California lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 79, a sweeping housing measure authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that overrides local zoning laws to allow denser, taller housing near major transit stops. The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign it into law.
The measure represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to tackle California’s dual crises of housing affordability and struggling transit systems. By allowing buildings up to 75 feet tall near train, subway, and high-frequency bus stations, the law is designed to generate more homes where they are most needed — close to jobs, services, and public transportation.
“Decades of overly restrictive policies have driven housing costs to astronomical levels, forcing millions of people away from jobs and transit and into long commutes from the suburbs,” Wiener said after Friday’s vote. “Today’s vote is a dramatic step forward to undo these decades of harm, reduce our most severe costs, and slash traffic congestion and air pollution in our state.”
Wiener has pushed versions of this policy since 2018, but each prior attempt collapsed under political pressure. This year’s success came only after 13 rounds of amendments, narrowing the scope of the bill to secure support from labor unions, tenant advocates, and some wary legislators.
SB 79 now applies only to eight counties with at least 15 passenger rail stations, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Mateo. Height allowances are tiered: buildings closest to major stations like BART or LA Metro stops can rise about seven stories, while those further away or near lower-traffic light rail lines face lower caps.
Developers must also meet requirements such as:
These compromises helped labor organizations and affordability advocates withdraw their opposition. Even so, the measure only narrowly passed both chambers, reflecting deep divisions in the Capitol.
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The passage of SB 79 is being hailed as a landmark victory by pro-housing groups.
“Today, California YIMBY achieved one of its founding goals — legalizing apartments and condos near train stations,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY. “We won many victories over the past eight years, but the dream of passing a robust, transit-oriented development program has long eluded us, until now.”
“It’s by far the biggest housing bill the California Legislature has passed,” added Matthew Lewis, a spokesperson for California YIMBY. “There’s more to do, but it’s a major, major step. And honestly, I feel like as people start to see what is actually going to happen, the politics will start to change too.”
But critics argue the bill strips communities of their ability to control growth and could alter the character of established neighborhoods.
“This blunt, one-size-fits-all bill will not work for a district like mine,” said Assemblymember Rick Chavez-Zbur (D-Los Angeles). “For many Californians, living in a single-family neighborhood fulfills a lifelong dream — the American Dream.” He warned that dense apartment buildings could “fundamentally reshape my district without the benefit of careful land-use planning.”
Susan Kirsch, founder of Catalysts for Local Control, was even more direct: “Extreme seven-story buildings next to single-family homes with nothing that the community can do about it” would have a “devastating impact.”
Proponents say SB 79 will not only expand housing supply but also provide new revenue opportunities for struggling transit agencies, which can now develop their own land. This mirrors successful models in East Asian cities, where transit authorities generate revenue through housing and commercial development near stations.
However, housing economists and developers caution against expecting rapid change. Simon Büchler, an economist at Miami University in Ohio, noted: “Supply increases take time (often many years) to materialize, even in the right places, so these policies are far from an overnight solution.”
Mott Smith, a developer and board member of the California Infill Builders Association, suggested the impact may be modest at first: “We will probably see in the next five years 20 to 30 SB 79 projects around the state, that’s my wild guess. Both the opponents and the proponents of the bill are probably overstating how much this is going to change the built environment in California.”
Originally reported by Ben Christopher, Cal Matters in Long Beach Post News.
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