Californians might agree theres a housing crisis, but theyre split widely on how to tackle it, according to a poll released Tuesday by UC Berkeley.
Slightly more than half of residents say the state needs to exert more control over local development decisions to address the deepening housing shortage, a survey by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found. However, 47 percent of Californians disagree.
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“Its an almost even split,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of Berkeley IGS. “This is something that strikes a political nerve. It stirs passions.”
The report found that majorities of voters in Los Angeles County, the San Francisco Bay Area, those under age 40, renters, and ethnic voters support the state assuming a larger role in local housing decisions. On the other hand, majorities in Southern California outside Los Angeles County, voters age 50 or older, homeowners, and white non-Hispanics favor keeping these decisions in the hands of local officials
The divided public opinion mirrors a similar divide in the state legislature in Sacramento. Efforts to increase state control over local development have stalled for two years, including an ambitious overhaul of housing policy proposed by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. The measure, SB 50, would have forced cities to build more housing and allowed denser development along busy transit routes.
California has a housing deficit of 3.5 million units, state planners estimate, as cities have largely ignored and fallen short of meeting state guidelines for producing new housing. Median home prices in the Bay Area have increased almost uninterrupted, year-over-year, since April 2012 and made the region one of the nations most expensive places to live.
The poll also found diverse opinions about how to solve the shortage — through more subsidies, developing denser housing around transit, expanding rent control, or another solution.
About one-third of residents think the state should offer additional housing subsidies to low- and moderate-income homebuyers, while one-quarter favor more multi-family developmeRead More – Source
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