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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
ties across the state on SB 827, we will have a healthy debate around housing in California. Here are a few questions and concerns that have come up already: Will SB 827 cause gentrification or lead to demolition of existing neighborhoods? Absolutely not. Creating more housing for people does not lead to gentrification, and SB 827 does not make it any easier to demolish housing. To the contrary, SB 827 creates more housing opportunities for more people and tackles head on the ugly reality that mandated low-density zoning excludes poor people and—per the intent when low-density zoning was created 100 years ago—people of color. “Today’s residential segregation in the North, South, Midwest, and West is not the unintended consequence of individual choices and of otherwise well-meaning law or regulation but of unhidden public policy that explicitly segregated every metropolitan area in the United States.” — Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Gentrification is fueled by a lack of housing. When we don’t have enough housing, people compete for limited housing, and prices are pushed up. Moreover, when there isn’t enough housing and rents skyrocket, landlords have an economic incentive to push out long-term renters by raising the rent or evicting them to bring in higher-paying tenants. To fight gentrification we need more housing overall to reduce pressure on existing residents. Combined with that increase in overall housing, we must have strong investment in subsidized affordable housing for low income people, as well as strong protections against evictions and demolition of apartment buildings. More housing overall, combined with low income housing and displacement protections, will lead to a healthier and more affordable housing situation. By requiring denser housing development near public transportation, SB 827 will help reduce displacement pressures and allow more people to live near transit. The current state of affairs — with major transit hubs surrounded by expensive single-family homes — is anything but equitable. It ensures that only a select few will be able to live near transit and exacerbates gentrification in those neighborhoods and other neighborhoods. When we are in the depths of a housing crisis, like we are, the few areas rezoned by cities for high-density often see rapid development to accommodate housing demand while wealthier, low-density neighborhoods are left completely intact. SB 827 will spread multifamily zoning opportunities across more neighborhoods with highquality transit access—including wealthier suburbs with strong transit access— rather than concentrating it only in a few areas. SB 827 is an unprecedented action
MAY 2019
*against* restrictive land-use restrictions with origins in racial discrimination and exclusion. So many Californians are reliant on or could benefit from public transportation, but they’re unable to afford a singlefamily home on a spacious lot and therefore are excluded from having reasonable access to this vital urban infrastructure. Some have stated that SB 827, by allowing more homes to be built, will lead to demolitions and displacement. That is false. SB 827 does *not* in any way change local limits on rent increases or demolitions. If a city has rent control, it will continue to have rent control. If a city has an inclusionary housing ordinance (i.e., requiring a portion of new units to be affordable to low income people), it will continue to have that ordinance. And, if a city restricts demolitions of apartment buildings (as many do, particularly for rentcontrolled buildings), those controls will remain fully in place. In addition, we are looking at ways to include anti-displacement provisions directly in SB 827, in particular around demolition controls and affordability requirements. We will solve the housing crisis by having more housing while also protecting existing residents in their housing. I am completely opposed to incentivizing evictions and demolitions of sound housing—these actions have no place in a smart housing plan—and I fully support adding affordable housing for lower-income people. Our communities are stronger when they are stable and families are secure in their housing. Yet, as we work toward stronger antidisplacement protections, we must not lose sight of the reality that low-density zoning around public transportation is exclusionary. It reduces the number of people who can live near transit and keeps out poor people by ensuring that these homes are extremely expensive. If we are serious about equitable housing access, we will achieve that important goal by increasing density around transit and ensuring strong anti-displacement and affordable housing requirements.
8-story affordable housing project near transit at 7th and H Street in Sacramento (Mercy Housing)
Will SB 827 reduce support for transit investment? No. [For the remainder of this section relating to transit, see Sen. Wiener’s full posting at extranewsfeed.com/@Scott_Wiener.] Will SB 827 reduce the amount of affordable housing or prevent communities from asking developers for community benefits?
Larchmont Chronicle No. By increasing housing opportunities near transit, we will create more housing, which will bring down the cost of housing. Additionally, by allowing heights of 45 feet to 85 feet near transit, we will allow for mid-sized apartment projects, which — unlike single-family homes — are subject to local inclusionary zoning requirements and impact fees. As a result, more projects will be subject to inclusionary zoning, and more affordable units will therefore be built as part of these developments. In addition, by converting more low-density projects into midsize apartment buildings, these projects will become feasible candidates for the state’s affordable housing density bonus program. With more apartment buildings being built, the density bonus will be invoked more often. [For the remainder of this section relating to affordable housing and the subsequent section relating to the environment, see Sen. Wiener’s full posting at extranewsfeed.com/@ Scott_Wiener]
Paseo, a mid-rise affordable housing development in San Diego, that is built on a transit line (Bridge Housing)
Will SB 827 quickly change the character and feel of my neighborhood? No. Adding mid-size apartment buildings (4–8 stories) can modestly change the look of portions of a neighborhood in positive ways. It’s important to keep in mind that SB 827 does not allow for high rises. Of course, *not* building housing, and thus escalating housing costs, also changes the character and feel of the neighborhood by changing who can live there. The architectural character of a neighborhood is important, and so is the human character of a neighborhood. When we push out low income people, young people, and growing families and when we spike homelessness, we absolutely change the character of the neighborhood even if we maintain the architectural character perfectly as is. [For the remainder of this section relating to neighborhoods and the subsequent section concerning local control over zoning, see Sen. Wiener’s full posting at extranewsfeed.com/@ Scott_Wiener.] o o o SB 827 is an important step toward addressing California’s housing crisis — a crisis that deeply affects us in so many ways. I look forward to a robust discussion about this bill and housing generally. I’m optimistic we will come out of this process with a terrific bill that makes our state stronger.