California to End Traditional Single-Family Zoning Restrictions Beginning January, 2022

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation ending traditional single-family zoning restrictions in most neighborhoods statewide. Senate Bills 9 and 10 take effect on January 1st, making it easier to build more than one housing unit on many properties currently reserved for single-family homes. 

Oregon became the first city in the nation to pass similar legislation in July of 2019. The new zoning requirements for smaller Oregon cities took effect on June 30, 2021, and larger cities have until June 30, 2022, although Portland's laws took effect on August 1, 2021 as we recently discussed in an episode of HFO-TV.

Despite the legislative changes, it is expected to be several years before the change has much of an impact.

Meanwhile in Seattle, the City Council Land Use Committee is continuing discussions to change a zoning term from "single-family zoning" to "neighborhood residential zoning." And although there is a bunch of discussion about it, it isn't really going to change anything, according to MyNorthwest.