Following the passage of Senate Bill 9 (Atkins), League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman released the below statement:
“We are disappointed in the passage of SB 9 and urge Governor Newsom to veto this flawed legislation. SB 9 empowers developers, usurps local democracy, silences community voices, and fails to guarantee affordable housing.
“The ‘by right’ approval scheme created by SB 9 circumvents the important local government review process that includes extensive public engagement. And because there are no provisions in SB 9 that require new housing to be affordable, the new units will remain out of reach for many working-class families.
“California cities are taking significant steps to bring down the high cost of housing in our communities. By the end of 2022, all of the state’s major regional governments, including cities, will have identified and planned for more than two million units of additional housing statewide. Rather than passing flawed legislation like SB 9, state lawmakers should instead work with local governments to provide the tools and resources to streamline local housing approvals and fund real affordable housing.”