LA Opposes California Bill to add Housing Next to Transit Hubs

After a contentious debate, the Los Angeles City Council voted against supporting a proposed state bill that would let developers build projects up to six stories within a quarter-mile of rapid transit stops.

As David Wagner explains in LAist, city leaders oppose bills like Senate Bill 79 that they argue take too much decision-making power away from local authorities in favor of state preemption.

Some council members wanted to support the bill, saying it would ease the city’s housing crisis and boost transit ridership. In a recent update to its housing plan, Los Angeles left the 72 percent of its residential land zoned for single-family homes untouched by zoning reform. “An analysis from the advocacy group Streets for All, which supports SB 79, found that 45% of the land surrounding L.A.’s ‘high-quality transit stops’ is zoned for single-family homes, duplexes, or parking lots.”

According to Wagner, “L.A. currently is falling far short of achieving its state-mandated goal of planning for nearly a half-million new homes by 2029.” At the rate it is permitting new housing — 17,200 new units in 2024 — it would have to permit three times as many homes to meet the 2029 goal.