaker wants to do the same at the federal level. Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro, is a co-author of the Yes in God's Backyard Act, which would make it easier for qualifying religious and higher education institutions to build affordable housing while incentivizing local governments to adopt policies to remove barriers to such development.
Los Angeles City Council refers changes to mansion tax to committees
MyNewsLA – January 27
The Los Angeles City Council this Tuesday referred a proposal to amend the so-called "mansion tax" to two committees for further discussion. Council member Nithya Raman, chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, introduced a proposal Friday to alter Measure United to House ULA via a June ballot initiative that would include exemptions for newly constructed multifamily, commercial and mixed-use buildings from the tax for up to 15 years, and exempt properties impacted by natural disasters like the Palisades Fire from the tax for up to three years.
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