US Edition
California Is Running Out of Safe Places to Build Homes
CALIFORNIA, JUL 2 – California's housing shortage worsens as 1.4 million acres are newly classified as high fire risk, limiting safe land for development amid climate threats, officials and researchers say.
- California faces a severe housing shortage, forcing families to move out while the state aims to build 2.5 million new homes to address the crisis.
- Years of intense wildfires have made officials hesitant to approve construction in high-risk areas, complicating efforts to expand housing supply safely.
- Governor Gavin Newsom recently approved a bill that removes a major environmental review requirement for a large number of housing developments to help hasten construction amid increasing pressure.
- The January wildfires near Los Angeles resulted in 30 fatalities and the loss of over 16,000 buildings, while updated fire risk maps now highlight danger zones comparable in size to the state of Georgia, highlighting the growing threat of wildfires.
- Despite reforms and ambitious goals, California's shortage, contributing 1.4 million homes to the national deficit, suggests persistent affordability challenges and migration pressures remain.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Letters: California should be building housing smarter, not faster
Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. State must build smarter rather than faster Re: “State bill pausing local building codes forfeits climate progress” (Page A6, July 1). The referenced article by David Cohen and Vicky Veenker is spot on. Dismissing building codes purely to speed rebuilding is a false economy. In this time of need for more housing, including the replacement of housing destroyed by wil…
San Bernardino Sun
San Gabriel Valley TribuneCalifornia running out of safe places to build homes due to fires, rising seas
By Eliyahu Kamisher | Bloomberg California, gripped by a housing shortage that is forcing families from the state, wants to build 2.5 million homes. But it’s running out of safe places to put them. Much of the land best suited for new housing — windswept, grassy hills surrounding the state’s major cities — now faces an extreme threat of wildfire, brutally illustrated by the Los Angeles-area blazes in January that killed 30 people and destroyed m…
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