Los Angeles Leaders Urgeโ Newsom to Veto Key housing Bill, Drawing Criticism
SACRAMENTO – โขA coalition of Los Angeles city officials, including Mayorโฃ Karenโค Bass, councilmember traci Park, and City Attorney โฃHydee Feldstein Soto, are actively lobbying Governor Gavin Newsomโ to veto Senate Bill 79 (SB 79), a โstate measure โdesigned toโ streamline housing production. The effort has sparked sharp criticism from housing advocates who argue Los angeles โhas consistently failedโ to address its โฃhousing crisisโ without state โintervention.
The debate centers on SBโฃ 79’s potential impact on โฃlocal control over housing development. Proponents say โคthe bill is crucial for increasing housing density in โurban,transit-rich areas,while opponents,including theโ Los Angeles officials,claim it undermines โขlocalโ planning efforts.
Thisโ pushback from Los Angeles comes despite a history of the city resisting housing initiatives. According to observers,โ without Sacramento’s intervention, Los Angeles would โฃbe building significantly fewer homes. Critics point to Bass’s own actions as evidence of this resistance, including her decision to gut โher flagship affordable housing policy, Executive Directiveโ 1 (ED 1), and securing an exemption from SB โ9 in the Pacific Palisades, โขeffectively shielding โคa wealthy enclaveโข from modest duplex reforms. Bass has argued that SB 79 somehow undermines a “pro-housing city like Los Angeles,” a claim disputed byโ those trackingโ the city’s permitting record.
Park and Feldsteinโฃ Soto have also faced โcriticism forโ actively working to blockโ the Venice Dellโค affordable housing project, aโ city council-approved initiativeโ intendedโข to house individuals in โneed. Opponents of the project haveโฃ repeatedly raised obstacles and โcaused delays.
Newsom has โpreviously pledged to prioritize housing solutions statewide. SB 79 aims to ensure housing is built in areas bestโ suited for sustainable growth – urban,โ transit-accessible locationsโฃ – reducing reliance on long commutes and car dependency.
Theโ governorโ now โfaces a decision that will signal โhis commitmentโ to addressing California’s housing crisis and whether he will side with โคlocal opposition or prioritize statewide housing goals. โA veto โwould likelyโฃ perpetuate the status quo of rising costs,โฃ displacement, and obstruction, whileโฃ signing โขthe bill would sendโข a clear message that California’s future won’t be hindered by NIMBYism.
This article was originallyโค published โคon CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
