FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2025

Contact: Chris Jonsmyr

Chris.Jonsmyr@asm.ca.gov

(619) 800-2080

Assemblymember Alvarez’s AB 357 & AB 610, Bills to Expedite the Construction of Affordable Housing Pass the Assembly

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego) announced today that Assembly Bill 357, the Student & Faculty Housing Success Act, an AB 610, the Housing Constraints Accountability Act passed the Assembly yesterday afternoon.

The two key bills are critical components of a 22-bill housing package aimed to address the state’s severe housing shortage by cutting bureaucratic delays and closing legal loopholes.

With California facing a deficit of 2.5 million homes—driving unaffordability for families, workers, and students—the bills tackle systemic barriers slowing construction.

“Housing is the biggest challenge facing Californians because past leaders have made it increasingly difficult to build housing,” said Alvarez. “These bills cut through bureaucratic delay and legal loopholes to ensure we build housing faster, smarter, and more fairly. AB 357 will unlock desperately needed student and faculty homes, while AB 610 holds local governments accountable to their housing commitments. This is how we begin to turn the tide on the housing crisis.”

The bills align with Assembly housing leaders’ mission to slash red tape and diminish the time it takes to get housing approved and built. “AB 610 helps keep cities accountable to the housing plans they’ve already committed to. It stops last-minute changes that slow down or block urgently needed housing — and brings predictability to a process that too often changes midstream. We appreciate Assemblymember Alvarez’s leadership in advancing real solutions to California’s housing crisis,” said the California Building Industry Association.

While AB 357 requires an unprecedented 90-day approval for housing permits from the California Coastal Commission. “The housing crisis affects the lives and educational outcomes of millions of students across our state. This is particularly true at California’s coastal campuses, where on-campus housing is limited and off-campus housing is exorbitantly expensive. By streamlining Coastal Commission review of student housing built by public universities in the Coastal Zone, AB 357 is a first step towards reducing the burden of high housing costs for students studying near the coast,” said Kate Rodgers Co-Chair of Students HOMES Coalition “This bill keeps in place essential environmental review, but implements commonsense reform to ensure that new student housing developments do not experience needless delays.”

Both bills enjoy bipartisan backing, reflecting housing’s status as a nonpartisan priority.  

The bills now move to the State Senate for further consideration. You can read more about them and other legislation authored by Assemblymember Alvarez’s on his website.

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The 80th Assembly District includes the communities of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Lincoln Acres, Bonita, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, along with the cities of Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach.

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