California senator looks to tackle housing costs
In an effort to combat a statewide housing shortage, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill that would give developers more leeway to build bigger apartments and condo complexes near transit stations.
Cities around the state have voiced opposition to the bill (SB 827), arguing that it overrides local zoning laws and community planning.
While Lodi was once among the cities opposing the bill, after recent amendments City Manager Steve Schwabauer is changing his tune, saying the bill will not affect Lodi.
“My concern was that bill would be a one-size-fits-all approach to a community that just does not have the level of transit infrastructure that would necessarily make it work, and the revisions have made it clear that it doesn’t apply to less robust systems like ours, and so I’m comfortable with it,” Schwabauer said.
The bill would set standards for local zoning near public transportation. It would also forbid arbitrary density limits, provide that a city cannot mandate maximum heights below typically four to five stories and eliminate minimum parking requirements in those transit-adjacent areas.
According to Eva Spiegel, communications director for the League of California Cities, the league opposes SB 827 because it limits the ability of local government officials and community members to shape development around transit. The league argues the bill would allow developers, who are unaccountable at the local level, the power to exempt themselves from locally developed and adopted building height, density and parking requirements, as well as limit design review standards.
“While we agree that more density around certain transit stops makes sense, SB 827 is too blunt of an instrument,” Spiegel said. “Given the dramatic changes SB 827 could have on communities throughout California, SB 827 should be held in committee so that a more robust and thoughtful discussion can occur about community impacts. As recently amended, SB 827 is an extreme overreach and giveaway to developers and should not move forward.”
According to the League, the bill will rezone all land within a one-half mile radius of transit stops to accommodate buildings up to 55 feet in height, and allow developers to dictate building heights, exempt themselves from parking requirements and override community plans within those areas. However, with the amendments, this mandate only applies to rail and ferry stations, and there would be no building height increase around qualifying bus lines, but parking and density restrictions would still be relaxed in those areas.
The amendments define qualified bus lines as those with bus stops that have average service intervals of 15 minutes during peak hours between 6 and 10 a.m. and 3 and 7 p.m., and have 20-minute average service intervals between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays along with average service intervals of 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
According to Wiener, while the bill sets some basic state standards for local zoning around public transportation and limits local control, it also retains significant local control in many areas. SB 827 would not affect the way in which individual projects are approved, or preclude local design standards, he said. Cities can still adopt and enforce design standards relating to architecture and setbacks, Wiener said. SB 827 applies to land that a city zones as residential. If a city zones land for only commercial, office, industrial, public use, or other non-residential use, SB 827 doesn’t apply.
Wiener argues that the bill leaves ample space for community planning, and community planning already must comply with various state rules. SB 827 just adds one more state standard, he said. The bill is expected to go before the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on April 17.