Monterey County Local News: Housing


All Local Housing News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

Image caption: Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society

Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …

Image caption: Owning homes is the primary way the middle class builds wealth, and an option no longer available to most Californians.
Is California’s Housing Crisis Making Inequality Worse?

California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?

Image caption: Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

Image caption: Lighthouse Field in Santa Cruz, which might be a huge resort if not for the Coastal Commission.
The Public Shore Protectors

The future of 1,100 miles of spectacular coastline is in the hands of the California Coastal Commission, which is beloved by coastal environmentalists, notorious among those who favor development, and little-known in the inland parts of the state.

Salinas Valley Tribune logo From Salinas Valley Tribune...

04/23/2025
Image for display with article titled Housing Authority of Monterey County Outlines Major Achievements and Future Plans

The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey presented its 2022-24 Progress Report to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on March 11, showcasing key achievements, organizational growth and upcoming initiatives aimed at tackling the region’s housing challenges.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

04/16/2025
Image for display with article titled A Quarter Century... Plus One More Month: Harper Canyon Project Vote Postponed.

Following a steady stream of written comments that came to the county prior to the County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday April 15, the hearing for the long-awaited and controversial Harper Canyon/Encina Hills project has been postponed to May 20.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

04/11/2025
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 11 to celebrate the beginning of the Campus Town development project on 122 acres of land in Seaside.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

04/09/2025
Image for display with article titled After 24 Years, a Controversial Harper Canyon Subdivision Comes Back for a Vote.

How many years does it take to build a subdivision? A quarter-century after one large residential project on the Highway 68 corridor was approved, it’s back for another vote.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

04/09/2025
Image for display with article titled Salinas City Council Revisits a Rent Stabilization Ordinance Passed Last Year, Eyeing a Repeal.

Last year, Salinas became the first city in Monterey County to pass a rent stabilization ordinance. “Today is a historic moment for our city, and it’s a positive change driven by the community,” then-Councilmember Anthony Rocha said on Sept. 24.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

03/28/2025
The nonprofit Veterans Transition Center's Lightfighter Village in Marina has been completed, and the 71-unit veterans transitional living facility is welcoming its first tenants.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/28/2025
A handful of legislators rallied near the state Capitol Thursday to promote what they’re calling an “extremely unsexy,” but important, bipartisan bill package intended to put California’s housing development into overdrive.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

03/26/2025
Image for display with article titled The Housing Authority Finally Issued More Vouchers, but HUD Now Wants It to Stop.

Earlier this month, Zulieka Boykin, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey, sat before the Monterey County Board of Supervisors with some good news – finally.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/26/2025
In the recurring legislative fight between YIMBY legislators and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.

Monterey County Weekly logo From Monterey County Weekly...

03/19/2025
Image for display with article titled With the Clock Ticking, Supervisors Make Tough Choices to Update the County’s Housing Plan.

There is possibly little doubt that the meadow known as Tarpy Flats along Olmsted Road outside of Monterey will be developed. The neighbors don’t want it to be so, but a state law is on the side of a developer who plans to build homes.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/17/2025
A $5 billion pot of federal money set aside to help people on the verge of homelessness pay the rent is running out of cash — and no one has a plan to keep the roughly 60,000 renters, more than 15,000 of them in California — from losing their housing after the last dollar is spent.

The Pajaronian logo From The Pajaronian...

03/11/2025
Image for display with article titled Recurso De Fuerza: The Homeless Housing Project at Westview Presbyterian Church

In Watsonville, we see the human cost of California's housing crisis every day. As homelessness rises, we face a critical choice: continue with inadequate approaches or embrace innovative solutions reflecting our values of compassion and dignity for all.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/05/2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/03/2025
Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

02/26/2025
Read on for details about a report on the 2-year Yolo County Basic Income Program which ended in April 2024.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/26/2025
Each year, legislation aimed at better wildfire mitigation fails – often due to cost or conflict with environmental regulations.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/26/2025
Feather River College is still reeling from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the surrounding community and warped the housing market. The college is one of many schools that have tried — and failed — to secure state grants to build more student housing.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/23/2025
A passel of recent California laws were supposed to supercharge the construction of desperately needed housing. According to YIMBY Law, they haven’t even come close.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/20/2025
In a dispute over whether he can convert his three-story condominium’s garage into its own ground-floor apartment, one Carlsbad resident is waging a battle against his homeowners association.