Hi folks, please join us NEXT Sat. April 4, NOT tomorrow, for a teleconference: “Stop Wiener’s Wrecking Bills of 2020.” (See teleconference call-in info at the very bottom.)

Meanwhile, right NOW, we ask you to spend some of your time safe at home to ACT against Wiener and his allies. The Legislature is struggling. They need to kill bad bills that slow down their coronavirus work. Use your time to ACT NOW! with the email links for each bill below.

Here’s why: Wiener and allies are trying, a fourth time, to destroy thriving communities to make way for luxury housing.

For those who want good background on the 3 bad bills, read on. But don’t forget to ACT NOW! against the 3 bad bills.

BILL 1) LET’S KILL SB 902 by Scott Wiener:

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL YOUR OPPOSITION TO SB 902

Misreported by the L.A. Times, SB 902 lets developers erect luxury 8-plexes (not 4-plexes) on any residential parcel in big cities, and 4-plexes or duplexes in smaller cities. Piled onto that, SB 902 lets cities allow 10-unit luxury projects in single-family neighborhoods (described below), that developers can expand to 15-units under state density bonus and granny-flat laws.

SB 902 abuses granny-flat (ADU) laws to allow 8-unit buildings -- not 4-units as the Times reported – in single-family areas of most major cities.
SB 902 lets cities allow 10-unit apartments in the below single-family areas, but state laws enlarge such projects to about 15 units.
Further, SB 902 allows cities to approve 20-unit projects in three defined areas:
- Transit Areas: Vast, newly devised 1-mile-wide swaths where apartments can be erected in single-family areas that happen to be located in the general area of single-bus routes. A gross expansion of SB 827.
- Job Rich Areas: Still unmapped, these huge suburban and urban areas would likely be unveiled by state bureaucrats AFTER the law is debated. Residential zoning in these “Areas” would be overridden for 15-unit buildings, or more.
- Urban-infill: Certain sites already developed on 3 sides would allow big luxury apartment buildings.
NO affordable units are required by SB 902.
Protects renters from eviction, but has loopholes identical to Wiener’s past bills.

BILL 2) LET’S KILL AB 725: By Buffy Wicks & Wiener:

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL YOUR OPPOSITION TO AB 725

This luxury housing bill hid behind fuzzy language for months, but was spotted by folks in South L.A. & Sherman Oaks. It calls for upzoning of land that now houses “2 to 35 units per acre.” And that’s the catch.

“Two to 35 units per acre” is single-family, duplex & small-apartment zoning. AB 725 would force 25% of future regional growth to be crammed into these neighborhoods, a mass upzoning.
Our estimate is that 300 to 400 cities will be swept into the upheaval of AB 725. Those cities would be banned from counting granny flats toward the 25% growth target — a punitive move called “delusional” by a respected urban planner.
AB 725 weaponizes a state rule called “RHNA,” to destroy low-density areas in cities large and small.

BILL 3) LET’S KILL AB 1279: Author Richard Bloom:

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL OPPOSITION TO AB 1279

This Wiener-esque bill upzones as-yet undefined “High Resource Areas,” allowing luxury apartments in thousands of single-family communities located in cities who didn’t reach the state’s “RHNA” housing-approval targets. This is yet another bill to punish cities who are trying hard to approve housing. But the residents will pay.

“High Resource Areas” will be defined and mapped out much later, but we already know they will be made up of areas with college degrees, decent salaries and high employment.
In High Resource Areas, 8-plexes will be approved by cities if developers include a small number of low-income units. OR developers can pay a modest fee to NOT include ANY low-income units.
Big 40-unit and 100-unit luxury projects would be granted to developers in certain residential areas, but only if the developer includes low-income units OR pays a modest fee to NOT include them.
NO affordable housing required.

We need your help: Livable California needs donations to fight bad bills and advocate for rational ways to address our crisis. We ask that you donate to us, today.

Please Zoom in, or call-in on Sat. April 4, 10 am-11:30.

Join us via computer (face to face on Zoom): https://zoom.us/j/6377599629

Or just dial in: +1 720 707 2699 Meeting ID: 637 759 9629

Or just use “one tap” on your cell phone: +17207072699,,6377599629#

Type "livable" and text it to the number 21000 to get a teleconference reminder.

Livable California is a non-profit statewide group of community leaders, activists and local elected officials. We believe in local answers to the housing affordability crisis. Our robust fight requires trips to Sacramento & a lobbyist going toe-to-toe with power. Please donate generously to LivableCalifornia.org here.

Livable California
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Suite 200-1
San Francisco, CA 94103
United States
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