Senator Scott Weiner’s legislation regarding housing development near transit-oriented development (SB79) was amended last week to remove portions of the bill and make other changes.
A significant amendment was the removal of “Tier 3” transit stop types. Since Contra Costa County does not meet SB79’s definition of an “urban transit county” with more than 15 passenger rail stations, and Tiers 1 and 2 are restricted to transit stops in urban transit counties, the removal of Tier 3 means SB79 would not apply to BART or Amtrak stations in the entire County, including Lafayette and Orinda.
“We are pleased to hear that Tier 3 zones have been removed from SB79, so Lafayette’s and Orinda’s concerns about negative impacts to our evacuation routes has been eliminated. We will continue to work tirelessly to educate our legislators about the real risks to our residents who live in high fire hazard severity zones in bills like SB79,” said Lafayette Mayor Susan Candell. She added, “We are committed to seeing new residential development in proximity to the Lafayette BART station as demonstrated in our certified Housing Element, and not in areas that will adversely impact evacuation routes in our high fire severity zones.”
The amendments also added language related to high fire severity zones in two parts of the bill, confirming that development proposed pursuant to SB79 would have to meet the applicable objective fire safety standards established pursuant to the California Building Code, the California Fire Code, and the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code. The amendments allow cities - through the local alternative plan - to remove parcels that are within a very high fire hazard severity zone (as determined by CAL FIRE) and any site that is removed based on this provision would not be counted towards the plan’s overall capacity.
“We are pleased to see the amendments give cities the flexibility to determine if sites in Very High Fire Severity Zones are less suitable for high-density development, even if they are close to public transit,” said Councilmember Jim Cervantes.
With these amendments, at their meeting on Monday night, the Lafayette City Council voted to remove their opposition to SB79. The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors and Board of Directors for the Contra Costa Fire Protection District also removed their opposition to SB79 after amendments were made to address fire safety concerns, particularly where evacuation routes are limited.
The Lafayette City Council’s legislative subcommittee has been working on this issue since the Spring. In April, the City sent a letter to Senator Weiner opposing the bill because SB79 would disregard state-certified housing elements and give land use authority to transit agencies like BART without regard to the community's needs, environmental review, or public input. In June, the subcommittee visited Sacramento to highlight for legislators the proximity of high fire zones in neighborhoods near the Lafayette BART station. In August, the subcommittee met with the bill’s proponents, including California YIMBY, as well as Senator Tim Grayson and Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Anamarie Avila Farias, to express their concerns and requested the bill be amended to exempt evacuation zones which include High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones if they overlap with the SB 79 area. The city also urged their residents to reach out to Sacramento.
“We are very grateful to all who listened to our concerns about SB79, and the leadership of Senator Tim Grayson, Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Anamarie Avila Farias. In addition, Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County Fire Prevention District and the City of Orinda worked with us to express concerns regarding SB79. We also appreciate the dialogue with bill advocates including California YIMBY, the Bay Area Council and Inclusive Lafayette. And we are particularly thankful to the many residents who expressed their opinions about this bill,” said Lafayette Mayor Candell.
If approved by the Assembly, SB79 would return to the Senate for a final vote. Both of these votes need to occur prior to the Legislature adjourning session on September 12.
While the City of Lafayette does not develop housing, its certified Housing Element includes the zoning and land use regulations to guide where development occurs as well as policies and programs to facilitate meeting housing needs allocation across all affordability levels. Lafayette has a number of housing projects that are under construction or have already been entitled and are in the pipeline to be built around town. This year, the City approved 90 rental units at 1001 Oak Hill Road, and a compact development of 17 homes (3 with attached ADUs) at Oak Hill Place at Deer Hill, both of which are within a ¼ mile of the Lafayette BART station. For a map of existing and approved multi-family housing near the Lafayette BART station, visit www.lovelafayette.org/mfhprodmap. For more information about major development projects, visit https://lafayette.icitywork.com.
