Several housing and transit-related bills are making their way through the California Legislature, and one would upzone areas along the Peninsula’s Caltrain and BART stations.
Senate Bill 79, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would set a uniform standard for allowable height and density minimums within a certain distance of major rail transit stops. The upzoning would be implemented on a tiered basis. For developments within a quarter-mile from a Caltrain or BART stop, buildings would be allowed to reach 75 feet within a quarter mile or 65 feet if it’s within a half mile.
“You have 20 jurisdictions all with their own rules on height and density, floor area ratio, setbacks and all these other things. This is really about uniformity and creating one universal standard,” said Jordan Grimes, state and regional resilience manager at Greenbelt Alliance, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s saying we know we need more housing, our transit systems are in dire straits, and this can solve both those things at the same time.”
Many cities throughout the Peninsula, including Redwood City, already allow the height and density minimums laid out in the bill, but it could also affect other jurisdictions such as Burlingame and Millbrae, Grimes said.
The bill would also give transit agencies, especially Caltrain, more zoning authority on their own land, which could not fall below the minimum standard in the bill, but it could use higher height or density limits than the jurisdiction where it is located.
Michael Lane, SPUR state policy director, said, if passed, the legislation would help tame BART and Caltrain’s expanding structural deficits. While a transit measure at the state level is being discussed to fill short-term funding gaps, more development close to transit could help boost ridership, which, especially for Caltrain, has yet to come close to 2019 levels.
“They have a short-term fiscal challenge, and they also have a compelling interest in making sure we are utilizing the land around these stations,” Lane said.
Incentivizing development near transit isn’t new, but it mostly comes in the form of state density bonus laws, which allow developers to increase density and height beyond local limits provided they meet certain criteria.
“This is creating a new category unto itself,” Grimes said. “We’re trying to focus it on the transit priority areas. We want people to rely on transit and focus it in a geographic area rather than doing it through the [Regional Housing Needs Allocation] process or density bonuses.”
Wiener has also introduced other bills meant to reduce regulatory barriers including Senate Bill 71, which would permanently streamline the permitting process for transportation infrastructure projects by exempting them from the California Environmental Quality Act.
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