Wikipedia

User:ChuchusGarden/sandbox

< User:ChuchusGarden
California YIMBY
Formation2017
Purposehousing advocacy
Location
Region served
California
Websitecayimby.org

California YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) is a nonprofit advocacy organization based in California, United States. Founded in 2017, its stated mission is to "make California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family by advocating for policies that increase the supply of housing at all income levels."[1] The organization has supported several high-profile California bills on zoning and development.

History

edit

California YIMBY was established in 2017.[2] It emerged from the broader YIMBY ("yes in my backyard")[3] movement, which advocates for the development of more housing to address affordability issues.[4] It was one of several YIMBY groups to form in California in response to the state's housing crisis, with high costs and limited availability.[5][6][7]

California YIMBY was cofounded by activist Brian Hanlon and Pantheon Systems CEO Zack Rosen, with support from Nat Friedman, then of Microsoft.[8] Hanlon had volunteered with the San Francisco Bay Area Renters' Federation before co-founding the California Renters Legal Advocacy Fund (CaRLA) in 2015.[9][10] CaRLA lost a lawsuit against the city of Lafayette regarding the California Housing Accountability Act, which led Hanlon to become interested in legislative change.[10] Hanlon had a "vision of a new housing advocacy organization for the state that would work on new policy, build coalitions and a grassroots movement, and massively scale up homebuilding".[8][11] They raised initial funding of $500,000.[12][13] By March 2018, the organization had raised over $1 million, primarily from the technology sector,[14] including from Stripe, Inc.,[15][16] the Open Philanthropy project[17] According to Hanlon, technology companies "don't have a viable business model in California if the housing crisis continues unabated".[18] and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.[19]

Operations and advocacy

edit

California YIMBY is headquartered in Sacramento, California.[20] The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, with one arm focused on education and the other on lobbying.[20][21] Its mission is to "make California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family by advocating for policies that increase the supply of housing at all income levels", and its Policy Framework outlines proposals to achieve this mission.[1][22] As of 2022, it had 80,000 members.[6]

One of the organization's first legislative efforts was support SB 167, which addressed shortcomings in the California Housing Accountability Act.[23][10] In 2018 California YIMBY supported California Senate Bill 827, introduced by Scott Wiener and drafted by Hanlon, which would have supported increased housing in the vicinity of public transportation stops. The bill was highly controversial and ultimately failed.[24][25] It also supported California Senate Bill 50, a revision of 827, which saw "significant opposition"[26] and was defeated in 2020.[27] Another revision supported by California YIMBY, California Senate Bill 79, was also controversial; however, it ultimately passed and was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2025.[28]

The organization also supported several pieces of legislation intended to increase development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). These include ABs 68 and 881, which removed local zoning barriers to ADUs;[29] AB 976, which bars requirements that owners live in their ADUs;[30] and AB 2221, which allowed simultaneous construction of ADUs and multifamily housing.[31] In 2024, California YIMBY supported SB 1211, which allowed up to eight ADUs per property.[32]

California YIMBY co-sponsored a 2022 bill (AB 2097) to reduce parking mandates, which require a minimum number of parking spaces for new developments and therefore increase development costs.[33][34] Other legislation supported by California YIMBY has included bills intended to streamline approval of housing development projects;[35] increase the stock of missing middle housing;[36] and facilitate the construction of student and faculty housing for state universities and colleges.[33] It also supported the East Solano Plan to develop a new planned city, which prompted controversy among YIMBY movement participants.[37][38][39] In addition to lobbying, the organization has endorsed a number of political candidacies[40] and operates a political action committee called the California YIMBY Victory Fund.[41]

California YIMBY Education Fund has commissioned a number of reports relating to housing, including on impact fees and Housing First.[42][43]

Impact

edit

Bill 79 and AB 130's pro-housing reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a founding goal of California YIMBY, were touted as major victories for the YIMBY movement.[44][45][46] According to Fast Company, "In L.A., alone, by one estimate, [Bill 79] will eventually zone for 1.46 million new housing units."[8] The changes to CEQA were "the biggest since the mid-1970s", as previous amendments had largely been "piecemeal".[47]

California YIMBY has had a significant impact on ADU legislation.[30] ADUs represented over 10% of housing units built in California between 2018 and 2024,[48] with Los Angeles issuing 5000 permits annually as of 2021.[49]

According to Mother Jones, AB 2097's ban on parking mandates near public transit had the effect of "eliminating parking minimums in large swaths of California's cities".[34]

