Cities and counties across the state are being called upon to build more than 2.5 million homes by 2030, under a plan released by the California Department of Housing and Community Development – double the target set under a previous plan that was adopted four years ago.

Rising housing costs, along with increases in rental rates, have worsened the state’s housing crisis in recent years, impacting parents’ and caregivers’ access to affordable transportation, childcare resources, healthcare and food. According to the report, 1 in 3 households in California doesn’t earn enough money to meet basic needs, and the recent pandemic exacerbated the state’s homeless crisis.

Officials in Sacramento are hopeful municipalities have better options to meet the updated targets, and there are new legal penalties for those that don’t.

In the past, cities and counties had to report to the state how much lower-income housing was needed in their jurisdictions, but there were no real penalities if it was never actually built.

The state’s three goals for the next 10 years are to keep Californians in their homes; produce more affordable and climate-smart housing; and act with urgency to address homelessness and the housing need.

For information about the state’s rapid growth housing plan, click [here]. For the full report, click [here].

The city of Santa Clarita’s latest Draft Housing Element addresses the local housing needs through October 2029. According to the state, Santa Clarita has enough vacant land to meet more than half of the local need for lower-income housing, and city zoning already allows higher density development of “underutilized sites” to accommodate the rest.

To read the city’s Draft Housing Element, click [here].