It doesn’t happen often in politics, but sometimes we get the right outcome despite long odds and low expectations. Senate Bill 79, which encourages high-density housing near major transit hubs in Sacramento and other California cities, is a prime example.
In an interview with Inside, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sponsor of several impactful housing bills in recent years, admits he was lukewarm about SB 79 earlier this year.
“We have done a lot of different housing work over the years, and it’s been fantastic,” Wiener says. “But the idea of rezoning around transit is a very tough one politically because so many cities have zoned for single-family homes around the highest quality transit. And that’s just not sustainable for housing or for these (transit) systems.”
Wiener sponsored a more sweeping transit-oriented development bill in 2018, but it died in committee. A second bill failed after criticism from local governments that resent the state overriding local zoning decisions.
When Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY, a pro-housing group that aligns with Wiener, invited the senator to try again, Wiener hesitated before moving forward.
“I was apprehensive at first because it was so intense last time,” he says.
This year’s bill was amended more than a dozen times. Wiener narrowed its scope to apply only to urban areas. He staggered the effective date for different locations, depending on local planning cycles. The bill passed on bipartisan votes during the session’s final hours.
“This bill cleared every legislative threshold by the bare minimum number of votes,” Hanlon tells me. “It was never easy but the temperature had been turned down somewhat from the prior attempts and it’s a new Legislature.”
The bill establishes tiered zoning standards that allow six- to nine-story buildings in areas closest to major transit stops, with lower density housing for areas farther away. SB 79 also lets transit agencies develop land they own, a potential revenue source.
“You won’t see a building boom take effect immediately,” Hanlon says. “But over the next 10 years or so this will have a major impact.”
In a statement after the final vote, Wiener said: “Building more homes in our most sustainable locations is the key to tackling the affordability crisis and locking in California’s success for many years to come. Decades of overly restrictive policies have driven housing costs to astronomical levels, forcing millions of people away from jobs and transit and into long commutes from the suburbs.
“Many are being forced out of the state entirely. It has been a long road to tackling these decades-old problems, but today’s vote is a dramatic step forward to undo these decades of harm, reduce our most severe costs, and slash traffic congestion and air pollution in our state.”
With millions of tax dollars invested in public transit, it makes sense to have more housing near transit hubs so people can get around without a car.
As a bonus, SB 79 provides a civics lesson for anyone frustrated with the slow pace of political progress.
“When I talk to younger people about their frustrations with the political system,” Wiener says, “they are sort of very clear-eyed about what changes need to happen to make things better, but they get really frustrated when it keeps not happening. And what I say to them is the secret to success in politics is to build a strong and durable movement and be willing to fall on your face and then just get right back up again.
“You might feel like you’re banging your head against the wall, but if you keep banging your head against the wall long enough, eventually you will break through the wall.”
Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
