March 19, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Housing Bill Problem: It Looks Like One Size Fits All

By Thomas Elias

As they consider Senate Bill 50, many who are aware of the latest attempt by San Francisco’s Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener to solve California’s housing shortage believe the plan treats this state as if it were monochromatic.

Wiener offers the same basic solution for everyplace in this vast state of 58 counties and 482 cities, many of which are quite unique. Will the same tactics create significant amounts of new housing in Corona and Chico, Torrance and Trinity County?

Yes, the bill’s author says many things would still be under local discretion, like building setbacks and design. But not density. The entire premise is that making housing dense will make it more affordable.

Wiener would force cities to permit three- and four-story housing within a quarter-mile of all rapid transit stops in the state. Never mind that BART stops along the 580 freeway east of San Francisco don’t look or function like Gold Line stops between Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles.

The senator’s bill also demands that cities OK dense housing along all major bus routes, regardless of objections from present residents with their life savings invested in their homes. It eases requirements now in place for adequate parking in new construction.

Aside from its housing goals, this is part of a move to force Californians out of their cars, never a popular idea. The measure assumes large numbers will be attracted to the new housing even if it features tiny apartments – and seems to assume that almost everyplace with rapid transit stops and significant bus lines has a comprehensive public transportation system to go with them.

Wiener says that view of his bill is incorrect. “This treats various geographies very differently,” he said in an interview. “But it does change density.”

Some SB50 assumptions are simply incorrect, even if sustainability purists believe in them. New rail lines opened in recent years by the Los Angeles area’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for example, have not significantly increased overall regional transit ridership. There is also no evidence that the mentally ill, a significant portion of California’s homeless populace, are either interested in or financially able to move into small new apartments.

SB50 essentially glosses over these and other realities. But a new white paper from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, made up of 16 cities in southwestern Los Angeles County, offers a different perspective.

The report from the multi-city group including Manhattan Beach, Torrance, Inglewood and Los Angeles, notes that SB 50 does not assure residents of new housing will have adequate sewers, parks and other public services.

The paper recommends “infill” housing that uses vacant land within built-up areas rather than razing existing low-rise development, saying that would produce more homes if combined with development in outlying areas. By contrast, SB 50 condemns developing the far suburbs.

Some advocates of SB 50 see this potential mix as contributing further to the urban sprawl they despise, but which helped attract many Californians to the state.

Wiener and some major groups backing his bill are based in locales like San Francisco, Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles, which already have plenty of dense housing, comprehensive streetcar or bus systems and both light and heavy rail. But most of the state, including the regions surrounding those locales, doesn’t have much of those things. And yet, some SB50 co-sponsors come from less dense areas like Orange County and the Central Valley.

Says Wiener, “You can never guarantee how people will get around, but if you allow a lot of housing near transit, you at least offer people the opportunity to use it.”

Wiener also insists SB 50 is not a manifesto by big city residents telling everyone else how to live.

But so long as that remains a common perception of the bill, it will cause resentment and resistance by those affected to new rules imposed upon them.

The question: Can SB50 be altered enough to defuse the sense that it’s monolithic and dictatorial? If not, count on resistance to this major proposal if it passes, along with a ballot referendum, and possible repeal. Which would leave California’s very serious housing problems back at Square 1.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net

Related Posts

Fatal Crash Claims Life of Woman on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu

March 18, 2024

March 18, 2024

Accident Victim Identified in Thursday Night Accident A woman tragically lost her life in a Thursday evening crash along the...

California Wildlife Center Responds to Distressed Marine Mammal at Little Dume Beach

March 18, 2024

March 18, 2024

Third Gray Whale Stranding of 2024 Prompts Concern in Malibu On the morning of Saturday, March 16, the California Wildlife...

Woman Drives Car In Ocean After High Speed Police Chase

March 18, 2024

March 18, 2024

Law enforcement officers pursued her along the I-110 and I-405 until she reached the vicinity of Venice Beach A woman...

Santa Monica Authorities Seek Public’s Help After Sexual Assault Incident

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

SMPD Urges Anyone With Information to Come Forward Authorities in Santa Monica are seeking information from the public after a...

SM.a.r.t Column: Can California ARBs Balance Affordable Housing with Community Character in the Face of New Housing Laws?

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

By suggestion, I attended the March 4th ARB (Architectural Review Board) meeting that addressed the Gelson Lincoln Boulevard Project.  After...

FBI Seeks Victims of Alleged Online Exploitation Scheme Allegedly Run by Resident of Santa Monica

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

Individuals Urged to Come Forward in Investigation of John Douglas Burch The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office is urging individuals to...

(Video) Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD Responds to News of Nex Benedict’s Cause of Death

March 15, 2024

March 15, 2024

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, responds to the release of the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Ruling on Nex...

Venice Family Clinic Announces Inaugural HEART Gala to Celebrate Health and Art

March 15, 2024

March 15, 2024

Event Honors Creative Community and Supporters of Vital Health Care Services Venice Family Clinic, a non-profit community health center dedicated...

“Love Lies Bleeding” is Ripped: Actress Katy O’Brian Talks Love, Sex, and Vulnerability

March 15, 2024

March 15, 2024

Katy O’Brian is a Breakout Star Who Shines in Loving and Hilariously Violent Crime Film English film director Rose Glass’...

Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier Sold to SC Holdings, $10M Investment Planned

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

The Cultural Institution Set for Exciting Upgrades Santa Monica Amusements LLC (SMA), the operating group of Pacific Park on the...

Woman Returns $1K Worth of Stolen Items After Store Finds Her Social Media Account

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

For the Owner, the Incident Is Perhaps Indicative of an Environment at the Palisades Village Where Smaller Businesses Are More...

LAPD Identify Suspect Who Struck 6-Year-Old Girl Last Weekend

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

An Arrest Was Made Following “Another Incident” in Venice By Zach Armstrong  The Los Angeles Police have identified Ahsante Lamar...

SMC to Host Free Screening of West Coast Hip Hop Documentary

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

Free Presentation Includes Audience Q&A with Hip Hop Icons Santa Monica College (SMC) is set to host a complimentary screening...

IRS Launches Direct File Pilot of Free Filing Tool for Taxpayers in California, 11 Other States

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

Free, Convenient Online Tax Filing Option Now Available for Eligible Individuals The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the official launch...

SMPD Arrests Man Who Allegedly Attacked Girlfriend, Brandished Replica Firearm at Her Daughter

March 13, 2024

March 13, 2024

The Man Faces Charges of Felony Domestic Violence and Misdemeanor Child Abuse A suspect is in custody after a domestic...