Flanked by Bay Area elected officials and advocates from the Yes in My BackYard (YIMBY) movement, Senator Scott Wiener (D-SF) held a press event at the Daly City BART Station Friday morning to announce Senate Bill 79. If it becomes law, SB 79 will upzone near major transit stops, allowing transit agencies to be exempt from local zoning on land they own and speed-up the permitting process within a half-mile of transit.
In making the case for the bill, Wiener argued that even in the current chaotic federal context, California should do more to expedite housing construction.
“We have our own self-inflicted wounds in California,” said Wiener, noting the external challenges the state faces, but emphasizing that California can still do better for itself. “This state has made poor policy choices for many years and we’re trying to turn that around.”
The policy choices Wiener refers to are state and local restrictions that make it difficult to build new homes. California has seen population decline in recent years for a myriad of reasons, affordability being one of them. Although, it did see a rise in almost a quarter of a million residents between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 according to the census.
Specifically, SB 79 would:
- Upzone near major transit stops and stations: allow buildings up to seven stories high within a quarter mile from major transit stops and up to four stories high within a half-mile;
- Allow transit agencies to set their own zoning standards for properties they own near transit stops,
- Speed up the permitting process for projects within a half-mile from major transit stops.
This is not Senator Wiener’s first attempt to increase housing density by upzoning near transit.
In the 2018 session, he introduced SB 827, and in the 2019-2020 session he introduced SB 50. Both failed after running into significant opposition from NIMBYs fighting to maintain “local control” over zoning (e.g. suburban homeowners, the California League of Cities) and housing advocates concerned about the impact on lower-income and historically disenfranchised communities.
While Wiener has been working with a coalition of environmental organizations and YIMBY groups, outreach to affordable housing advocates and other opponents of his previous legislation has yet to begin.
At Friday’s event, Wiener argued that this newest legislation is more narrowly directed.
“SB 827 applied to every transit stop, including every bus stop…SB 50 included a category known as ‘job rich,’ big swaths of the state that didn’t have transit stops but had a concentration of jobs. This bill focuses on our highest quality transit,” said Wiener. “I hope we have more of that transit in the future.”
Other speakers from the event included Edward Wright, BART Board Director, Juslyn Manalo, Daly City Councilmember, Rashi Kesarwani, Berkeley City Councilmember, Kirsten Bladh with Streets For All, Jane Natoli with YIMBY Action, Brian Hanlon with California YIMBY, and Amanda Brown Stevens with the Greenbelt Alliance.
