Can California cities work together with the State to incentivize housing production? That question, among others, was examined recently at Aligning State and City Housing Policy, a CMC symposium featuring former Governor Gray Davis, key political leaders, and city managers.
Hosted by CMC’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government and The Olson Company, the symposium addressed the current disparity between city and state housing policies and how to incentivize housing.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who introduced the panel, said the housing affordability discussion is a top priority and concrete solutions must be developed. “I appreciate the Rose Institute for putting on this event to address California’s housing problem,” she said.
Moderated by Davis, the panel – including Ontario City Manager Scott Ochoa ’93, former District 62 Assembly Member Autumn Burke, former Senator Isadore Hall, III, among others – agreed that a lack of affordable housing is forcing the middle class to flee California along with jobs.
“A third of people in California are considering leaving because they can’t afford housing. We have to get in the solution business because what we’re doing isn’t working,” said Davis. With the state having the most patents and Nobel prizes in the country, “there is nobody better than California in inventing the future,” he added.
An in-depth research report Underproduction: California’s Housing Crisis by Ryan Lenney ’25 and George Ashford ’25 was disseminated to the more than 100 audience members. The report bolsters the discussion by highlighting California’s chronic housing underproduction, use of inclusionary housing ordinances, and geographic variance in regulatory attitudes toward housing development.
“Our goal at the Rose Institute is to hold symposiums like this with leaders and also provide an avenue for our students to be part of the discussion – through their research and examination of big issues,” said Ken Miller, CMC government professor, and director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government.