New State Laws for Producing More Housing... And Headaches

Chris d Craiker ALA/NCARB

California has never abandoned its commitment to produce more housing throughout the State. 2024 saw less new bills and laws passed than in 2023 but nonetheless, the State continues to work on making all local Municipal and State laws easier to navigate, and for developers to easily manipulate them.

The focus currently is on making existing commercial zoned property accommodate more housing. Shopping centers and office parks may benefit from the economy of scale especially if they are near jobs, shops and transit. In theory, redeveloping these existing sites should also have less impact on nearby neighborhoods. Typical North Bay malls have enough land to include multiple apartment buildings. This could also allow construction on these sites to progress in phases without disrupting existing accommodations. As malls and current “bricks and mortar’ shopping areas become less productive and can't compete against the big home-delivery companies, many of our local malls will become specialty shopping complex with less national retail outlets. AB2243 is intended to simplify the process.

More and more we will see housing above shops. This is not a new concept and goes back to the earliest days of civilization where families lived above or behind the shop. Previously, AB2011 legalized housing on commercial sites up to 20 acres. Many malls today are 40 acres and up to 80 acres so AB2243 is intended to allow more large-scale development. Even malls up to 100 acres are eligible to build housing and heights are of no relevance. Properties next to transit such as 101, which may be defined as a bus stop, can reach 65 feet in height and may be increased with affordable housing density bonuse.

The North Bay existing malls could see a renaissance of combining housing with shopping.

All around North Bay, existing malls could see a renaissance of combining housing with shopping. Laws produced in Sacramento to increase affordable housing have doubled the density bonuses and may be exempt from the California Environmental Quality act, CEQA. This ancient document and process needs to be rethought anyway, but that’s another story.

Some key issues:

• SB1123 allows vacant lots in single family zoning to be eligible for increased densities.

• SB-450 updates the 2021 duplex and lot split bill SB-9 to make it easier to use.

• AB1893 makes it easier to build apartments and the density is no longer unlimited. There is a cap of three times the existing density allowed and there is also something called the Mullen density which allowoos 30 units per acre in metropolitan areas 20 units per acrein suburban areas.Residential areas or blocking views. Because it was ambiguous, developers typically used it as a bargaining tool, asking for a skyscraper and negotiating a more reasonable response project. Small apartment complexes may increase their densities by SB1211 that allows these complexes to add more ADU's, up to 8 on the same lot, not to exceed 8 total. Obviously, the site has to have space or land for any expansions. Most of the North Bay's existing apartment complexes are low density and have carports or garages that can be converted to an ADU. It gets complicated.

The major obstacles of ADU construction are the permit fees, sometimes over $100,000 per unit in some cities. Often a builder or owner won't know what the total fees are until after they’ve gone through the approval and permit process. AB3177 allows delayed payments until the building is completed and SB-937 with AB2729 allow builders to accurately know what the fees are up front. There are Bills passed that allow tenants to reduce their moving costs. Go figure.

This whirlwind tour of the bills requires more personal research, interpretation and a “wing and a prayer”. The details have become so complex and convoluted that a land- use attorney will not be able to figure them out. Every planning and building department in the North Bay will be scratching their heads and making interpretations that may vary from one municipality to another. The problem with most of these Bills is they have not had adequate time to be analyzed or tested. Many of these Bills are there to clarify or repair previous bills that were misguided or a total mistake. In 2024 there were over 60 Bills created that affect housing. The vision is daring but the execution is cloudy.

What the State needs to do is revamp CEQA with its old fashion, out of touch requirements that allow NIMBY’s to delay or kill projects, often not improving the project or community, only making the development more burdened.

Ask The Architext

In my Email bag was a question: Are desalinization plants on the horizon for North Bay fresh water challenged communities?

Desalinization is the process of converting ocean or salt water to fresh drinkable water. This has been on the horizon for years in water thirsty nations and communities. Desalinization plants are energy hogs, but as solar energy farms proliferate the operating cost could decline. The Marin Water District continues to investigate a permanent desalination facility, but its realization is hazy. And getting rid of the salty brine water left over is a major obstacle. Nice idea for Saudi Arabia, but not for California coastal communities.

We have to get used to the constant erratic and unpredictable changes in our weather patterns due to Climate Change. Like Daniel once told the Pharaoh in the Bible, “Expect seven years of plenty and seven years of famine”. Get used to it.

Chris d Craiker ALA/NCAR Submit your queries to chris@craiker.com