A major piece of housing legislation cleared a big hurdle last week by winning approval in the California Senate.
The bill, SB 79, would legalize apartments within a half mile of public transit stations regardless of local zoning.
“Without housing density, it’s hard to sustain transit and give people that transportation choice,” the bill’s author, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), said on Bluesky.
The bill also allows transit agencies to build on their own land.
Wiener noted that within cities with “world class transit” like Tokyo and Singapore, agencies raise revenue by developing land around their stations, and he said the practice would help sustain California transit systems as well.
But the issue of overriding local control has Democrats and Republicans alike worried about the impact of SB 79. Two of San Diego’s state senators, who voted against the bill, echoed the concern.
“SB 79 gives land-use authority to transit agencies,” said Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) in a statement to KPBS. “Cities spend enormous time, money and energy working with their communities to determine where new housing or denser housing should be located. I did not want to subvert that local process.”
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) agreed.
“SB 79 takes away control from local communities,” Jones said in a statement. “It overrides city zoning rules and years of careful planning, forcing cities to approve big projects with no say from the people who actually live there. Local leaders know their communities best, not Sacramento bureaucrats.”
Jones’ district encompasses most of northeastern San Diego County, including Poway, Ramona, Alpine and Valley Center.
But it also includes parts of San Diego, such as Mira Mesa and University City, and other areas in the county that could be impacted by SB 79. Land-use rules around transit stations in Santee, Escondido and San Marcos would be changed to allow more density, if the bill is passed.
The bill would have a more significant impact on Blakespear’s district, with its more than 20 train stations and multiple train services.
Many of these stations are in cities with extremely high housing prices, and strict limits on construction. The zoning limits keep prices high and the neighborhoods exclusive.
Blakespear has supported housing and transit legislation in the past, including streamlining permits for accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs in the coastal zone and exempting homeless services from CEQA. She has also introduced a bill that passed last year to study revitalizing the rail corridor that runs between San Diego and Los Angeles through her district.
But when asked to choose this time, she decided local control was more important.
Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), who helped pass the bill out of the Housing Committee earlier this year, spoke on its importance on the senate floor on Tuesday.
“(The evidence) is pretty overwhelming, and has been for decades, the benefits of integrating housing with transit infrastructure,” Padilla said. “In terms of its impact on people’s mobility, which in turn impacts employability, which impacts economic opportunity, even personal, individual health and environmental quality.”
Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego), who voted for the bill, did not respond to a request for comment.
The vote on the bill was 21-13 with 18 Democrats and three Republicans in favor, and seven Democrats and six Republicans against.
The three Republicans who voted in favor were Sens. Megan Dahle (R-Redding), Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), and Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Redlands).
