Delving into the new Statewide Housing Plan
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Mar. 21, 2022) — Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) recently released the Statewide Housing Plan, a roadmap to solve our housing production and affordability crisis.
I know that these issues, along with our growing homelessness crisis, are incredibly important to our Bay Area community, so I wanted to take a moment to share my initial thoughts on the plan and the data.
The housing situation in California is undeniably dire for renters, homeowners and prospective buyers alike. The top five most common occupations in California pay less than the wage needed to afford a home, and the median sales price of a single-family home has soared to a record high of $827,940.
Homeownership continues to move further out of reach for many Californians. As a result, 67,000 renters in Contra Costa County pay more than 30% of their household income toward rent, and 35% of Contra Costa owner households with a mortgage are in the same boat.
There is also a statewide issue of inequity. Nearly two-thirds of Black households are cost-burdened; 40% of young adults in California live with their parents; and 70% of low-income families cannot afford their homes. The list of how California’s housing and affordability crisis is affecting its residents goes on and on.
The HCD plan lists several causes for this crisis, including housing segregation and racial exclusion, fees on development, local jurisdictions shirking their housing responsibilities, and convoluted entitlement and regulatory schemes.
In the East Bay, we have certainly felt the burdens of large cities like San Francisco not doing their part to approve new affordable housing developments – placing additional pressure on our already strained market.
But there is some good news in HCD’s plan. I am proud to say that my work in the Legislature, along with that of my colleagues, has had an impact on some of the key barriers to housing production. With the help of San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, Habitat for Humanity, Silicon Valley at Home and more, we have passed laws to lower fees on new development, strengthen enforcement of housing laws and streamline housing approvals.
I am particularly excited to announce that because of my bill, AB 1483 (2019), HCD included a first-in-the-nation 10-Year Housing Data Strategy in this year’s plan. The strategy will guide the state’s development of a comprehensive and accessible data platform that will help citizens, researchers, activists and policymakers to understand the depth and complexity of our housing crisis.
Despite the real progress made in the last few years, we have a long way to go. HCD found that we must plan for more than 2.5 million homes over the next 8 years, and no less than 1 million of those homes must meet the needs of lower-income households.
We are never going to get there with a business-as-usual approach. That’s why I am continuing to fight for stronger housing laws this year. I’m partnering with the California Association of Realtors to keep homes in the hands of California families and out of Wall Street portfolios (AB 2170), working with State Controller Betty Yee and Treasurer Fiona Ma to rethink the way we coordinate our affordable housing financing agencies (AB 2305), and teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to fight for homeownership in the state budget.
I look forward to working with the governor, my colleagues and anyone else committed to California’s success to finally turn the corner and set us on a path to a future where every Californian has a stable, affordable home.
Reach Assemblyman Tim Grayson at (925) 521-1511. Visit or write the district office 2151 Salvio Street, Suite P,
Concord, CA 94520