How Will SB 375 Affect the Suburbs?
By John Frith
On Sept. 30, at nearly the last possible minute to act on legislation for the year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 375 (Steinberg; D–Sacramento), the hotly debated bill designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles by strengthening the linkage between land use and transportation planning, and by encouraging more compact and higher-density development.
The bill has been hailed by environmental activists and editorial page writers as one of the most significant pieces of legislation in a generation — one they believe will curtail “sprawl” and force most future growth to occur in existing urban areas and along the state’s relatively few mass transit lines.
But Richard Lyon, CBIA’s Senior Legislative Advocate and a 25-year veteran of the legislative process, said that while SB 375 is a major piece of legislation that will have a telling impact on future growth, it is unlikely to be as dramatic as its strongest supporters envision.
“For those who believe that SB 375 is the silver bullet to stop suburban development or command folks back into the central city, they are likely to be disappointed. While over time we unquestionably will see an emphasis on greater efficiencies in the way land is used and in the overall connectivity to our transportation systems, what will not change are the basic factors that drive land use — job growth, employment location, the availability and affordability of housing, and the trade-offs that consumers make between travel costs and housing costs,” he said.
SB 375 seeks to accomplish multiple goals by using a variety of incentive-based planning tools. It uses the regional transportation planning process to help the state achieve its land use carbon-reduction targets; it reforms the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process to encourage residential developments to be located within areas planned for the mix and type of uses that encourage higher densities; and it coordinates the regional housing needs allocation process with the regional transportation planning process.
According to Lyon, that means well-planned suburban development will continue to be an important part of the state’s future.
Lyon was the Association’s point person on the bill, which CBIA strenuously opposed, but ultimately supported after negotiations between CBIA, the California Major Builders Council, environmental groups, local government, and Steinberg resulted in more workable legislation that will allow builders to meet the state’s ever-growing housing and homeownership needs.
First and foremost, Lyon stressed that while SB 375 becomes law on Jan. 1, 2009, builders will probably not begin to feel real impacts until 2011, when the next round of regional transportation plan updates are due.
That’s because the law directs regional entities to develop regional growth plans that are designed to accommodate expected growth while minimizing future greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles.
San Diego and eight San Joaquin Valley counties all are required to address greenhouse gas reductions in their 2011 transportation plans. Most other parts of the state will be affected in 2012 and 2013, with the Bay Area not required to do so until 2014 because of the state’s planning cycle.
While it’s too early to say for sure how the California Air Resources Board — and the courts — will ultimately implement SB 375, Lyon said it’s likely that two kinds of development will probably be favored by the process:
• Infill development, because planners and environmentalists believe increasing the amount of high-density housing near bus and rail lines and/or near job centers will get people out of their cars.
• Master-planned developments that contain a strong mix of jobs and shopping along with housing, allowing new residents to live near new job centers.
He said SB 375 will not rule out future suburban subdivisions either, but believes developers will have to show planners that they are linked to job centers. Thus, development in places such as suburban Sacramento and the Inland Empire, where significant job growth has occurred in recent years, may be more favorably viewed than areas that are now mostly bedroom communities.
CBIA believes the biggest benefit from SB 375 will be the reforms that will limit the abilities of no-growth advocates and NIMBYs to file CEQA lawsuits to block development.
“The CEQA reforms will ensure that the housing to implement the regional plans will actually get built,” Lyon said.
And that would be a win for homebuilders and prospective homebuyers alike.