Brian Jaffe

Young girl holds up handmade sign reading “NO KINGS ONLY PRINCESSES!”

Corte Madera, CA #NoKings

Passengers look on as a BART train didn’t stop at the Rockridge BART station due to a systemwide closure that affected all BART stations, in Oakland on March 9, 2025. Photo by Ray Chavez, Bay Area News Group Hed: Breaking: Gov. Newsom signs massive California housing overhaul

After weeks of waiting, California's governor signed a bill that will allow mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops in California's biggest metro areas. https://cal.news/4n3hzge

📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez

HUGE YIMBY WIN 🥳

Our top bill in CA, SB 79, has passed the legislature!!! Next stop is the Governor 👏

This kind of win could not be possible without all of YOU! YIMBYs have been working tirelessly to raise our voices in support of SB 79, and it's clear that we are being heard 👏

HUGE 👏👏

Call the Senate to pass SB 79! Please call your State Senator and urge them to vote YES on SB 79!

SB 79, our bill to legalize townhomes and midrise apartments near the highest-quality transit, is up for its final vote in the Senate TODAY. Calling your state Senator and asking them to support the bill will make a real difference; and it only takes a minute with our tool.

Let's get this done!

And there it is! #SB79, Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill to legalize multifamily housing near major public transit stops across California, just passed the state assembly!

We are one vote away from the most significant shift in land-use policy California has ever seen!

Thanks for the info

Any SB 79 updates now??

Call the Assembly to pass SB 79! Please call your Assemblymember and urge them to vote YES on SB 79!

It's crunchtime, folks! SB 79, our bill to legalize apartments in transit rich areas of California, is about to go up for a vote! Call, text, and email! @cayimby.bsky.social
cayimby.org/call-sb-79/

We’re coming down to the wire here. Keep calling!

I was on @podsaveamerica.crooked.com this week talking about housing near public transit, California’s housing crisis in general & our legislation to allow more housing near transit (SB 79). Go check it out

Yes to all of this 👏👏👏 Let’s start by passing SB 79, which will allow exactly the right kind of transit oriented housing LA and CA need!

SB 79 is not nibbling around the edges like nearly all of the recent housing laws passed in CA. I believe it will substantially improve housing supply and affordability. Please call your state reps and ask them to support.

Why building more homes near transit will transform lives across California | Opinion California cities have largely banned apartments and condos, preventing people from living near jobs and transit systems their taxes fund.

Allowing more homes near high-quality transit is a key strategy to make housing more abundant & affordable, increase transit ridership & reduce traffic congestion & pollution.

I’m authoring legislation to get this done. SB 79 will help California meet our housing, transit & climate goals.

There have been a lot of falsely claimed “huge wins” for CA housing policy over the last five years, but I think this actually is one! 🏡🥑

Big news indeed and a breath of fresh air to see a major legacy environmental organization see dense transit-rich housing for what it is: a key part of decarbonization and a climate-resilient future. NIMBYs are finally losing their ability to hide behind “environmentalism”.

We are closer than ever to the long-prophesied exemption from CEQA (endless environmental review) for infill housing development. This is key to stop the endless delays and litigation associated with development in California.

Just putting this out there...

I've had a few interactions recently with front-line employees in the federal government, specifically at the VA and the IRS. In each case, the person on the other end of the phone was knowledgeable, polite, and helpful. And generally they get zero thanks from anyone.

Are California housing politics changing? Wiener's third transit housing bill clears Senate for first time SB 79 would force cities to allow dense housing construction near transit stations.

Good article summarizing the state of housing debate in California.

www.axios.com/local/san-di...

Josh Becker stood up to major SF Peninsula NIMBYs with his yes vote. She could have done the same to her NIMBYs but instead caved.

I know... that was a big disappointment. Thought she'd have courage.

SB 79 just passed the CA State Senate with minimum required votes.

A lot of senators took hard votes tonight, stood up to a lot of NIMBY pressure, to legalize housing where it matters most. Change is hard, but change CAN happen.

I think they keep the vote open for any senators who were absent to vote later, but not totally sure.

Legislators should look to Sacramento as a test case on housing reform | Opinion “Our infill and transit-oriented housing strategy is working extremely well for Sacramento’s affordability and climate goals.”

As we advance big housing reforms — including my bill to allow more homes near transit & @buffywicks.bsky.social bill to exempt infill housing from CEQA — we can look to Sacramento as an example of what happens when a city takes housing production seriously: Lower costs & the sky doesn’t fall.

I called Senator Ben Allen (916)651-4024
& said that I a constituent in 90278 with 2 nearby areas (bus depot and rail station) that would be upzoned by SB 79. I wholeheartedly support more housing there. For my parents who aged out of driving, for me when/if I live that long, for my child.

This is a pretty balanced overview of AB 609, a bill that would make it easier to build large housing projects within already urbanized areas.

Want a Bay Area starter home? In these 59 cities, it’ll cost you at least $1 million A recent Zillow analysis found 59 Bay Area cities where starter homes cost at least $1 million, highlighting affordability challenges for buyers.

The typical starter home (the average price in the bottom 1/3 of all homes) in 59 of 101 Bay Area cities now costs more than $1 million.

For generations, the Bay Area has been a land of economic opportunity, but only if people can afford to live here.

www.sfchronicle.com/personal-fin...

Interesting… any specifics you remember? Allowing transit agencies to develop is a great way to fund transit.

This is big. Even in its pared down form, SB 79 represents the kind of big reform needed to actually make a dent in our housing deficit.

It is time for big solutions to big problems.

Any action yet on SB 79?