Newsom campaigned on adding 3.5M homes, yet California still has long road to get there

IT’S DIFFICULT FOR housing advocates to criticize Gov. Gavin Newsom because he’s done more to boost production than any other governor in recent memory — but that’s mostly because the bar is so low. 

Measured against the goal he set for himself, Newsom’s record is less impressive. Just 13 percent of the 3.5 million homes he campaigned on building have been permitted, let alone built. He’s walked back the goal many times, settling on a new target earlier this year: Cities need to have planned a combined 2.5 million homes by 2030. So, a million fewer homes planned for, not built, and over a longer time frame.