Dear friends,

In the not-so-distant past, California had an abundance of starter homes that were affordable to people at all income levels.

But then our cities made it illegal to build new homes in single-family zones, and the supply of new starter homes disappeared. The result? The median home price in both Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area area is now over $1 million.

That's outrageously expensive, and unaffordable to the vast majority of Californians – and so more Californians are being priced out of their communities. We need to make it easier to build homes the average Californian can afford, in their communities and the neighborhoods where they want to live.

California YIMBY and community housing advocates are working hard to legalize more affordable starter homes. We want to help more Californians achieve the dream of homeownership. Last year, we helped pass SB 684 by Sen. Anna Caballero to help get more starter homes built. But the bill needs some technical fixes to get construction underway.

SB 1123, also by Sen. Caballero, updates SB 684 to make it legal to build up to 10 homes on vacant lots in single-family zones near jobs, schools, transit, and other amenities, by streamlining the approval process for these projects.

This bill is up for a key vote in the Assembly in the coming weeks. Will you add your name in support of SB 1123 and help get more starter homes built to tackle our affordability crisis?
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Exclusionary single-family zoning hurts everyone in California, especially people of color. This kind of zoning was created over 100 years ago to maintain residential segregation and "whites-only" neighborhoods.

Here in the 21st century, single-family zoning continues to lock Californians out of opportunities to buy a home at a price they can afford – a crucial step toward building wealth and securing a future for one's family.

SB 1123 expands SB 684 to allow more homes to be built on vacant lots in single family zones, creating more affordable homeownership opportunities in neighborhoods that have traditionally excluded lower- and middle-income families and communities of color.

SB 1123 has passed the State Senate and made it through several key committees in the Assembly. But we can’t take anything for granted, especially since the provision allowing SB 684 to be used on vacant lots in single family zones got stripped from that bill last year. We need your help to ensure it passes this year.

Add your name: Sign our petition in support of SB 1123!

Thank you for taking action for housing abundance.

Gratefully,

Matthew

Matthew Lewis
Communications Director
California YIMBY

California YIMBY is a movement dedicated to ending our state’s housing crisis and building a more inclusive, affordable, and accessible state for ALL Californians. If you were forwarded this email, you can join our movement here. DONATE NOW » Want to keep track of housing issues and the YIMBY movement? Sign up for the HomeWork, our newsletter here.

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