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Senate Bill 79, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, will upend zoning across LA County. Buildings of up to 7 stories will be allowed near subway stations, and of up to 6 stories near light rail, Metrolink or BRT stops.

The Bill has been passed through the multiple Senate committees and has been amended significantly through the process. It will go next to the full Senate for approval before being referred to the Assembly.

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Senate Bill 79 creates three tiers of “transit-oriented development stops” in the state and applies different heights and densities accordingly. The three tiers and how they will affect Los Angeles County are as follow:

Tier 1 – Only applies to the “heavy rail” B and D lines, serving Downtown, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire. The only other heavy rail system in California is BART in the Bay Area. The bill upzones these areas to the following heights and densities:

• Within 1/4 mile – 75 feet, 120 units per acre, F.A.R. of 3.5

• Within 1/2 mile – 65 feet, 100 units per acre, F.A.R. of 3.0

Tier 2 – Applies to the many “light rail” lines including the A, C, E, K, and the future East San Fernando Valley line, BRT lines such as the G, J, Silver Streak, and the future North Hollywood to Pasadena line, and Metrolink stations with over 48 trains per day (only Glendale, Downtown Burbank and Union Station currently meet this requirement). The bill upzones these areas to the following heights and densities:

• Within 1/4 mile – 65 feet, 100 units per acre, F.A.R. of 3.0

• Within 1/2 mile – 55 feet, 80 units per acre, F.A.R. of 2.5

Tier 3 – Applies to Metrolink stations with over 24 trains per day, which includes most stations. The bill upzones these areas to the following heights and densities:

• Within 1/4 mile – 55 feet, 80 units per acre, F.A.R. of 2.5

• Within 1/2 mile – 45 feet, 60 units per acre, F.A.R. of 2.0

 

While adding new housing near transit should be a goal, this broad bill approaches the issue with a sledgehammer, not a scalpel. Historic, multifamily neighborhoods already experiencing displacement and gentrification would be hit the hardest – places like Boyle Heights, Highland Park and East Hollywood.

We are asking for two amendments to the bill that would allow the bill to better serve historic neighborhoods, protect existing multifamily housing, and address local geographic constraints like high fire zones and freeways.

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1. Remove program eligibility for projects proposing the demolition of Federal, State, and Local Historic Resources.

Currently there are no exemptions in the bill for historic resources. If a city were to deny a project that proposed tearing down a designated historic home, church or theater, the City would be in violation of the Housing Accountability Act and could be sued. This is the most dangerous aspect of the bill as proposed.

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2. If an exemption is provided for historic resources, delay the effectuation of the bill by one year to allow for community input and adoption of local transit-oriented development alternative plans.

The bill does provide cities the ability to provide alternative plans for achieving the same level of housing. They may choose to allow greater heights directly adjacent to the station, and lower heights in historic neighborhoods. They can also identify new areas that are well-served by bus service and shift some of the housing there. This is a good provision of the bill, but more time is needed to do community outreach and plan for these changes.

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Please email one of the 2 following messages to our State Senator, Lola Smallwood-Cuevas at 

https://sd28.senate.ca.gov/

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