HomeMy WebLinkAboutVeto Letter - SB 79 (Wiener) - 09.15.2025September 15, 2025
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: Request for Veto, SB 79 (Wiener) Transit-oriented Development (As Amended
May 13, 2025)
Dear Governor Newsom,
On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I write to respectfully request you veto Senate Bill
(SB) 79 by Senator Weiner.
SB 79 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 opposes SB 79 and urges your veto.
Sincerely,
Liang Chao
Mayor
City of Cupertino
cc: The Honorable Josh Becker
The Honorable Patrick Ahrens