Newsom Signs Sweeping Housing Bill Allowing Taller, Denser Housing In Alameda

SAN MATEO, CA — Despite objections from city leaders around the state who deemed it an infringement on local development control, Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday signed state legislation allowing more rapid -- and more dense -- housing projects near major public transit stops.

Senate Bill 79, introduced earlier this year by Sen. Scott Wiener, D- San Francisco, overrides local zoning standards, allowing taller and more dense housing near specific transit stops in counties that meet certain mass transit threshholds, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo.

According to California YIMBY, which backed the legislation, Orange County will not be immediately impacted because it falls short of the required number of rail stops.

The bill was originally intended to be enacted statewide, but it was narrowed through a series of amendments as it wound through the Legislature, limiting it to select counties and applying only to major transit stops -- such as subway and light rail stations and heavily used stops on major bus lines.

"All Californians deserve an affordable place to live -- close to jobs, schools, and opportunity," Newsom said in a statement announcing his decision to sign the bill. "Housing near transit means shorter commutes, lower costs, and more time with family. When we invest in housing, we're investing in people -- their chance to build a future, raise a family, and be part of a community."

Wiener called Newsom's signature a "historic step" toward addressing the state's affordable-housing crisis.

"In California, we talk a lot about where we don't want to build homes, but rarely about where we do -- until now," he said in a statement. "It's been a long road to tackle these decades-old problems, but thanks to Governor Newsom's leadership, today marks a new day for affordable housing and public transportation in California."

The legislation will allow for multi-family developments as high as nine stories directly adjacent to major transit hubs, with the height restrictions scaling downward to five stories depending on distance from the stations. It also streamlines the permitting process for projects within a half- mile of major public transit stops and allows local transit agencies such as Metro to develop greater density on properties they own.

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