Housing Justice Activists Clash with California Lawmakers over SB 50 by arielboone

Activists with the Oakland group Moms 4 Housing drowned out a press conference in Oakland on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 in protest of SB 50, a major housing bill by state Democrats that could advance in the California legislature this month. The bill would rezone neighborhoods near transit and job hubs across the state to allow private developers to build more multi-unit housing quickly. Some opponents, including a coalition of Bay Area tenants' rights groups and the activists from Moms 4 Housing, say the bill will speed up gentrification and push rents higher amidst a homelessness emergency.

This report was co-produced by Ariel Boone and Kate Iida for the Pacifica Evening News/KPFA Radio in Berkeley.