This is a question of who we are, Newsom wrote in 2017. Housing is a fundamental human need let's not forget the human face behind the dire statistics. Housing instability can cause genuine mental and physical adversity, he added, and lead to insufferable decisions: no one should have to choose between paying rent or buying groceries. Knowing that too many Californians face this kind of anxiety breaks my heart.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' bid to rewrite the city's voter approved "mansion tax" fell apart on Thursday, with Bass and her allies pulling the state bill hours before its first critical vote. Bass had worked with Sacramento legislators to draft a last-minute overhaul of Measure ULA, a tax hike on L.A. property sales above $5.3 million, preparing a bill that would reduce taxes charged on the sale of recently built apartment buildings, shopping centers and warehouses.
SB 79, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, mandates that six- to seven-story residential buildings be built within a half-mile radius of any qualifying transit stops, which include some bus stops. This is beyond what has already been mandated along linear corridors and with the housing elements plan. A single-family home neighborhood currently has about eight houses per acre. These will be near developments that cannot be stopped if this bill passes.