April 22, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Zoning Nullification: The End of Local Control?

By Tom Elias

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gov. Jerry Brown, a former mayor of Oakland who often griped about state government’s interference with local issues, ran in 2010 on a platform of stronger local control. He’s delivered on that for the most part, with the strong exception of pet projects like high speed rail and his putative water tunnels water project, both facing strong opposition from people and local governments in their direct paths.

But now cities and counties around the state face the strong possibility of a new law that would essentially nullify local land use and zoning plans crafted through years of public hearings and detailed analysis.

This comes in the guise of fighting homelessness and California’s severe housing shortage, which has contributed to driving up rents and real estate prices to the point where many California employers have trouble retaining workers because they can live elsewhere much more cheaply.

The proposed plan takes the form of a state Senate bill sponsored by San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener that would essentially take all zoning and land use authority away from cities and counties in areas close to mass transit.

Known as SB 827, this bill would prevent localities from regulating housing construction within half a mile of a light-rail train station or within one-quarter mile of a frequently used bus route. Those rules would cover about 95 percent of the area of some cities. They would also mandate housing density seldom seen outside the downtown areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, setting minimum heights of 45 feet to 85 feet in such areas and making eight-story high-rise buildings standard in many parts of California.

This plan already has the backing of many high-tech moguls, including the CEOs of companies like Salesforce, Twitter, Lyft, Yelp and Mozilla, all headquartered in or near San Francisco. A corps of 130 tech executives and their venture capital backers signed a letter this winter griping that “the lack of homebuilding in California imperils our ability to hire employees and grow our companies.”

But few of those executives live in areas likely to be impacted by the proposed rules. There are few rail stations or heavily-used bus lines in places like Hillsborough, Los Gatos and leafier areas of San Francisco like St. Francis Wood and Sherwood Forest.

The Wiener bill draws strong opposition from residents and governments in places as geographically diverse as Mill Valley and Santa Monica.

One Marin County blogger described the measure as “draconian,” because it would “remove local control of zoning and planning.”

It could do that, if passed in its present form. Passage seems possible since the bill will have backing from powerful forces including developers and building trade unions.

But the reasoning behind it is fundamentally flawed. For example, Wiener would make objections to projects on the grounds of vastly increased traffic irrelevant; presuming that proximity to mass transit prevents most new traffic problems and congestion.

But new figures from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Southern California demonstrate that’s not so. Despite introduction of billion-dollar new light rail lines over the past five years, ridership on buses and trains in the region was down 15 percent last year from levels of five years earlier. That represented a drop of 72 million trips. Yes, the new lines led to rail ridership increases – up 4 million, but that was far lower than the reduction in bus trips.

At the same time those lines were added, so were numerous apartment buildings near them. This has neither cut road traffic nor led to increased mass transit ridership, as planners often assume it will.

So the prevailing reasoning among planners seeking greater housing density is false. They’re wrong to believe Californians will easily abandon their cars.

This is also a major part of the reasoning behind Wiener’s proposal.

Because of its flawed logic, this measure would likely cause at least as many problems as it solves.

“California’s housing shortage is a threat to our economy,” Wiener told a reporter, insisting his plan can fix things. But even the mayor of ultra-liberal Berkeley objects, calling it an “extreme reactive approach” that would lead to more teardowns of existing housing and more evictions of longtime residents.

In short, this plan amounts to pure panic in the face of a problem. And panic rarely produces good results.

The bill would negate local building regulations near transit.
Related Posts

Registration is Open for Harvard-Westlake Summer Programs

April 21, 2025

April 21, 2025

By Susan Payne Summer programs at Harvard-Westlake are open for registration.  Participants can experience renowned programs in academics, visual arts,...

Los Angeles City Attorney Sues Over Illegal Rentals, Wildfire Price Gouging

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

City Attorney Seeks Permanent Ban and Millions in Penalties for Operators City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has filed a civil...

Culver City Moves the Needle on Housing and Growth in Monthly Pipeline Update

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Monthly Development Report Shows Increase in Affordable Housing Culver City officials have released the latest updates to their Residential and...

Multi-Concept Asian Restaurant Coming to Prime Sunset Strip Corner

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Round 1 Delicious Inks Lease for Asian Dining Concept in WeHo West Hollywood will be the location for a high-end...

Hollywood Legend Raquel Welch’s Former Home Changes Hands in Beverly Glen

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

The Late Actress’s Longtime Residence Sold for $3.1 Million More than two years after Raquel Welch’s passing, the late actress’s...

Heads-Up, Westside: Downtown Santa Monica Traffic to Increase with Pali High Move

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Santa Monica Braces for School Traffic Surge Following Wildfire Displacement Drivers throughout Westside communities, from Brentwood to Pacific Palisades, should...

Rents Stay Stable, but Economic Shifts Threaten the Balance

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Tariffs and Tight Supply Could End Flat Rent Streak After more than a year of minimal fluctuation, asking rents, or...

Veterans Collective Gets State Backing to Transform West LA Campus

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

State Funds Jumpstart Construction of 250 Homes and More Construction of new housing and a long-envisioned town center at the...

(Video) Malibu Discovery Party at Santa Monica Place

April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025

Desserts by Copenhagen Bakery. North Italia Restaurant. Rosenthal Winery. Bristol Farms. Beautiful Sea Creatures. Chrysalis. Desserts by Copenhagen Bakery. North...

Ten Years on Wheels: Skateside Fest Rolls Back Into Culver City with the Third Year of Festival

April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025

Annual Skate Festival Returns May 17 With Pro Demos, Live Entertainment The Skateside is set to host its third annual...

UCLA Community Protests Detention of International Grad Student at Border

April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025

Professor Says Student Has Been Denied Access to Her Lawyer Today, an international graduate student from UCLA was taken into...

Courtroom Fireworks Amid Delay Next Phase in Menendez Case on Thursday

April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025

Prosecutors, Defense Trade Barbs as Menendez Resentencing Hits Snag Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic has postponed a...

Experience Poetry Like Never Before at the Getty Center’s Central Garden

April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025

The Series Invites Visitors to Explore Art, Nature, and Sound in Harmony The Getty Center will host a new outdoor...

Newsom, Bonta Seek Court Ruling to Void Trump’s Tariffs and Economic Crisis

April 17, 2025

April 17, 2025

Economic Fallout Prompts California Lawsuit Against Trump’s Tariffs California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit...

Culver City Police Department Report Details Week of Arrests in Ongoing Safety Push

April 17, 2025

April 17, 2025

Police make arrests tied to parole violations, drug trafficking, burglaries, and assaults. The Culver City Police Department released a summary...