[5][6][7] If the locality does not meet its pro-rated RHNA goals, then certain projects can use a streamlined approval process over the next half-cycle.

[12] The problem has worsened following the Great Recession as housing development fell to 40,000 units in 2009 and has not reached pre-recession levels.

The state’s high rent prices have translated into increased homelessness, more households spending half their income on housing, and an exodus of low and middle income households leaving to states with lower cost of living.

Wiener introduced SB 35 to increase housing supply and stabilize or decrease home prices.

"SB 35 sets clear and reasonable standards to ensure that all communities are part of the solution by creating housing for our growing population.

[19] The League of California Cities and many municipal governments opposed SB 35 for imposing state control over local planning rules.

[8] City governments opposing SB 35 include: Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Encinitas, Palm Desert, Vallejo, San Luis Obispo, Huntington Beach, and Walnut Creek.

[22] As of November 2019, officials had approved more than 6,000 homes under SB 35, including 4,700 in the Bay Area and 1,600 in Southern California.

[22] The project will include retail and 2 million square feet of office space, and 2,402 total units of housing.

[22] In 2021 AB1174 was signed into law, which gives projects (like Vallco) using the special approval of SB35 more time to start construction to compensate for delays caused by lawsuits.

In particular, SB 423 included a legislative finding that affordable housing is a statewide concern instead of a municipal concern, and expanded SB 35's amendments of Government Code Section 65913.4 to apply to all cities, including charter cities.