Bill Text: CA SB79 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Planning and zoning: housing development: transit-oriented development.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-29 - Referred to Com. on RLS. [SB79 Detail]
Download: California-2025-SB79-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 79
| Introduced by Senator Wiener |
January 15, 2025 |
An act relating to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 79, as introduced, Wiener.
Planning and zoning: housing development: transit-oriented development.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each city, county, or city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Under existing law, a part of the housing element is an assessment of housing needs, which includes the locality’s share of the regional housing need. Under existing law, the appropriate council of local governments, or for cities without a council of governments, the Department of Housing and Community Development, adopts a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each locality in the region. Existing law requires the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District to adopt by ordinance transit-oriented development (TOD) zoning standards for each station that establish minimum zoning requirements for
height, density, parking, and floor area ratio that apply to an eligible TOD project, as provided, and authorizes developers of certain eligible TOD projects to submit an application for a development that is subject to a specified streamlined, ministerial approval process, as provided.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would make housing more affordable for California families, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance public transit systems by, among other things, requiring the upzoning of land near rail stations and rapid bus lines to encourage transit-oriented development. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that makes housing more affordable for California families, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and enhances public transit systems.(b) Specifically, it is the intent of the Legislature that the legislation described in subdivision (a) do all of the following:
(1) Require the upzoning of land near rail stations and rapid bus lines to encourage transit-oriented development.
(2) Ensure that the degree of upzoning is proportional to the capacity of the adjacent transit network and the distance to transit stations, thereby
maximizing the use of public transit infrastructure.
(3) Integrate upzoning provisions into local jurisdictions’ housing elements to align with statewide housing goals and promote compliance with the regional housing need allocation process.
(4) Support transit agencies in increasing and diversifying their revenue sources beyond existing public subsidies and fare revenue either in this bill or in subsequent legislation, ensuring sustainable funding for operational and capital improvements necessary to meet increased demand resulting from upzoning initiatives.
SEC. 2.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:(1) California faces a housing shortage both acute and chronic, particularly in areas with access to robust public transit infrastructure.
(2) Building more homes near transit access reduces housing and transportation costs for California families, and promotes environmental sustainability, economic growth, and reduced traffic congestion.
(3) Public transit systems require sustainable funding to provide reliable service, especially in areas experiencing increased density and ridership. The state does not invest in public transit service
to the same degree as it does in roads, and the state funds a smaller proportion of the state’s major transit agencies’ operations costs than other states with comparable systems.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to address these challenges by enacting legislation to do the following:
(1) Establishing a framework for transit-based upzoning that is sensitive to the capacity of existing and planned transit infrastructure.
(2) Supporting local jurisdictions in integrating these upzoning requirements into their housing elements as part of their general plans.
(3) Allowing local jurisdictions to be exempt from the upzoning provisions if they adopt higher intensity or more permissive zoning standards than those set by state law.
(4) Ensuring that all eligible parcels may also benefit from the streamlining provisions under Section 65913.4 of the Government Code, provided they meet the labor, environmental, and other relevant standards outlined in the statute.
(5) Granting transit agencies the authority to set residential and commercial zoning standards on properties they own or have a permanent operating easement on, provided that the residential and commercial zoning standards are higher intensity and more permissive than the zoning standards set by the local government.
SEC. 3.
In enacting the legislation described in Section 1, it is further the intent of the Legislature to do the following:(a) Consult with local governments, regional planning agencies, transit operators, housing advocates, environmental groups, and other stakeholders to develop effective and equitable upzoning criteria.
(b) Require local jurisdictions to adopt and implement these transit-based upzoning policies in a timely and effective manner.
(c) Monitor and evaluate the outcomes of transit-based upzoning policies to ensure alignment with the state’s housing, environmental, and transportation
goals.
