People's Park Affair Could Lead to Legislation - Part 3

Yet another prediction that the legislature will ride to the rescue regarding the UC-Berkeley/People's Park stalemate appears in the LA Times. (Yesterday, we noted that the NY Times had picked up the story.) Apparently, something may be unveiled at the Regents, maybe today or tomorrow. From the LA Times:

As California’s student housing crisis deepens, plans to build more campus apartments and dorms are facing myriad roadblocks that could delay construction of thousands of urgently needed beds across the state’s three public higher education systems. Litigation blocking student housing projects, a potential delay in state funding and escalating construction and labor costs are posing formidable challenges to easing what students say is one of their most pressing needs. 

An estimated 417,000 students lack stable places to sleep, according to surveys conducted across the three systems, representing about 5% of undergraduates at the University of California, 10% at California State University and 20% at California Community Colleges. At the same time, student activists say their housing needs are growing as inflation drives up rents and competition increases for apartments particularly in the pricey communities where many UC campuses are located, including Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, La Jolla, Westwood and Berkeley.

The issue will be highlighted this week in several public forums, including the UC Board of Regents meeting, a state Assembly budget hearing and the unveiling of proposed state legislation, “the Student Housing Crisis Act of 2023,” to ease barriers to construction near campuses...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-14/fixing-californias-student-housing-crisis-faces-roadblocks.