Sen. Scott Wiener’s, D-San Francisco, density laws passes Meeting | Native Information

Scott Wiener

A bill touted as a means of helping the housing crisis by streamlining infill and transit-rich neighborhood increases for small apartment buildings, but has been criticized by opponents who said it would make home ownership a competitive sport for pension funds, rental giants and Making other deep pockets passed the meeting on Monday.

The bill, Senate Bill 10, drafted by Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was passed by 41 votes to 9 and is now being sent back to the state Senate for final approval before going to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. On site, meeting speaker Tem Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and meeting member Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, voted in favor.

SB 10 allows cities to voluntarily expand non-overgrown areas near transportation routes or in existing urbanized locations to 10 unit buildings without going through California’s Environmental Quality Act. Cities can also designate these projects as legitimate, meaning that they can be ministerially approved without a lengthy approval process. According to the Vienna office, it is currently illegal to build more than one residential unit per plot in single-family zones.

The bill was defeated by Livable California, which challenged the bill’s ability to resolve the housing crisis and whose officials said it would create gentrification and increase land speculation. Livable California also opposed Senate 9 bill, authored by State Senate President Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, that would allow for split and semi-detached houses in areas that are currently single-family home. The bill is due to be voted on in the Assembly this week.