Coalition Victory in Palo Alto - SB 79 units are already on the way

Palo Alto was working to adopt illegal ordinances to delay and defang SB 79 within the city. Taking quick action, advocates got the city to partially revoke its action, and are following up with SB 79-compliant projects that have already been submitted to the city. Our victory in Palo Alto over the implementation of SB 79, like all housing victories, was the work of many hands. Creating new housing is a complicated process of technical details, financial interests, political will, and legal enforcement. In late June, a coalition of organizations came together to push back on a bad policy, and will follow through to see high density housing built near transit, in a city where median home sales are currently between $3.5 and $4 million. 

California’s SB 79 was transformative legislation; effective July 1st, it increased housing capacity near transit stations in many California cities, relaxing height and density restrictions for nearby housing projects. Local governments can seek exemptions for historic purposes or upzone applicable areas on their own via an alternative plan, but Palo Alto’s plan was more questionable.

Palo Alto is not alone in attempting to bypass SB 79 by an urgency ordinance. Usually a city law has to go through rounds of public process before becoming law. But with SB 79’s enactment date looming, city officials did not have the time to enact a full alternative plan or upzoning, so rather than allow SB 79’s height and density limits to come into effect, the city sought urgency ordinances that would have cut SB 79's housing density requirements by 50% in transit-oriented zones, under the pretense of unnamed damage to unnamed historic resources.

NIMBY political pressure for this scheme was strong, but YIMBYs quickly organized a comprehensive response. Under the direction of Palo Alto Forward, groups like the Housing Action Coalition coordinated with YIMBY Law and independent attorneys, members of the community, and researchers to push back.

YIMBY Law submitted letters to the Planning Commission and City Council pointing out that the ordinances were illegal and unenforceable because state law required the city to name an ongoing and immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare to pass an urgency ordinance, with an even higher standard for ordinances that would deny multifamily housing.

According to state law, an urgency ordinances is only allowable if it:

contains legislative findings that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, and that the approval of additional subdivisions, use permits, variances, building permits, or any other applicable entitlement for use which is required in order to comply with a zoning ordinance would result in that threat to public health, safety, or welfare. In addition, any interim ordinance adopted pursuant to this section that has the effect of denying approvals needed for the development of projects with a significant component of multifamily housing may not be extended except upon written findings adopted by the legislative body, supported by substantial evidence on the record…

CA Gov Code § 65858(c), emphasis added.

Beyond the legal argument, activists wrote editorials and reached out directly to council members in the weeks between a Planning Commission hearing and a June 15th City Council hearing.

This work elevated a niche procedural step to a major issue. Originally the SB 79 vote consisted of multiple ordinances, all on the consent calendar, which are not usually discussed, just passed all at once. This item included urgency ordinances for the period of July 1-15th, and separate but temporary SB 79 delays following that period. But the work Palo Alto Forward organized, which continued up to the day of the hearing, convinced councilmembers to change tactics. The council agreed to separate the items for full discussion, and deny the urgency ordinances. 

Temporary ordinances will limit SB 79 implementation following July 15th, but the advocacy did not stop at the hearing. From July 1st-15th, SB 79 will apply fully within Palo Alto. To capitalize on this, the team also connected with interested developers, who were ready to file SB 79 projects on July 1st. The council also committed to follow and reexamine the issue, and directed staff to consider options for a future permanent ordinance. YIMBY Law will continue working with local advocates to support SB 79 compliant projects, and work with the council to support pro-housing policies.