San Benito 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.

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05/14/2025
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would pause updates to state housing standards. Is the building code to blame for California’s housing crisis?

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05/06/2025
Image for display with article titled San Benito County Closer to Complying With State Housing Mandate

San Benito County is one step closer to meeting one of California’s most important housing requirements: adopting a state-approved Housing Element as part of its General Plan.

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05/01/2025
A Republican bill to require more transparency from California’s 50,000 homeowners associations failed to advance out of committee despite bipartisan support.

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04/30/2025
Two consecutive committee chairs getting overruled by their committee members signifies a growing rift among California Democrats about how to address the housing crisis.

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04/29/2025
Dixon Trail is the first purpose-built “wildfire resilient neighborhood” in the United States. Making that a reality for the millions of Californians who already live in harm’s way is a daunting and costly challenge that lawmakers are only just beginning to grapple with.

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04/24/2025
California uses Medicaid to pay for a range of nontraditional health care services, including housing. The Trump administration wants to scale back those programs.

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04/22/2025
California Senate Housing Committee Chair Aisha Wahab is a staunch progressive who is clashing with pro-development activists and other Democrats who want to build more, faster.

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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.

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03/27/2025
Image for display with article titled Housing for Homeless Families Coming in September

San Benito County is in the final stretch of completing a 16-unit housing development for homeless families, mostly funded by the state and located at the county-owned Migrant Center. Designed to help ease the county's rising homeless crisis, the project is set to be completed and ready to be occupied in September.

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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.

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03/17/2025
Image for display with article titled San Juan Planning Commission OKs Reports on 2025 Housing and Planning

The San Juan Bautista Planning Commission has accepted the annual progress reports on how the city has implemented its General Plan and Housing Elements during the last calendar year. The San Juan Bautista City Council will vote on whether to accept them at its March 18 meeting. 

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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.

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03/12/2025
Image for display with article titled San Benito County Behind in Planning Low Income Housing

At the March 11 meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, Associate Planner Stephanie Reck delivered an update on the housing element of the county’s General Plan. While the county surpassed its goals for planning for market rate homes in less than two years, it’s still behind when it comes to low income housing.

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03/05/2025
Image for display with article titled Hollister City Council Rescinds General Plan

On March 3, the Hollister City Council unanimously voted to repeal the 2040 General Plan following a successful referendum effort by local activist group Hollister Guardians Action. The state-mandated General Plan serves as the city’s blueprint for growth.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.