{"id":12769,"date":"2025-10-19T14:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12769\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T14:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:15:17","slug":"a-historic-housing-bill-is-on-newsoms-desk-cities-are-scrambling-to-figure-out-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12769\/","title":{"rendered":"A historic housing bill is on Newsom’s desk. Cities are scrambling to figure out how it works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Brendon Gerisch and his wife searched for a new home, they knew they wanted something with a little privacy \u2014 a backyard, some fully grown trees, less crowded surroundings.<\/p>\n

The couple thought they found their \u201cforever home\u201d in L.A.\u2019s Westchester neighborhood, buying a four-bedroom in 2018 on a quiet street with one-story houses.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s not so sure. Landmark legislation now on Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s desk would \u201cupzone\u201d his and scores of other neighborhoods across California, allowing the construction of residential buildings as tall as nine stories, depending on how close they are to a rail station.<\/p>\n

State Senate Bill 79, one of the most significant pieces of housing legislation in decades, seeks to address California\u2019s housing crisis by boosting production near public transit stops \u2014 mostly rail but also some buses \u2014 in Southern California, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. Newsom has not yet announced whether he will sign the bill. <\/p>\n

But the scramble is already on as homeowners, real estate developers, renters\u2019 rights groups and even politicians try to figure out how SB 79, and the sweeping increase in real estate development that it promises, would affect their homes, neighborhoods and cities.<\/p>\n

\"Brendon <\/p>\n

Brendon Gerisch, 46, stands outside his home in Westchester, half a mile from a Metro K Line station. He is worried a state bill will bring five- and six-story residential buildings to his neighborhood.<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Gerisch, a 46-year-old sales executive, isn\u2019t sure whether he and his family will stay put. SB 79 would allow five-story residential buildings on his and other nearby streets, which sit within a half-mile of a Metro K Line light rail station.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been blindsided,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of us were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under SB 79, developers would be permitted to build up to nine-story residential buildings adjacent to subway stops, seven stories within a quarter-mile of them and six stories within a half-mile \u2014 overriding local planning and zoning rules.<\/p>\n

The bill would also allow residential buildings that reach five to eight stories near light rail and dedicated bus lanes, depending on how close a piece of property is to a particular station or bus stop.<\/p>\n

To know whether a piece of property might be covered by SB 79, supporters and opponents started by drawing a half-mile radius around subway stations, light rail platforms and dedicated busway stops.<\/p>\n

Transit hubs are being targeted for taller, denser\u00a0housing<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 79 would override local zoning laws, allowing buildings of five to nine stories in areas close to many public transit stops in Los Angeles, according to the city\u2019s preliminary analysis. Still, some properties would be eligible for exemptions or a multi-year\u00a0delay.<\/p>\n

Distance from transit hub<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dept. of City Planning<\/p>\n

Sean Greene LOS ANGELES TIMES<\/p>\n

But SB 79 is also loaded up with exemptions, deferrals and carve-outs, some of them the product of the scramble to eke out the votes in the Legislature, complicating the effort to understand the bill\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n

Some critics are up in arms over what they call the \u201cBeverly Hills carve-out.\u201d In the final days of the legislative session, backers of the bill scaled back the amount of land targeted by SB 79 in cities with a population below 35,000, such as Beverly Hills and South Pasadena.<\/p>\n

In addition, SB 79 would not apply to apartment buildings with three or more units if they are regulated by a city\u2019s or county\u2019s rent stabilization ordinance, which places limits on yearly rent increases. That provision was added to reduce the potential for displacement of renters.<\/p>\n

Cities can also seek a delay in the implementation of SB 79 for properties in very high fire hazard severity zones<\/a>, whose boundaries are established by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.<\/p>\n

The complex web of rules and exceptions has made it extraordinarily difficult for the average citizen to know which properties will ultimately be covered by SB 79 and which will not, said Cindy Chvatal, a co-founder of United Neighbors, a statewide coalition of community groups that fiercely oppose the bill.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers \u201chave an obligation to let their citizens and constituents know the impacts of a bill before it passes,\u201d she said. \u201cThey never came up with a map before they voted. And we still don\u2019t have an accurate map right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A Metro E Line train passes Jefferson and La Cienega boulevards in 2020.<\/p>\n

