We alerted you that the BIG ONE was coming, not a quake but a secrecy-shrouded housing mega-bill, written by Sacramento legislators who relied on guesswork and non-transparency.
Last week, the big reveal turned out to be 5 bad housing bills dominated by divisive Sen. Scott Wiener, who we were assured was not on the team of purportedly moderate legislators.
We warned you about "11 Worst Bills" we feared would appear in the Big One. We are deeply disturbed by the 5 bills, which indicate the senate housing task force was living in the past. No bill addresses the great shift to telecommuting. Really.
The 5 bills are fast-tracked! Please write Oppose letters NOW! Some are being heard THIS WEEK, even TOMORROW, with almost NO media or public awareness!!
Here's a short description and link to each OPPOSE auto-letter to send NOW!
Click to oppose SB 1120 "8 Units Everywhere, "Goodybye Single-Family"
A frontal attack on single-family homes, SB 1120 (Atkins and Wiener) lets developers overrun almost all single-family streets in California with 4 luxury homes, and further allows cities to apply ADU (granny flat) law to increase the 4 units to 8. All unaffordable, wiping out single-family zoning in more than 800 cities. Hearing May 28 in Senate Governance & Finance!
Click to oppose SB 902 "Stripped Down, This Bill Now Pivots to Attack Voters"
Creates an ant-voter law that undoes scores of citizen-created and voter-approved local housing initiatives. Possibly illegal, clearly anti-voter, it was authored by Scott Wiener. Hearing TOMORROW, May 26, Senate Housing Committee (Wiener is chair!)
Click to oppose SB 1085 "Density Bonus on Steroids"
Author Nancy Skinner ignores key 2019 research and ramps up "density bonus", rewarding luxury units and worsening the affordability crisis. It silences communities, yet assures just 12% of units are affordable. It lets market-rate buildings eat up land. Density Bonus is a FAIL. Click here for Embarcadero Institute study. Hearing TOMORROW, May 26, Senate Housing Committee (Wiener is chair!)
Click to oppose SB 1385 "Your Local Store Becomes a Giant Apartment"
This bill badly misreads the COVID-19 pandemic by stripping your city's land-use rules to replace neighborhood stores with outsized, mostly luxury housing, projects. It began as a suggestion and now it's a top-down mandate. Senate Governance & Finance Hearing May 28!
Click to oppose SB 995 "Huge Towers are Good for our Environment"
Further incentivizes "environmental leadership projects," i.e., luxury housing and office towers. What month is the senate housing task force living in? Incredibly, it fails to concede that telecommuting, not massive towers, are the real "environmental leadership projects." Hearing May 28 in Senate Environmental Quality
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.
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