California cities could see taller apartment buildings and more of them sprouting near transit stops under a historic bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Senate Bill 79 represents a victory for pro-affordable housing advocates seeking to undo the state’s decades-long legacy of suburban sprawl, which contributed to California’s affordable housing shortage.
It aims to kick-start development in the state’s most populous metropolitan areas by making it easier to build apartment buildings up to nine stories near train stations, ferry terminals and bus rapid transit stops. It overrides local zoning laws and the potential objections of neighbors, which have often blocked the construction of multifamily housing in California communities for decades.
“All Californians deserve an affordable place to live — close to jobs, schools and opportunity,” said Newsom in a statement following the bill’s signing. “Housing near transit means shorter commutes, lower costs and more time with family.”
The bill inspired pushback from environmentalists who have called it a boon for developers. Others who have raised concerns point to the unchecked building of higher density housing in single-family neighborhoods, with some referencing the devastating fires that raged through Los Angeles in January.
The law is the culmination of a yearslong effort by state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who has emerged as a leading voice for building more affordable housing in expensive regions like the Bay Area and Los Angeles. He has argued that building denser apartment developments in areas closest to jobs and services will reduce urban sprawl and enable residents to live “15-minute lifestyles” where they can live, work and play within walking distance.
Easing development
Wiener said that Senate Bill 79 builds on a raft of California laws passed in recent years that aim to streamline and reduce the construction of new housing. They include bills to fast-track the building of accessory dwelling units and affordable housing.
He said in a statement that the new law “unwinds decades of overly restrictive land use policies that have driven housing costs to astronomical levels, forcing millions of people to move far away from jobs and transit, to face massive commutes, or to leave California entirely.”
After many rounds of amendments and months of negotiations with local governments, union leaders and others, the legislation applies to just eight urban counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo, and only to major transportation stops.
Still, many remain opposed to the bill. The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution in August laying out its opposition, writing that the bill “undermines local governance, circumvents local decision-making processes and imposes unintended burdens on communities.” Mayor Karen Bass asked Newsom to veto the bill, arguing that it “risks unintended consequences for L.A.”
Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have also raised concerns about the scope of new apartment development.
The bill does give some flexibility to local governments that are on track with their state-mandated plans to build new housing. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan, for example, could allow neighborhoods in question to be exempted from further upzoning.
But Brian Hanlon, the CEO of housing advocacy group California YIMBY — standing for “yes in my backyard” — said the law cemented Newsom’s “legacy as one of the most transformative pro-housing leaders in California history.”
The state’s biggest and most expensive cities are planning fewer housing units than they did a decade ago, despite strict state mandates to ramp up production to increase affordability.
In 2024, Los Angeles approved just 17,200 new residential units — barely 30% of its annual goal — while San Francisco permitted only 1,074, its lowest showing since the aftermath of the Great Recession. Both cities are falling far short of the pace needed to meet their state-mandated targets by 2031, with the state calling for the planning of 2.5 million new residences in that time.
Monthly costs for apartments and other rentals are getting driven up by high single-family home prices, with Los Angeles posting monthly rents of $2,330 that are 30% above the nation’s average, according to CoStar. San Francisco currently has the fastest growing rents in the nation, with average monthly rents that now exceed $3,300 per month, more than double the nation’s average.
Despite the high costs that point to potential profits for developers, high construction costs, hard-to-obtain financing packages and local red tape have hindered the construction of residential units in recent years, industry professionals tell CoStar News.