(Mel Melcon \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Erik Mebust, spokesperson for state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a champion of the bill, pushed back on those assertions, saying his office showed legislators maps \u201cat various points\u201d in the deliberations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave our best approximation to the lawmakers, and they made their decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mebust acknowledged that SB 79 has been \u201cincredibly challenging to visualize.\u201d For example, he said, a city can exempt a particular property that is half a mile from a transit station as the crow flies, but has physical barriers \u2014 railroad tracks, freeways \u2014 that actually make it more than a mile away on foot.<\/p>\n

In Los Angeles, planning officials recently published a draft map<\/a> showing the places that they believe would be upzoned under SB 79. But they cautioned that the online tool is for \u201cexploratory purposes only\u201d \u2014 and that a binding eligibility map will eventually be published by the Southern California Assn. of Governments.<\/p>\n

Supporters of SB 79 said they would have preferred to see it apply to a much greater number of transit stops, and more quickly. But the compromises that scaled it back are the reason the bill passed, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 79 passed by the skin of its teeth,\u201d said Leora Tanjuatco Ross, California director for YIMBY Action, which helped push the bill through the Legislature. \u201cThis is the most aggressive bill we could\u2019ve passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

SB 79, introduced this year, applies only to counties with at least 15 passenger rail stations. That amendment instantly narrowed the bill\u2019s scope from 58 counties to just eight: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sacramento.<\/p>\n

The biggest impact will probably be felt in Los Angeles, which has an estimated 150 transit stops covered by the bill, according to the city\u2019s preliminary assessment.<\/p>\n

In the San Fernando Valley, SB 79 would bring much taller, denser apartment buildings to neighborhoods near the G Line, previously known as the Orange Line busway. It probably would upzone single-family neighborhoods in Arleta, Panorama City and other communities that abut a north-south rail line being built along Van Nuys Boulevard.<\/p>\n

On the Westside, the bill would upzone areas not just around the D Line subway, but also bus rapid transit stops planned between Venice and Los Angeles International Airport, according to the city\u2019s draft map. Beyond that, the bill targets existing or future transit stops in Hollywood, South L.A., the Eastside and other locations, the city\u2019s analysis states.<\/p>\n

Matt Lewis, a spokesperson for California YIMBY, one of the bill\u2019s sponsors, said he empathizes with homeowners wishing their neighborhoods would stay the same. But he argued that the issues SB 79 seeks to address \u2014 climate change and a housing crisis \u2014 are far more urgent worries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your home is close to a transit stop, you\u2019re getting exclusive access to a publicly funded amenity that needs to be accessible to more people,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only way to get that access is building more houses by transit stops.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move to override local zoning has infuriated many city leaders in Southern California, where single-family housing and car-oriented lifestyles have reigned for decades. In Los Angeles, some said they already submitted a detailed plan for housing production \u2014 one that worked with, not against, local communities.<\/p>\n

In August, the L.A. City Council passed a resolution<\/a> opposing SB 79, calling it \u201cchaos\u201d and a \u201cone-size-fits-all mandate.\u201d Mayor Karen Bass asked Newsom to veto the bill.<\/p>\n

While the bill was being debated, lawmakers added four deferral options, allowing cities to postpone implementation in selected areas until approximately 2030 \u2014 one year after they must submit their latest plan for spurring new housing construction and accommodating growth.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, lawmakers were hesitant to add high-density housing to high-risk fire areas. To assuage their fears, legislators added an amendment allowing cities to exempt those areas in the state\u2019s very high fire hazard severity zones until about 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that there\u2019s a safe way to build in fire zones,\u201d said Ross, the California director of YIMBY Action. \u201cAnd we\u2019re giving very high fire risk areas a few more years to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transit stops and fire\u00a0zones<\/p>\n

