In an aim to ameliorate the housing crisis, Governor Newsom enacted the SB 4 bill, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, also referred to as “Yes in God’s Back Yard” (YIGBY), on October 11, 2023. The enactment of this housing bill promises substantial impact on the provision of affordable housing in 2023. The bill, supported by Senator Scott Weiner and Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, grants religious institutions and nonprofit colleges the liberty to construct affordable houses on their land by-right. This means they can do so without the intent adherence to conventional zoning standards.
Before the YIGBY law, religious organizations and nonprofit academic institutions needed to adjust their building plans with established zoning standards. This often thwarted attempts to build affordable housing on their land due to strict zoning regulations. The law now allows these groups to generously contribute to solving the housing crisis by building affordable houses on their property.
However, this recent development doesn’t exempt these organizations from adhering to due construction standards. These projects will still need to be vetted by local planning departments to ensure that they meet the necessary building safety standards, even though the zoning restrictions are not as prohibitive.
Greater scrutiny of this legislation and its potential impact will be important, particularly as it could set a new benchmark for affordable housing development across the nation.
The impact of the YIGBY law will be felt not just by the congregations of these organizations, but by towns and cities suffering from housing scarcity. Ultimately, the impact could potentially be monumental in the race to solve America’s housing crisis.
For more detailed information about the YIGBY law, the full text of the original article is recommended.