Entries by Christopher Calton

Yes, in God’s Backyard—Hawaii Together

A new law in California — called the ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ law — makes it easier for churches and other religious institutions to build housing on their properties. Chris Calton, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Oakland, California-based Independent Institute, joins host Keli‘i Akina of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to talk about that and other zoning reforms that the Golden State has recently adopted — and that Hawai’i policymakers should consider.

The Benefits of SB-4 Should Be Extended to All Californians to Help Ease the Housing Shortage

California’s housing crisis has residents cheering the recent passage of state Sen. Scott Weiner’s (D–San Francisco) Senate Bill 4, and not without reason. The bill seeks to make it easier to build affordable homes on land owned by religious and nonprofit higher-education institutions, leading the bill’s supporters to nickname it the “YIGBY” bill—“Yes in God’s Backyard.”