California State Sen. Scott Wiener called for legislators and activist groups to take a more favorable view of market-rate housing in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the state, Curbed reported, saying that an affordable-or-nothing approach breeds unproductive hostility. To keep up with growth, the state needs 180,000 more housing units annually, he said, but it is building less than half of that figure. He adds that neither California cities nor the state at-large have the financial resources to meet that demand through affordable housing alone. Wiener points to strict zoning rules on high-density projects and cumbersome approvals processes as chief causes of the state’s low housing production levels. Critics of Wiener’s position say that more expensive — that is, market rate — housing will raise home prices and shut out those who can’t afford it.
Categories:Construction Dive