Infill: A YIMBY Podcast

Kylie Clark wrote an email to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to alert them about an anti-housing referendum in the town where she worked. The Town Council's reaction was extreme and illegal. Listen to Kylie's story as she sits down with our National Chapter Manager, Alex Melendrez. Links:Read about the censure: https://losgatan.com/council-censures-commissioner-over-white-anti-housing-men-comment/Read about the censure being revoked: https://losgatan.com/censure-of-clark-reversed-after-aclu-threat/https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2023/03/09/aclu-calls-censure-of-los-gatos-commissioner-unconstitutional/Learn more about housing elements and our campaign to make them fair and equitable: https://www.fairhousingelements.org/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://facebook.com/yimbyaction/

In March, we assembled some of California state legislature’s most powerful pro-housing champions to discuss their latest legislative efforts to alleviate California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis.Hear from Assembly Housing Committee Chair Buffy Wicks, Senate Housing Committee Chair Scott Wiener, and Assembly Social Housing Select Committee Chair Alex Lee on their plans to help get more homes built in California. They discussed CA legislation that aims to streamline housing production, particularly for affordable housing, make it easier for non-profits and religious institutions to build housing, and create mechanisms to support social housing in the state for residents at all income levels.Learn more about how state leaders in California plan to tackle the housing shortage, help supply more affordable housing, and organize pro-housing advocates to work together to support key legislation. Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/Learn more about SB 423: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article275357451.htmlLearn more about SB 4: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-06/california-churches-nonprofit-colleges-could-build-homes-on-their-land-with-new-billLearn more about AB 309: https://milpitasbeat.com/assemblymember-alex-lee-wants-to-bring-social-housing-to-california/https://www.californiasocialhousing.org/ 

There are an estimated 2.4 million farmworkers in the United States. Farmworkers across the country are doing some of the most essential work in our society, but they are not given access to acceptable housing options. Challenges in supply, affordability, and safety are posing a huge threat to farmworkers. On Cesar Chavez Day YIMBY Action's Alex Melendrez had a conversation with Rudy Espinoza, YIMBY Action Board Member and longtime housing and farmworker activist, and Veronica Z. Garcia who is the Chief Real Estate Development Officer with Peoples Self Help Housing in San Luis Obispo, CA. They spoke about the landscape of farmworker housing in California and nationally, how systemic barriers are impacting farmers as they seek to find safe and affordable housing, and what YIMBYs can do to mobilize for more farmworker housing.Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/ Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/ Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/ Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

For 40 years, California has analyzed upcoming housing needs based on populations across its cities and required all local governments to submit plans to illustrate how they will contribute more housing in their areas to help the State meet its housing goals. This is called the California housing elements process. Despite the fact that submitting a compliant housing element is part of state law, NIMBY cities have continued to lie about where they plan to build housing in their plans—  or have decided to not attempt to submit a plan at all. Now, YIMBYs have stepped in.With the growing set of eyes on each city to help alleviate the housing shortage, YIMBY Action and YIMBY Law are inviting all property owners to take matters into their own hands using a tool called the Builder's Remedy. The Builder's Remedy is a California state law that forces cities with non-compliant housing elements to automatically approve any housing project as long as at least 20% of the homes are low-income or 100% of them are moderate-income.Get a deep dive from our Executive Directors, Laura Foote and Sonja Trauss, and Emeryville Vice Mayor Courtney Welch about how California cities have been handling their housing elements processes, the consequences for noncompliant cities, and how property owners can take advantage of this open season on state zoning policies. Learn more about the Builder's Remedy: https://www.yimbylaw.org/buildersremedyFollow Vice Mayor Courtney Welch: https://twitter.com/cw4emeryvilleFollow YIMBY Law on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yimby_LawFollow YIMBY Law on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YIMBYLawLearn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

In January 2023 California Assembly Member Alex Lee introduced Assembly Bill 309, a Social Housing Bill that aims to increase access to housing for all Californians. But how does social housing help solve the housing shortage? Our Executive Director, Laura Foote, recently spoke with Assembly Member Lee and Darrell Owens, Policy Analyst for California YIMBY about the California Social Housing Bill. They talked through the big picture for Lee’s Social Housing Bill, discussed the history of social housing in the U.S. and abroad, and answered some common questions about how social housing works in practice.Learn more about AB 309: https://www.californiasocialhousing.org/Follow Assembly Member Lee on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alex_leeLearn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

