By Jorge Casuso
May 13, 2025 -- The City Council voted Tuesday night to support a controversial State housing bill that allows new residential buildings of up to seven stories near major transit stops.
The 6 to 1 vote comes six days before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday determines the fate of SB 79, which would apply to most of the 8.3-square-mile city crisscrossed by transit lines.
Santa Monica joins West Hollywood as the only supporters of the bill, which is opposed by the other 89 California cities that have weighed in before Monday's key vote.
"We have to be leaders," said Councilmember Barry Snell, one of four new members of the Council's pro-housing super-majority. "We know in California that we have a strong housing shortage."
Mayor Lana Negrete, who cast the lone opposing vote, noted that the vast majority of the new units that would be built under the bill would be market rate, with only 10 to 20 percent affordable.
"As we overdevelop communities like Santa Monica, we continue to displace the very people that these bills are meant to support," said Negrete, whose four years on the Council makes her its senior member.
The concern was expressed by the other Councilmembers, who approved changing the draft of the letter to include backing measures that would make it harder to displace existing tenants and boost affordable housing.
Noting that the bill has come under stiff criticism, Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya noted that "no bill is perfect, but the perfect is the enemy of the good."
The bill, staff noted in a report to the Council, "has the potential to increase housing production, at a faster pace, and for less cost," meeting the goals of the State Legislative platform adopted by the new pro-housing Council.
If enacted, SB 79 would establish State zoning standards around train stations and major bus stops, allowing multi-family homes of up to seven stories near major transit stops.
The height limits would gradually decrease to four stories "with lower height standards extending up to half a mile away from such stops," according to Sen. Scott Wiener, who sponsored the bill.
The bill also "streamlines permitting for homes built within half a mile of major public transit stops" and allows local transit agencies "to develop at the same or greater density on land they own."
While SB 79 make it easier and faster to build taller buildings, it also effectively limits the ability of local governments to "deny or downsize" the projects, according to staff.
The bill's effect would be mainly felt in Santa Monica's residential zoning districts, which currently have density limitations that are significantly lower than those proposed by SB 79, staff said.
The City’s commercial districts would not be significantly affected, since buildings can already be taller and more dense than the bill allows, according to staff.
The bill has passed the Senate Committee on Housing by a 6 to 2 vote, with 3 members abstaining, and the Senate Committee on Local Government by a 4 to 3 vote, despite the committees' chairs recommending members vote against the bill.
"This is a clear sign the Majority Caucus is divided on the issue and there could be significant changes to the bill in the coming months," staff wrote.
