At last week’s meeting of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) a letter was presented to the group — AHAB “advises the Department of Commerce on housing and housing-related issues” — from Governor Jay Inslee. The letter was encouraging because it showed an apparent appreciation by the governor that costs from zoning and planning requirements are slowing down the production of housing. I think the Governor, though, was thinking about subsidized low-income housing produced by non-profits. Here’s the letter and our response below. I am hopeful that our voice will be heard in whatever the process is to respond to the Governor’s request to find efficiencies and pass those savings on to consumers who need housing.

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Here’s our response to the Governor the attachments referenced are linked below the letter.

California Affordable Housing Cost Study

California Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) Study

Bending the Cost Curve on Affordable Rental Development by the Urban Land Institute (ULI)

Governor Brown says, “We’re not spending more money on affordable housing because it’s too expensive to build.”