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Call State Senator McGuire: Stop SB-827 in committee!

John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203)
Calfornia State Capitol, 1315 10th St. B-27 (10th and L streets).
Sacramento, California 95814
April 17, 2018
3:30 PM PT
Posted by: Ann Peckenpaugh Becker - April 15, 2018 - 12:51 PM PDT

ACTION ALERT: Do this on Monday!

The California Senate Transportation & Housing Committee's hearing on Senate Bill 827 will take place on Tuesday afternoon. We need to stop SB-827 in committee. If SB-827 clears the committee and is adopted, it would greatly up-zone many areas of Marin.

The members of the Committee will vote on whether or not the bill will move forward. It's very important that as many people as possible who oppose this bill attend the meeting or call State Senators' offices to ask that the bill be stopped.

ACTION NEEDED

1. Attend the hearing on Tuesday April 17 at 3:30 pm. Bring signs that say "No on SB-827!" The hearing will be held in the John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203), California State Capitol, 1315 10th St. B-27, Sacramento, CA 95814 (10th and L streets). We've learned that YIMBY and other supporters of the bill will attend in large numbers.

2. If you can't attend the hearing, then you must call State Senator McGuire's office on Monday. He is on this committee. Urge him to vote NO on SB-827, and to convince his fellow committee members to vote NO. His office: 916-651-4002

3. Call the other members of this committee on Monday, in addition to McGuire, especially the Chair and Vice Chair. Urge them to vote NO on SB-827.

You should be able to simply say "Vote NO on SB-827 in committee." If you want to say more, using arguments expressed in an analysis done by the committee's consultant may be most persuasive, such as:

1) SB-827 is a market-rate developer bill. It does not generate affordable housing;

2) The bill should not target development in areas around bus service, which typically is not in fixed locations and is likely to move around or cease to exist;

3) The bill does not contain living wage protections for construction workers;

4) Exemptions from certain low-density zoning standards such as those proposed in this bill would greatly increase land values as upzoning confers a monetary benefit to property owners and developers. The higher land values make it more expensive and difficult to build affordable housing; and

5) The bill doesn't give enough time for local jurisdictions to update local planning documents and prepare for potential greater growth.

SB-827 would be a disaster for Marin County--

If adopted, SB-827 would allow developers to build much denser, taller housing within a ½ mile radius of “major transit stops” and within a ¼ mile radius of “high-quality transit corridors” by exempting “transit-rich housing projects” from local regulations concerning zoning, density, floor area ratio, setbacks, design guidelines, and parking requirements.

The densification mandates will apply to all property one-quarter of a mile from bus stops up and down Highway 101; parts of Novato’s San Marin Drive, Novato Boulevard, Redwood Boulevard and Hamilton Parkway; San Rafael’s Third and Fourth streets and Francisco Boulevard; Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, from Manor Road in Fairfax to the Larkspur Ferry; Kentfield’s College Avenue, Magnolia Avenue in Larkspur and Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera; Mill Valley’s Miller and East Blithedale avenues; Tam Junction’s Shoreline Highway; around the Strawberry Shopping Center and the length of Sausalito’s Bridgeway. The up-zoning radius also extends a half-mile from Tiburon and Larkspur ferry terminals and from all SMART depots.

Be aware that SB-827 (Wiener) was amended on April 10, but the bill is so fundamentally flawed that the amendments are not adequate to remedy the bill's many problems. Below is a link to an article that describes the amendments:

http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180410-senator-wiener-announces-new-amendments-bill-allow-more-housing-near-public

If this bill clears committee and is passed by the State Legislature, local control of housing will disappear, and MarinAgainstDensity will become irrelevant at a local level.

TAKE ACTION ON MONDAY!

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO TAKE ACTION TOO!

Contact: Senator McGuire

Contact Phone: 916-651-4002