California Bill Seeks to Balance Preservation and Housing Demand

A new California state bill passed by the legislature, AB 2580, would require jurisdictions to monitor and report on the impact of historic preservation ordinances on their housing supply in an effort to “align local efforts to preserve historic structures with the need to build more homes.”

The bill, sponsored by advocacy group California YIMBY, is designed to prevent ordinances that stifle much-needed housing development in the name of preservation. The new bill mandates that local governments report newly designated historic districts and buildings to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

According to California YIMBY, anti-development groups sometimes abuse historic preservation ordinances because “there are currently no objective standards for what qualifies as a ‘historic’ property; in addition, any individual can petition to designate any property as historic – which invites abuse and bad-faith designations by actors whose goal is to block the construction of new homes.”

A fact sheet about the bill adds, “It would further enhance accountability by adding an assessment of historic preservation policies and practices as potential constraints on housing to HCD’s review of local Housing Elements.”