In response to Sen. Scott Wiener's SB 827, former Los Angeles County Supervisor and former City Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky provides his opinions on the unintended consequences of the bill on Southern California's landscape.
California State Senator Scott Wiener, a champion of dense housing and streamlining policies, unveiled Senate Bill 827 in January 2018. Sen. Wiener has since incorporated amendments into the bill—scheduled for a committee hearing in April—but detractors have been critical of the impacts of the legislation throughout the state. Former Los Angeles County Supervisor and former City Councilmember and presently director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Zev Yaroslavsky sat down with The Planning Report to discuss how Sen. Weiner's bill would radically change Southern California by "eviscerating decades of planning." Yaroslavsky also assesses Sen. Wiener's comments at a recent community hearing in Los Angeles organized by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, which can be seen here.
Yaroslavsky, deeply critical of SB 827, provides context for how this state legislation—touted as promoting transit-oriented development—would in fact undermine the region’s existing affordable housing stock and ability to chart its own future. Talking about both the preservation of existing historic communities and the impacts of lower-income renters, Yaroslavsky noted that "this bill has accomplished one thing: It has united tenants' rights organizations with small businesses and homeowners, all of whom are rising up against this broad-brush approach."
Yaroslavsky did not mince words when assessing the potential impacts of the legislation:
SB 827 is not a housing bill; it’s a real-estate bill. It is intended to monetize real estate. This bill is not about YIMBYs vs. NIMBYs; it’s about WIMBYS: Wall Street in My Backyard. With one stroke of the pen, the State Legislature could totally transform the economics of real-estate development in Los Angeles—while totally eviscerating decades of planning.
Yaroslavsky described a pathway forward for nuanced growth along existing transit corridors that are supporting quick transit solutions that are well-located. He noted that "Hollywood, the Wilshire corridor, the Vermont corridor, Van Nuys, NoHo, and many areas along the Expo, Gold, and Crenshaw light-rail lines—among others—lend themselves to densification. However, we have to be smart about where along these corridors we densify, and where we preserve neighborhood character. There is room for both."
Read more of Yaroslavsky's response to SB 827 in The Planning Report.
FULL STORY: Zev Yaroslavsky on Scott Wiener’s SB 827: The Triumph of WIMBYs
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.