Senate Approves Bill to Ensure Affordable Housing

A bill intended to “ensure that all California cities are meeting the housing needs of residents at all income levels” headed toward the California Assembly after flying through the State Senate on a 27-2 vote. SB303 would require cities to actually zone sites for housing every time they update their General Plan, whereas until now they have been required only to identify such sites – a less binding commitment. A last-minute amendment to the bill sought to give more weight to open space preservation by requiring cities to determine open space needs for each income category.