Senate Housing Committee

7 April 2026

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Senate Housing Committee Mon, 6 Apr 2026 California State Senate

00:06 - 00:40

Speaker 1

Good afternoon. I'd to call to order this meeting of the senate standing committee on housing for Tuesday, 04/07/2026. I'm senator Jesse Eddingen, chair of the committee, joined by vice chair senator Kelly Sierto. We have, first, two bills on consent, file item two, SB twelve sixty seven by senator Allen, and file item four, SB fourteen twenty six, the committee omnibus bill. We do not yet have a quorum, so we'll operate as a subcommittee and entertain a motion on those consent items at that time.

But let's begin with our first bill presentation by Senator Caballero on SB eleven sixteen. Senator, whenever you're ready to present, you may proceed.

00:49 - 02:52

Speaker 2

Years ago, SB8 SB684, the Starter Home Revitalization Act, which created a streamlined ministerial pathway to build small scale housing up to 10 unit projects on the infill sites. Since its enactment, we have seen strong interest but also clear implementation challenges that are limiting its full potential. SB eleven sixteen reflects two years of real world data and feedback from local governments, planners, builders, and housing advocates. California, as you know, continues to face a severe housing shortage, particularly for entry level homeownership opportunities. SB six sixty four created the framework and the development of exactly these kind of units.

What six what SB eleven sixteen does is, one, clarifies development standards such as height, setback, and density to prevent local rules from reducing allowable housing. It reinforces ministerial approval and clear timelines to provide certainty for applicants. It strengthens state oversight and accountability for local compliance, updates subdivision standards to allow more flexibility for small lot development, and addresses private restrictions, including HOA and deed provisions that can block housing. Included, it improves reporting to better track outcomes and production so we know how it's being used. Taken together, these changes are designed to remove barriers, provide clarity, ensure the law produces the housing it is intended to deliver.

It ensures that the promise of SB six eighty four is fully realized. With me today to testify in support and help answer any question is Nolan Gray, Senior Director of Legislation and Research with California Yimbi, and Stephanie Yee, CEO and Founder of AlphaX.

02:58 - 03:57

Speaker 3

Thank you, Senator. Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to be able to speak today. My name is Emdell Nguyen Gray. I'm an AICP planner and the Senior Director of Legislation and Research at California INB, an organization focused on making California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family.

I'm here today and speak in support of SB eleven sixteen, which we're proud to cosponsor alongside Abundant Housing L. A. And Unidos. The unfortunate truth is that California is failing to create the next generation of homeowners. Our state has the second lowest homeownership rate in the country behind New York, and we're losing ground.

Over the last twenty years, our homeownership rate has actually fallen. Our persistent failure to turn the ship around on homeownership is a result of a persistent shortage of starter homes and the dramatic run up in prices that this has caused. The median home in California is now over nine times the median household income. This is the highest ratio after Hawaii, not exactly a good company on a housing affordability perspective, and economists generally view a healthy ratio as closer to five. So I think we're all in agreement here that we have a crisis.

03:57 - 04:31

Speaker 13

This committee has done a lot of work on addressing this crisis, and I'm going to argue that the Starter Home Revitalization Act, SB six eighty four and eleven twenty three, have been one of the most important things that this legislature has done in advancing this issue. It's leveled the playing field and streamlined the process for building townhouses and starter homes, exactly the types of homes our state needs. So why are we back again? Not just because we love working with Senator Caballero, but because there's been enormous interest in the bill since it took effect in 2024. There's been a lot of excitement from developers, homebuilders, planners, but we've learned a lot.

04:32 - 05:04

Speaker 3

The amendments in SB eleven sixteen reflect these lessons learned. I think they fall into three general categories. First, they clarify vague language and provide consistent standards, which gives certainty to the local elected officials and planners tasked with implementing the legislation. They provide additional flexibility to make sure that otherwise great projects aren't needlessly denied or scaled down, and they provide greater oversight over implementation so we can track the progress of this bill and improve it in the future. We thank the committee consultants for their helpful feedback on these, and we've many of these originate with people actually trying to use the law.

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