SB79 opens the door to level our historic downtowns
Between 8/18 and 9/12, the California Senate and Assembly will take their final votes on whether to pass Senate Bill 79 (SB79). This bill would permit housing in 6-14 story buildings BY RIGHT anywhere within a half mile of any Caltrain stop including neighborhoods and the many historic downtowns up and down the peninsula. There are no exceptions for historic buildings or districts. This means, for example, Mountain View’s Castro Street historic buildings which are adjacent to the Caltrain tracks in blocks 100-300 could be torn down and the Mountain View City Council would have NO ability to stop this destruction. All cities with homes and historic downtowns along the Caltrain line could face a similar fate.
Not only will we lose irreplaceable historic resources, SB79 also weakens the state’s own requirements for affordable and low-income housing and will cancel out local community developed precise plans. These already include significant upzoning and increased density in our cities that provide housing far beyond that required by our state.
Furthermore, any neighborhood within one-half mile of train, light rail, or frequent bus stops will be rezoned to permit 5-14 story buildings BY RIGHT.
Mid-Peninsula residents can call Senator Josh Becker at (916)-651-4013 and Assemblymember Marc Berman at (650)-324-0224 and say “I live in your district and oppose SB79.”
Or write a short note with the title “OPPOSE SB79” to Senator Becker at https://sd13.senate.ca.gov/contact and Assemblyman Berman at https://a23.asmdc.org/contact.
As this is a statewide bill, all California residents can help defeat SB79 by contacting their state legislators and say, “I live in your district and I oppose SB79”
Robert Cox, Louise Katz, Nazanin Dashtara, Muriel Sivyer-Lee, Toni Rath, Peter Spitzer, Maureen Blando, Jerry Steach, David Lewis, Carol Lewis, Hala Alshahwany, Carole Griggs, Leslie Friedman, Nancy Stuhr, Sean O’Malley, Diane Gazzano, Lorrie Wormald, Alice DeGuzman, Chuck Muir, Julie Muir, and Roger Noel
For the Steering Committee of Livable Mountain View
