Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday to streamline housing development around BART stations and ease the Bay Area's epic affordable housing problem at the expense of local officials' decision-making powers over land use.
Supporters said Assembly Bill 2923 would fast-track housing development near transit where it's most needed and often most contentious, with projects sometimes languishing up to a decade.
The bill will help ease two of the greatest pains in the Bay Area: increasing traffic congestion and rising home prices, said Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
"We're gonna pop the champagne because this bill will replace the real pain people experience every day: harrowing commutes and astronomical home prices," Guardino said.
That is, if developers bring projects forward, which Guardino said "is not a tough sell."
"This is covered land," he said. "It's an opportunity for density at a BART station for homes that can be available at almost all price points."
Opponents argued it would undermine local planning and add "mission creep" to a struggling transit agency.
BART has worked with developers to build more than 3,800 apartments and town homes at 13 of its stations, nearly 2,000 of which already have been constructed.
The bill calls for BART to develop guidelines similar to those it adopted in 2016 for 20,000 homes throughout the system by 2040, with 35 percent offered at below-market-rate — and for certain East Bay and San Francisco cities to update their zoning of BART property accordingly. It also would fast-track developments on BART-owned property as long as the building heights are no more than one story higher than the tallest buildings allowed in the surrounding land.
The bill was carried by Tim Grayson, D-Concord, a former Concord mayor, and fellow Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, a former supervisor in the city, and won the backing of business, labor and transit groups.
Grayson argued last month that "it's past time for cities to come to the table with real solutions for housing, rather than continuing to raise roadblocks and trying to kill affordable housing developments."
But the bill was opposed by Alameda County and a host of East Bay cities such as Fremont, Hayward, Lafayette and Pleasant Hill. The BART board of directors — which officially took a neutral position — was split.
BART General Manager Grace Crunican weighed in soon after the bill's signing.
"With the passage of AB 2923, lawmakers are sending a message to all local policymakers about the urgent need to build housing now. At BART, we could not agree more," Crunican said in part.
"Although AB 2923 directs BART to adopt new transit-oriented development zoning standards for each BART station, I want to assure community leaders and residents that BART is committed to continuing our collaborative approach. We have found that working closely with neighborhoods and local elected officials to consider community needs is not only respectful, it's the most efficient way to get the job done."
State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, a frequent critic of BART management, had called the legislation unnecessary, given the development already underway at many stations, and a worrying precedent for land-use powers.
"BART can't even run the trains efficiently and safely," Glazer said last month. "So we're going to give them more authority and responsibility?"
On Sunday, Glazer took a dim view of the new law.
"We need to build more housing, but this bill seriously undermines neighborhood voices and community choice. Land-use decisions have always been placed in the hands of local cities, where they have developed the expertise to manage the environmental reviews and complex land use," Glazer said.
"BART has none of that expertise or community sensitivity and has struggled to adequately manage their primary transit responsibilities. The governor has the best of intentions in working to build more housing, but this action will result in hostile government-to-government engagement and costly litigation."
