{"id":485280,"date":"2026-10-05T00:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T00:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485280\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T00:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T00:48:18","slug":"newsom-signs-law-prompted-by-berkeley-housing-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485280\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom signs law prompted by Berkeley housing projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnAn architect\u2019s rendering of a 23-story housing development proposed for 2029 University Ave. Credit: Stackhouse De La Pe\u00f1a Trachtenberg Architects<\/p>\n

Two Berkeley housing projects that used a powerful state program to exempt themselves from local labor mandates<\/a> have inspired a new law barring future developments from following their playbook.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a bill<\/a> from state Sen. Jesse Arregu\u00edn requiring that large developments comply with local labor standards \u2014 such as the Berkeley ordinance Arregu\u00edn championed as mayor<\/a> that mandates builders of major projects provide apprenticeship programs and health care coverage to workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ordinance, which went into effect in 2024, was backed by unions in the building trades who argued it would provide job training to boost the construction workforce and ensure workers who do dangerous jobs have coverage if they are injured. Developers opposed it, saying the mandates add millions of dollars in new costs and can make projects too expensive to build.<\/p>\n

The companies Laconia Development and Collab Home asserted they could exempt their projects \u2014 a 23-story development at 2029 University Ave. and a 20-story building at 2425 Durant Ave., respectively \u2014 from the labor mandate because of California\u2019s \u201cdensity bonus\u201d law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That law lets developers bypass certain local regulations if they include a share of affordable housing in their project. It\u2019s commonly used to let developments exceed physical regulations such as height limits, but the law also allows builders to claim exemptions from other local requirements that might increase their costs. In addition to the health coverage and apprenticeship requirement, Collab Home also used the density bonus to exempt itself from a requirement that major projects in the Southside neighborhood<\/a> near UC Berkeley pay workers a prevailing wage.<\/p>\n

Arregu\u00edn and other supporters of Berkeley\u2019s ordinance charged that the developers were exploiting a \u201cloophole\u201d in the density bonus law to bypass the labor standards. Members of the Berkeley City Council reluctantly approved the projects<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The law Arregu\u00edn authored, SB 1383, tightens that loophole but doesn\u2019t close it entirely: It blocks developers whose projects are at least 85 feet tall from claiming density bonus exemptions from labor standards. Berkeley\u2019s mandate applied to smaller projects \u2014 those of at least 50,000 square feet \u2014 meaning many mid-size developments could continue using the bonus to avoid the city\u2019s health care and apprenticeship requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The law also won\u2019t affect the two projects that prompted it, since they have already been granted permits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 1383 ensures that increasing our housing supply does not come at the expense of worker health and safety, a good-paying job, or construction quality,\u201d Arregu\u00edn wrote in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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