Comments on Letter to the Governor

 

LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR & Change.Org Petition

September 29, 2020

On September 9, the Nix-the-Nine Campaign submitted a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to veto the two remaining bills of the campaign—AB725 and AB2345. The letter offered six principles to guide a fresh start in 2021.  The letter concluded:

Governor Newsom, you can count on us to work with you on a flexible plan that spells out a vision for housing policy based on reliable data, social equity, and transparent processes that fully engage a broad range of women and men on the front lines of good government.

The letter included 10 groups that co-signed the letter and 469 individual Californians who co-signed via our Change.org petition. As of September 29, the day after the Governor signed the two bills, the Change.org petition had 908 signatures.  Of that total,556 were from California and 353 from outside California. 

Co-signers often added comments, like the San Carlos woman who wrote, expressing the sentiment of many,

“It’s unconscionable these bills are being literally shoved through Congress at this moment during a pandemic, enormous natural disasters, a divisive election and cultural upheaval. Most residents whose lives and homes will be impacted do not have the bandwidth to fight for or even understand what this change will mean to their hard-earned home, Property will be developed to line the pockets of flippers with no consideration of how it will impact the neighborhood Please, let’s find another more measured, reasonable way to accommodate growth, and definitely pause to see if, after changes from the pandemic, there’s even need to take such drastic measures. Keep zoning local.”

Ten groups co-signed the letter including Bay Area Transportation Group, Better Cupertino, East Mission Improvement Association (San Francisco), EMF Safety Network, Freeman Park Neighborhood Association (Marin), Greater East San Carlos Neighborhood Group, Los Altos Residents, Marin Against Density, Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning, Silicon Valley Association of Republican Women, and West Bay Citizens Group (Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties).

On September 10, the Nix-the-Nine Campaign sent a Media Announcement to approximately 25 media outlets, including links to the letter to the Governor and the petition, the Embarcadero Institute’s report “2020 Housing Bills: Legislation in an Age of Uncertainty,” and contact information for two Assembly members who spoke in opposition to SB1120 in the final minutes of the 2020 legislative session.

Thank you to Maurice Green, who stepped in to manage the Change.Org petition, and to Greg Schmid, who recruited active citizen groups in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties to co-sign the letter letter to the Governor. 

Susan Kirsch, Political Advisor

Chair, Nix-the-Nine Campaign

Nix-the-Nine.blogspot.com

www.susankirsch.com/

415-686-4375

Governor Newsom Signs the Two Remaining Nix-the-Nine Bills

 

Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Boosting Housing Production in California to Fight Affordability Crisis

Published: Sep 28, 2020

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Governor signs 15 bills aimed at increasing housing production and tackling the state’s affordability crisis

Governor signs SB 1079 to provide new rights for tenants to buy homes facing foreclosure

Governor signs a package of bills to increase the incentives to build more housing for working families and to build more housing near transit

Builds on nation’s strongest statewide eviction protections from previously-signed AB 3088

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today signed legislation that will help California make significant progress on the state’s housing construction and equity goals. The package of 15 bills signed today includes new rights for tenants and community groups to purchase homes facing foreclosure, as well as a series of improvements to state law that will lead to more inclusive and affordable neighborhoods so housing can be within reach of more working Californians.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put additional stress on low- and moderate-income California households, as they struggle to afford rent and mortgages amidst job loss and economic stress caused by the pandemic. The bills the Governor signed today will streamline funding for affordable housing, encourage developers to build more moderate-income homes, and help teachers find housing affordable for them. Today’s bill package follows on the Governor’s signature on August 31st of AB 3088, the strongest statewide protections in America to prevent millions of evictions and foreclosures for tenants and property owners who have suffered economic impacts from COVID-19.

“While the pandemic has dominated the news, millions of California families continue to struggle to afford housing – this is a crisis that never went away and this housing package will directly lead to more affordable opportunities for renters and homeowners,” said Governor Newsom. “I applaud the Legislature’s leaders on housing who continued to push for these important bills, and we all acknowledge more work remains to be done next year. I am committed to continuing to push the envelope on housing affordability and neighborhood inclusivity.”

Governor Newsom signed the following bills into law today:

• AB 434 by Assemblymember Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) – Housing financing programs: uniform procedures.
• AB 725 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) – General plans: housing element: moderate-income and above moderate-income housing: suburban and metropolitan jurisdictions.
• AB 831 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) – Planning and zoning: housing: development application modifications.
• AB 1561 by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) – Planning and zoning: housing element and entitlement extensions.
• AB 1851 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) – Religious institution affiliated housing development projects: parking requirements.
• AB 2345 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) – Planning and zoning: density bonuses: annual report: affordable housing.
• AB 3182 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Housing: governing documents: rental or leasing of separate interests: accessory dwelling units.
• AB 3308 by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) – School districts: employee housing.
• SB 288 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: transportation-related projects.
• SB 940 by Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) – Housing Crisis Act of 2019: City of San Jose.
• SB 1079 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Residential property: foreclosure.
• SB 1148 by Senator Brian W. Jones (R-Santee) – Mortgages and deeds of trust: foreclosure.
• SB 1157 by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) – Tenancy: credit reporting: lower income households.
• SB 1190 by Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) – Tenancy: termination.
• SB 1212 by Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) – Joint powers authorities: San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust: board of directors.

Previously, the Governor signed:

• AB 1885 by the Committee on Budget – Debtor exemptions: homestead exemption.
• AB 3088, co-authored by Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) and Senators Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) – Tenancy: rental payment default: mortgage forbearance: state of emergency: COVID-19.
• SB 1030 by the Committee on Housing – Housing.

The Governor also announced that he has vetoed the following bill:

• AB 69 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Help Homeowners Add New Housing Program: accessory dwelling unit financing. A veto message can be found here.

ZOOM Meeting September 16, 2020 PowerPoint Presentation