California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 79 on Friday, which fast-tracks high-rise development within half a mile of transportation hubs, provoking fears that the state would pursue densification in fire-ravaged areas.
Since the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire on January 7, displaced residents have worried that state and local leaders would see the demise of single-family homes as a chance to introduce apartment buildings, rental properties, multi-family homes, and low-income housing, in the name of climate change and redistribution.
Newsom’s office said SB 79 would “make it easier and faster to build more homes — expanding inventory and access across California.” But former residents of fire zones fear it will make their displacement permanent.
Palisades fought for a carveout another law that would have allowed purchasers of burned-out lots to subdivide easily. Newsom issued an executive order earlier this year to exempt the community from the law.
But SB 79 has no such carveouts, aside from current regulatory exemptions that apply to “high fire zones.” Residents are worried that local officials are developing transit stations that will allow SB 79 to be applied.
The law will allow rapid housing and high-rise development in “the area within one-half mile of a transit-oriented development stop,” which covers most of Los Angeles — and could, soon, include the fire zones.
The law — like many of California’s most radical pieces of legislation — is the brainchild of San Francisco’s State Sen. Anthony Weiner, the left-wing Democrat behind a law making California a “sanctuary state” for transgender surgeries for minor children, a since-repealed law decriminalizing loitering, and similar laws.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath met with the Pacific Palisades Community Council this week in an effort to reassure residents that SB 79 would not herald a land grab or a densification push. Many, however still feel certain that developers and densification activists are targeting their communities.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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