Misguided Housing Bill Bans Single-Family Zoning Forever
By
Sharon Rushton
A fundamentally flawed housing bill, Senate Bill 1120, is
quietly fast-tracking through the State legislature. The
bill is an unprecedented taking of local planning powers
that hands county, city and community decision-making
directly to market-rate and luxury housing developers.
Worse still, the bill could ruin treasured single-family
neighborhoods.
SB-1120 ends single-family zoning and requires
jurisdictions to “ministerially” permit an urban lot split
and/or a duplex on single-family parcels, as long as the
subject parcels and developments meet specified
conditions.
“Ministerial” approval streamlines the permit process and
eliminates discretionary review, environmental review, and
public hearings, thereby stifling public engagement,
democracy, high-quality development, and environmental
protections.
The bill would let developers buy up single-family parcels
as small as 2,400 sq. ft., subdivide each parcel into two
1,200 sq. ft. lots and then build duplexes on each lot.
The result would be four homes, where there used to be
only one. Rear and side setbacks are limited to merely 4
feet. Garages, yards, spaciousness, privacy and views are
disregarded.
Also detrimental, SB-1120 lowers parking requirements to
just one space per home and totally eliminates parking
requirements on developments located within one-half mile
walking distance of either a "high-quality transit
corridor" or a "major transit stop" or if there is a car
share vehicle located within one block of the parcel.
- A "high-quality transit corridor" means a corridor with fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours.
- A “Major transit stop” means a site containing an existing rail transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, or the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.
Without any affordability requisite, the bill primarily
benefits real estate investors, real estate developers,
building contractors, and home rental companies.
Overlooked are the concerns of homeowners, many of whom
spent their life savings to live in a peaceful, scenic
single-family neighborhood.
A 2019 Redfin survey found that regardless of where people
live within the US, more than 85% of home buyers and
sellers (including millennials) prefer single-family homes
with more space, privacy, and gardens over a unit in a
triplex that has a shorter commute.
Moreover, realtors report a recent trend of city dwellers
wanting to move to single-family neighborhoods in the
suburbs to escape dense living conditions, which
contribute to the spread of COVID-19.
Over time, the bill would cause the supply of
single-family homes to diminish due to conversions to
duplexes and "fourplexes" and the price for the remaining
single-family dwellings would become even more expensive.
This would make it more difficult for residents to attain
their preferred lifestyle.
SB-1120’s vast up-zoning, without any environmental review
of potential adverse impacts and cumulative effects, is
reckless.
The 2007 Marin Countywide Plan’s (CWP’s) Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) projected potential growth of 14,043
more housing units (more than the current number of homes
in Sausalito and Mill Valley combined) and 29,759 more
residents, if land vacant in 2006 were fully developed
according to zoning designations of the cities in Marin
County and the Countywide Plan. This didn’t include
density bonuses. Alarmingly, the EIR concluded that “land
uses and development consistent with the CWP would result
in 42 significant unavoidable adverse impacts”, including
worse traffic congestion and insufficient water supplies.
There are more than 61,200 single-family dwellings in
Marin, according to a 2006 report by the County
Assessor-Recorder. The County’s average household size is
2.35 people (per the CWP’s EIR). So, potential growth
consistent with SB-1120, in which single-family homes turn
into duplexes or four homes, could be up to 183,600 more
homes and 431,460 more residents, over and above the CWP
EIR’s forecast.
SB-1120’s subsequent population growth and changes to
development standards would increase the risk of adverse
impacts on the environment, public health and safety,
traffic congestion, infrastructure, utilities (water
supply), public services (schools), views, sunlight,
privacy, neighborhood character, and quality of life.
Especially worrisome, the bill would jeopardize fire
hazard zones. There are many communities in “high” and
“very high” fire hazard zones that have narrow windy
streets and few roads out to safety. The bill allows a
dramatic increase in population in these hazardous
communities, while reducing or eliminating parking
requirements, which will lead to streets being overcrowded
with parked cars. Dire consequences could result during an
emergency when residents are unable to evacuate and fire
trucks are unable to reach their destinations.
Finally, SB-1120 would create unfunded mandates. There is
no funding for dealing with the above listed impacts and
the bill provides an official sidestep of addressing this
issue.
If you agree, please contact Marin County's Supervisors (bos@marincounty.org),
Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers'
(MCCMC's) Legislative Committee (MCCMCSecretary@gmail.com),
Senator McGuire 415-479-6612 and Assembly Member Levine
415-479-4920 and urge them to oppose SB-1120.
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