Engineer on new California housing legislation: 'If they wanted more home ownership, they'd need to work on condo and tort reform'

Kyle Kelley, an engineer at Anaconda, said that California's housing development will continue to favor rentals unless there is a shift in advocacy towards policies supporting ownership. This statement was made on the social media platform X.

"If they wanted more home ownership, they'd need to work on condo and tort reform," said Kelley. "The California system is basically only going to build rentals. It's going to happen fast if people don't figure out what to advocate for. Rather than just what they're against."

California Senate Bill 79, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener, proposes allowing mid-rise housing within half a mile of transit hubs by overriding certain local zoning laws. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the bill aims to boost housing production near transit to address the state's ongoing affordability crisis. However, some cities and lawmakers oppose the bill, arguing it strips local control and risks displacement in vulnerable neighborhoods. Despite these concerns, SB 79 passed the State Senate in May 2025 and now moves to the Assembly for consideration.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that California added over 560,000 housing units between April 2020 and January 2025, with multifamily rental projects leading this growth. Rental-focused development saw a 7% statewide increase, driven by demand in areas like San Benito County, which posted a 9% gain in housing units. In contrast, places like Marin County experienced increases barely above 1%, indicating slower growth in ownership-oriented markets.

According to IBISWorld, the U.S. apartment and condominium construction industry reached $91.8 billion in revenue in 2025, with a 3.8% annual growth rate over the past five years. In major California cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, this growth skewed toward rental units due to changing financial conditions and declining condo demand. Rising interest rates and affordability challenges have contributed to the slower pace of condo development compared to rentals.

Kelley's LinkedIn profile indicates he is a Principal Engineer at Anaconda, Inc., where he contributes to open-source data science tools such as Jupyter and IPython. He has previously worked on collaborative computing platforms and has been active in educational policy as a board member for Santa Cruz City Schools. His background spans engineering, education, and civic engagement.

Anaconda, Inc., founded in 2012 by Peter Wang and Travis Oliphant, is known for its Python-based distribution used in scientific computing. According to its official site, Anaconda supports over 45 million users worldwide and maintains tools like Conda and Jupyter. The company's mission focuses on democratizing data science and machine learning through open-source technologies.