Key points:
- Tom Steyer backs California Senate Bill 79 to address housing crisis.
- SB 79 allows more homes near public transportation to ease housing shortage.
- SB 79 aims to receive its final vote within the next three weeks.
SACRAMENTO — Investor and philanthropist Tom Steyer has joined a growing list of influential supporters backing Senate Bill 79, legislation introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, that seeks to address California’s housing crisis by allowing more homes near public transportation.
“For too long, outdated zoning codes have acted like a choke hold, cutting off the supply of new housing and driving prices sky high,” Steyer wrote in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed. “SB79, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, finally takes that on.”
Steyer’s remarks reflect a broader shift in California politics, where proposals to rework zoning laws — once politically fraught — are gaining momentum amid soaring housing costs and worsening homelessness. His endorsement comes as the measure prepares for its final votes in the Legislature before the Sept. 12 deadline.
The bill, known as the Affordable and Abundant Homes Near Transit Act, would allow mid-rise apartments to be built near bus and train stations, cutting red tape for housing projects on transit land and requiring cities to keep up their housing numbers. It also gives local governments some flexibility to decide where new density goes, but sets minimum standards that cannot be avoided.
Steyer emphasized that while there is increasing interest in converting San Francisco’s half-empty office towers into housing, such measures cannot be counted on to solve the state’s crisis. “Office conversions are complicated and costly: Floor plates are too deep for natural light, plumbing has to be rebuilt from scratch and seismic retrofits add millions,” he wrote. “In some cases, they’ll pencil out, and we should absolutely encourage them where they do. But let’s not kid ourselves. The scale of California’s housing crisis is measured in the millions of units. No amount of tinkering with empty offices will come close to providing enough housing.”
Instead, he argued, SB 79 provides a solution that meets the scale of the challenge by fundamentally changing the rules on where and how homes can be built. “If we want a solution that matches the size of the problem, we have to change the rules that govern where and how we build, and that’s what SB79 delivers,” he wrote.
The endorsement from Steyer, a former presidential candidate who has focused his political and philanthropic work on climate change and economic renewal, underscores what supporters say is a critical intersection between housing, transportation and sustainability. SB 79, they argue, not only addresses affordability but also bolsters public transit ridership, reduces emissions and strengthens communities.
“Our public transit systems — BART, Muni and other agencies — are struggling,” Steyer wrote. “We’ve invested billions in them, but ridership lags, in part because too few people live close enough to use them. More housing near transit means more riders, more revenue and fewer car trips. Read: lower emissions and stronger communities.”
Wiener echoed the urgency in a press release announcing the wave of endorsements. “Californians are demanding that their leaders fix the broken status quo and deliver affordable homes,” he said. “The sea change from five years ago is remarkable, and this movement is just getting started. Allowing more homes near public transportation is an idea whose time has come.”
The political environment for such reforms has shifted dramatically since 2018 and 2020, when earlier transit-oriented development bills like SB 827 and SB 50 failed after encountering fierce resistance from cities and neighborhood groups. In Oakland, SB 50 was protested heavily. It also failed to win support from the California Democratic Party and ultimately died on the Senate floor. By contrast, SB 79 is attracting high-profile endorsements that illustrate how much the conversation has changed.
In recent days, the California Democratic Party formally voted to support the bill by a 111-62 margin. Gubernatorial frontrunner Katie Porter came out in favor of the bill on Sunday. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee announced her support on Monday. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce released a letter backing the measure, and a coalition of Los Angeles homelessness service providers also endorsed the legislation.
Steyer’s op-ed adds the climate and sustainability perspective to the growing list of arguments for SB 79. He framed zoning reform not just as a matter of affordability, but as a test of California’s ability to remain an inclusive and innovative state in the face of national scrutiny.
“The housing shortage drags down our economy by more than $100 billion every year, according to a McKinsey & Co. report, and it drives up poverty costs and fuels some of the highest per-capita homelessness rates in the country,” Steyer wrote. “And the whole country is watching. If the fourth-largest economy in the world — home to world-class universities and the tech industry — can’t figure out housing, then who can?”
He added that other states are competing on affordability and messaging. “Meanwhile, states like Texas are winning the narrative war by pitching themselves as affordable and ‘open for business.’ How California handles this moment will shape the national conversation and, in no small way, the future of American democracy.”
Still, SB 79 faces opposition. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles City Council have voiced their concerns, arguing the legislation undermines local control and raises infrastructure challenges. Some housing advocates are divided, with critics on one side arguing the bill does not go far enough to address systemic barriers, while others argue it cedes too much to local governments.
But Steyer dismissed hesitation. “We are living in a housing crisis that is existential in scope,” he wrote. “That’s why when I hear leaders I respect hesitating, quibbling over whether SB79 is 100% perfect, I have to ask: What world are you living in?”
According to Steyer, the solution is clear. “Cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles don’t lack land. What they lack is permission to build the housing people desperately need. We’ve tied ourselves in knots with zoning codes that keep neighborhoods frozen in time while pushing working families further away from urban areas. SB79 breaks that cycle by opening up underused land so cities can grow and evolve again.”
He also emphasized the balance struck by the measure, which sets enforceable standards but leaves flexibility for local planning. “SB79 also strikes a careful balance. It sets minimum standards so the housing crisis can’t be endlessly delayed, but it leaves room for cities to shape their own plans. That’s exactly the kind of balance we need: firm enough to matter, flexible enough to work.”
In his view, the stakes go beyond housing units or zoning ordinances. “Our cities should be engines of inclusion and innovation — not museums of what used to be,” he wrote. “We don’t need more empty offices downtown. We need homes. We don’t need underused transit systems. We need ridership, density and equity.”
As the bill heads into its decisive stretch in the Legislature, the growing list of endorsements highlights how central the housing crisis has become to California’s political landscape. For Steyer, the urgency could not be clearer. “If California is serious about affordability, sustainability and urban vitality, SB79 is one of the smartest tools we have,” he wrote. “But tools don’t work unless we pick them up.”
SB 79 is expected to receive its final vote in the next three weeks before the legislative deadline.
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Categories:
Breaking News Housing Housing San Francisco State of California
Tags:
Affordable Housing California Housing Crisis Gov. Gavin Newsom SB 79 Scott Wiener Sen. Scott Wiener Senator Alex Padilla Tom Steyer transit-oriented development zoning reform