By Elizabeth Zach, RCAC staff writer

California’s housing shortage is, by some estimates, the worst it’s ever been. But according to an editorial in the Fresno Bee, the crisis is most acute in the state’s Central Valley and, moreover, could be alleviated with a greater focus on local planners requiring smaller, more affordable home development.

“No place in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings or Tulare counties comes close to meeting the housing targets that have been established,” write the newspaper’s editors. “The state should be using its clout to require cities and counties to concentrate on zoning for apartments, condos, duplexes and tiny homes, instead of standing by while jurisdictions continue the same pattern of approving higher-end housing.”

The editors criticize the Housing Element Act that requires California’s cities and counties to zone for all types of residential growth independent of income categories.

“The state … needs to nudge local agencies to play bigger roles in funding and facilitating affordable housing,” write the editors.

To read more, go here: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article229468579.html