Senate bill passes state Legislature
•SB 79: A weakened bill crosses the finish line
In my July column I addressed for the second time the threat of Senate Bill 79 (SB 79) to our historic neighborhoods and landmarks and encouraged my readers to contact your elected representatives to oppose this bill. Despite our efforts, the bill squeaked by, having been amended multiple times to ensure its passage. Even then it barely crossed the finish line. But cross it did, and by the time you read this, in all probability, it will have been signed by the governor into law.
In order to pass, the bill went through a substantial legislative sausage-making process with 13 rounds of amendments, including the removal of bus lines from the bill, which excluded large amounts of the Los Angeles as well as rural and suburban communities from the bill’s scope.
Additional amendments added labor, affordable housing and anti-displacement provisions, which further softened opposition, including that of our own Senator Maria Elena Durazo, who switched her position in the final vote.
MAP SHOWS detail of area of eligible stops under Senate Bill 79; USC Dornsife Spacial Science Institute. Visit uscssi.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html.
Eight counties affected
SB 79 now only affects eight counties in the state: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Mateo. Each of these counties have a combination of train stations, subway stops, “high-frequency” light rail and commuter rail stops or fixed-route “bus rapid transit” lines. New buildings of up to seven stories can be built within a quarter mile of these stations and five-story buildings up to a half mile.
The preservation community was able to amend the bill to exclude local landmarks, Historic-Cultural Monuments (HCMs) from redevelopment, but only those designated as of Jan. 1, 2025. There also seems to be limited protection for Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs) so long as “sites excluded from the density requirements…do not cumulatively exceed 10 percent of the eligible area of any transit-oriented development zone.” This may add a layer of protection for the southeast corner of Windsor Square HPOZ, the northeast corner of Wilshire Park HPOZ, and the southwest corner of Hancock Park HPOZ, all which fall into an SB 79 zone. National landmarks, California state landmarks and national historic districts, however all remain unprotected.
There still remains a great deal of uncertainty about the provisions of the law, as many sections are vague and have yet to be parsed out by city planning and the city attorney’s office. There are also no official maps that outline SB 79 zones, keeping concerned citizens and interested parties in the dark. The preservation community will have to map out which historic resources fall into SB 79 zones to determine its possible impact. There is a fear that since many stations are placed in the oldest parts of Los Angeles where historic buildings are that they will be disproportionately affected.
But do not expect radical change. Previous celebratory or doomsday predictions of housing legislation such as SB 9 (which allowed lots splits in single-family neighborhoods) has produced little disruption and little housing.
The new law’s repercussions may be similar. SB 79 does not come into effect until January 2027, and Los Angeles’ real estate market is in the doldrums due to, among other factors, high interest rates, measure ULA (United to House Los Angeles), taxes, and a gloomy outlook on the economy.
One developer interviewed by CalMatters on SB 79 stated that over the next five years, there may only be 20 to 30 SB 79 projects in the entire state. That leaves a lot of time for adjustment and perhaps tweaking of this law to make it a better fit.
Category: Real Estate
