CA SB 79
Title: Housing development: transit-oriented development.
Author: Buffy Wicks
Summary
SB 79, as amended, Wiener. Housing development: transit-oriented development. (1) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law requires that the housing element consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing, as specified. Existing law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs, including an inventory of land suitable for residential development, as provided. Existing law, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified, and requires the appropriate council of local governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each locality in the region. Existing law requires each local government to revise its housing element in accordance with a specified schedule.Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act, among other things, requires a local agency that proposes to disapprove a housing development project, as defined, or to impose a condition that the project be developed at a lower density to base its decision on written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence that specified conditions exist if that project complies with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria in effect at the time that the application was deemed complete. The act authorizes the applicant, a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the housing development project or emergency shelter, or a housing organization to bring an action to enforce the act’s provisions, as provided, and provides for penalties if the court finds that the local agency is in violation of specified provisions of the act.This bill would require that a housing development project, as defined, within a specified distance of a transit-oriented development (TOD) stop, as defined, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the development complies with applicable requirements, as specified. Among these requirements, the bill would establish requirements concerning height limits, density, and floor area ratio in accordance with a development’s proximity to specified tiers of TOD stops, as provided. The bill would provide that, for the purposes of the Housing Accountability Act, a proposed development consistent with the applicable standards of these provisions shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with prescribed requirements, as specified. The bill would provide that a local government that denies a project meeting the requirements of these provisions located in a high-resource area, as defined, would be presumed in violation of the Housing Accountability Act, as specified, and immediately liable for penalties, beginning on January 1, 2027, as provided. These provisions would not apply to a local agency until July 1, 2026, except as specified. The bill would specify that a development proposed pursuant to these provisions is eligible for streamlined, ministerial approval pursuant to specified law, except that the bill would exempt a project under these provisions from specified requirements, and would specify that the project is required to
Status
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill Documents
CA SB 79 - 07/17/25 - Amended Assembly
07/17/25 - CA SB 79 (07/17/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 07/08/25 - Amended Assembly
07/08/25 - CA SB 79 (07/08/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 07/07/25 - Amended Assembly
07/07/25 - CA SB 79 (07/07/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 06/23/25 - Amended Assembly
06/23/25 - CA SB 79 (06/23/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 06/16/25 - Amended Assembly
06/16/25 - CA SB 79 (06/16/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 06/16/25 - Amended Assembly
06/16/25 - CA SB 79 (06/16/25 - Amended Assembly)
CA SB 79 - 05/29/25 - Amended Senate
05/29/25 - CA SB 79 (05/29/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 05/29/25 - Amended Senate
05/29/25 - CA SB 79 (05/29/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 05/28/25 - Amended Senate
05/28/25 - CA SB 79 (05/28/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 05/28/25 - Amended Senate
05/28/25 - CA SB 79 (05/28/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 05/13/25 - Amended Senate
05/13/25 - CA SB 79 (05/13/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 05/13/25 - Amended Senate
05/13/25 - CA SB 79 (05/13/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 04/23/25 - Amended Senate
04/23/25 - CA SB 79 (04/23/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 04/23/25 - Amended Senate
04/23/25 - CA SB 79 (04/23/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 04/09/25 - Amended Senate
04/09/25 - CA SB 79 (04/09/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 04/09/25 - Amended Senate
04/09/25 - CA SB 79 (04/09/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 03/05/25 - Amended Senate
03/05/25 - CA SB 79 (03/05/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 03/05/25 - Amended Senate
03/05/25 - CA SB 79 (03/05/25 - Amended Senate)
CA SB 79 - 01/15/25 - Introduced
01/15/25 - CA SB 79 (01/15/25 - Introduced)
CA SB 79 - 01/15/25 - Introduced
01/15/25 - CA SB 79 (01/15/25 - Introduced)