Last month, we voted for dozens of pro-housing candidates across the country. The YIMBY voting bloc continues to grow, and we’re seeing that growth in dozens of pro-housing wins this year. NIMBY voices are losing their influence.YIMBY Action Board Member Anthony Dedousis recently spoke with Councilmember-elect Jesse Zwick of Santa Monica, and Councilmember-elect Chelsea Byers of West Hollywood. They both got involved in local government to help tackle homelessness. Now, they’re sharing insights on how running pro-housing campaigns helped them win their races and how they plan to push pro-housing policies in their City Council roles.About Chelsea Byers:Chelsea is a social impact strategist and community organizer. She currently serves as a Human Services Commissioner in the City of West Hollywood. She is also an appointee to the 6th Cycle Housing Element Task Force in West Hollywood.About Jesse Zwick:Jesse is a public policy and communications advisor, a renter advocate. Before getting involved in local politics, Jesse was a journalist for DC’s The New Republic Magazine and was a director and screenwriter. He worked on projects such as Nashville, Parenthood, and About Alex. Links:Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

Many local governments in California exacerbate the housing shortage by ignoring state-mandated requirements for new housing projects— especially when it comes to affordable housing. The CA Builder's Remedy, a consequence of state housing law noncompliance, might be the key to getting more housing built anyway.In California, if a city does not plan for the number of homes required by the state, the city has to approve any housing project as long as at least 20 percent of the homes are low-income or 100 percent of them are moderate-income. This process is what we call the Builder's Remedy.YIMBY Law spoke with Dave Rand, a land use lawyer who is working on several builder’s remedy projects in Southern California, most notably in Santa Monica. Get Dave's insights into how the Builder's Remedy may be a pathway to new, affordable housing units in California, what challenges threaten Builder's Remedy projects, and how we can overcome those challenges.Links:More on the Builder's Remedy: https://www.yimbylaw.org/buildersremedyMore on Santa Monica vs The Builder's Remedy: https://www.yimbylaw.org/law-journal/whos-afraid-of-some-extra-heightLearn more about YIMBY Law: https://yimbylaw.org/who-we-are/Follow YIMBY Law on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yimby_LawLearn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/ 

The housing shortage has impacted communities across the country. But have you ever wondered how it has affected specific groups? Or how those most impacted by the housing shortage have responded to its consequences? YIMBY Action’s Organizing Manager Alex Melendrez spoke with Irving Torres and Noelia Corzo about how leaders in the Latinx community have been pushing the pro-housing movement forward. Irving is the Director of Community Engagement at All Home, an organization focused on creating economic mobility opportunities for extremely low-income (ELI) people. Noelia was a YIMBY Action-endorsed candidate for San Mateo County Supervisor, and serves as a Board Trustee for the San Mateo-Foster City School District. Get insights into how Irving and Noelia got started in pro-housing advocacy, their takes on how the housing crisis impacts the Latinx community, and what these leaders are doing to create change. Links:Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

When a Los Angeles developer attempted to build a multi-family apartment building, the LA City Government illegally denied the project. That’s when YIMBY Law stepped in. In this episode, you’ll hear from YIMBY Law’s Executive Director Sonja Trauss, and YIMBY Law legal counsel Ryan Patterson about the details of the lawsuit and why it has implications for zoning across California.Links:Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/   

Dozens of pro-housing laws were passed in California this year, but how will they impact the future of housing in the state? In this episode, our Policy Director Rafa Sonnenfeld sits down with Steve Wertheim to talk about the top pro-housing bills of the year and how they will help address the housing shortage that drives up prices in communities across the state. Steve is a Senior Consultant with the California Assembly Housing Committee. He works with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who is the Chair of the Housing and Community Development Committee and a housing champion for the YIMBY movement. Links:Read YIMBY Action's top 10 list of California housing bills: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BIuVU3pF6ynomyqoLhmBCAnbpFRNdCra/view?usp=sharingLearn more about Buffy Wicks' work on housing: https://buffywicks.com/record/housing-homelessness/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://facebook.com/yimbyaction/