Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access

In an opinion piece in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Azeen Khanmalek, Executive Director of Abundant Housing LA, calls on California voters to support Senate Bill 79, which would promote more housing near transit stations. For example, if Los Angeles legalized multifamily housing near the region’s Metro stations, where 80 percent of residential land is zoned for single-family development, it would unlock about 50,000 acres of transit-adjacent land for housing.

Visit almost any Metro station to see the contradiction: Single-family homes and parking lots surround this vital infrastructure in all directions – essentially converting these public transit systems, designed to serve millions, into private amenities only accessible to the few thousand who live nearby.

According to Khanmalek, “The bill tailors building heights to transit frequency: taller apartments near subway stops, mid-rise buildings near light rail and Metrolink stations. LA Metro itself could transform empty parking lots into vibrant housing communities. The bill includes strong tenant protections, ensuring anyone temporarily displaced has the right to return.”

For Khanmalek, the bill offers a comprehensive approach that addresses housing costs, transit accessibility, and transportation emissions at the same time.