The California Legislature has whiffed on the housing crisis. Increasingly, it’s up to cities and counties to solve it. The affordability gap threatens to derail California’s economic boom in places like Silicon Valley, where all but the top paid workers have trouble renting, let alone buying, a home. It should be a national concern because California’s tech surge is what fueled the national economic recovery. But except for a bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, to make it easier to add auxiliary units to existing homes, nothing got passed. No by-right housing legislation, an idea to fast track housing plans that meet all zoning requirements. No plan for a statewide housing bond that activists hoped for.
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