Since California YIMBY’s founding, we’ve built a movement of 80,000+ Californians who share the simple belief that to combat homelessness, make our neighborhoods affordable, and create a California for everyone, we have to make it legal to build more homes in our cities.
Our Track Record Is Clear
Our evidence-based movement of passionate YIMBYs and pro-housing allies are transforming housing policy across California and influencing policy worldwide.
We’ve ended exclusionary, single-unit zoning1 in the state where it began, and our legislative victories will enable at least 2.2 million more homes2 to be built in California. The impact reports below are a celebration of everything we’ve been able to accomplish together — and the list of impacts grows longer by the day.
An equitable California begins with abundant, secure, affordable housing. We focus on housing and land use policy at the state level to ensure grassroots organizers and city leaders have the tools they need to accelerate home building at the local level.
Since 2017, California YIMBY has led the charge to transform California’s housing landscape—shaping the conversation, drafting legislation, and securing the passage of the most impactful housing bills in the state’s history. Our work has turned bold ideas into real laws and sets a national model for pro-housing reform.
*We did not technically sponsor these bills, but were either the lead advocate for author-sponsored bills or were instrumental in passing them.
**Not signed into law
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
Legalized the widespread construction of ADUs, as easy-to-build affordable housing.
Updates and clarifies the state’s ADU rules to make them easier to build.
Accelerates ADU development by clarifying ambiguities in existing law.
Permanently extends the rental unit provisions of AB 881 (2020). The provisions allow owners to build rental ADUs on the same property as their existing rentals.
Grants local Junior ADU ordinances the same exemption to environmental review that is already granted to standard ADU ordinances.
Removes common barriers to the construction of ADUs on multifamily properties.
Missing Middle
Requires local governments to plan for fourplexes as a part of their high-income housing planning.
Legalized duplexes and lot-splits on single-family home parcels.
Streamlines approvals for “starter” homes in infill developments of 10 homes or less in multi-family zones.
Strengthens SB 9 (2021) by clarifying the intent and purpose of the law, and by giving state agencies the authority to enforce its provisions in cities that try to block it.
Expands SB 684 (2023) to make it legal to build up to 10 homes on vacant lots in single-family zones by streamlining the approval process for these projects.
Streamlining
Makes it easier to build new affordable housing on parking lots of faith-based institutions.
Allows cities to quickly legalize buildings with 3-10 homes in non-sprawl areas.
Prevents cities from using technicalities like floor-area ratios to block homes from being built in multi-family zoned areas.
Helps universities build housing faster and at lower costs by streamlining environmental review.
Fast-tracks new affordable housing on land zoned for commercial uses, and includes strong provisions for affordability, labor standards, and environmental protection.
Extends the provisions of SB 35 (2017), and expands them to encourage mixed-income housing developments.
Ends the inappropriate abuse of CEQA by jurisdictions that attempt to block new housing developments.
Helps to align local efforts to preserve historic structures with the need to build more homes.
Fixes an error in SB 886 to ensure that projects that qualify for LEED certification receive streamlined approvals prior to their final LEED certification.
Cost Reduction and Fee Transparency
Requires housing fees to be proportional to the size of a new home, so that smaller homes pay smaller fees.
Removes expensive parking mandates around transit.
Requires cities to provide an estimate of the impact fees required for a proposed housing development at the time of building permit application.
Allows home builders to delay the payment of certain impact fees until a certificate of occupancy is issued for their project.
Transit Oriented Development
Would have established an incentive for building housing near high-quality transit by exempting these developments from certain restrictive and low-density zoning standards.
Would have legalized more homes near key job centers and public transportation. It included strong protections against displacement for renters and vulnerable communities in those areas
Made it legal for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) to build multi-family, mixed-income housing on its parking lots and other land it owns.
Supporting Communities
We campaign for vibrant, inclusive, and just communities.
Raised $4 billion for affordable homes for veterans, seniors, and families.
Raised $2 billion for permanent, supportive housing for the mentally ill and homeless.
Decriminalizes street vending, encouraging entrepreneurship and access to goods.
Limits rent increases and protects renters from unfair evictions.
Other Initiatives
While these initiatives did not pass, California YIMBY remains committed to property tax reform and racial justice.
The “Schools and Communities First” initiative would have reclaimed $12 billion dollars each year for education and essential services by requiring large commercial property owners to pay their fair share of taxes. California YIMBY is a member of the Executive Committee.
This initiative would have ended California’s ban on affirmative action, which would have made race-conscious housing justice remedies more feasible.
A UC Berkeley study estimates that SB 9 would yield about 700,000 new homes.↩︎
According to a UCLA study, recent ADU laws will permit the construction of 1.5M new ADUs, given current costs and rent.↩︎
