“Low-density housing means no affordable housing because you’re not going to have affordable housing unless you have a certain level of multi-unit density,” he said, noting that the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, which had earlier been opposed to the bill, was now in support.
The bill also faced bipartisan opposition from senators who said it would override cities’ ability to plan for housing in their communities by allowing transit agencies to have more control over what gets built near stations.
“The bill also allows transit agencies to become de facto land developers,” said Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta. “And the need to make land use decisions based on agency fiscal needs will taint the need to act in the best interest of the public and the community.”
Under the proposed legislation, apartment buildings would be the tallest directly adjacent to a transit stop, stepping down with a quarter-mile and again within a half-mile. The transit systems would be further separated into “tiers” based on the type of system, frequency of service and where the transit agencies are located.
Heavy rail and high-frequency commuter trains — such as BART, Caltrain and LA Metro’s B and D lines — would have the most intensive housing development near stations and ferry stops or commuter rail, such as the SMART Rail, having the least.
Transit stops located in counties with fewer than 15 rail stations would be subject to the least intensive development standards.
Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, who ultimately voted in support of the measure, said he was concerned that cities are already required to demonstrate to the state how they plan to accommodate new housing in their communities through a process called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, and this bill undermines it.
“Many cities only recently completed those [plans], where we told them, ‘Hey, you pick where you zone,’” he said. “And then, here, we’re coming along and saying, ‘Hey, and by the way, we’re gonna choose for you in these areas.’”
A recent amendment to the bill allows jurisdictions to present their own proposals to the state’s housing department to increase density around transit stops. That could mean allowing more housing near one station within a city and less around another, or building taller apartments on one side of a station.
“It is very important to me to give cities additional flexibility to say, ‘We understand what you’re trying to do. We want to do it in a somewhat different way,’” Wiener said, adding that flexibility is already written into the bill. “I know we can make it even better, and I’m committed to doing that work.”
