Liang - Many Reasons to Oppose SB 827. No Amendments Acceptable.

From: Liang C

Date: Tue, Mar 6, 2018 at 4:02 PM
Subject: Many Reasons to Oppose SB 827. No Amendments Acceptable.
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>

Dear Mayor Paul and City Council Members,

I urge you to take the leadership to take a strong stand opposing SB 827. No amount of amendments to SB 827 would fix such a bill based on wrong assumptions and do not even increase any supply of below-market-rate housing.

The 2017 pro-housing bills also include some aggressive measures to ensure that the cities would meet the RHNA allocation; otherwise, they will face severe consequences. The cities should treated like adults. Set a goal and then enable the cities to achieve that goal. The cities should not be treated like little children so that the state has to dictate how the city would zone its lands to achieve the RHNA goals.

Each city has diverse needs and situations. What's suitable for San Francisco may not be suitable for the entire California. What's suitable for Cupertino should be determined by the City Council and its residents, not a one-size fits all policy. The impacts of wrong land use decisions are irrevocable for 50 or more years. Please strongly oppose SB 827 and similar bills that take away local control on land uses.

Below are 13 reasons to oppose SB 827.

Senate Bill 827, if passed, automatically upzones all neighborhoods within a ½ mile radius of a major transit stop or a ¼ mile radius of a bus stop with frequent service to unlimited density and floor area ratio with height limits of 55 feet high (5 stories) to 85 feet high (8 stories) for wider roads. (And 35% higher when density bonus applies)

Any bus running every 15 minutes during any rush hour is considered “frequent” by SB 827.

SB 827 eliminates setbacks, residential density, parking requirements, or any standard that limits density.

1. SB 827 is an environmental disaster. Loss of open space; loss of solar power generation; increased depletion of aquifers; greatly increased air pollution from increased traffic congestion; Increased impacts from global warming; increased risk of flooding.

2. SB 827 punishes responsible local governments and rewards irresponsible local governments. Irresponsible local governments have encouraged runaway office growth with inadequate housing for out-of-town workers.

3. SB 827 encourages the removal of existing affordable housing in order to build higher-cost housing. SB 827 does not require additional inclusionary below-market rate housing. Right-to-remain after eviction is of little use for most.

4. Real estate construction interests and big tech corporations back SB 827 for their financial benefit and at the expense of the quality of life for residents. The bill’s main author has taken large campaign contributions from these entities. SB 827 enriches for-profit real estate and construction interests.

5. SB 827 demonstrates a misunderstanding of the purpose of the general plan as a city’s guiding policy document for land use change and a blatant disregard for the role of community involvement in the democratic process. Zoning needs to be left to local planning experts with public engagement.

6. SB 827 deprives municipalities of the ability to provide sufficient subsidized below-market-rate (BMR) housing. It takes away the primary tool available to the city officials: the authority to upzone and regulate development standards. SB 827 is not only oblivious to the expenses the cities will incur to provide infrastructure, but also took away any ability for the cities to recover any infrastructure impact fees.

7. SB 827 will overload already extended infrastructure in overcrowded areas. The cities will face rising pension cost, rising infrastructure cost due to rapid increase in population and rising cost to provide subsidized BMR housing. SB 827 does not require additional percentage of BMR housing.

8. SB 827 absolves corporations of their responsibility to own the housing insecurity they cause when building offices in communities with insufficient housing. Corporations have recruited significant numbers of tech workers from out of the state into an area with an existing severe housing shortage.  This disproportionate number of imported workers has driven up housing prices and displaced local residents.

9. SB 827 does not require cost savings for developers from higher density be passed on to tenants. It eliminates max unit counts, parking requirements, and other zoning regulations under the guise that density will lower housing costs. Property owners are given a pass to charge market-rate rents.

10. SB 827 will undermine effective transit with sufficient ridership in the long run. Large amount of attractive public places, retail, shopping, service-providing businesses do generate transit ridership, not housing. Years of market-rate housing with token retail near transit in LA has seen decreased transit ridership.

11. SB 827 will create dangerous traffic conditions near transit due to no parking requirement. The streets near transit will become parking lots while the commuters also seek parking in these streets. These streets become more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists who take transit.

12. SB 827 will affect schools severely by adding large numbers of students with no space and little funding. There is no chance to negotiate additional fees or taxes to fund land acquisition for new schools, or new construction at existing school sites, which often cost $50+millions.

13. SB 827 will result in more luxury apartments in the most-expensive areas, but little housing in affordable areas. As many areas are upzoned at the same time by SB 827, developers get to choose where to build to make the most profit.

Sincerely,

Liang C

Cupertino Resident