1 City Council Meeting: April 28, 2026 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER _____ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CITY OF SANTA MONICA DIRECTING
THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO INITIATE THE PROCESS OF AMENDING THE
TEXT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO EFFECTUATE THE REQUIREMENTS OF SENATE BILL 79
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 79 (“SB 79”), the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, which takes effect on July 1, 2026; and
WHEREAS, SB 79 provides that housing development projects that meet applicable standards and are located within a half mile distance of a major transit stop are an allowable use on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development; and
WHEREAS, SB 79 further provides guaranteed height, density, and FAR standards for eligible housing projects near Transit-Oriented Development (“TOD”) stops and additional concessions beyond State Density Bonus; and WHEREAS, in approving SB 79, the Legislature found and declared that California faces a housing shortage both acute and chronic, particularly in areas with access to robust public transit infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, creating ownership opportunities can be an effective long-term strategy for building wealth and can create a path to financial security; and 2 WHEREAS, building more homes near transit access reduces housing and transportation costs for California families, and promotes environmental sustainability, economic growth, and reduced traffic congestion; and
WHEREAS, public transit systems require sustainable funding to provide reliable service, especially in areas experiencing increased density and ridership; and WHEREAS, the state does not invest in public transit service to the same degree as it does in roads, and the state funds a smaller proportion of the state’s major transit agencies’ operations costs than other states with comparable systems; and WHEREAS, transit systems in other countries derive significant revenue from transit-oriented development at and near their stations; and WHEREAS, the Legislature further found and declared that the state faces a housing crisis of availability and affordability, in large part due to a severe shortage of housing, and solving the housing crisis therefore requires a multifaceted, statewide approach, including, but not limited to, encouraging an increase in the overall supply of housing, encouraging the development of housing that is affordable to households at all income levels, removing barriers to housing production, expanding homeownership opportunities, and expanding the availability of rental housing; and WHEREAS, although SB 79 has certain mandated requirements, it provides flexibility and a measure of local control to jurisdictions with respect to its implementation; and
WHEREAS, SB 79 provides three main “approaches” for its implementation; and WHEREAS, Approach 1 implements the requirements of SB 79 as written, which includes, but is not limited to, the application of the provisions of SB 79 to all eligible 3 parcels within a half mile of the Metro E Light Rail Stations with the ability to exclude certain sites if they are located more than one mile walking distance of a TOD stop; and WHEREAS, Approach 2, among other things, allows the City to adopt an ordinance temporarily excluding certain sites from the provisions of SB 79 until 2030 to align with the 7th Cycle Housing Element; and
WHEREAS, the sites that may be excluded under Approach 2 include but are not limited to, sites: (1) located in a TOD Zone with 33% of sites offering 50% of SB 79’s density and permitted Floor Area Ratio (“FAR”) and which currently provides 75% of overall SB 79 TOD density; (2) already allowing at least 50% of SB 79’s densities and FAR; (3) located in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones; (4) located in area vulnerable to one foot of sea level rise; (5) with locally designated historic resources which were designated before January 1, 2025; (6) located in a low-resource area as published by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee; and/or (7) located in a TOD alternative plan; and
WHEREAS, approach 2 requires an implementing ordinance which is subject to review by the California Department of Housing and Community Development; and WHEREAS, Approach 3 allows the City to adopt a TOD Alternative Plan (“the Plan”) that would transfer density across SB 79 TOD zones (i.e., areas within a half mile of the TOD stop) and/or TOD sites subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to the following: (1) the Plan must maintain the same total net zoned unit capacity across all TOD zones in the City, in terms of both total units and residential floor area, as what is available under SB 79; (2) at the TOD level, the Plan cannot reduce density by more than 50%; and (3) at the individual site level, the Plan cannot decrease capacity by more 4 than 50% except at certain sites (e.g., locally designated historic sites) and must have minimum density of 1.0 FAR and 30 du/acre to support home ownership opportunities, and cannot be increased by more than 200%; and
WHEREAS, as with Approach 2, to effectuate Approach 3, the City must adopt an implementing ordinance, which is subject to review by the California Department of Housing and Community Development; and
WHEREAS, the City Council would like to explore these approaches, along with potential amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to effectuate the approaches along with the other requirements of SB 79; and
WHEREAS, this Resolution of Intention represents the formal initiation of the process to make amendments to the Zoning Ordinance in order to effectuate SB 79, including, but not limited to exploring Approaches 1, 2, and 3 noted above.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.46.030(A), the City Council does hereby direct the Planning Commission to initiate the process of amending the text of the Zoning Ordinance to effectuate the requirements of SB 79, including, but not limited to exploring Approaches 1, 2, and 3 noted above.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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HEIDI VON TONGELN
CITY ATTORNEY