In a narrow miss, a California bill that would allow denser housing to be built near major transit stops is no longer applicable in Coronado. At least for now. 

The culprit of this said restructuring is Senate Bill 79, a state-mandated order that if signed, would take control out of the hands of local jurisdictions and allow developments within a half-mile radius of a high-frequency commuter rail, light rail or bus service to be rezoned for affordable housing. 

The bill passed the Senate and Assembly by a narrow margin, and is waiting for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature to become a law.

While the most-updated version has no immediate implications for Coronado, an earlier draft of the bill would have qualified areas surrounding ferry landings as sites for rezoning. 

Humor me for a minute, and let me outline how that could have played out: Early versions of the bill would have overridden local zoning authority and allowed redevelopment of buildings within a quarter- or half-mile of the Coronado Ferry Landing. 

Multi-family residences such as Coronado Point, Regatta Bay, The Landing and Crown View could have been built up to 55 or 75 feet, which is a 15- to 35-foot increase from the city’s current 40-foot max. 

The heart behind the bill is to provide more affordable housing options in areas that double as spots with easily-accessible public transportation. (SB 79 requires between 7% and 13% of new developments be designated as affordable housing.) 

But in places like Coronado, the ferry isn’t a practical commuting option. That means new development would likely bring more cars, traffic and parking headaches – impacts the bill doesn’t allow cities to consider.

Although SB 79 doesn’t apply to Coronado at this moment, this illustration gives a perfect opportunity to assess how state housing bills can affect local communities. Do they achieve the end goal, or can they sometimes create unintended consequences for cities in the long run?  

State laws already play a crucial role in local zoning, with the intent to protect the rights of citizens – and to ensure fair planning decisions in the public interest. At the same time, each city understands the nuances of their own community, specifically, their housing issues. So where should local planning end, and state planning kick in?     

Affordable housing is sorely needed in Coronado, and achieving it is an end goal that both the state, and our city, should be striving toward. With few safeguards to ensure added housing remains affordable, SB 79 could create a larger problem, instead of solving the low-income housing deficit.

It’s a misguided state policy that overrides local zoning and ignores past lessons. We need a national framework approach to really solve the issue.

Although SB 79 no longer includes ferry landings, the bill has the potential to spring up on Coronado again without much warning.

Coronado has two bus routes, the 901 and 904, and neither qualifies as high-frequency enough to be considered a major transit stop in SB 79. 

If the San Diego Association of Governments were to update its regional transportation plan and identify either of those routes in plans to increase the frequency, Coronado’s back in the conversation. No promise of follow-through needed, no data required, no funding earmarked. Just a line written in a regional transportation plan and state housing laws could be triggered.

Again, Coronado would have very little, if any, control in the final outcome. 

So before closing the door to SB79, we need to recognize that it could come back, and prepare ourselves for unintended consequences if it is officially passed into law.

The Coronado News welcomes letters to the editor. Submit letters, no longer than 400 words, to newsroom@thecoronadonews.com.

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