HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpposition Letter - SB 79 (Wiener) - 05.14.2025
May 14, 2025
The Honorable Scott Wiener
Senator, California State Senate
1021 O St, Suite 8620
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: SB 79 (Wiener) Transit-oriented Development – OPPOSE
Notice of OPPOSITION (As Amended May 13, 2025)
Dear Senator Wiener,
On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I am writing to express our strong opposition to your
Senate Bill (SB) 79 which would disregard state-certified housing elements and bestow
land use authority to transit agencies without any requirement that developers build
housing, let alone affordable housing.
SB 79 doubles down on the recent trend of the state overriding its own mandated local
housing elements. This latest overreaching effort forces cities to approve transit-oriented
development projects near specified transit stops — up to seven stories high and a
density of 120 homes per acre — without regard to the community's needs,
environmental review, or public input.
Most alarmingly, SB 79 defies cities’ general plans and provides transit agencies
unlimited land use authority on property they own or have a permanent easement,
regardless of the distance from a transit stop. Transit agencies would have the power to
determine all aspects of the development including height, density, and design, without
any regard to local zoning or planning.
This broad new authority applies to both residential and commercial development.
Transit agencies could develop 100% commercial projects — even at transit stops — and
not provide a single new home, while simultaneously making the argument that more
housing must be constructed around transit stops.
The City of Cupertino appreciates and respects your desire to pursue a housing
production proposal. However, as currently drafted, SB 79 will not spur much-needed
housing construction in a manner that supports local flexibility, decision-making, and
community input. State-driven ministerial or by-right housing approval processes fail to
recognize the extensive public engagement associated with developing and adopting
zoning ordinances and housing elements.
California will never produce the number of homes needed with an increasingly state-
driven, by-right housing approval process. What we really need is a sustainable state
investment that matches the scale of this decades-in-the-making crisis. For these reasons,
the City of Cupertino strongly opposes SB 79.
For these reasons, the City of Cupertino strongly opposes SB 79.
Sincerely,
Liang Chao
Mayor
City of Cupertino
cc: Senator Dave Cortese
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens