Implementing SB 79 Part II- Solano Beach

Over the next two weeks, we are partnering with BuildSD and Strongtowns Oceanside on a multi-part series on SB79 implementation in San Diego County. Read part 1, here. – DN

On June 18, 2026, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) released a draft map for the implementation of 2025’s Senate Bill 79 introduced by Scott Wiener (D-SF) in San Diego County. SB 79 upzones the areas surrounding qualifying bus and rail transit stops. One notable stop missing from this map is Solana Beach Station. Solana Beach, governed by SANDAG Board Chair Lesa Heebner, is a small coastal town of roughly 12,000 people along the former Highway 101 corridor in North County.

However, the Solana Beach station should be a Tier 2 stop, per the provisions of SB 79.

Solana Beach Station is served by every COASTER trip and nearly every Pacific Surfliner trip. Monday through Thursday, there are 15 round-trips on COASTER, with an additional round-trip on Fridays. On Sundays, there are 10 round-trips on COASTER, with an additional round-trip on Saturdays. The Pacific Surfliner provides a consistent 13 daily round-trips all week. Additionally, future service expansions are planned for both services, and funded for the Pacific Surfliner. Thus, the minimum amount of daily train traffic on weekdays is 56 trips. Per SANDAG’s own methodology, and guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the Pacific Surfliner is to be considered commuter rail for purposes of SB 79 implementation. Thus, Solana Beach easily clears the Tier 2 rail service requirement of 48 daily trips. Additionally, North County Transit-San Diego Railroad bus route 101 provides service to the station every half hour, although this does not create SB 79 eligibility alone.

SANDAG appears to not combine the frequencies of commuter rail services, which would violate the HCD guidance. SANDAG has not upgraded Oceanside Transit Center from a Tier 2 transit stop to Tier 1, despite it being served by SPRINTER, COASTER, Orange County Line, and Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains, as well as the Pacific Surfliner. This far exceeds the 72 daily trains required for Tier 1, and thus the same logic is likely behind the exclusion of the Solana Beach station.

However, there are several ways to delay SB 79 in a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Zone, although none would exempt the station from SB 79. The most notable exemptions and delays used around the state have been for Low Resource Areas, High Fire Severity Zones, and properties that fall within the TOD Zone but are inaccessible to pedestrians within a 1 mile walk from the station among others. None of these exemptions or delays apply to the City of Solana Beach.

Solana Beach, as a city with less than 35,000 people, is not eligible for the half-mile TOD Zone, only the quarter-mile zone. This was a change made to the SB 79 bill text specifically so smaller cities did not have a significant portion of their area taken up by a TOD area.

Solana Beach does still have the option to make a TOD alternative plan to shift density around within the zone. However, with the clock running out on July 1st, this is highly unlikely.

Low Resource Areas

Solana Beach has no Low Resource Areas within their SB 79 zone, even if the city did they would have to qualify for the delay. To qualify, Solana Beach needs to have already zoned at least 50% of what SB 79 would allow within their TOD area. Solana Beach is not close to this number. They also have no Low Resource Areas in the entire city.

High Fire Severity Zones

High Fire Severity Zones allow for the delay or exemption of a parcel from a SB 79 plan under a TOD Alternative Plan. However, there are no High Fire Severity Zones within the Solana Beach station’s TOD zone.

One Mile Walk

SB 79 allows cities to exempt areas within the half-mile and quarter-mile radius of the station. Additionally parcels further than a 1 mile walk from the station are eligible for exemption. Most cities have used this exemption. The Solana Beach station lacks a half mile radius due to the city’s population being under 35,000. Therefore no eligible parcels are outside of a 1 mile walk while still being within the quarter-mile radius. 

Historic Districts

While SB 79 does allow for cities to exempt historic buildings and shift density in places, Solana Beach from our research has no declared historic zones. They are able to exempt certain historic buildings that are recognized at the municipal or state level but not buildings recognized as historic on the federal level. But not whole districts if the historic district covers greater than 10% of a Stations TOD zone. Additionally to be exempted a site must have been declared historic prior to January 1st 2025. Much of Solana Beach’s development occurred post-1950, therefore very few structures in the city are likely to be considered historic. Much of the city’s primary shopping district grew out of World War II-era “quonset” huts; prefabricated steel buildings installed in the 1940s.

Sea Level Rise

Sites within a station’s TOD zone can be eligible for exemption or delay by a local government if a site is “vulnerable to one foot of sea level rise, as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ocean Protection Council, the United States Geological Survey, the University of California, or a local government’s coastal hazards vulnerability assessment.” No sites in Solana Beach are eligible for exemption or delay based off of the NOAA map, however we are not certain if another source’s map may apply to a limited number of parcels.

The absence of Solana Beach Station as a qualifying transit stop in SANDAG’s draft SB 79 map was a surprise to us and many others. We believe this is incorrect, and that Solana Beach Station does in fact qualify as a Tier 2 station under SB 79. HCD guidance has made it clear that the Pacific Surfliner is considered a commuter rail service. When combined with COASTER service, the Solana Beach station easily clears the threshold required for a SB 79 Tier 2 transit stop.