California lawmakers pass SB 79, housing bill that | Real Estate news

California lawmakers just paved the way in which for a complete lot more housing in the Golden State.

In the waning hours of the 2025 legislative session, the state Senate voted 21 to 8 to approve Senate Bill 79, a landmark housing bill that overrides local zoning legal guidelines to increase high-density housing close to transit hubs. The controversial bill acquired a closing concurrence vote from the Senate on Friday, a day after passing in the California Assembly with a vote of 41 to 17.

The bill had already squeaked through the state Senate by a slender margin earlier this 12 months, but since it was amended in the next months, it required a second approval. It will head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk in October.

One of the more formidable state-imposed efforts to increase housing density in latest years, the bill was launched in March by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who stresses that the state wants to take quick motion to tackle California’s housing scarcity. It opens the door for taller, denser housing close to transit corridors such as bus stops and practice stations: up to 9 tales for buildings adjoining to sure transit stops, seven tales for buildings within a quarter-mile and six tales for buildings within a half-mile.

Single-family neighborhoods within a half-mile of transit stops could be subject to the new zoning guidelines.

Height limits are based on tiers. Tier 1 zoning, which incorporates heavy rail traces such as the L.A. Metro B and D traces, permits for six- to nine-story buildings, relying on proximity to the transit hub. Tier 2 zoning — which incorporates gentle rail traces such as the A, C, E and Ok traces, as properly as bus routes with devoted lanes — permits for five- to eight-story buildings.

An newbie map launched by a cartographer and fact-checked by YIMBY Action, a housing nonprofit that helped push the bill through, provides an concept of the areas around L.A. that could be eligible for development under SB 79. Tier 1 zones embody hubs along Wilshire Boulevard, Vermont Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, as properly as a handful of spots in downtown L.A. and the San Fernando Valley.

Tier 2 zones are more unfold out, dotting Exposition Boulevard along the E line, stretching toward Inglewood along the Ok line, and operating from Long Beach into the San Gabriel Valley along the A line.

Assembly members debated the bill for around 40 minutes on Thursday night and cheered after it was handed.

“Over the last five years, housing affordability and homelessness have consistently been among the top priorities in California. The smartest place to build new housing is within existing communities, near the state’s major transit investments that connect people to jobs, schools and essential services,” said Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County) in assist of the bill.

Other Assembly members, including Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) and Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) voiced their assist.

Proponents say drastic measures are vital given the state’s affordability disaster.

“SB 79 is what we’ve been working towards for a decade — new housing next to our most frequently used train stations. This bill has the potential to unlock hundreds of thousands of new multifamily homes,” said YIMBY Action California director Leora Tanjuatco Ross.

Critics declare the blanket mandate is an overreach, stripping local authorities of their capacity to promote accountable growth.

Assemblymember Rick Zbur (D-West Hollywood) argued against the bill, claiming it is going to have an effect on lower-priced neighborhoods more than rich ones since land costs are cheaper for housing builders.

The vote got here a few weeks after the Los Angeles City Council got here out against the bill, voting 8 to 5 on a decision opposing it.

Councilmember Traci Park, who co-authored the decision with Councilmember John Lee, called SB 79 a “one-size-fits-all mandate from Sacramento.” Lee called it “chaos.”

The decision called for L.A. to be exempt from the upzoning since it already has a state-approved housing plan.

The bill has spurred a number of protests in Southern California communities, including Pacific Palisades and San Diego. Residents concern the zoning adjustments would alter single-family communities and drive residents into competitors with builders, who could be incentivized under the new guidelines to buy properties close to transit corridors.

However, assist for SB 79 surged in latest days after the State Building and Construction Trades Council, a highly effective labor group that represents union construction staff, agreed to reverse its opposition in exchange for amendments that add union hiring to sure tasks.

In a assertion after the deal was struck, the trades council President Chris Hannan said the amendments would offer good jobs and training to California’s expert construction workforce.

Wiener, who has unsuccessfully tried to pass related laws twice before, said the deal boosted the bill’s possibilities.