The affordability crisis, California style

December 13, 2025

Andy Caldwell

OPINION by ANDY CALDWELL

I have to laugh at New Yorkers, among others, whose concern over the affordability crisis, prompted them to elect a socialist. The point here is that government is nearly entirely responsible for the affordability crises, and the only promise a socialist like Mamdani will deliver on is more government.

Speaking of affordability, the average price of a home in California is now $900,000, nearly double the national average of $462,000. Gasoline and utilities are also inordinately high.

Why is that? It is not that the cost of any of these things differs from one state to another, it is California government that is so expensive.

Specifically, government rules, fees, and regulations vs what used to be called “progress.” Along with the obfuscation and outright confiscations (Coastal Commission anyone?), of private property and development rights via our purposefully convoluted land use process, it is nearly impossible to build so-called affordable housing except that which has been subsidized, typically by way of costly exactions on other homes via so-called inclusionary housing schemes.

So, most people in California, instead of being able to build generational wealth by owning property, are instead one paycheck away from being homeless. This is a direct consequence of California- democratic-party-led government writ large because they have been in total control of our state for decades.

Having said that, democrats and bureaucrats are now vainly attempting to override two precepts at play regarding the affordability of housing, the law of supply and demand, along with the maxim that time is money.

Unfortunately, our state legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom have created a cure that is worse than the disease as it affects affordability, for they are sacrificing livability for faux affordability.

The state’s efforts to achieve affordable housing has included streamlining permits for high-density housing that is only partially affordable because, among other things, the developer won’t have to spend money to set aside land for parking. Who needs a place to park, right? Or a space to charge their mandated electric vehicle?

Then we have the notorious builder’s remedy that created a loophole for developers to break a few of the meaningful rules the south county has had in place for over 100 years, thanks to one Pearl Chase. The so-called remedy is triggered if a jurisdiction submitted its plans to the state to facilitate building more houses past the deadline to do so.

The two most egregious examples of this? The eight-story building that could serve as a backdrop to the Santa Barbara Mission or worse, the 18-story monstrosity slated for Carpinteria. You can blame Monique Limon and Greg Hart, among other dems, for not having any semblance of balance between livable and affordable communities as it pertains to these excesses.

Another huge problem? Whereas, our local progressives are loath to build along the Gaviota Coast, the same impediments that give them that control, are also hampering both Santa Maria and Lompoc from being able to expand their city boundaries in a sensible manner. That is, there is an obfuscatory governmental entity known as LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, that governs the ability to expand the boundaries of jurisdictions, ala, incorporation, or growth by annexing more land.

The rules in place are supposed to foment something called “revenue neutrality”, but instead the rules are an affordability-killer.

In our case, greedy and bloated Santa Barbara County provides some services to all residents of the county, including those who live in incorporated cities, so the county wants to get as much money as they can anytime a boundary adjustment could shift revenue away from its coffers. This is one of the things crippling our ability to grow in a reasonable and affordable manner.

For instance, in 2001, members of the “Goleta NOW!” organization negotiated an agreement with the County of Santa Barbara that allocated 50% of Goleta’s property taxes and 30% of Goleta’s sales taxes to the county in perpetuity. An additional 20% of Goleta’s sales taxes and 40% of Goleta’s Transient Occupancy Tax (“Bed Taxes”) would be allocated to the county for ten years.

This amount of extortion would bury most communities’ ability to incorporate or expand.

In Santa Maria, for instance, the county is in negotiations with LAFCO over two annexations. The first is annexing ag land on the east side of the freeway just south of Main Street for new development. The second is the Richard’s Ranch project in Orcutt slated for infill development.

In both cases, the city is forced to negotiate with the county via LAFCO for revenue neutrality agreements which is proving to be financially detrimental to the purpose of creating more housing, including presumably, more affordable housing. Because, again, time is money for developers, and cities can only afford to give so much money to the county.

Because it takes years to get through the regularly tortuous land use process, not to mention having to add LAFCO to the mix, most developers will take a pass on building more housing or any other type of development here.

Unfortunately, Supervisor Bob Nelson, otherwise a reliable conservative, who sits on the LAFCO board, is holding Santa Maria’s feet over a fire as it relates to these annexations. That’s because he doesn’t want Richard’s Ranch annexed to the city.

Accordingly, he is making life difficult for Santa Maria as it affects their ability to negotiate for revenue neutrality for the project near Main Street. Nelson is under a delusion that Richard’s Ranch and other such projects could enable Orcutt to eventually incorporate, but he has forgotten what happened to Goleta, as he himself tightens the thumbscrews on Santa Maria, which is part of his supervisorial district by the way!  Go figure.

In addition to the law of supply and demand, and the principle that time is money, there is also the timeless maxim that “what goes around comes around.” And, unfortunately, in California, what goes and comes around, like clockwork, is more government than we can afford. There is no other explanation as to why homes here are nearly twice the nation’s average price.

Andy Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB in Santa Barbara County and host of The Andy Caldwell Radio Show, weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on  FM 98.5, FM 99.5, AM 1240, AM 1290 and FM 96.9.