Housing reforms will help state tackle living costs. Berkeley might show us how

Nowhere is this failure more glaring than in housing, and nowhere is that more evident than in California. High rents, unaffordable home prices and a devastating homeless crisis are not accidental — they are the result of decades of restrictive zoning and a refusal to adapt.

Berkeley is poised to break this cycle. Once the birthplace of restrictive single-family zoning, the city is now leading the charge to permit new housing in every neighborhood.

In 2019, when I was newly elected to the Berkeley City Council and full of energy and naivete, I wanted to dive straight into major zoning reforms. My colleague at the time, Lori Droste, wisely urged patience. If we wanted this to work, we would have to do it right.

Together we introduced and passed the “missing middle” housing initiative, followed by a resolution committing to end exclusionary zoning citywide. After years of work, the Berkeley City Council will assess the final “missing middle” zoning reforms in the new year.

These reforms go far beyond eliminating single-family zoning. If adopted, multiunit housing will be allowed in almost every neighborhood, excluding those at the highest wildfire risk. Streamlining approvals will cut delays and uncertainty by shifting decisions to staff review. Height limits will rise, setbacks shrink and density and lot coverage allowances will increase.

Imagine if these policies were adopted across the Bay Area and beyond.

These reforms represent a seismic shift toward a more equitable housing future. Permitting multifamily housing in historically exclusive neighborhoods is key to reversing the legacy of residential segregation. By expanding housing supply in transit-rich job centers like Berkeley, we can enable more people to live close to work, reducing emissions and advancing our climate goals.

The city is finally on the cusp of major reform, but progress doesn’t happen quietly.

At an October community meeting for this rezoning effort, tensions boiled over when a housing opponent stormed the stage, attempting to grab the microphone from Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani.

There is a chaos caucus in our politics. It’s what prompted my exit from elected office and the mayor’s race earlier this year. The seriousness of our elected leaders can be measured by whether they think the obstructionists need to be pandered to or defeated. But make no mistake — for all their noise, they are the fringe.

The recent Berkeley mayoral election underscored this reality. Adena Ishii, an outsider candidate with no City Hall experience, pulled off a historic upset by running on an unambiguous pro-housing platform. Her victory reflects the growing consensus on housing in a city long known for its resistance to growth.

For too long, California leaders tiptoed around the housing crisis. It’s politically fraught. The obstacles to change tend to be other “progressive” Democrats, or their donors. But the stakes are too high to ignore.

Housing shortages aren’t just a local issue — they undermine the very principles of economic opportunity and social justice that Democrats claim to stand for.

Berkeley’s example offers a road map for other cities in California. Every neighborhood can do its part to tackle the housing crisis, from high-rises in the urban core to new multifamily housing in our historically single-family neighborhoods.

If California leaders fail to address housing affordability with bold, actionable policies, they risk alienating the very people they swore an oath to serve. Status-quo housing policies will continue to price families out of California.

It’s time for Democrats to get real on housing. It has taken years, but Berkeley may finally show us how.

Rigel Robinson is a former member of the Berkeley City Council. He wrote this for CalMatters.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.