By Jorge Casuso

August 27, 2025 -- The battle over a State bill to allow major housing developments near public transit is intensifying leading up to a decisive committee vote on Friday.

On Tuesday, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored SB 79, announced "a surge of major endorsements" for the bill, which allows new residential buildings of up to seven stories near major transit stops.

Endorsing the bill since Saturday were the California Democratic Party, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, climate investor Tom Steyer, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Homelessness Service Providers.

Wiener's office hailed the new support -- which included a decisive 111 to 62 vote by the State party -- as "a sea change" from five years ago, when SB 50, a broader transit-oriented development (TOD) bill met stiff opposition.

That bill was "protested in Oakland, lost a support vote on the California Democratic Party convention floor, and died on the Senate floor," Wiener's staff noted. Another TOD bill, SB 827, was panned in the 2018 Governor’s race.

“Californians are demanding that their leaders fix the broken status quo and deliver affordable homes,” Wiener said in a statement Tuesday.

“The sea change from five years ago is remarkable, and this movement is just getting started. Allowing more homes near public transportation is an idea whose time has come.”

The controversial measure -- which makes it easier and faster to build housing developments of up to seven stories in residential zoning districts -- has been met with a stiff and growing opposition.

Last weekend, Neighbors For A Better California and allied groups organized protests in cities across the state, including Santa Monica ("Opponents Mount Last-Ditch Effort to Kill Housing Bill," August 22, 2025).

Last Thursday, the LA City Council voted to join 131 California cities that have opposed the bill, which they say usurps local control over municipal planning and zoning.

Only five cities -- including Santa Monica, which has major bus and rail stops across its 8.3 square miles -- have voted to support a measure City staff said would have major impacts on residential areas.

SB 79 must be approved by the Appropriations Committee before a final vote is taken on the Assembly floor by the September 12 legislative deadline. The bill already was narrowly approved by the full Senate.