by Vanguard Staff
SACRAMENTO — In a major step forward for California’s housing and climate future, the Senate Appropriations Committee this week advanced Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 79, the Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, to the Senate floor. Framed as a response to California’s intensifying housing crisis, SB 79 aims to legalize multi-family housing near major transit stops and allow local transit agencies to build housing on land they own—measures supporters say are essential to reversing skyrocketing housing costs, reducing emissions, and rescuing financially strapped transit systems.
“California’s housing and affordability crises have reached a fever pitch, and SB 79 is the bold step forward we need to meet the scale of the crisis,” said Senator Wiener (D-San Francisco). “Building many more homes near public transit tackles the root causes of our affordability crisis while bolstering public transportation across the state.”
SB 79 directly targets restrictive local zoning laws that prohibit multi-family housing near bus and train lines, even as the state grapples with the highest cost of living in the country. The bill sets statewide zoning standards allowing buildings up to seven stories tall within immediate proximity to major transit stops—including rail stations and bus rapid transit (BRT) routes—with tiered height reductions as the radius expands up to half a mile.
It also permits transit agencies to develop high-density housing on land they already own, a model used successfully in cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo. These cities generate revenue for their transit systems through real estate development—a strategy that California could adopt to help stabilize agencies facing declining ridership and budget gaps.
The committee adopted minor amendments that don’t affect the bill’s core provisions, leaving intact its central promise: to increase housing supply, lower family housing costs, reduce reliance on cars, and support the state’s climate goals.
Transit-oriented development—a strategy long championed by housing advocates and climate experts—is gaining traction nationwide. States like Colorado, Massachusetts, and Utah have passed TOD mandates requiring higher-density housing near transit hubs. California, with its deep housing shortfall and climate commitments, is now looking to follow suit.
Wiener’s bill would also integrate with the streamlined approval process created by SB 423 (also authored by Wiener), which fast-tracks housing projects that meet environmental, labor, and affordability standards. Local governments would retain some flexibility to define specific TOD zones, subject to oversight by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
While some critics have dismissed SB 79 as a giveaway to developers of so-called “luxury” apartments, housing advocates argue that opposition misunderstands the problem.
“Blocking market rate projects on these sites will not make $3 billion materialize out of the air to fund affordable housing,” tweeted housing advocate Max Dubler in a widely shared thread. “Rather, it will further worsen the housing shortage, raising rents for the 90% of California’s low-income households who live in market rate housing.”
Dubler pointed to a CalMatters report showing that, in 2023 alone, California affordable housing developers had $3.5 billion in ready-to-build projects—but just $576 million in available state funds. Without enough public money to subsidize below-market housing, the only option to alleviate the broader shortage, he argues, is to make it legal to build some kind of housing—especially near transit.
Dubler illustrated the dilemma using a real-world example: a two-bedroom unit in Oakland’s Skylyne Apartments, steps from MacArthur BART, rents for $4,242/month. That’s expensive—but it’s significantly cheaper than buying a nearby two-bedroom house for $955,000, which carries a monthly ownership cost of roughly $6,750.
“It’s not cheap,” he wrote, “but it’s a whole lot cheaper than $6,754 a month. I think a lot of Oakland households could really use that extra $30,000 a year.”
For supporters, SB 79 is about more than housing—it’s a litmus test for the state’s willingness to prioritize climate-aligned, affordable urban living. Legalizing mid-rise apartments near rail and BRT stops is the next logical step in aligning housing production with public investment in transit infrastructure.
“This is about setting priorities,” said Michael Lane of SPUR, one of the bill’s sponsors. “We can’t say we’re serious about climate, equity, or affordability if we continue to ban apartments near BART stations.”
The bill is co-sponsored by a coalition of pro-housing and sustainability organizations, including Streets for All, California YIMBY, Greenbelt Alliance, SPUR, and the Bay Area Council. Local officials across the state—from Santa Monica to Berkeley to Claremont—have also voiced support.
SB 79 now moves to the full Senate for a vote, where it will test the Legislature’s resolve to confront overlapping housing, transportation, and climate challenges with policy bold enough to match the crisis. Whether lawmakers will rise to that challenge remains to be seen.
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Breaking News Housing State of California
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Bay Area Council California California YIMBY Greenbelt Alliance Housing Crisis Max Dubler Senate Appropriations Committee Senate Bill 79 Senator Scott Wiener SPUR Streets for All