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Please Call California State Senators ASAP To Help Defeat Senate Bill 50

Posted by: Sharon Rushton - March 30, 2019 - 4:29 PM PDT

The California State Senate Housing Committee will hear Senate Bill 50 on Tuesday, April 2nd at 1:30 PM. Supposedly, if a Senator gets 100+ calls on a bill, it'll catch his/her attention. Let's catch the attention of the Senate Housing Committee!

ABOUT SENATE BILL 50: Senate Bill 50 (Wiener) would allow developers to build much denser, taller housing near major transit stops and “high-quality” bus corridors as well as within high-income areas that are close to jobs and schools. This would be accomplished by exempting "transit-rich housing projects" and “job-rich housing projects” from local regulations concerning zoning, density, floor area ratio, setbacks, design guidelines, and parking requirements. The bill would also mandate that minimum height limits of such housing range from 45 to 55 feet (5 to 7 stories) OR from 75 to 85 feet (9 to 10 stories) if the State Density Bonus is applied.

CONSEQUENCES: SB-50 would pose a significant threat to local control, democracy, and public engagement. Immense developments could be approved in single family neighborhoods with hardly any public input! The bill would benefit developers who profit from unlimited high-end housing production, without solving the need for affordable housing. Furthermore, it would foster displacement of existing residents.

The subsequent housing densification and population growth would increase the risk of adverse impacts on the environment, public health and safety, traffic congestion, infrastructure, utilities (water supply), public services (schools), views, sunlight, privacy, neighborhood character, and quality of life. Moreover, there is no funding for dealing with these impacts.

Take Action Now - It takes less than 15 minutes!

Call members of the Senate Housing Committee between now and Tuesday, April 2nd. The numbers below will take you to an answering machine.

Sample Script: "Hi. My name is __. (Some ask for phone, date and time that you called.) I'm calling in opposition to SB 50, which will be heard in the Senate Housing Committee on Tuesday, April 2nd. I'm calling to express my opposition to this top-down bill. This bill will have statewide adverse impacts without solving the housing problem. I urge the Senator to oppose it."

Contact Information for Senate Housing Committee Members:

Thank you in advance for taking action. Together we can make a difference!