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3mo ago

California Legislature Sends SB 79 Transit-Housing Bill to Newsom

Newsom now weighs a narrowed transit-housing plan shaped by carve-outs, affordability set-asides, union labor terms.

The crane looms over Georgetown homes as it sits in an unused construction site.
FILE – State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, watches as the Senate votes on measure to reduce the state budget deficit at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday,, April 11, 2024.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, calls for passage of his climate bill during the Senate session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The measure, SB253, requires big companies to disclose a sweeping range of greenhouse gas emissions. Lawmakers are voting on hundreds of bills before the legislative session concludes for the year on Thursday. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Overview

  • SB 79 would upzone areas around high-capacity transit, allowing buildings up to seven stories within a quarter mile of BART or Caltrain and up to six or five stories near light rail and certain bus corridors.
  • The final bill applies only in counties with more than 15 qualifying stops, covering Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Sacramento, with Contra Costa excluded after late-session language changes.
  • Local governments can propose alternative transit-area zoning by 2026 if they retain at least half the law’s mandated density, and cities may designate certain low-resource areas for temporary exemption through 2031.
  • Projects using SB 79 must meet affordability rules of roughly 7%–13% low-income units, 25% on transit-agency land, and those above 85 feet must use union labor, while projects cannot proceed by demolishing more than two rent-controlled units.
  • The measure passed 43–19 in the Assembly and 21–8 in the Senate and awaits Newsom’s decision, with some fire-zone residents urging a veto despite a June executive order exempting fire-damaged areas; a related bill, SB 92, to close a density-bonus loophole also awaits his signature.