(Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Westside Current on August 24 and is reprinted with permission.)
Councillmember Traci Parkspeaks at the rally held in Pacific Palisades to opposed SB 79, which takes away local control.
Photo: JAMIE PAIGE
By JAMIE PAIGE
More than 50 residents from the Westside and San Fernando Valley gathered Saturday in a bank parking lot in Pacific Palisades with a unified message: Senate Bill 79 isn’t the right way to build more housing.
The rally was part of a wave of statewide demonstrations, organized by Our Neighborhood Voices, against the controversial measure, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), that would allow high-density housing near existing and future transit stops. Supporters call the bill a necessary step to ease California’s housing crisis. Opponents say it ignores fire danger, infrastructure limitations and neighborhood input.
“This bill lets developers pack massive developments into neighborhoods with no guarantee of infrastructure, fire safety, or affordability,” said Marcella Bothwell, chair of Neighbors for a Better California, one of the organizers. “It’s a one-size-fits-all mandate from Sacramento that puts short-term profit over long-term safety.”
Local Pushback
In the Palisades, where residents are still rebuilding after January’s devastating fire, the message was particularly pointed. “Unscrupulous developers and investors already tried taking advantage of existing laws to build multifamily in the Palisades where it is completely inappropriate,” said Jessica Rogers, president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association. “SB 79 would be 100 times worse — literally — allowing dozens of units on single-family parcels. We must stop this reckless bill, not just for the Palisades, but for Altadena and hundreds of other vulnerable neighborhoods in our state.”
Councilwoman Traci Park, who co-authored the City Council resolution opposing SB 79, told residents that the bill threatens to erase years of community-driven planning. “This is extraordinarily important to the Westside of Los Angeles, where we have some of the most disaster-prone geography in the entire region,” Park said. “We all know that we need new housing, and it needs to be affordable. But this bill eliminates exemptions for irresponsible development in places that are not safe, that don’t have the infrastructure, including evacuation capacity, to support it.”
Nico Ruderman, a Venice activist and State Senate candidate, echoed those concerns, calling SB 79 “reckless.” “This bill is dangerous — not just politically, but physically,” he said. “It overrides local evacuation planning, ignores infrastructure realities, and forces density into places where people cannot safely evacuate.”
Senate candidate Nico Ruderman joins residents at a rally, at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Swarthmore Avenue saying the housing density bill is “reckless” and strips cities of local control. Photo: JAMIE PAIGE
City Hall Divisions
Saturday’s demonstration followed a contentious debate at Los Angeles City Hall, where the council voted 8-5 Tuesday to oppose the measure. Mayor Karen Bass signed the resolution, cementing the city’s opposition ahead of a key hearing in Sacramento this week.
Supporters of the resolution argued that Los Angeles has already engaged in ambitious planning to meet housing goals and warned that SB 79 would undermine those efforts.
“This body has engaged in a great deal of work to ensure that we maximize density in appropriate areas of our city,” said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. “SB79 is not the solution for Los Angeles. It actually does more harm than good.”
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents parts of the Westside, said the city’s incentive programs already align with the spirit of SB 79 but in ways that protect safety and infrastructure. “It’s a blanket approach that overrides the targeted, context-sensitive local planning tools we have just implemented here in Los Angeles,” she said.
Opponents of the resolution, including Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martínez, Nithya Raman and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, argued the city should not block a statewide solution while falling short on its own housing commitments. “We have to build more housing, and we have to demonstrate that we as a body are willing to take the political risks to do it,” Soto-Martínez said.
A Statewide Movement
Organizers said more than a dozen rallies took place Saturday, including in San Diego, San Francisco and Marin County. Lori Richards, president of Our Neighborhood Voices, the coalition coordinating the protests, said the demonstrations show broad concern.
“We all want more affordable housing,” Richards said. “But this bill risks creating preventable tragedies statewide.”
SB 79 is scheduled for a suspense file hearing before the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. If it advances, it could reach the Assembly floor August 29.
Metro Capital Builders Founder Reza Akef feels SB 79 takes away local control for building.
Photo: JAMIE PAIGE