Gilroy City Council Objects To Lack Of Local Control For Housing

GILROY, CA — The Gilroy City Council supported a resolution calling for more local control related to zoning and housing issues during its meeting on Monday.

The resolution stated that in passing laws addressing housing, the California legislature is “usurp(ing) the authority of local jurisdictions to determine for themselves the land use policies and practices that best suit each city and its residents and instead impose mandates that do not take into account the needs and differences of jurisdictions throughout the State of California.”

Forty-five cities in the state have adopted similar resolutions. The Gilroy Dispatch reported that the resolution passed 4-2, with one council member not present.

The state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation figures determine how many units each jurisdiction must plan for in eight-year cycles in order to help alleviate the affordable housing crisis. The current housing element ends in 2023, and the state is in the process of finalizing numbers for the following eight years.

While cities have generally not disputed the need for additional below market rate units across the state, some councils have objected to the methodology and process by which they claim the state has taken away local control from jurisdictions, in addition to legislation.

Read the full report in the Gilroy Dispatch here.