California's Housing Crisis: A Deeper Failure
Governor Gavin Newsom's signing of SB 79 is a modest step towards addressing California's housing crisis, but it is not enough to fix the state's broken housing system.
SB 79 sets mandatory density minimums near transit stops and reduces red tape, but supporters may be overstating its impact, calling it a "landmark victory" for YIMBY advocates.
SB 79 represents movement, not transformation—a modest measure of progress in a state that continues to fall catastrophically short of its own housing promises.
California is building too little, too slowly, and too expensively, with Sacramento being a prime example of the state's structural paralysis in addressing the housing crisis.
Author's summary: California's housing crisis persists despite modest reforms.