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John -- A new
bill moving through Sacramento — Senate Bill 79 — is the clearest
example yet of how out-of-touch and overreaching our state government
has become.
SB 79 would force communities to accept high-rise apartment buildings — up to 65 feet tall — in single-family neighborhoods, just because they’re within half a mile of a bus stop. Not a train station. Not a major transit hub. A bus stop. If this bill passes, developers could knock down homes on quiet streets and build multi-story apartment buildings with zero community input. Local governments would be stripped of the ability to object. Neighbors would be silenced. Cities would be forced to absorb the costs of infrastructure, schools, and services — likely by raising your taxes. And renters could vote for those tax increases, but only homeowners would foot the bill. This isn’t
planning. This isn’t problem-solving. The justification? A so-called housing crisis. But that crisis is of the state’s own making. Endless regulation, CEQA abuse, and taxes disguised as “mitigation fees” have made it nearly impossible to build affordable housing without political favors or loopholes. Now, instead of fixing their mistakes, the politicians want to take it out on local communities. This is not smart growth — it’s forced density without local input and control. And it turns the very idea of property rights upside down. I’ve said it before: we need to build housing, but it must be done with communities, not to them. Sacramento’s top-down mandates ignore local voices, erase local control, and push one-size-fits-all solutions that don’t reflect how people actually live. We need to stop SB 79 before it turns every neighborhood in California into a political experiment. Let your state representatives know: this bill is wrong for our communities. I’ll keep fighting for local control, balanced growth, and real solutions — not power grabs. San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond |
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San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond · 1600
Pacific Highway, #335, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
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