Misconstrued California laws are coming
SB9 and SB10 will disrupt California cities like nothing else
Sacramento is pushing two radical housing bills: SB9 and SB10.
Both SB 9 and SB 10 have already passed the assembly and senate and will land on his desk within the next two weeks.
I see the push for housing - in the guise of “affordable” $2 million dollar homes. I was recently at the North 40 area of Los Gatos and aghast at the size of the development. 44 acres of an amazing walnut orchard is being replaced with housing and commercial.
Please take the survey - I would love to hear from your perspective with this project.
Read my op-ed piece here that examines this from a pragmatic lens, and what the alternative could be.
Given the proximity of North 40 to highway 85 (borders Los Gatos Boulevard, Lark Avenue, and highways 17 and 85), it is going to create a traffic logjam. Los Gatos is going to change for sure.
If Governor Newsom signs them, they become law.
•SB 10 allows cities and counties to both approve up to 14 units on single family lots without environmental review and undo voter-approved protection of open space and urban boundaries. Existing measures passed by voters that protect communities would be null and void.
•SB 9 preempts local zoning by allowing up to 8 units on what is now one single family lot and exempt developers from paying for infrastructure improvements.
•Both cut out the public hearing process, which means neighbors get no notification and no input.
•Neither require housing be affordable, rather they fall back on unproven “trickle down theory” that increasing market rate housing will magically, somehow, eventually result in some units being affordable.
•There is no plan for roads, schools and water. It is just helping developers pocket cash - does not address the needs of our communities.
I am very concerned about this push for housing that will ultimately lead to a spike in our population, with absolutely no plan to address our water crunch.
I do not want water trucks being brought into neighborhoods that many urban communities globally have had to resort to.
Push for housing, but what about water? New high-density housing bills are on the way from Sacramento. Unfortunately, there has been no proposed infrastructure plan associated with these bills. I would like to have the Valley Water Board members engage with these potential population growth issues with lawmakers in Sacramento. How will we meet the water needs of the population? Some of the proposed housing bills can lead to lot splitting, might mean up to 6 families living (additional JDU and ADU) on a single lot. Yes, it will not happen today but we must keep in mind the near future of California when we make these perilous decisions. Can Valley Water engage with this topic, study the issues involved as well as how the current water infrastructure will support this?
Silicon Valley is the 19th largest economy but we are continually dealing with issues of drought/water, housing, traffic and crumbling infrastructure - unattended and not addressed for decades. We need to ensure our reservoirs will meet the needs of a growing Silicon Valley population - how can we plan for additional reservoirs and safeguard Silicon Valley’s future? Many urban cities of the world have discovered that the water needs of the people can no longer be met, thanks to their explosive growth. Will the cities and towns of California join their ranks?
The Rishi and Rep. Eshoo housing contrast: Congresswoman Eshoo wants to increase housing in every city. Anna wants to work “with cities to satisfy their Regional Housing Need Allocation goals for construction of housing, including affordable housing.” If that happens it will increase housing development projects in every city. I don’t support that.
Failure of our elected leadership: Our elected leaders have been unable to prescribe a plan to solve the Silicon Valley housing crisis and our traffic woes due to decades of inaction, a band-aid policy and inefficient systems like the Light Rail that bleed money every month. We need a better plan and a new vision.
Rishi has a better way: The housing problem is really a transportation problem. See my alternate viewpoint. Is there greed playing with the push to force housing into every city of Silicon Valley? Forcing housing, preempting local control of our cities is not the way. How about a new approach; expanding out housing in a Mega Silicon Valley region on the backs of eco-friendly, noiseless, tunnel-based, cutting-edge transportation system (not the bullet train or light rail). This will address our housing, transportation, homelessness challenges, expand the economy, while preserving and protecting our quality of life.
This link has additional information. https://www.larchmontbuzz.com/featured-stories-larchmont-village/sb-9-and-sb-10-pass-ca-assembly-and-senate-awaiting-governors-signature/