State and Local Reporter

California

Developers and some city planners in California long have complained that the California environmental quality Act (CEQA) required environmental review process has been abused by "not-in-my-backyard" opponents less concerned about saving the planet and more interested in dragging out projects in costly court battles to scare away developers.

But these days there is a new wind blowing in Sacramento and it has lawmakers increasingly considering measures that would seek to ease environmental regulations in an attempt to address a growing housing crisis.

Gov. Schwarzenegger pledged during his State of the State address in January to eliminate "regulatory and legal hurdles that delay construction and increase the costs of new housing." He said too many people have been forced to buy cheaper, faraway homes and spend too much time in cars commuting to work, away from their families.

A lot of attention is being placed on reforming CEQA. The general idea follows supply and-demand logic: Build more houses and prices will drop.

Source: Modesto Bee, Feb. 20, 2005

Colorado

One would have thought that after the resounding defeat of Amendment 34 (77 percent ‘no,’ 23 percent ‘yes’), trial attorney Scott Sullan – the initiator of Amendment 34 – would consider taking a much lower profile.

Unfortunately, he’s back with a draft of new legislation that would entirely gut Colorado's 2003 Notice and Opportunity to Repair law.

All told, the bill would result in an increase in litigation and, ultimately, harm consumers by driving up the cost of housing. All this comes at a time when some in the building industry are actually experiencing moderate relief regarding the cost of their general liability insurance premiums.

Source: Colorado Builder Forum, January/February 2005

Iowa

Iowa suffers from an alarming brain drain, losing more if its young, single, well-educated adults than any state except North Dakota.

In search of bigger cities, hipper crowds and warmer weather, young Iowans flee in such numbers that demographers predict the state will face a drastic labor shortage within two decades.

Desperate to stabilize the state’s future, the Republican leadership in the Senate may try to entice young adults to stay by abolishing the state income tax for everyone under 30.

About a dozen states, including California, exempt low-income elderly from filing tax returns. But Iowa would be the first state in the nation to stop taxing young adults.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6, 2005

New York

Long Islanders are so worried that sky-high housing costs will force family members to move away that two-thirds support government action to build middle-class and starter housing, according to a new poll that shows widespread anxiety about the region’s problems.

Forty-five percent of those polled said it’s likely that they will move off Long Island within five years, and 70 percent said they were concerned that high housing costs will drive family members away.

Affordable-housing advocates said the poll results are consistent with what they’re seeing at community gatherings and town board meetings across Nassau and Suffolk: In a region dominated by single-family homes, residents seem increasingly willing to tolerate other types of housing.

The full report can be viewed at http://www.longislandindex.org/

Source: Newsday, Jan. 27, 2005

The availability and affordability of housing is central to the health of a state’s economy. This according to a recent Issue Brief released by the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices.

According to the report, the contributions of the housing sector and the affordability of housing affect state fiscal conditions, economic growth, community development and vitality, and the lives of individuals. Moreover, housing has substantial impacts on economic competitiveness, shapes the development of metropolitan areas, and affects the cost of infrastructure. Housing initiatives offer opportunities for gubernatorial leadership across many agencies of government, and for public, civic, and private sector collaboration.

Communities continue to erect regulatory barriers that make it harder to construct affordable housing near city centers, according to a Bush administration report. The report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development updates a similar study issued 13 years ago that blamed unnecessary regulations for raising development costs by as much as 35% in some communities.

While Florida and few other states have made advances in reducing the paperwork needed to build new homes, the report finds that most local government continue to use restrictive zoning laws and out-dated building codes. New restrictive mechanisms include more complex environmental regulations, a misused application of smart-growth ideas to curtail growth, and the use of steep “impact fees.”