By Kevin V. Nguyen and Gabe Greschler : sfstandard – excerpt

The Democratic nominee has made “ending America’s housing shortage” a key pillar of her campaign. That pledge is light on details but heavy on vibes.

Amid a worsening housing and homelessness crisis, the defining political fight in San Francisco for more than a decade has been between pro-development YIMBYs and slow-growth NIMBYs.

Now, with a Bay Area politician as a major party nominee, Kamala Harris may become the first YIMBY president of the United States.

Tucked inside her newly unveiled economic agenda last week was a proclamation that housing activists never thought they’d hear from a presidential candidate.

“There’s a serious housing shortage,” Harris said to an enthusiastic audience of supporters in Raleigh, N.C. “In many places, it is too difficult to build, and it’s driving prices up.”

She followed the statement with a pledge that wouldn’t feel out of place at a YIMBY rally.

“We will take down barriers and cut down red tape, including at the state and local levels,” she said. “And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals that are affordable for the middle class.” …(more)

Washingtonpost – excerpt (via email)

Houston faces choices confronting many US cities. Billions of federal dollars available for them to upgrade rail and bike transit, but some are balking.

“Houston – This epicenter of the oil and gas industry was ready to shed its reputation of being a car-centric city. Bicycle infrastructure projects were underway and the city had secured federal funding to expand public transit. Voters in Harris County, home to Houston, had approved billions of dollars to improve public transportation.

But after Mayor John Whitmire took office in January, everything changed. The city’s chief transportation planner left, bike infrastructure projects were stalled, and the region’s transit authority — largely appointed by the mayor — delayed parts of a $7.5 billion public transit expansion.

Advocates for transit and “safer streets” in Houston say they now suffer from whiplash, and fear the city is turning the clock back on transportation alternatives. It comes at a critical time for many U.S. cities that want to be part of the climate solution and make a meaningful shift away from reliance on the automobile. Whether America can make this shift could depend on the outcome of city-by-city battles.”… (more) behind a paywall

Houston is at the epicenter of the rising tides and frequently floods. The mayor knows how important a hasty retreat out of some areas is and the best way to evacuate is by private vehicle. People can take care of themselves when they have that option. The mayor may have witnessed streams of people driving away during one of their many disasters and figured that there is no way the public transit systems can handle this. People need their cars.

By Hanna King : ocregister – excerpt (audio track)

Beginning next year, local government contracts that aim to provide shelters and services to people experiencing homelessness will be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, thanks to legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week.

CEQA is a state law that requires state and local governments to consider, and avoid, potential environmental impacts of proposed projects and activities.

Under the new law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, CEQA will exempt homeless service providers contracted by local governments, preventing their services from potentially being held up or blocked by legal challenges under the environmental law…(more)

Where is the money to pay for these projects going to come from? Will this apply to Charter cities? The jury is out of that one.

By Felicia Mello : CalMatters – excerpt

Nine years ago, tenants of the Pigeon Palace at 2840–2848 Folsom Street in San Francisco faced a dilemma. Their aging landlord, who had long rented at affordable rates, was unable to continue overseeing the place. Instead, a court-appointed conservator took steps to auction off the building.

Because Pigeon Palace is in the popular and increasingly expensive Mission neighborhood, the residents feared a new owner might dramatically raise their rents — or kick them out altogether. So they crowdfunded $300,000 and gave it to a nonprofit called the San Francisco Community Land Trust, which combined it with loans from a bank and the city to place the winning bid of more than $3 million. The trust then rented units back to the tenants at affordable rates.

Much of the political debate about California’s housing crisis has focused on building new units. However, community land trusts, a method of preserving existing affordable housing that dates back to the Civil Rights Movement, have quietly been gaining steam.

The number of community land trusts — nonprofits that buy up land and then sell or rent the buildings on top of it to residents with low-income — has tripled in California since 2014, according to the California Community Land Trust Network…(more)