Shortly after the end of the 2021 Legislative Session, Assembly Members Tim Grayson (D-Concord) and Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) formed a housing working group and led a statewide housing tour to examine barriers and explore solutions to the state's housing production and affordability crisis.
The working group included other Members of the State Assembly who hosted regional meetings in their respective districts and was attended by numerous legislators from around the state. It also featured invited local governments, equity organizations, housing developers, businesses, labor organizations and other experts and stakeholders to discuss barriers and solutions to the state's housing crisis.
Meetings were held in Concord, Salinas, Fresno, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Riverside and San Diego. Though space was limited, CSDA members and representatives were able to attend these meetings highlighting that special districts are part of the solution and to network with stakeholders and legislators. Any housing solutions will involve special districts who provide essential and affordable services for communities to thrive.
CSDA members may recall that these types of forums, at times focused on local agency development impact fees and connection and capacity charges, have taken place for the past few years.
Assembly Member Grayson hosted a similar series of meetings in the fall of 2019. The 2019 series focused on discussions with local officials about development impact fees and how they affect housing development. CSDA and its members also participated in those discussions.
Development impact fees are charges to developers by local agencies to mitigate the impacts of new developments on infrastructure and necessary community services. However, California's housing crisis has put a spotlight on these fees as the Legislature explores ways to incentivize more development. Development impact fees provide necessary revenue for special districts to meet the growing demands for services and infrastructure. CSDA opposed efforts in the Legislature to curb or eliminate fees that address the impacts caused by development and fund the infrastructure necessary to adequately serve the families that move into new housing.
In February 2020, both the Senate and Assembly Committees for housing and local government held a joint informational hearing on the issue titled “The Price of Civilization” ( Full Video Here ) which was a robust discussion about the role that fees play, or don’t play, in the production of housing stock and livable communities.
CSDA and its local government partners also participated in a virtual stakeholders’ group in late 2020 as the Assembly Member worked to introduce legislation on developer fees, culminating in the recently passed AB 602 (Grayson), a measure related to development impact fee nexus studies.
CSDA will continue to engage the Legislature on housing issues and the infrastructure and services required to facilitate new development and increased density as California addresses its housing and housing affordability crisis.
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