SF Chronicle: Editorial: California legislators almost out of time on housing

With a little more than a week of legislating left in the year, Sacramento’s belated answer to the housing crisis is taking shape with all the speed and certainty of a California apartment complex — that is, virtually none. This Legislature’s most prominent successful housing measure to date exempted Marin County from density standards, effectively enabling the parochial obstructionism at the heart of the shortage. Last week, however, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders agreed on a package of bills to ease residential development and increase funding for affordable-housing programs, including a ballot measure (SB3) to authorize a $4 billion bond issue. But voting was called off Friday amid doubts about the Democrats’ ability to muster the two-thirds support needed for the other key funding bill (SB2), which would raise more than $200 million a year by imposing fees of $75 to $225 on real estate transactions.