Under Senate Bill 79, cities can seek a delay in upzoning for areas located in very high fire hazard severity zones. In northeast Los Angeles, these zones overlap with transit stops in multiple\u00a0places.<\/p>\n

Distance from transit hub<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dept. of City Planning, California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection<\/p>\n

Sean Greene LOS ANGELES TIMES<\/p>\n

SB 79 allows the state to upzone historic districts, paving the way for the demolition of well-preserved Victorian houses, Arts and Crafts bungalows and Spanish Colonial Revival homes. However, the bill\u2019s authors gave communities the option to seek a five-year delay for those properties as well.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to the final vote, the bill\u2019s sponsors also attempted to address the concerns of lawmakers who represent smaller cities. That led to the decision to shrink SB 79 zones to a quarter mile in cities with less than 35,000 residents, compared with a half mile everywhere else.<\/p>\n

After that change was made, state Sen. Sasha Ren\u00e9e P\u00e9rez \u2014 who represents South Pasadena, with a population of about 25,000 \u2014 voted yes, saying the population amendment, plus the historic district deferrals and flexibility for cities, earned her support. State Sen. Ben Allen, who represents Beverly Hills, did not record a vote. He told The Times he had concerns over the lack of guardrails for gentrification and displacement.<\/p>\n

As a result, SB 79 now targets a quarter-mile area around transit-adjacent properties in South Pasadena, which has a single Metro A Line station, but a half mile in its adjacent communities \u2014 Pasadena and L.A.\u2019s Highland Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The same approach is playing out on the Westside.<\/p>\n

In L.A.\u2019s Beverly Grove neighborhood, SB 79 would cover properties that sit within a half mile of the Metro D Line subway. However, in Beverly Hills, right next door, the upzoning bill targets areas within a quarter mile.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who voted to oppose SB 79 and represents Beverly Grove, voiced frustration with that arrangement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSacramento keeps passing one-size-fits-all land use bills with political carve-outs to get votes,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cThe result is that Beverly Hills gets off the hook, and Los Angeles is left holding the bag. It\u2019s unfair and bad policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State <\/p>\n

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said SB 79 was written \u201cwith the full range of California\u2019s geographic diversity in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Rich Pedroncelli \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Lewis, the California YIMBY spokesperson, said the carve-out for smaller cities was one of several changes necessary to secure the bill\u2019s passage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the votes. That\u2019s what matters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mebust, the Wiener spokesperson, declined to comment on the rationale for the Beverly Hills carve-out. He provided a statement from his boss, saying SB 79 was written \u201cwith the full range of California\u2019s geographic diversity in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 79 thoughtfully phases in full implementation \u2014 for example, taking into account areas already upzoned around transit \u2014 and gives cities significant latitude to craft alternative plans that work for their local communities,\u201d said Wiener, a longtime advocate for increased housing production.<\/p>\n

Under SB 79, \u201clow-resource\u201d neighborhoods \u2014 areas typically marked by higher levels of poverty \u2014 also would have the opportunity to secure a delay. However, cities would need to show that those areas can still accommodate a certain amount of new housing to be eligible.<\/p>\n

Those measures have not reassured some renters\u2019 rights advocates, who have been trying to understand the bill\u2019s impacts on the Eastside, the Valley and South L.A. <\/p>\n

Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, said he fears developers will use the law to demolish rent-controlled duplexes, replacing them with more expensive apartment projects. If Newsom signs the bill, the city will need to identify how many of those exist near each transit stop, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think people knew what the hell they were voting for,\u201d Gross said. \u201cThe loss of more rent-controlled housing is not going to solve our housing crisis. It\u2019s just going to exacerbate it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Brendon Gerisch and his wife searched for a new home, they knew they wanted something with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[599,2029,3653,1409,11661,2303,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,290,7215,4186,11663,1009,11662,11664,4486],"class_list":["post-12769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-area","tag-beverly-hills","tag-bill","tag-city","tag-half-mile","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-neighborhood","tag-property","tag-sb","tag-south-pasadena","tag-southern-california","tag-state-lawmaker","tag-transit-stop","tag-vote"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}