As in previous years, San Francisco (and now San Diego) legislators are proposing bad legislation to strip local cities of zoning control. There is limited time to block this legislation before it passes the Assembly and goes to the governor for his signature.
As before, these are gifts to developers (i.e. campaign contributors) rather than serious efforts to increase affordable housing. Two bills in particular seek to end single-family zoning as is the norm in most of Oceanside. Both bills are sponsored (18,800 residents/sq. mile) to places like Oceanside (4,250 residents/sq. mile) and Carlsbad (3,050 residents/sq. mile).
- SB-9 allows up to 8 units in a single-family dwelling lot, and either one (or no) additional parking spaces for these additional units. With the reduced parking and side setbacks, it would increase density and reduce the quality of life for neighborhood where these projects are built.
- SB-10 allows up to 10 units on single family lots — and (for the first time in 108 years) allows local governments to ignore voter-passed initiatives and general plans that restrict the density of development.
Neither bill conditions these density increases on building actual affordable housing. Previous Wiener-passed bills have allowed developers to increase revenues without lowering prices. As we have seen from recent projects proposed in Oceanside, the developers will use these incentives to maximize the density and minimize the parking provided by their projects —
The (intended) result of both bills is to reduce the supply of single-family housing — replacing them with apartments and condos — thus making single family homes unavailable to all but the most well-off of Californians. According to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, taking home ownership away also eliminates a crucial path for building wealth and financial security for the average Californian.
Legislative Status
Both bills have passed the state Senate and now are in the state Assembly. Oceanside’s state senator, Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), voted against both bills. However, she is facing term limits and will be replaced by a new state senator in the November 2022 election.
Oceanside’s assemblymember, Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) voted no on SB-10 in the Local Government committee but did not vote (either way) for SB-9. Her office contact information is as follows:
- Sacramento Office: (916) 319-2076; fax: (916) 319-2716
- Carlsbad Office: (760) 434-7605; 325 Carlsbad Village Drive #A-2, Carlsbad, 92008
Proposed National Bill
If that’s not bad enough, the Biden Administration has signaled its intention to create a national policy eliminating single-family housing as part of its “infrastructure” legislation. (It is dishonest to call this a federal bill, since taking away local zoning control on a nationwide basis is the antithesis of Federalism.)
The infrastructure legislation is currently under negotiation and has not been released for public reading. We will update you when when we learn more about how (or if) this policy is incorporated in the final legislation.
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