Why California's By-Right Affordable Housing Proposal Died

Liam Dillon performs a post-mortem on the weeping affordable housing proposal that died in the California State Legislature at the end of August.

"The idea behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to stem the state’s housing affordability crisis was simple,: writes Dillon: "Make it easier to build houses."

The opportunity to review the politics behind the failure of the proposal also offers perspective on the complex world of development in the state. Dillon summarizes before going into a lot more detail:

Yet the proposal the governor unveiled in May represented a profound shakeup in how the development process would have worked in California. The measure challenged the primacy of local control over housing, inflamed powerful entrenched interests and was eyed warily by the very groups representing those the plan was supposed to help.

Those groups include tenants advocates and labor unions.