California's Manmade Housing Crisis: A Legendary Land-Use Attorney on a Broken System

State of Gold

Guest:

Jennifer Hernandez – Partner, Holland & Knight

Guest Bio

Jennifer Hernandez is a legendary land use and environmental attorney at Holland & Knight, with over 30 years of experience leading legal battles for housing, equity, and environmental justice across California. Known for her fearless critique of the state’s broken regulatory system, she has become a powerful voice in the fight to reform CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act), and dismantle the bureaucratic gridlock strangling housing development in California.

She’s represented some of the state’s largest infrastructure and redevelopment projects, while also advocating for affordable housing in working-class communities. Jennifer’s insights have been featured in The New York Times, CalMatters, and academic journals, and she’s considered one of California’s most influential experts on land use law and environmental policy.

Show Summary

Why does it cost four times more to build affordable housing in California than in places like Colorado or Texas? In this episode, attorney and housing advocate Jennifer Hernandez joins Jon Slavet to break down how the environmental movement, trial lawyers, and Sacramento’s bureaucratic bloat have created a man-made crisis that’s crushing the working-class and working poor of California.

From exposing how CEQA has become a tool for extortion, to unpacking the rise of “procedural fetishism,” Jennifer shares how well-intended policies have been weaponized to block housing, bankrupt cities, and trap families in poverty — all while benefiting wealthy NIMBYs and entrenched special interests. This episode pulls no punches and offers real, actionable ideas for restoring affordability and restoring the California Dream.

Chapters

00:00 – California’s Housing Crisis Is Manmade

01:27 – Meet Jennifer Hernandez: Land Use Attorney & Reformer

03:15 – Rage, Betrayal, and the War on Working-Class Californians

05:31 – How CEQA Became a Hydra Blocking Housing

08:48 – Who’s Really Benefiting from Blocking Housing?

10:43 – Bureaucratic Bloat and 58,000 New State Employees

13:24 – CEQA as Extortion: The Lawsuits That Never End

15:39 – Why There Are No Cranes in San Francisco

17:44 – NIMBYism with an Environmental Halo

20:31 – Why These Policies Are Anti-Union and Anti-Minority

22:11 – The Masks of Climate Doom and “Equality of Outcome”

24:24 – The Real Fix: Comply with the Law, Then Build

26:31 – The Case for Ending Lawsuit Abuse in Housing

28:49 – RAND Study: 4 Units in CO = 1 in CA

31:03 – Why Fire-Prone Logic is Often Political Theater

33:25 – NIMBY Environmentalism as Class Warfare

34:31 – The One Executive Order That Could Change Everything

36:15 – Jennifer’s Most Admired CA Leader (Hint: It’s Not Newsom)

37:19 – California’s Climate Strategy: A Fraudulent Metric?

38:28 – Final Thoughts on What’s Broken — and What’s Next

Connect with Jennifer

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jhernandezca?_t=ZP-8xI5UD0ECzv&_r=1
• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-hernandez-699b504/
• Website: https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/h/hernandez-jennifer-l

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