California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new package of housing and homelessness legislation in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, aimed at accelerating construction, cutting red tape, expanding housing options, and connecting homeless individuals with recovery-oriented housing.
The announcement builds on years of work to address housing and homelessness, including annual residential construction increasing 59% since 2018 and the largest numerical reduction in unsheltered homelessness of any state — a 6.8% decline.
"Every Californian deserves a fair shot at a stable home – families shouldn't have to wait years for housing to be approved and built in their communities," Newsom said. "That means continuing to push forward with smart, practical solutions that open more doors for families and strengthen communities across our state."
The package includes measures to strengthen deadlines and enforcement for housing permits by limiting repeated plan-check reviews and tightening appeal timelines. It also establishes a limited pilot program providing a targeted property-tax incentive for qualifying new rental housing serving moderate-income households in Alameda and Sacramento counties and the City and County of San Francisco, and creates a streamlined approval pathway for qualifying townhome developments.
Other provisions create more consistent statewide building-code treatment for factory-built housing, expand inspection options and limit duplicative fees, and require state affordable-housing programs to better account for factory-production costs. The package also streamlines local approval and removes unnecessary HOA restrictions on energy-code-compliant window replacements.
The legislation facilitates redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, planned to deliver at least 10,000 homes, at least 25% of them affordable to lower-income households, and streamlines environmental review for the former San Diego Sports Arena site, supporting at least 4,250 homes, including 2,000 affordable homes, plus an entertainment venue, public open space, and commercial uses. It also makes Housing First-compliant recovery housing clearly eligible for state funding.
"The Concord Community Reuse Project represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our city and usher in a bright future for our community and the greater Bay Area," said Senator Tim Grayson. "SB 328 will leverage already completed environmental reviews to help get shovels in the ground sooner."
"Homeownership is part of the California dream, but for too many working families, that dream feels further out of reach," said Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. "AB 1751 makes it easier and faster to build townhomes and create new opportunities for families to own a home."
According to the Governor's office, California reduced unsheltered homelessness by 8,391 people, or 6.8%, from 2024 to 2025 — more than twice the national reduction of 2.9%. Overall homelessness dropped by 5,150 people, or 2.8%, the state's largest numerical decline since 2009. Since 2019, more than 682,000 homes have been built statewide, and average time from development application to entitlement fell 57%, from 160 days to 68 days in 2024.