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JLarsen
Assembly Members Must Vote No On SB35---Stop Unbridled Growth, Gutting Local Control
Picture this: A work crew and cranes show up on a street in your neighborhood. It's the first you learn about a new housing project. That's the concept of "streamlining" and it's coming up for an Assembly vote in Sacramento, maybe as soon as the end of this week. Scott Wiener, D-SF introduced SB35, the Senate bill named "Housing Accountability and Affordability Act".
It streamlines multifamily housing project approvals (as small as two units) by eliminating public input, prohibiting CEQA review, and removing local discretion. (Source: California League of Cities website). Objections raised by residents, city councils and planning commissions are officially silenced and local control is eliminated, giving developers free reign.
The bill would apply to all cities with 2,500 residents or more AND cities that do not build enough affordable housing in each category of "affordable" incomes. Marin State Senator Mike McGuire, D-District 2, has raised objections and voted NO saying: "“Completely taking out the public’s role in this approval process is a mistake. . . .I do feel that if the public is never involved in the approval process, that pendulum has swung maybe too far in one direction.”
But now the ball is in the court of Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-10th District, as well as all other Assembly Members up and down the state.
ACTION: What can you do?
(1) Call State Senator Mike McGuire's office. Thank him for his public stance and his No vote in the Senate, which already occurred. Despite McGuire’s efforts, the bill passed. Phone: 916-651-4002 in Sacramento or Marin at 415-479-6612. Or email to: senator.mcguire@senate.ca.gov
(2) Call Governor Jerry Brown's office. Ask that he veto Senate Bill 35 if/when it comes to his desk. Phone: 916-445-2841.
(3) MOST IMPOTANT: Contact Assemblyman Marc Levine and urge him to vote NO when the Assembly considers this bill, scheduled within a week. San Rafael Office 415-479-4920. Sacramento Office 916-319-2010. Email: assemblymember.levine@ assembly.ca.gov
(4) COPY & PASTE this message as an email to friends around the state. Urge them to contact their state Assemblyman to vote no on this egregious affront to the public's right to know and determine their own future.
READ THE BILL FOR YOURSELF AT leginfo.legislature.ca.gov