Bill Raising Affordable Housing For College Students Signed By California Gov. Newsom

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has signed Senate Bill 290, or SB 290, into law Sept. 28, to augment affordable housing for low-income college students.

According to an endorsement of the bill approved by the Berkeley City Council in July, the housing crisis in Berkeley has worsened due to the shortage of housing for students near UC Berkeley’s campus. The new bill is set to fight this trend.  

“Student housing is not just a student issue,” said Councilmember Rigel Robinson in an email. “The student housing crisis has the effect of exacerbating the broader regional housing crisis.”

State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s SB 290, upgrades density bonus law in California to arrive at its goal of augmenting affordable housing development. 

According to a press release from Skinner’s office, with the state density bonus law, housing developers who plan for affordable units are permitted to build larger projects. The goal of SB 290 is to amplify this law by dispensing extra incentives to builders of affordable units, in addition to streamlining the approval process for such projects. 

In an event in Oakland, Newsom signed the bill as a part of a larger package of 27 housing bills.

“These new housing laws open the door for thousands more housing units at every affordability level and include measures to help hold local governments accountable,” Skinner said in the press release. “And my bill, SB 290, gives housing developers more incentives to build affordable units for low-income college students, many of whom now are homeless or living in their cars.”

According to the City Council’s endorsement, “a shortage remains” although actions have been taken by the city to raise housing density around campus. The City Council notes that the shortage is caused by both density-limiting local policies and UC Berkeley’s past actions.

Ryan King, spokesperson of the University of California Office of the President shared that the University of California sees the signing of SB 290 as a remarkable move towards  addressing the students’ struggles in the UC system to find housing.

King added that Gov. Newsom approved a $500 million fund to aid public higher education institutions in augmenting affordable housing, and said the university looks forward to applying that funding. 

“The full impact of SB 290 will not be known for some time. However, UC hopes it will incentivize housing developers to build more affordable units,” King said in an email.

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