As California's housing crisis increasingly shapes the state's political agenda, gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton are advancing sharply different visions for where new housing should be built and how state leaders should accelerate development.

Hilton wants to build 10 new cities, with counties “bidding to host the construction” of the cities, to make the state more affordable.

Becerra would declare California’s housing shortage a state of emergency and direct his administration to identify ways to reduce the cost of building.

Both candidates have acknowledged that fees and approval and permitting delays contribute to the high costs of building new housing in the state but argue that there is more to the problem. 

“We need to stop forcing apartment buildings into suburban areas and having all those battles between NIMBYs and YIMBYs, when we have got so much space that we could be building in, in California,” Hilton said during a CNN candidate forum at the end of September.

Hilton outlined a program that would offer municipalities the opportunity to participate, which he said would reduce pushback because of the chance to opt out. He imagines each new city built around a job center, such as a major university, trade school or research center, according to his website. 

The state’s hot-button environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act, also gets attention from Hilton, who has proposed changing it so that housing projects cannot be held up by private lawsuits filed under CEQA. The transit-oriented development law Senate Bill 79 is also a target for Hilton, who pushes back on the idea of top-down mandates from the state about what cities should be able to build and where. 

Hilton also wants to focus on building single-family homes and helping first-time homebuyers. He would cap the fees on new single-family homes at $50K, a substantial savings compared to the $200K he said is added to the cost of each due to government fees. 

“On my first day I will require my administration to identify cost reductions that can be made administratively and legislatively, and will work with the Legislature to comprehensively reform fees statewide,” according to his campaign website. 

Becerra has said he would build on the gains of SB 79 by “seeking to end exclusionary zoning around more types of transit and in high-opportunity areas.”

He also expressed support for laws that allow for the creation of traditionally lower-cost “missing middle” ownership options like duplexes and condos. 

Becerra also said he would continue to hold California cities accountable for not building or planning to build enough housing, something he did when he was the state’s attorney general. 

Becerra also endorsed Proposition 37, a $25B down payment assistance program, and Proposition 1, an $11.3B affordable housing bond.

The majority of Proposition 1 funds, $7.2B, would go toward the purchase, construction or renovation of rental housing through low-interest loans to buyers and developers in exchange for setting aside some units in the projects as income-restricted for low-income households.

Funds could also be used to build supportive housing for people transitioning out of homelessness, according to a report from the state Legislative Analyst's Office.