For a long time, being an environmentalist meant stopping things – dirty power plants, the clear cutting of trees and new dams. But in the battle against climate change, we must build – specifically, more affordable homes for our growing…
Senate Bill 827 could raise height limits throughout SF, transform city
A state bill seeking to solve California’s housing crisis by encouraging denser, taller housing near transit could force a striking, historic rezoning of much of San Francisco. Senate Bill 827, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, could allow…
Opinion: Easing building rules near transit key for needed housing
California’s chronic and well-documented housing crisis has been generations in the making and will not be fixed overnight. But the days of legislative inaction or half measures may be nearing their deserved end. SB 827 is perhaps the first real…
California is Considering a ‘Radical’ Statewide Upzone
“The lack of housing affordability is harming our state’s economy as companies consider moving elsewhere because their workers can’t find a place to live. It is severely undermining our climate goals as we push people into longer and longer commutes.…
A Bid to Solve California’s Housing Crisis Could Redraw How Cities Grow
Scott Wiener, the California state senator representing San Francisco, has a pretty good idea for how to save the world. In fact, sitting in a coffee shop in his city’s Financial District, Wiener seems downright perplexed that anyone would be against…
California Tech Leaders Support SB 827
The more than 125 CEOs, Co-Founders, and Technology Investors of the California YIMBY Tech Network have signed a letter in support of Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 827, a bill to increase home building in transit rich areas. “The lack of…
One legislator’s solution to California’s housing crisis
“…the reality is that California is strangling itself and has been for a long time. People get almost immune to hearing about the housing crisis, it’s just words. Look at the real human cost of what’s happening, homelessness being the…
Could a Housing Bill Fight Segregation in San Francisco? — Unintended Consequences
SB 827 would allow people of all income levels to live near transit. It promotes racial justice by preempting low-density “snob” zoning in wealthy suburbs with strong transit access. It would also help ease the disproportionate burden for building currently on low-income…
Editorial: California’s housing wars just starting
The Legislature’s long-delayed response to California’s housing crisis narrowly passed in September in a flurry of last-minute nail-biting and arm-twisting. Judging by the reception that has greeted one of the new year’s first housing bills, that was nothing. The legislation,…
My Transit Density Bill (SB 827): Answering Common Questions and Debunking Misinformation
This piece attempts to answer common questions about SB 827 and debunk misinformation. California is in a deep housing crisis — threatening our state’s environment, economy, diversity, and quality of life — and needs an enormous amount of additional housing at all income levels.…