California Doesn't Need More Apartment Mandates— We Need Real Solutions

Media
Jul 14
2 min read

You may have seen recent headlines suggesting the State of California is finally making it easier to build housing.

Don’t be fooled.

Despite the spin from Sacramento, the so-called “reforms”, just signed into law by the Governor, do nothing to make it easier for young families to own a home, raise kids, or stay in the neighborhoods they grew up in. In fact, these new laws double down on the same failed approach that got us into this crisis—prioritizing high-density apartment blocks over single-family neighborhoods.

Here in San Diego County, we understand the real problem: it’s not a lack of land, it’s a lack of common sense. Extra-burdensome state laws, endless red tape, costly mandates, and lawsuits weaponized by special interests have made it nearly impossible to build affordable homes outside urban cores.

The results speak for themselves:

Homeownership in California is near the lowest in the nation.
The cost of a modest two-bedroom home now requires a six-figure income.
Over 500,000 young people have left the state in just four years.

And yet, Sacramento’s answer is less local input and control, combined wtih more regulation, more mandates, and more subsidies for apartment complexes that cost up to $600,000 per unit—sometimes for a studio. That’s not sustainable, and it’s certainly not helping the next generation of Californians.

We don’t need luxury “affordable housing” projects that include gyms, cafes, and pet spas. We need starter homes—on real plots of land, with a front yard and room for a family.

Here in the County, I’m pushing for policies that get back to basics:

Cutting burdensome regulations

Supporting and incentivizing single-family housing developments

Protecting local control over land use

Making it easier—not harder—for working families to stay in California

It’s time to stop the political theater and start delivering real results. Our kids deserve the chance to chase the American Dream without leaving their home state to find it.