Leading California legislators are urging seven San Francisco Bay Area public health officials to match the state and federal classification of housing construction as an essential business during the COVID-19 Shelter In Place restrictions. “We believe the Bay Area health order should mirror the state and federal approach to housing — broadly classifying housing construction as essential activity and avoiding arbitrary choices that certain housing can be built while others cannot,” wrote state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman David Chiu, both Democrats of San Francisco, in a letter that was also signed by 14 additional state lawmakers. Click HERE to download the letter dated April 16, 2020. Six Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley have limited housing construction to developments where at least 10 percent of the homes on-site are deed restricted affordable units. Representatives of the California Building Industry Association and BIA|Bay Area applauded the legislators’ letter, citing the state’s severe housing shortage and affordability crisis. Homebuilders who construct all types of housing throughout California— deed restricted and market-rate — are strictly following state and federal workplace safety protocols instituted to help protect employees and stop the spread of COVID-19.
