Governor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez today issued a statement after a trial court sided with Newport Beach and determined that the City's actions to implement its housing element without voter approval are valid, despite a charter provision seeming to require a vote. Last month, Attorney General Bonta and the Newsom Administration filed a joint amicus brief in support of the City of Newport Beach’s efforts to comply with state housing laws after opponents sued the City for taking steps to implement its housing plan, including rezoning, as required under the state’s Housing Element Law.

“Every community must do their part to build housing and address homelessness. We will continue to support Newport Beach’s efforts to follow the law and create more housing opportunities for its residents,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.  

“As California continues to deal with a housing crisis of epic proportions, Newport Beach has said yes to more homes and is endeavoring to build its fair share of housing under California law,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today, I celebrate a court decision that clears the way for Newport Beach to continue its work. Cities statewide are obligated to plan for their fair share of housing; my office will continue to hold accountable those who refuse and stick up for localities who are trying to do the right thing.”

“HCD is committed to holding jurisdictions accountable to state housing law, and we are proud to stand behind those communities—like Newport Beach—that are putting in the work to see sufficient housing built for all income levels,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Californians need the ability to be full participants in the life of their community—living, learning, and working in a place they can call home. We are grateful for our strong partnership with the Attorney General to make that a reality.”

Background

The housing element is a crucial planning tool to accommodate housing for all Californians across all household income levels, and to redress historical redlining and disinvestment. Under state law, every city and county in California must periodically update its housing element to meet its share of the regional and statewide housing needs. State law also requires certain housing element programs to be completed by specific deadlines, including any zoning code amendments necessary to accommodate the city or county's share of the regional housing need for each income level. 

To effectuate its housing element programs, Newport Beach amended its land use element and zoning code to allow residential development in more areas of the City using new overlay zoning districts in six focus areas. Opponents sued the City arguing that, regardless of state Housing Element Law, these changes must be approved by voters before they are effective because of a provision in the City’s charter. The Court disagreed and adopted Attorney General Bonta and the Newsom Administration’s position that the City properly interpreted its own charter provision, and that voter approval measures cannot be construed in a way that obstructs mandatory obligations under state Housing Element Law.  

Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss presents 750 Golden Gate and 850 Turk Street, two affordable housing communities that have broken ground on excess state land in San Francisco. When complete, these two projects will provide 167 homes for low-income individuals, including educators and school employees. 

These sites were made available due to Governor Newsom’s 2019 executive order to identify excess land suitable for affordable housing development. To date, the Excess Sites Program has awarded 32 projects that will support development of 4.300 new homes, hundreds of which are already completed.

The City of San Diego recently celebrated the grand opening of Ventana al Sur, a new affordable rental housing development for low-income and formerly homeless seniors in the San Ysidro Historic Village District. 

Ventana al Sur offers one hundred homes to seniors whose incomes range from 20-50 percent of Area Median Income, with 25 homes set aside for seniors who have experienced homelessness. Residents of the development will receive on-site support and mental health services to help them maintain housing stability. “Having your parents or grandparents be able to be near you as you’re raising kids, it’s an amazing, amazing thing,” said California State Assemblymember David Alvarez. “That’s what this community is about, and that’s what this building and this housing is about.” 

A project of MAAC and Kingdom Development, HCD contributed $20 million from the Multifamily Housing Program and $30.4 million from the Accelerator program to support the development of this important senior housing. Ventana al Sur is in direct alignment with Governor Gavin Newsom’s mission to address homelessness and housing affordability, which utilizes programs like Homekey+ to create permanent supportive housing with wrap-around services across California. 

“This project itself is tangible proof of the fact that we are making progress on this key issue of housing affordability and homelessness,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria at the community’s grand opening. “Affordable housing projects like this one help us to address the rising cost of rent, which we know is pricing out too many people in our community.”

Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the groundbreaking of two new affordable housing communities in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. Utilizing Governor Newsom’s executive order from 2019 to spur the production of affordable housing in California, the formerly state-owned parking sites will be transformed into 167 homes for low- to extremely-low-income residents.

“This project is the latest testament to the innovative work happening across the state to make housing more affordable. Projects like the one announced today help put a roof over people’s heads and give them a stronger position for opportunities to uplift themselves, their families, and their community,” said Governor Newsom.

