A CONFERENCE ON HOUSING 

AGENDA

8:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. Check in, coffee

9 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. Welcoming remarks

9:10 a.m. -10:05 a.m. Panel 1, Update: The Homeless Crisis

Despite significant statewide efforts last year, homelessness continues to rise in California; recent counts suggest that over 150,000 people are living on the streets or in cars. As rents rise and affordable housing options shrink, newly homeless residents outnumber those who have found a way off the streets. The governor’s 2020 budget proposes $1.4 Billion for homeless services, and his task force on homelessness has called for a “legally enforceable mandate” that would force government to house the state’s homeless population. Will this be the year California turns the tide?

Elise Buik, United Way; Michelle Cabrera, County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California; Asm. Mike Gatto (retired); Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg; 1 more TBA

Moderated by Matt Levin, Calmatters

10:15 a.m. -11:10 a.m. Panel 2, State of Affairs

Last year, the governor and legislature took steps to address the housing crisis, passing 17 bills designed to spur housing production and a statewide rent control measure. Many local jurisdictions still oppose zoning reform, citing concerns of gentrification and loss of local control, but others have begun to embrace density as key to tackling the housing crisis – and combatting climate change. What impact will these changes have, and when?

Asm. David Chiu; Lisa Hershey, Housing CA; Sid Lakireddy, California Rental Housing Association; Anya Lawler, Western Center on Law and Poverty; Jennifer Svec, California Realtors Association

Moderated by Chris Nichols, Capital Public Radio

11:20 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Panel 3, The Look-Ahead: What’s Coming Now?

Despite a push from Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, the year’s most sweeping and controversial zoning reform bill, SB 50, was derailed in January; bill author Scott Wiener and Atkins have vowed to pass major housing legislation this year, and housing policy insiders are optimistically calling 2020 “The Year of Production” – but permits for new homes are lagging, and many predict a downturn in the state’s overheated housing market. Will construction start to match the rhetoric? What else is coming in 2020?

Ruby Bolaria-Shifrin, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Zachary Olmstead, California Department of Housing and Community Development; Asm. Jesse Gabriel; Louis Mirante, CAYIMBY; Matt Regan, Bay Area Council

Moderated by Jeremy White, Politico

Lunch served: 12:15 p.m.

Keynote: 12:30-1:15, Senator Scott Wiener

Introduced by John Howard, Capitol Weekly