A bill designed to help San Francisco build shelters and transitional housing for the homeless sailed through the California Assembly on a 67–0 vote at the end of May and headed for Senate consideration. Other cities are also under consideration to be added to the bill, which was authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco.
AB 932 would create a 10-year window in which the processes for building shelters and supportive housing would be streamlined upon the declaration of a shelter crisis. The city could create simpler local standards for the housing, upon review by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
“With the homeless crisis that’s facing San Francisco, we need to do everything that is possible to expedite the building and production of supportive housing, shelters, and Navigation Centers,” said Gail Gilman, CEO of Community Housing Partnership. She said AB 932 could let San Francisco “bypass cumbersome laws … to create its own regulations to expedite the production of homes for those who are without.”
