Already within his first week in office, California's new Governor Gavin Newsom is threatening to punish cities that block home-building by withholding state tax dollars, according to the LA Times.
At his state budget presentation on Thursday, Newsom unveiled his new proposal that included MORE THAN $2 billion in new funding for housing and homelessness initiatives. The governor claims that his approach speaks to the severity of the "state's problems". Many of these "problems" are forcing millions of Californians to pay more than half their income on rent, and raise home prices to new highs as well as add thousands to the homeless population.
“This is a new day and we have to have new expectations, new requirements,” Newsom said.
What a load of crap.
Newsom's proposed spending would supposedly pay for emergency homeless shelters, subsidize development for the low-and middle-income residents and even provide grants to counties and cities to encourage more home-building. The governor has also claimed that he has spoken with Silicon Valley tech leaders about contributing an additional $500 million to support his administration's affordable housing efforts.
Many housing advocates have praised Newsom's plans. Some have even called them them a departure from former Gov. Jerry Brown, who rarely pushed for a change in housing policies.
If Newsom's proposed spending is approved, it would cost around $2.3 billion. This includes $1.3 billion for cities and counties to permit and plan for new homes, and local homeless housing efforts. The other $1 billion is split between loans for developers and tax credits to subsidize low-and moderate-income housing construction.
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