References

edit
  1. 1 2 "Our Mission". California YIMBY. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  2. ↑ Binyamin Appelbaum (October 4, 2022). "California is actually making progress on building more housing". New York Times.
  3. ↑ Apoorva Tadepalli (March 6, 2020). "Is Yimbyism the answer to America's housing crisis?". New Republic.
  4. ↑ Renee Tapp. "Introducing the YIMBYs: renters, housing, and supply-side politics in Los Angeles". Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space. 39 (7). doi:10.1177/23996544211044516.
  5. ↑ Christine Mai-Duc (April 20, 2022). "Yimby movement goes mainstream in response to high housing costs". Wall Street Journal.
  6. 1 2 Anna Tong (November 1, 2022). "YIMBYs ate the world - except for SF. Now its founders are up to new tricks". San Francisco Standard.
  7. ↑ James Rainey (February 28, 2018). "California's housing crunch has turned liberals against one another". NBC News.
  8. 1 2 3 Adele Peters (December 23, 2025). "How a former Forest Service employee changed the future of housing in California". Fast Company.
  9. ↑ Heather Smith (September 17, 2015). "Urban activists set out to sue San Francisco's suburbs". Grist.
  10. 1 2 3 Jared Brey (2025). "Housing shortages create an alternative to NIMBYism". Governing.
  11. ↑ Cathaleen Chen (July 20, 2017). "California YIMBY's Brian Hanlon on what real estate insiders can do to fight NIMBYism". The Real Deal.
  12. ↑ Cory Weinberg (July 10, 2017). "Tech leaders seek bigger political role with housing push". The Information.
  13. ↑ Angela Hart (July 17, 2017). "'Yes in my backyard.' Silicon Valley money fuels fight against state's housing crisis". Sacramento Bee.
  14. ↑ Eric Newcomer (March 29, 2018). "Silicon Valley firms head for showdown with Calif. homeowners over housing bill". Buffalo News. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Fearghal O'Connor (May 27, 2018). "Stripe talks Dublin housing to Murphy". Sunday Independent (Dublin Edition). p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Conor Dougherty (2020). Golden Gates: the housing crisis and a reckoning for the American dream. Penguin. p. 195. ISBN 9780525560227.
  17. ↑ Bryan Walsh (November 18, 2025). "One of the world's most influential philanthropies is changing its name. Here's why it matters". Vox.
  18. ↑ Conor Dougherty; Inyoung Kang (May 3, 2018). "California today: a tech company wades into housing politics". New York Times.
  19. ↑ Kate Talerico (May 2, 2025). "Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy quietly cuts funding for affordable housing, homelessness groups". Mercury News.
  20. 1 2 "California Yimby". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  21. ↑ "California Yimby Education Fund". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Restoring the California Dream". California YIMBY. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  23. ↑ Clara Collier (April 7, 2026). "If YIMBY is winning in California, where are all the houses?". Asterisk Magazine.
  24. ↑ Liam Dillon (May 6, 2018). "Housing bill's 'white privilege problem'". Los Angeles Times. pp. B1, B5 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Katy Murphy (April 18, 2018). "Why did California's major housing bill fail so quickly?". Mercury News.
  26. ↑ "California has a housing crisis. The answer is more housing". New York Times. April 27, 2019.
  27. ↑ Gennady Sheyner (January 29, 2020). "Contentious housing bill SB 50 dies on the Senate floor". Palo Alto Online.
  28. ↑ Hannah Wiley; Kevin Nguyen (October 10, 2025). "Newsom signs major housing bill allowing for dense construction near transit". San Francisco Standard.
  29. ↑ Dylan Casey (September 13, 2019). "Making sense of this year's ADU legislation". CalHDF.
  30. 1 2 Sarah Ravani (October 11, 2023). "ADUs could be sold separately from homes under new California law". San Francisco Chronicle.
  31. ↑ Joan Lynch (April 3, 2025). "New bills could ease rules on building and student housing. What does it mean for SLO County?". The Tribune.
  32. ↑ Gene Eidelman; Ross Maguire (December 7, 2024). "How California's new ADU law transforms multifamily real estate". Fast Company.
  33. 1 2 Jean Saylor Doppenberg (December 7, 2022). "YIMBY: advocating for affordable housing". Northbay Biz.
  34. 1 2 Abigail Weinberg (September 23, 2022). "California just struck a major blow to car culture". Mother Jones.
  35. ↑ Sophia Bollag; Clare Fonstein (October 12, 2023). "Gavin Newsom signs YIMBY-backed law to fast-track homebuilding". San Francisco Chronicle.
  36. ↑ Billy Taylor (July 1, 2020). "Lawmakers push housing legislation as session ends". Larchmont Chronicle.
  37. ↑ Nick McConnell (June 20, 2024). "California YIMBY group endorses Silicon Valley billionaire's California Forever project". East Bay Times.
  38. ↑ Gabe Greschler (June 21, 2024). "YIMBYs are feuding over 'California Forever' billionaire-backed utopia in rural Bay Area". San Francisco Standard.
  39. ↑ JK Dineen (September 9, 2023). "A YIMBY dream or urban sprawl 2.0? Housing activists divided over proposed Solano County city". San Francisco Chronicle.
  40. ↑ Christopher Neely (May 20, 2026). "YIMBY movement split on who should be CA's next governor". The Real Deal.
  41. ↑ Natalie Orenstein (August 7, 2024). "Labor and tech money pouring into Bas and Bauters race for Alameda County D5 supervisor". Oaklandside.
  42. ↑ "Report: UCLA researchers find broad disparities in cost of fees, purpose, and intent". Davis Vanguard. June 14, 2024.
  43. ↑ Jonathan Vankin (July 12, 2023). "Housing First works - in Houston. Why hasn't the policy reduced homelessness in California?". California Local.
  44. ↑ Jared Brey (October 21, 2025). "YIMBYs hit a milestone in California. What's next?". Governing.
  45. ↑ Benjamin Schneider (July 3, 2025). "In California, pro-housing 'Abundance' fans rewrite an environmental landmark". Bloomberg.
  46. ↑ Stephen Hobbs (November 2, 2025). "California housing advocates throw San Francisco party. What did they celebrate?". Sacramento Bee.
  47. ↑ Laurel Rosenhall; Soumya Karlamangla; Adam Nagourney (June 30, 2025). "California Democrats aggree to roll back landmark environmental law". New York Times.
  48. ↑ Erin Baldassari (July 16, 2024). "These new California housing laws are going into effect in 2024". KQED.
  49. ↑ Henry Grabar (September 17, 2021). "You can kill single-family zoning, but you can't kill the suburbs". Slate.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:ChuchusGarden/sandbox&oldid=1359710037"