SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — California State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced a bill on Friday that would legalize multi-family buildings within one-half mile of a high-quality public transit stop.
Depending on the level of service, these buildings could be up to 75 feet tall, or even higher in certain cases, with a density of up to 120 units per acre.
The idea is to better utilize the land at and around transit stations that are paid for with taxes but have suffered from low ridership since the pandemic.
“SB 79 eliminates housing bans that most CA cities have enacted in the neighborhoods around transit stops,” Wiener said on Bluesky. “Even though those transit systems are funded by all CA taxpayers.”
These systems are harder to sustain, Wiener said, because of the lack of housing density in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The bill would also let transit agencies build housing and commercial space on land they own, providing another potential revenue source for struggling agencies.
These developments would be subject to a streamlined approval process as well.
“Building many more homes near public transit tackles the root causes of our affordability crisis while bolstering public transportation across the state,” Wiener said in a press release. “California urgently needs to build many more homes to address our shortage and lower the cost of living.”
The bill creates three tiers for transit stops with different levels of service, letting stops with the most frequent service build the most.
There are also concessions allowed for including affordable housing as part of the state’s Density Bonus Law, which lets developments further exceed their zoning limits.
State Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) introduced a bill this year requiring 2/3rds of a Bonus Law development to be residential floorspace.
The permitted height and density for each tier are as follows:
Tier 1: High-frequency commuter rail
This tier is for the busiest train stations in the state, including commuter rail and subway stations that have more than six trains every hour.
BART stations or LA Metro’s B and D subway lines could land in this tier, but there are likely no transit stops in San Diego that meet these requirements.
Within ¼ mile:
- Up to 75 feet
- Up to 120 units per acre
- Three additional concessions for including affordable homes
Within ½ mile:
- Up to 65 feet
- Up to 100 units per acre
- Two additional concessions for including affordable homes
Tier 2: Light rail (SDMTS Trolley) and rapid bus
This tier is for high-frequency light rail and rapid bus stops on lines that operate either fully or partially in their own right of way.
This includes the SDMTS trolley system stations and stops along SDMTS rapid bus routes like the 215 between downtown and SDSU that utilize the Park Boulevard Rapid Bus Lanes.
Within ¼ mile:
- Up to 65 feet
- Up to 100 units per acre
- Two concessions for including affordable homes
Within ½ mile:
- Up to 55 feet
- Up to 80 units per acre
- One concession for including affordable homes
Tier 3: Moderate-frequency commuter rail (COASTER)
This tier reaches stations that don’t have high enough frequency for the higher tiers but still clear a minimum of 10 trains per day.
The stations in North County along the NCTD COASTER and SPRINTER trains would likely qualify for this tier.
Within ¼ mile:
- Up to 55 feet
- Up to 80 units per acre
- One additional concession for including affordable homes
Within ½ mile:
- Up to 45 feet
- Up to 60 units per acre
- No concessions
In addition, transit agencies would be allowed to set their own standards for development on their own land, with potentially unlimited height and density allowed.
And any parcel immediately adjacent to a transit station would be allowed to increase the height limit by an additional 20 feet and the density by 40 units per acre, maxing out development at 95 feet tall with 160 units per acre adjacent to Tier 1 stations.
The bill also includes anti-displacement requirements that include a right of return for tenants in buildings that are demolished for new housing.
This isn’t Sen. Wiener’s first attempt at updating zoning around transit stations. Back in 2019, he introduced SB 50, but it didn’t make it through the legislature.
If passed, none of the developments under SB 79 would be required to build parking. Assembly Bill 2097, passed in 2022, removed minimum parking requirements within a half mile of transit stations.
San Diego had already removed parking requirements for homes near transit in 2019 and did the same for commercial spaces in 2021.
The city’s Transit Priority Area map shows everywhere in the city that is within a half-mile of a public transit stop, but not all TPA zones would qualify under the tiers listed above. SB 79 only applies to the highest levels of service on rail and rapid bus lines.
The full text of the bill is available from LegiScan online at https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB79/id/3155593.
