Thanks again to all the Members who joined our April 9, 2019 conference call to review Senate Bill 50 (Wiener, Housing Development Incentives and Requirements). We appreciate all of the input regarding our current position on SB 50 as we work to develop solutions to the current California housing challenge that create equitable and healthy communities for all Californians.
To recap the discussion for anyone who was unable to attend, we reviewed APA California’s legislative review process, discussed the Legislative Review Team’s substantive concerns with SB 50, and solicited member comments regarding how to continue our engagement with the legislation.
As expressed in our 2019 Legislative Platform, APA California supports higher density in infill areas linked to transit. We further support minimum average density and affordability standards near major transit stops. However, as planners, we feel that it is important that local communities have the opportunity to determine how to best meet those standards based on their expertise and knowledge of local context, and any standards must both protect against displacement and promote equity for disadvantaged communities. APA California sponsored the state’s first by-right housing bill, and efforts such as last year’s AB 2923 (requiring transit-oriented development near BART stations) demonstrate that it is possible to be supportive of housing development efforts while incorporating good community planning.
We recognize that there is a housing crisis in California, and there are a wide variety of bills directed at addressing the issue, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. Despite the author’s stated intentions and our own interest in supporting upzoning, APA California has concerns about how SB 50 would be implemented. We view the concerns as substantive, not technical or procedural. Although we are hopeful that our concerns can be addressed through amendments to the bill, we do not support SB 50 in its current form.
For example, it is still not clear where SB 50 would apply, and we support calibrating its effects for different conditions throughout the state. In addition, we are particularly concerned with increasing the affordability components to be commensurate with the level of value added by upzoning. Both Senate Bill 4 and Assembly Bill 1279 include concepts that speak to these concerns, which, if properly incorporated into SB 50, could result in better final legislation. In addition, the legislation currently would allow projects to invoke density bonuses, waivers, and concessions in addition to the upzoning required under SB 50, meaning almost no local standards would remain applicable. The legislation is not compatible with Los Angeles’s Transit-Oriented Communities Program, a local planning effort that has successfully resulted in applications for thousands of new housing units near transit stations while promoting affordability and resisting gentrification. APA California does not support state efforts that would undo existing efforts or discourage future community-based solutions.
APA California has been engaged with Senator Wiener and his staff throughout the legislative session, and we hope to continue our constructive working relationship to address our organization’s concerns. Ultimately, we want to ensure that SB 50 or other legislative approaches to developing higher density housing near transit meet our organizational values and our state’s needs.