The Excess Sites program is administered in partnership by the California Department of General Services (DGS) and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The program identifies state-owned land available and suitable for housing and creates a digital inventory of those properties available through the State Excess Sites – Affordable Housing Opportunities Map Viewer. DGS and HCD review proposals for unawarded sites on a rolling basis.

“Thanks to the Excess Sites program, the state has successfully converted underutilized state properties into community assets for current and future generations of Californians,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “These projects in San Francisco will build much-needed affordable homes for people who often find it difficult to live in the very communities they serve.”

“As with our other affordable housing developments across the state, this project is a partnership that allows us to zero in on a community’s specific housing needs,” said Government Operations Agency Secretary Nick Maduros. “Providing convenient, affordable housing lightens a significant burden for these valued members of the local educational community.”  

Project Details  

 At 750 Golden Gate Avenue, a surface parking lot will be replaced to create 75 affordable rental homes for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and San Francisco Community College District (SFCCD) employees. This will be the second educator-employee housing project to break ground in San Francisco. The second phase of this project will consist of building 96 affordable homes at an adjacent parcel at Golden Gate Avenue and Franklin Street.

Rendering of 750 Golden Gate

The second project to break ground—850 Turk Street—will be a 92-unit multifamily affordable housing development redeveloping the site of a former Employment Development Department (EDD) parking garage podium. The project will feature indoor and outdoor common areas, office space, residential service spaces, and a range of available amenities, including a private courtyard, rooftop terrace, and barbecue facilities. Both communities will be developed by MidPen Housing Corporation.

Rendering of 850 Turk Street

“We are repurposing excess properties throughout the state to build affordable housing that California communities urgently need,” said DGS Director Ana M. Lasso. “DGS is enthusiastic to collaborate on a project that has the unique distinction of benefiting educators and employees of the SFUSD and SFCCD.”

“Strong, healthy communities need teachers, firefighters, nurses, and others who have too often been priced out of living in the neighborhoods they serve,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “We are honored to help implement the Governor’s vision to transform underutilized state land to meet this critical need for affordable housing options.”

From State Land to Affordable Housing

In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order N-06-19, which tasked HCD and DGS with tackling the state’s affordable housing crisis by identifying underutilized state-owned land that could be converted into affordable housing, with consideration to factors such as proximity to job centers, amenities, and public transit. The order has since been utilized to create hundreds of affordable homes, including: 

• 248 new homes at Sugar Pine Village for families and workers in the Tahoe region
• 150 new homes under construction at Mulberry Gardens Senior Apartments in Riverside
• 58 new homes at Sonrisa in Sacramento
• 48 new homes at Guardian Village in Reedley
• 241 new homes under construction at The Monarch in Sacramento
• 55 new homes under construction at Pacific Crest Commons in Truckee  

“HCD In Focus” is a news in review that highlights the impact of HCD administered programs on the lives of Californians. 

Video Highlights

• Governor Newsom is moving forward with his plan to create the new “California Housing and Homelessness Agency;
• Central Valley celebrates grand openings of two new affordable housing communities for families and at-risk youth exiting homelessness.
• Spotlights on resident Johhny of HCD-funded Buena Tierra Apartments and HCD employee Nichole Zaragoza-Smith.

The City of Oakland recently broke ground on 97 new affordable homes for low-income seniors in Chinatown near Lake Merritt. The Chinatown TOD Senior Housing project will serve households earning 30-60 percent of Area Median Income, with 44 units of permanent supportive housing reserved for people exiting homelessness.

Also known as Lake Merritt BART Senior Affordable Housing, the Chinatown TOD Senior Housing project is located just above the Lake Merritt BART station, providing easy transit access to residents. Local area amenities include a senior center, grocery store, pharmacy, library, park, and medical facilities all within a half mile of the development.

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, along with community partners, is currently working on site development, with plans to add even more affordable units in phase three of their project plan. HCD contributed over $24 million from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program jointly administered by the California Strategic Growth Council, and $6 million from the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program to make this development a reality.

Plans for on-site amenities include a computer room, community room, public paseo, and a rooftop community lounge and garden. Each home will come with standard appliances and air conditioning, and a large commercial kitchen on the ground floor will be available for residents’ use.