WHAT
This week, the California State Senate is expected to vote on AB 2011 (Wicks): the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act – a bill that will make it faster and easier to build affordable housing in underutilized commercial areas if they meet specific affordability, labor, and environmental criteria.
This critically-important bill has the potential to unlock thousands of new sites across California for affordable housing, which we know is key to ending homelessness in our community. Please send an email to your state senator today and express your support for AB 2011!
Scroll below for links to email your state senator!
WHO
You. As an advocate for affordable housing, your voice is essential to ensure our state leaders are adopting common-sense solutions to our state’s severe housing and homelessness crisis.
WHEN
Today! The Senate is poised to vote on AB2011 later this week and your elected officials need to hear directly from you prior to voting on this critically-important bill.
WHY
We know that housing ends homelessness, however we continue to face a severe lack of affordable housing throughout California. And a major reason is that the State and local jurisdictions continue to place far too many barriers to producing the amount of affordable housing that our community needs.
AB 2011 will make it faster and easier to build affordable housing in California by allowing ministerial, by-right approval of 100% affordable housing developments in infill areas currently zoned for office, retail, and parking use as long as they are not adjacent to industrial or environmentally sensitive land.
That’s why Destination: Home is one of dozens of organizations across the state who is supporting AB 2011.
Read the AB 2011 fact sheet
Read the statement put out by a Bay Area coalition of affordable housing advocates
You can also read this Mercury News OpEd in support of AB 2011 co-authored by Daniel Curtin with the California Conference of Carpenters and Ray Pearl from the California Housing Consortium.
HOW
Emailing your State Senator can be quick and easy!
Visit the CA State Senate website to look up your senator or access a list of all the senators, and how to send them an email message. What you write is entirely up to you, but in case it helps, we’ve included a sample email message below which you can edit/customize however you see fit!
Alternatively, you can use the AB 2011 online advocacy tool created by our partners at California YIMBY.
Sample Email Message
To:
USE THE TOOLS ABOVE TO EMAIL YOUR STATE SENATOR
Sample Subject Line:
Vote YES on AB 2011
Sample Email Message:
I am writing to express my support for AB 2011: the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 (Wicks).
California is facing a severe housing and homelessness crisis, and we must do everything we can to produce more affordable housing throughout our community. AB 2011 will make it faster and easier to build affordable housing in underutilized commercial areas if they meet specific affordability. labor and environmental criteria. By opening up thousands of new sites for affordable housing development, we can help facilitate affordable housing production at scale – which we know is critical to addressing our state’s severe homelessness crisis.
AB 2011 also includes strong labor standards, striking the right balance between giving affordable housing builders access to new sites and providing high wages and health care benefits to the construction workforce we need.
I urge you to vote YES on AB 2011.
{Signed}
Don’t forget to sign your letter with your name and city of residence.
Please also send a quick note to action@housingready.org to let us know you sent in your letter of support.
Thank you for your continued advocacy and support!
