Coalition to Preserve LA Save Your Zip Code Workshop. Tim Redmond Founder, 48Hills.org The Ins and Outs of SB 743, the precursor to SB 827

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1 Coalition to Preserve LA Save Your Zip Code Workshop Tim Redmond Founder, 48Hills.org The Ins and Outs of SB 743, the precursor to SB 827

2 Bay Bridge Traffic Says It all

3 SB 743 Is Already Here. SB 827 Is Coming Both bills push local control to the brink SB 743 has eliminated parking and CEQA protections against esthetics, and no longer require cities to count congestion as an environmental impact! SB 827 would substantially upzone Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and other cities - removing density and height limits, developer parking requirements and environmental review of proposed developments.

4 First, SB 743. It s a Stealth Developer Give Away No one is paying attention to this law: Not even CEQA lawyers and activists Originally, it was drafted to speed up the construction of the NBA s Sacramento King s stadium to avoid an environmental review of the traffic it would cause. A class special-interest bill by Darrel Steinberg, Senate President Pro Tem who represented Sacramento. SB 743 was passed by the California Legislature in September 2013.

5 King s Stadium Sacramento Image of Stadium

6 SB 743 Changed How Traffic Is Measured, Eliminates Parking Requirements and Esthetic Reviews In 2017, the Gov. Office of Planning approved measuring traffic by `vehicle miles traveled (VMT) not congestion which was measured by `Level of Service (LOS) Nobody has done any real research on VMT It can be cooked to help developers. If a project is near an existing major transit line the rules assume it will have low VMT and is CEQA exempt for traffic impacts. Density of any sort impacts LOS, including pedestrians. Look at Manhattan.

7 New Rules for Traffic Won t Stop This

8 Weakened CEQA Rules Results in Loss of Funding Under previous CEQA rules, if a developer creates serious congestion problems in an area of town, the city can (and in the case of SF, anyway, has) demand mitigation, which is often in the form of increased fees transit. If we can t appeal or sue under CEQA, we can t get concessions. If we rely on VMT, since there is no data on it is so easy to scam, we won t get that money! Streamlining CEQA is not about building more affordable housing; it s about making developers richer.

9 Eliminates Parking Requirements and Esthetic Reviews Parking requirements for developers are also eliminated A developer in SF said that he needed 1 to 1 parking even on a major transit hub because otherwise his prospective condo buyers wouldn t pay what he was asking -- He said, I might have to lose the swimming pool. Finally, local design reviews no longer have any impact on whether a project can move ahead. High-rise shadows & digital billboards can dominate the landscape. A boon for developers of skyscrapers and billboard companies.

10 SB 827 is the Super Evil Companion of SB 743 Two basic assumptions about state Senator Scott Wiener s SB 827: 1) That growth is always good, and 2) That market-rate housing will bring down costs. The reality: 1) Cities don t build housing (any more) private developers do. 2) More luxury housing simply can t bring down prices.

11 Where Development Prospects Under SB 827 Will Take Place

12 What will SB 287 Allow: 45, 55 and 85-Foot Towers and McMansions The key problem: SB 827 will make a few landowners very rich and impoverish the cities around them. Why? SB 827 allows 5-story to 8-story* housing towers or mega-mansions within 1/4 mile of all rail stations and all bus stops with 15-minute peak hour service. It allows 4-story to 5-story* housing towers or mega-mansions within 1/2 mile of any major transit stop. (A major transit stop means all rail stations, plus all two-way intersecting bus routes with 15-minute peak hours service.) The Bottom Line: The closer your street is to transit, the larger and higher the towers or mega-mansions can go. *But it gets worse. Read on!

13 It Comes Down to Your Street Width. Seriously The wider your street, the taller the tower they can build next to you. Here s the technical version of this impossible concept: If your home, school or shop is ¼ mile from a frequent bus stop OR a rail station, and your street-plus-sidewalk measures 70 feet or wider, an 85-foot tower or mansions can be built next to you. If your home, school or shop is ¼ mile from such transit, and your street-plus sidewalk under 70 feet wide, a 55-foot tower can be built next to you. Finally, if your home, school or shop is ½ mile from a major transit stop and the street is 70 feet wide or more, the tower can be 55 feet tall. If you live on a street under 70 feet wide, the tower can be GOT IT? THAT s OKAY! NOBODY GETS IT!

14 SB 827 Will Destroy Many Affordable Areas, Pushing Out Middle Class and Working-Class Transit Riders If SB 827 passes, existing low rise buildings could be quickly demolished and replaced by large apartment buildings.

15 How to fight back. What does it take for a community to fight back?

16 Take The Reins and Fight Back Here is the exclusive map by CSUN experts showing the future of L.A. under SB 827 around the year Broad swaths near proposed bus lines would be demolished for towers and mansions. This map is searchable and zoomable at A second map, created by a Bay Area tech executive, is the most accurate existing map showing what SB 827 would allow THIS YEAR in L.A. if Scott Wiener succeeds. Go to: transitrichhousing.org.