The bill known as ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ promotes affordable housing construction on church properties.
California churches are taking advantage of the state’s new ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ law that allows faith-based institutions to bypass some zoning regulations if they want to build affordable housing on their property.
As Ted Chen reports for NBC 4, the Inglewood First United Methodist Church “plans to transform unused classrooms to build 60 units of affordable housing.”
According to Chen, “Many churches plan to follow in the steps of Inglewood First United Methodist Church and begin to develop affordable housing within their property.” Roughly 20 Los Angeles-area congregations have expressed interest in building what could amount to 2,000 new units of housing.
The law, Senate Bill 4, was passed last year along with other bills designed to make housing more affordable in California.
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