Council Co-Sponsoring Bills Taking Aim at Excessive Housing Fees

A tangle of local impact fees that most cities across the Bay Area and California impose on new housing can add up to $100,000 to the cost of each new unit, exacerbating the state’s already crisis-level housing affordability problem. Numerous studies, including by UC Berkeley’s Terner Center and California’s Legislative Analyst Office, have demonstrated how these onerous impact fees are stunting housing production, worsening our affordability crisis and layering excessive requirements on an already burdensome and expensive housing entitlement process.

Reducing and eliminating unnecessary fees has long been a focus of the Bay Area Council’s work to expand our housing supply, which is why we are proud to be co-sponsoring a package of legislation unveiled this week aimed at doing exactly that. AB 1484 (Grayson) promises comprehensive reform of the nexus standards that cities and counties use to determine fees. AB 3148 (Chiu) would reduce impact fees paid on affordable housing units. We’ll be working hard to advocate for these important bills. To engage in the Council’s ADU initiatives, please contact Senior Vice President Matt Regan.