Other States Are Showing L.A. How to Rebuild

Yahoo

16-02-2025

The Los Angeles metro area began 2025 with one of the worst housing shortages in the country: more than half a million units, by some estimates. The deficit has multiplied over many years thanks in part to the obscene amount of time it takes to get permission to build. According to state data, securing permits to construct a single-family home in the city requires an average of 15 months. Countywide, receiving planning approvals and permits for a typical apartment takes nearly a year and a half.
And that was before the fires. Last month, more than 16,000 homes and other structures burned down, and fire damage may have rendered many thousands more uninhabitable. The devastation magnified L.A.'s already desperate need to speed up permitting, but local policy makers responded by fast-tracking only identical rebuilds. Families who want to build in less fire-prone areas or add space to shelter displaced neighbors are out of luck. So are the developers who submitted applications before the fire; now they're at the back of the line. Some have already received notices that their housing applications are indefinitely paused. Delays once measured in months could soon be measured in years.
If nothing changes, Southern California's housing crisis could plumb new depths. But policy makers in states around the country are showing Los Angeles a way out.
Take Texas. Until recently, cities and suburbs across the state faced similar shortages—in their case, due to a massive influx of new arrivals. In places such as Dallas, where home prices increased by roughly 50 percent from 2020 to 2023, city hall often took months to respond to applications to build housing. According to one study in Austin, every three and a half months of delays were associated with rent increases of 4 to 5 percent.
[Jerusalem Demsas: To rebuild Los Angeles, fix zoning]
In response, a bipartisan coalition of Texas legislators passed H.B. 14 in 2023. The law grants applicants the right to hire licensed third-party architects and engineers to review permit applications and conduct inspections if local regulators fail to act within 45 days. As a result, housing permits have surged. In Austin, home prices and rents are falling—probably too much, if you're a landlord. California should be so lucky.
Other states are finding ways to streamline permitting, too. Tennessee passed a bill last year that allowed applicants to turn to licensed third parties after 30 days. And as of 2021, developers in Florida can request a refund on fees if regulators take too long to decide on a permit—a reform that increased on-time reviews in some parts of the state by 70 percent. Last year, Florida empowered applicants to go to third-party reviewers and inspectors from the start.
Similar bills have been introduced in states across the political spectrum, including New Hampshire and Washington. And help could soon be on the way for California: In mid-January, Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced A.B. 253, which would allow anyone proposing to build a project under 40 feet tall and with 10 or fewer housing units to turn to licensed third-party reviewers if regulators don't act in 30 days.
Of course, any change in how a state reviews plans or inspects new housing will raise reasonable health and safety concerns. But allowing third-party involvement promises to improve consumer protections. Unlike public officials, who enjoy sovereign immunity when they make a mistake, a third-party architect or engineer who signs off on bad plans faces full liability, including the possibility of losing her license.
[Conor Friedersdorf: L.A. isn't ready for what's next]
Still, streamlining permits won't be enough on its own. Los Angeles must pass zoning reform that gives residents who lost their homes the flexibility to rebuild their communities with a range of housing types, including townhouses and family-size apartments, as well neighborhood retail such as cafés and comic shops. The alternative—outside developers rebuilding a bunch of mansions—might be better than barren lots, but not by much.
The many tens of thousands of recently displaced Angelenos don't have years to wait for solutions. Neither do the hundreds of thousands of Californians locked out of homeownership, who are stuck paying half of their income for rent or living on the streets. In survey after survey, Americans tell pollsters that they want simpler, faster permitting. At least in California, there will never be a better time to give it to them.
Article originally published at The Atlantic