It's the Tech Industry vs. the Sierra Club in California's Big Housing Debate

California State Senator Scott Wiener made a big splash this month by announcing a package of pro-development bills, and now interest groups are taking sides in a heated debate over housing and density.

3 minute read

January 25, 2018, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

Jesse Richmond / Flickr

California State Senator Scott Wiener has made his case for a package of pro-development bills, and then made the case again for the most ambitious of those bills, SB 827. Supporters of the zoning incentives included in SB 827 have mapped out the potential effects of the bill. Now special interests are lining up on either side of the issue.

First came the Sierra Club, an environmental organization that has been criticized in the past for enabling anti-development forces in urban areas and thus spreading development to the periphery. Sierra Club Policy Advocate Kyle Jones wrote a letter to Senator Wiener [pdf] on Sierra Club letterhead to oppose SB 827. The gist of Jones's argument:

While infill development near transit is the most desirable option, we believe that your bill is a heavyhanded approach to encourage that development that will ultimately lead to less transit being offered and more pollution generated, among other unintended consequences.

That letter provoked a response from Ethan Elkind, author of Railtown, who rebuts the Sierra Club letter point by point. Here's on particularly pithy section of Elkind's response:

But if Sierra Club is truly concerned about displacement, why not recommend policies to address it in the bill, such as requirements for inclusionary zoning or density bonuses? Instead, they offer no solutions, while failing to recognize the massive displacement already occurring due to the existing housing shortage. My question for Sierra Club: what do they propose to combat the gentrification and displacement currently happening now? And where do they want new homes to be built, if not in these prime transit areas?

Another interest group taking sides in the debate is the tech industry. Los Angeles Times reporter Liam Dillon reports that a group of 120 top executives from California tech companies and venture capital firms have written a letter of support for the bill. "The executives, including Marc Benioff of Salesforce, Logan Green of Lyft, Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit, Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Reid Hoffman, who co-founded LinkedIn, said that the state’s housing crisis makes it hard to recruit and retain employees and is pushing tech firms to relocate out of the state," according to Dillon. The entirety of that letter is printed on California YIMBY Tech Network letterhead.

For a high-level survey of the political debate surrounding SB 827 and the state's housing policy controversies, an editorial by the San Francisco Chronicle doesn't overtly pick sides while elucidating the issues and interests driving the debate. A point made by the article that takes an optimistic approach to the debate, no matter the eventual outcome: "It’s a problem that won’t be solved readily or easily, but the debate itself is yielding signs of progress." 

Friday, January 19, 2018 in San Francisco Chronicle

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

"Altadena - Not For Sale" yard sign in front of burned down house after Eaton Fire in Altadena, California in January 2025.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations

Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

July 7 - Dwell

Dense multistory residential buildings in hilly San Francisco, California.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean

Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

July 7 - The San Francisco Standard

Blue self-driving Ford Transit van shuttle in Jacksonville, Florida.

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US

A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.

July 7 - Smart Cities Dive

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA