SB 423 – Extension of SB 35, currently our best tool to build affordable housing

SB 423 extends the provisions of SB 35 to January 1, 2036. SB 35 created streamlined, ministerial approvals for infill developments in local jurisdictions that have failed to meet their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals. SB 423 extends the current sunset and makes additional changes to ensure that the law’s application is more equitable.  We are disappointed that the carve out for racially segregated minority communities was not included, and we our representatives to do so in a clean-up bill next session.

The Assembly and Senate have passed the bill. It now goes to Governor Newsom for signature.

Many Marin residents recognize that we need more affordable housing to stem the displacement of low-income residents, enable our children to move home and recruit more teachers and workforce employees. It is extremely difficult to build any in Marin that does not go through a streamlined process.  We have had the lowest rate of housing production, at all income levels, in the Bay Area for decades.

SB 423 ensures the successful provisions of SB 35 continue to streamline affordable housing where it’s needed most, while maintaining local planning. All SB 35 projects must be consistent with local General Plans—and housing can only be built on sites that are both urban infill and already zoned for residential or mixed-use, following height, density, and design standards set by local governments. 

Since its passage in 2017, SB 35 has become an engine of subsidized affordable housing production, leading to the streamlined approval of over 18,000 new homes, most of which are subsidized homes affordable to low-income households. The law is set to expire on January 1, 2026. Without an extension, one of the driving forces of affordable housing production will cease. 

As our state continues to grapple with a housing crisis it would be unconscionable to allow a successful housing bill, proven to increase housing production, to lapse. 

SB 423 improves on the original law in a few ways. The ministerial provisions of the bill will now apply to the coastal zone, but only if the development is infill and the underlying zoning already authorizes housing. This requirement will create parity between more affluent coastal cities and inland cities, and ensure the housing that is desperately needed in these jurisdictions is built and that Californians are not priced out of living in coastal communities.

Additionally, SB 423 will create new opportunities for the next generation of construction workers. The bill requires that developers pay a prevailing wage for all projects above 10 units. On projects with 50 units or more, contractors must also offer apprentices employment and pay for health care. This bill also methodically increases the pool of residential construction workers that belong to a skilled and trained workforce by requiring mixed-income projects that are over 85 feet use this type of workforce, as long as the developer receives at least 3 bids. 

SB 423 is a straightforward solution that will ensure continued development of both 100% deed restricted affordable housing and housing that is affordable to families of all income levels while also including critical labor standards that will protect and help grow this much needed workforce.