Gov. Newsom signs 2 bills into law expanding housing amid California's homelessness crisis
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law Tuesday intended to expand available housing in California — the latest in a series of state efforts to tackle the state's homelessness crisis.
While the governor's recent executive order calling on cities and counties to clear homeless encampments drew some controversy, particularly from local leaders in Los Angeles, the new state laws make relatively small, technical changes to current public policies.
AB 2835: Securing motels, hotels for shelter programs
AB 2835 deals with the use of motels and hotels to house the state's population of residents struggling with homelessness. In Los Angeles, the city's "Inside Safe" program has moved people out of outdoor collections of tents and into places like motels, much like the state's "Project Roomkey," which supporters say housed thousands of Californians.
Such programs have drawn both support for their new take on getting people housing and criticism from opponents who say they do not offer long-term housing and solutions.
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who represents the 46th District encompassing parts of the San Fernando Valley such as Encino, Canoga Park and Reseda, authored AB 2835. California established an exception to landlord-tenant rules for these publicly funded makeshift shelters at motels and hotels, and that exception was set to expire Jan 1, 2025.
AB 2835 will make those exceptions effective beyond that date, an attempt to get more motels and hotels on board while also offering them certain protections. An executive summary of the bill, presented at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this year, outlines why the exception to standard landlord-tenant rules is intended to encourage the opening of more such shelters.
"However, hotels and motels have either been hesitant to participate in such shelter programs because of the possibility that program participants who reside in the shelter for more than 30 days may become entitled to standard landlord-tenant protections," the summary reads. "There were reports as well that participating hotels and motels were engaging in the practice of "shuffling' program participants, forcing participants to move before they reach the 30 day mark and assume landlord-tenant protections, in order to avoid needing to comply with landlord-tenant laws when program participants are removed from the program."
Under the bill, there would be other changes as well. Physical violence towards hotels guests or staff would be a valid reason for the terminating someone's enrollment in the shelter program and a shelter program would be exempt from having to provide a 30-day notice to participants who exit the program.
AB 3057: Streamlining the permitting of in-house units
Currently, studio housing units of sorts — sometimes called backyard cottages or in-law units — are provided an exemption to the environmental review and permitting process nearly all other housing construction must undergo. Called "accessory dwelling units," or ADUs, these housing units have grown in popularity since they can be built on an existing property.
They have offered Californians access to more affordable housing without having to buy additional property and even serve an additional source of income as state residents grapple with ever-rising housing costs, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
Under AB 3057, the same permitting exceptions given to ADUs would be given to so-called JADUs, or "junior accessory dwelling units," allowing these units to be built faster and easier just as ADUs have been with an exemption from CEQA review, or California Environmental Quality Act review.
JADUs are typically no larger than 500 square feet and are usually bedrooms within an existing single-family home, but also have their own kitchens and a private entrance to outside of the home.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who represents the 11th District which includes part of Northern California.
A description of the bill from Newsom's office states it will "help streamline and jumpstart the process for local governments to permit and facilitate the construction of Junior Accessory Dwelling Units to create more affordable living spaces throughout the state."
