News Roundup

  • San Francisco’s Latest Homelessness Count Underscores Inaccuracies
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    San Francisco’s latest homelessness count—based on various sources and metrics—found 8,000 to more than 19,000 of its residents may experience homelessness. Greater accuracy is critical to getting people the housing and services they need. “We all desperately need to have a much better way of systematically assessing whether people are experiencing homelessness,” said Margot Kushel, director of the University of California, San Francisco, Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

  • Staircase Requirements Affect Housing Affordability and Supply
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    A new Virginia proposal pushes back on existing building codes in hopes of creating more housing. Building codes mandate double-loaded staircases if a building exceeds three stories, leading developers to rely on larger building designs that require more space. “Removing one staircase can really change the equation on what housing can be provided more affordably. Once you start opening up square footage… you can create more of a communal feel for new buildings,” said Andrew Clark, vice president of government affairs for the Home Builders Association of Virginia.

  • New California Construction Bill Puts Labor Unions at Odds
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    Labor unions are fighting over a new California bill aimed at increasing affordable housing by allowing developers to fast-track local approval to build where offices, strip malls, and parking lots currently sit. The Building and Construction Trades Council—which represents most other construction unions—opposes the bill because it doesn’t stipulate the proportion of workers who must be apprenticeship program graduates. Meanwhile, the California Conference of Carpenters and developers believe a standard is too hard to meet.

  • NYC Tenants Could Own Their Building after Lengthy Battle with Landlord
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    After a new landlord threated to raise rent, tenants of a building in Port Morris, the Bronx, have the chance to buy their apartments for $2,500 each. Only a few rental buildings have converted to this type of limited equity co-op, called a Housing Development Fund Corporation co-op, where tenants buy their apartments at prices set by the city and have the option to sell them for a limited profit. “We’re almost conditioned not to see the bigger picture, not to believe the bigger picture, like ownership is not for us,” said Courtland W. Hankins III, one of the tenants. “We’re not used to being in the position of empowerment.”