SB 79 and the Transit Zoning Showdown

Nora Whitman

So, uh, if you live in California and you've been, you know, watching the housing wars play out, July 1st, 2026, was basically D-Day. This was the official start date for Senate Bill 79, which the legislature proudly called the "Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act." It-it-it is a massive piece of legislation, designed to completely bypass local zoning to unlock up to 1.5 million new homes. This episode of our housing deep-dive is, by the way, brought to you by Jellypod AI. But back to the-the actual mechanics of this law, because it is wild how much power the state is grabbing here.

Nora Whitman

The way it works is actually pretty clever, or, um, devious, depending on which side of the planning commission desk you sit on. It is a tiered system. If a developer is planning a project right next to a major transit stop -- we are talking rail stations, ferry terminals, or rapid bus corridors -- they get "by-right" permission to build up to nine stories. No local council veto, no years of environmental review. Nine stories. If they move out a bit, say within a quarter-mile of that stop, the limit becomes seven stories. And even out to a half-mile, you can build up to six stories. And-and here is the kicker: this applies even in areas that are currently zoned strictly for single-family homes. The state is functionally erasing those low-density protections if you are near transit.

Nora Whitman

And the drama behind the scenes is already getting pretty intense. I was talking to some folks in the architecture community, and firms like SPF:architects down in Southern California are actually working on these, like, "ghost projects." They are fully designing these dense, transit-oriented developments, but they are keeping the exact locations completely under wraps. Why? Because they are terrified that NIMBY city officials will find out which parcels they've targeted and try to push through some emergency local historic designation or some other creative roadblock before the developer can file the paperwork. It is this high-stakes game of developer hide-and-seek. But-but here is the thing. If this law is so powerful, and it officially launched on July 1st... why aren't there bulldozers tearing up every single-family lot near a Metro station right now? Well, there's a catch.

Nora Whitman

It turns out the state left a pretty massive loophole in SB 79, and cities are already driving a truck right through it. If a municipality implements its own, quote, "comparable housing density plan," they can actually delay compliance with the state's aggressive nine-story mandate all the way until 2030. So, what did the Los Angeles City Council do? Naturally, they scrambled. They rushed through a plan to upzone 55 single-family neighborhoods, but instead of the state's nine-story option, L.A. is only allowing four-story buildings with anywhere from four to sixteen units. They are essentially sacrificing a little bit of density now to avoid the giant towers the state wants to force on them, basically kicking the real zoning fight four years down the road.

Nora Whitman

But here is where the rubber meets the road. Sacramento has to actually approve L.A.'s compromise plan. State regulators are looking at this right now, deciding whether L.A.'s four-story limits are actually "comparable" to what SB 79 intended, or if they are just a stalling tactic. If the state rejects it, we could see an immediate, massive legal clash. It just shows how-how incredibly difficult it is to enforce top-down state laws when local cities are determined to find every single exit ramp. And this isn't just a California story, either. If you look across the country, we are seeing this state-versus-local battle play out everywhere, just with different flavors.

Nora Whitman

Take Idaho, for example. On July 1st, 2026, two major state bills officially took effect there. SB 1352, their Starter Home Bill, and SB 1354, which deregulates accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. Now, Idaho cities with over 10,000 residents have until February 1st, 2027, to get their local codes in line. But unlike California, where the fight is over nine-story towers, Idaho is just trying to make it legal to build a second unit in a backyard without a three-year public hearing process. It is a totally different scale, but the exact same tension.

Nora Whitman

And if you want to see what happens when the state doesn't step in, look at South Fulton, Georgia. During a planning commission hearing on July 15th, 2026, commissioners voted to recommend denials for several major housing projects, including a much-needed senior housing development, project Z26-012. Without state preemption, local boards can just say "no" to protect the status quo, even when there is a massive housing shortage. Or look at Roseland, New Jersey. On July 13th, the local Zoning Board of Adjustment spent precious time debating and ultimately approving minor variances for a prefab garage and some residential air conditioning units. We are talking about AC units! When homeowners have to beg a municipal board for permission to put a cooling unit in their yard, you realize just how deeply entrenched our local zoning friction really is. Whether it's nine stories in L.A. or an AC unit in New Jersey, the fight for control over our neighborhoods is only getting started. Alright, that is the latest on the zoning front lines. Talk to you next time.