This time on John Nerds Out, I take a deep dive on the travails of the attempts of Senator Anna Caballero to make it possible to build more for-sale housing with up to 10 homes on a lot—and what the amendments made to them say about how we make policy. (SB 684 in 2023, followed by SB 1123 in 2024.) I cover these bills as quick hits for the first time: - SB 1123, cleanup/expansion on housing on commercial strips - AB 2881 and SB 584, social housing - AB 1893, builder's remedy reform - AB 1932, remove mortgage interest deduction on second homes I check in on how these bills from episode 4 are do ..read more

I take a deep dive into Senate Bill 1470, that tries to get more new condos built by tinkering with details of how lawsuits against them work.  Quick hits introducing other legislation in the annual cavalcade: SB 1462 (condo deposits), SB 937 (impact fee delay), SB 1210 (utility fees), SB 1077 (ADUs in coastal zone), and AB 2560 (density bonus in coastal zone ..read more

Why does the state protect renters with one hand and prevent cities from protecting them more with the other? Why did a labor leader argue against an (ostensible) labor protection standard? Join us as we bring you up to the present (the end of 2023) with the housing-on-commercial-strips law (AB 2011), the more-affordable-housing-in-scofflaw-cities law (SB 423), and jumping back a bit, the first statewide tenant protection law (AB 1482), and the many, many issues these raise. My guest once again is Scott Simmons, whose dating podcast Wish You All The Best you should still check out ..read more

Special guest Scott Simmons* joins me for the deep lore of housing legislation to date. Includes the rise of Scott Wiener, the ADU bills culminating in AB 68, the unsuccessful ambitious upzoning bills SB 827 and SB 50, the successful affordable housing bill SB 35, duplex bill SB 9, people over parking bill AB 2097, the power of Anthony Portantino, and many other Deep Thoughts along the way. * Hear more from Scott's soothing voice and brain at his dating podcast, Wish You All the Best!  ..read more

Introduction - who I am, why I care so nerdily about housing and why California legislation in particular, and what I'm hoping to do with this podcast. Brief primers on zoning, parking, discretionary approvals, and more of the many topics that will surely come up in 2024 legislation ..read more