California Bill Aims to Fast Track Office-to-Housing Conversions in Downtown Areas

California cities could see more housing in downtown areas through a recently proposed bill that would streamline approvals of office-to-housing conversions, according to a recent announcement by the legislator who introduced it. “While the demand for living downtown is at an all-time high, many urban centers simply lack the available housing. If we are serious about jump-starting the economic engine of our cities, we need to remove the red tape that makes office-to-housing conversions nearly impossible,” Assemblyman Matt Haney, a Democrat from San Francisco, said at the May 6 unveiling of the proposed bill. Under Assembly Bill 3068, projects that would reuse buildings for purposes other than their original design, known as “adaptive reuse projects,” could receive streamlined approval  so long as certain conditions are met. To qualify, the developer must offer some of the units as affordable for low-income families, subsidized by the state, and must preserve the physical characteristics of historic buildings....