SB 79 increases height limits near major transit stops in San Mateo
By Alyse DiNapoli, Daily Journal staff
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation upzoning many areas throughout the state that fall within a quarter- to half-mile radius of a major transit stop, aimed at spurring housing development.
Senate Bill 79, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would set a uniform standard for allowable height and density minimums within a certain distance of major rail stops, including Caltrain and BART stations. The upzoning would be implemented on a tiered basis and applies mostly in urban counties in the Bay Area, Southern California and Sacramento.
Nine-story developments are now allowed if they are adjacent to any Caltrain or BART stop, seven stories if they fall within a quarter-mile and six stories between a quarter- to half-mile. For smaller cities, the radius is confined to an eighth- to quarter-mile radius. The bill also allows local transit agencies to develop housing on land they own.
The new policy will likely affect almost every jurisdiction in the county with a major transit stop, even those that have already upzoned much of their downtown and Caltrain-adjacent corridors, Jeremy Levine, policy manager at the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, said. Even cities like Redwood City and San Mateo, which recently upzoned its transit-heavy areas as a result of Measure T, will see changes.
“This covers a significant number of parcels that have not been rezoned,” Levine said. “This is going to create new opportunities in every city in San Mateo County.”
Zero regard for the potentially huge adverse impacts on existing surrounding neighborhoods or roadways. Let’s use a hatchet instead of a scalpel. The same people promoting this freely criticize Trump for similarly excessive mandates.