HomeMy WebLinkAboutDiamond Bar SB 50 Oppose Letter Final 1-20-2020
City of Diamond Bar
21810 Copley Drive | Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4178
(909) 839-7000 | Fax (909) 861-3117
www.DiamondBarCA.gov
Steve Tye
Mayor
Nancy A. Lyons
Mayor Pro Tem
Andrew Chou
Council Member
Ruth M. Low
Council Member
January 20, 2020
The Honorable Scott Wiener
Senator, California State Senate
State Capitol Building, Room 5100
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Senator Wiener:
The City of Diamond Bar respectfully continues to be opposed to SB 50 unless the measure is
further amended to address the concerns as outlined by the League of California Cities. On April
25, 2019, the City went on record opposing SB 50. Although amendments have been made to
the legislation, there are serious concerns that must be addressed before the City can reconsider
its position.
Under SB 50, if a city elects not to develop a “local flexibility plan” or if HCD does not approve a
submitted “local flexibility plan” by January 1, 2023, a city is required to give a developer an
“equitable communities incentive”, which overrides locally developed and adopted height
limitations, housing densities, and parking requirements. Many statewide standards, enacted by
the Legislature, are included in the State’s Planning law. Standards should be established by the
Legislature in conjunction with municipalities, not by individual developers.
Additionally, SB 50 gives housing developers and transit agencies, who are unaccountable to
local voters, the power to determine housing densities, heights up to 55 feet, parking
requirements, and design review standards for “transit-rich housing projects” within one-half mile
of a major transit stop. This again should be established by the Legislature in conjunction with
municipalities, not by individual developers.
For these reasons, the City of Diamond Bar is opposed to SB 50 unless amended.
Sincerely,
Steve Tye
Mayor, Diamond Bar
cc. Senator Ling-Ling Chang, 29th District, Fax (916) 651-4929
Assembly Member Phillip Chen, 55th District, Fax (916) 319-2155
League of California Cities, cityletters@cacities.org
City Council
Joe A. Gonsalves & Son
California Contract Cities Association