California Affordable Housing Law AB 179 Aims to Cut Costs and Speed Up Development

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law aimed at making it faster and less expensive to build affordable housing across the state.

AB 179 is designed to reduce barriers for residential development by allowing certain local development and impact fees to be stopped, waived, or reduced for qualifying projects, including affordable housing developments. Supporters say the measure could help lower construction costs and get more homes built sooner.

Experts say development fees help fund services tied to new projects, including parks, public safety, and transportation improvements. However, those fees can add an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 per housing unit, increasing the overall cost of construction.

Katina Holiday, CEO of Holiday’s Helping Hands, says the law could be a major step forward, especially as some affordable housing units created through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program approach the end of their affordability requirements.

“A lot of the LIHTC, which stands for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, started in 1986, 1985,” Holiday said. “After the 55 years, which comes up to 2030, 2035, a lot of the houses that have been affordable housing units are rolling out of being affordable housing units. So the preservation of those is very important right now.”

Holiday says reducing delays in the approval and construction process can have a major financial impact. She explained that building an affordable one-bedroom unit in Southern California can cost roughly a quarter of a million dollars, meaning even small reductions in time and expenses can make a difference.

“One of the biggest costs includes the amount of time together,” Holiday said. “Believe it or not, from the time of conception to build affordable housing, it takes years.”

She says creating a more streamlined process can help projects move forward more efficiently by reducing both costs and delays.

Locally, realtor Craig Michaels says the legislation could benefit many Coachella Valley workers who struggle to find affordable housing, including those in healthcare, hospitality, law enforcement, firefighting, and education.

“A large part of our workforce is health care and hospitality, police, fire, and teachers,” Michaels said. “And they will definitely benefit from more affordable homes. So I think that will be a very big positive that we’ll see — again, a more balanced market for those people.”

Beyond the financial impact, Holiday says affordable housing can also improve health outcomes. She points to research showing people experiencing homelessness face significantly shorter life expectancies because of challenges accessing medication, medical care, and stable living conditions.

“When people are on the streets, they can’t have their medicine or insulin,” Holiday said. “You have nowhere to place it. So all of those things play a factor in the housing and how this bill is going to be important to getting that done.”

Supporters say AB 179 could help move people into stable housing faster by reducing bottlenecks in the development process.

Reporting for NBC Palm Springs, I’m Maria Noble Valdez.