LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today issued the following statement on Sen. Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 50, which would help address the state’s urgent housing shortage and affordability crisis:
“The California Association of REALTORS’® 200,000 real estate professionals stand with Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), mayors and other housing advocates who are united in urging the Legislature to approve Senate Bill (SB) 50 — a bill we’re co-sponsoring, along with California YIMBY and the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California,” said C.A.R. Treasurer Jennifer Branchini, an East Bay REALTOR® who spoke at this morning’s press conference.
C.A.R. joined bill authors Sen. Wiener and Sen. Skinner, along with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff, and housing advocates on the steps of Oakland City Hall to announce the amended SB 50. Lawmakers have until January 31 to pass bills introduced in 2019.
“If we’re truly serious about increasing the supply of housing, SB 50 must be passed. A recent study found that SB 50’s reforms could increase housing by 400 percent and increase affordable housing by 500 percent. Californians desperately need housing, and the time to act is now,” said C.A.R. President Jeanne Radsick.
“Bold and focused leadership is required to solve California’s housing and affordability crisis, and 2020 can be the year we advance meaningful solutions that will result in a brighter housing future for all of us,” Radsick said.
Leading the way… ® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
Senator Scott Wiener posted the following on Medium:
New Amendments to SB 50
Today’s amendments seek to ensure that local governments can implement SB 50 in ways that works best for their communities — meeting SB 50’s goals of more housing, housing equity, and sustainability but tailoring the bill to unique local needs. Thus, SB 50, as amended, will give local governments two years to craft their own equivalent plan. If they do nothing, then after two years, SB 50’s provisions kick in. If a city chooses to craft its own plan, and if state agencies certify that the city’s plan meets SB 50’s goals, then that city-adopted plan will govern.
In order for a city’s plan to qualify and substitute for SB 50’s specific provisions, a city will have to re-zone to add an amount of new zoned housing capacity equal or greater to what SB 50 will provide. In other words, a city could decide to go taller in some areas and shorter in other areas or to focus density in some areas but not other areas. As long as the city’s alternative approach zones for at least the same amount of additional housing as SB 50 would, then the plan qualifies. And, if a city has engaged in its own re-zoning (increased housing capacity) in the past 20 years, the additional zoned housing that the city voluntarily adopted will be credited in order to reward good behavior.
In order for a city’s alternative plan to qualify, however, it must meet two other requirements. First, the plan must not increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT), for example, by zoning for new housing in areas disconnected from jobs and transit — i.e., sprawl development. The city’s plan must focus development near jobs and transit. Second, the plan must not violate fair housing principles, for example, by focusing new housing density disproportionately in low income communities or communities of color. Historically, cities have engaged in this discriminatory behavior, and SB 50 is designed to end this inequity. So, if a city chooses to craft its own plan, that plan must be equitable and impact wealthier and low income areas equally.
The amendments do not change a few key elements of SB 50. Sensitive communities will still receive a five-year delayed implementation. The bill’s affordability and tenant/anti-demolition provisions still apply everywhere. The bill’s parking provisions still apply. And, the bill’s allowance for statewide duplex, triplex, and fourplex won’t change. But the core aspects of the legislation — allowing multi-unit housing near jobs and transit — will allow cities to propose their own alternatives.
