Letters to the Editor: Another move by officials to raise the cost of housing in California

To the editor: Since California is writing the manual on pricing homebuyers, renters, landlords and builders out of the market, its latest effort deserves a whole chapter. Ordering cooling standards for all new housing and existing rental units will raise prices across the board and seriously decrease the housing supply.

Extended heat waves were common when I was growing up in Fresno without air conditioning in my grandmother’s home. Few schools, churches and other public places had air conditioning then. What is the rate of heat-related deaths now compared to the 1950s and ‘60s?

Now a senior, my home of 20 years does not have air conditioning, and I disconnected my furnace 10 years ago to save on my utility bill, all with no ill health consequences.

Do these elitist legislators and regulators have any idea of the cost of such upgrades? Do they care? Or do they just want to impose their standards on the rest of us?

While California’s housing shortage is already a crisis, its pricing reflects the relative value of heating, air conditioning and myriad other amenities. State legislators, whose proven record of ignoring the market is what created that crisis, will only make it worse with these kinds of directives.

Raymond Roth, Oceanside