City Council Opposes Bill That Would Boost Housing Near Transit

LOS ANGELES, CA — The City Council approved a resolution Tuesday opposing a state housing bill that would allow more homes to be built near major public transportation stops and on land-owned by transit agencies.

Council members voted 8-5 for a resolution opposing the bill, which is expected to be taken up by the Assembly Appropriations Committee Wednesday.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced SB 79 earlier this year. The bill, also known as the Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, would establish new zoning standards around train stations and major bus stops, allowing for multi-family homes up to seven stories high, with lower height standards extending up to half a mile away from such stops.

It would also streamline permits for homes built within a half mile of major public transit stops and allow local transit agencies such as Metro to develop greater density on their property.

But some city council members argued the law would be an overreach and pose a threat to community voices. According to the city's resolution, elected officials would support the bill if amended to exempt cities with compliant housing plans.

"We need more housing, and it needs to be housing that people can actually afford," Councilwoman Traci Park, representing the Eleventh Council District that encompasses Westside communities such as Pacific Palisades, said. "But that doesn't mean that we can be reckless about where and how we build a one-size-fits-all mandate from Sacramento."

Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents the 14th District, encompassing downtown and northeast L.A. neighborhoods such as Skid Row, Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights, and El Sereno, among others, agreed with Park and said the issue was about maintaining local control over land use. If passed in its current for, the bill could have major implications for her district, according to Juardo.

"As drafted, this policy paints a broad brush on a neighborhood without regard to equity, and the history of marginalization and disinvestment,' she said'

Council members Jurado, Park, Rodriguez, Lee, Heather Hutt, Tim McOsker, Imelda Padilla and Katy Yaroslavsky voted in favor of the resolution to oppose SB 79.

"I want housing density, but I don't believe that SB 79 in its current form gets us there in a way that is smart or responsible," Yaroslavsky said. He represents the Fifth District, where three new stations are expected to open as part of Metro's D (Purple) Line Extension Project in West L.A.

According to those council members, the city is more than capable of boosting housing development in particular with new tools in place through its Housing Element and Citywide Housing Incentive Program.

The planning document and program are intended to help the city meet a mandate of creating more than 456,000 new housing units by 2029, with approximately 185,000 of those units designated for affordable housing.

"We have worked hard to create housing solutions that make sense for Los Angeles," Lee said. "In the San Fernando Valley, that means years of community engagement to map out where new housing makes sense — and where it doesn't. The people of Los Angeles deserve to have a say in how their city grows."

Meanwhile, council members Eunisses Hernandez, Curren Price, Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted against the resolution.

Raman, who is the chair of the council's Housing and Homelessness Committee, explained she did not support SB 79 in its totality, but emphasized the city's housing crisis is too dire "for us not to engage constructively with this bill and its goals."

"If I thought that this body was acting in good faith to address our housing crisis, I would support this reso, but I don't think that we are," Raman said. "We have not demonstrated that in the past."

According to the councilwoman, in the last few months the city has tried to stop multiple affordable housing projects, and has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars in court trying to defend the city's actions.

"We are making efforts to gut and narrow successful programs like ED 1 instead of expanding them overall," Raman said. "We talk a lot about our housing crisis on this body, but our actions have not met the moment, and the only times that they have met this moment are when Sacramento forces us to do something, as they did through the Housing Element, which was a mandate from Sacramento."

Councilman Soto-Martinez echoed Raman's message, adding "There are council districts and council members who do not want to build density in their own district."

"If you want the solution to these issues, the homelessness, permanent supportive housing sites, then build them in your district and don't say vulnerable communities will be affected when you are stopping projects yourself."

State Sen. Wiener's office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Other jurisdictions outside of California such as Colorado, Utah and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority mandate dense housing near transit.

Council members Adrian Nazarian and Bob Blumenfield were absent during the vote.

City News Service