Submitted by Randall South for Palo Alto Councilwoman, Lydia Kou – January 16, 2020
I’m going to ask for YOUR help with SB 50. BTW, Senate Bill 50 (SB 50 – Weiner) does NOT give more flexibility to cities! It is a sneaky amendment to get the bill passed with its implementation in two years. We have to stop SB 50 and have it die in the State Appropriations Committee. We have until January 20, 2020 to do this.
State Senate Appropriations Committee hears SB 50 again with an insignificant amendment; it postpones the timeline to seize local controls of our zoning and land use. SB 50 eliminates single family residential zoning, essentially UP-zoning all parcels in single family residential neighborhoods to four units and prohibits requirements for the necessary number of parking spaces.
But here’s where Weiner gets sneaky. Most cities have fulfilled their market rate housing quotas, but the deed restricted below market rate housing doesn’t pencil out for the developers, therefore it is not built. Since city governments do not build the housing, what happens when the 2 years come around is that Weiner can impose this punitive legislation on the city saying their did not fulfilled their housing production. Case in point, see the San Francisco Board of Superisors Resolution 541-19.
SB 50 would entitle real estate developers to increase residential and mixed-use development with significantly less public review, and in excess of many existing local community plans, which are often developed after extensive public participation, in concert with our regional governing agencies and consistent with state planning mandates;
- SB 50 incentivizes private market-rate housing development unaffordable to most San Franciscans without guaranteeing increased affordable housing development, even though the San Francisco Planning Department’s Housing Development Pipeline report shows San Francisco has met 100 percent of its Regional Housing Needs Assessment goal for above-moderate housing through the year 2022 but less than 30 percent of moderate and low-income housing goals; and has 72,565 units in the pipeline with only 20% affordable units,despite the fact that 57% of the need is for affordable housing;and
- The City and County of San Francisco along with many other communities is striving to address the social and environmental impacts of regional growth of private industry, which include displacement of low-income seniors, working families, and communities of color, and strained public transit and infrastructure.
- State Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco, who derides single-family housing as immoral, says developers will thrive from SB50’s profit incentives, creating a housing boom that will “trickle down” to those in need. The city Wiener represents, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors disagrees! The SF Supervisors say they have failed to see the luxury boom benefit the working class in the Bay Area.
Please Act NOW, call, write and share this email with your friends and family widely so they can also call and write and say NO to the disastrous bill!
> > Call the State Senate AppropriationsCommittee where SB 50 is being reviewed at, the bill must die here!
> > Senator Anthony Portantino (Chair) (D)916-651-4025 (He is critical of SB 50 and wasinstrumental on shelving SB 50 summer of 2019)
> > Senator Patricia Bates (R) 916-651-4036 (Opposes SB50)
> > Senator Steven Bradford (D) 916-651-4035 (He avoids discussing)
> > Senator Jerry Hill (D) 916-651-4013 (He is uncertain)
> > Senator Brian Jones (R) 916-651-4038 (Position is unknown)
> > Senator Bob Wieckowski (D) 916-651-4010 (Position is unknown)
> > Contact your California Assembly Member and State Senator. Today. It’s simple. If youdon’t already know how, find out at: [http://findyourrep.legisl
> > State Senator Jerry Hill – District 13
> > Capitol Office: State Capitol, Room 5035,Sacramento, CA 95814
> > Tel: (916) 651-4013 | Fax: (619) 651-4913
> > District Office: 1528 South El Camino Real, Suite303, San Mateo, CA 94402
> > Tel: (650) 212-3313 | Fax: (650) 212-3320
> > Email Link: https://sd13.senate.ca.gov/sen
> > Assembly Member Marc Berman – District 24
> > Capitol Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849,Sacramento, CA 94249-0024
> > Tel: (916) 319-2024 | Fax: (916)319-2124
> > District Office: 5050 El Camino Real, Suite 117,Los Altos, CA 94022
> > Tel: (650) 691-2121 | Fax: (650) 691-2120
> > Email Link: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.g
> >
> > Share with your friends and family in California, SB 50 is a statewide bill that will have disastrous impacts to cities and counties.
They can tell everyone they know to do the same –forward this email.
They can share this link on social media: https://www.livablecalifornia.
Legislators don’t read or listen to all of their messages; YES they do count those phone calls, emails and letters — and the numbers really matter to them.
