What鈥檚 Next for Housing Now That SB 50 Has Been Deferred to 2020?

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Earlier this month, Senator Scott Wiener鈥檚 controversial state zoning bill, SB 50, was , rendering it impossible for the state legislature to pass it in 2019. SB 50 was intended to by placing limits on cities鈥� ability to restrict the height or density of new apartment buildings or to require parking for every unit.

A complex bill that came out of Senator Wiener鈥檚 SB 827 effort last year, through negotiation with tenant advocates and fellow senators. Nevertheless, it remained controversial among many local governments, elected officials, tenant advocates and NIMBY (鈥渘ot in my backyard鈥�) groups statewide for a variety of reasons, including worries about cities losing local control, fears that the bill might exacerbate displacement and concerns about changes in neighborhood character.

While Senator Wiener and the bill鈥檚 nonprofit sponsor, California YIMBY, on the state senate floor, the appropriations committee chair decided not to bring the bill to a vote this year. The bill cannot be voted upon until 2020 unless that .

SB 50 is part of a broader package of 鈥�3 Ps鈥� bills 鈥� addressing housing production, preservation and tenant protections 鈥� that originally came out of the Bay Area鈥檚 process. 黑料传送门participated in CASA and voted in favor of the , a set of solutions for the region鈥檚 housing challenges. 黑料传送门is supporting a number of bills in the state legislature intended to implement the CASA Compact. Some of those bills continue to move through the process, but hearings in the next week will determine which of those bills will pass their first house and move forward. include SB 330, Senator Nancy Skinner鈥檚 bill that places limits on cities鈥� ability to restrict housing; AB 1487, Assemblymember David Chiu鈥檚 bill that would create a regional housing entity for the Bay Area; and tenant protections bills from Assemblymember Chiu (AB 1482) and Assemblymenber Rob Bonta (AB 1481). However, without the main housing production bill in play, it鈥檚 difficult to know .