Governor Newsom Approves SB 79: High-Density Transit-Oriented Housing Development Projects

On October 10, 2025, Governor Newsom signed SB 79 (Wiener) into law, which effectively eliminates single-family zoning districts within a half-mile of a qualifying transit-oriented development (TOD) stop by imposing state-mandated minimum density requirements. SB 79 imposes (i) on-site affordable housing requirements and (ii) labor standards on buildings over 85 feet in height, including prevailing wage and skilled and trained workforce requirements.

SB 79 will not be effective until July 1, 2026, unless a local agency proactively adopts an implementing ordinance or local TOD alternative plan that is approved by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) before that date. SB 79 will not apply within an unincorporated area of a county until the seventh regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) cycle.

The following summary applies to privately owned property. There are separate SB 79 provisions that apply to projects on land owned by a transit agency.

What qualifies as a TOD stop?

A TOD stop means a major transit stop (as defined in Public Resources Code § 21064.3) or a stop on a route designated as a preferred alternative (not defined) or in a regional transportation improvement plan that is served by heavy rail transit, very high frequency commuter rail, high frequency commuter rail, light rail transit, or bus service within an urban transit county meeting the standards of Public Resources Code § 20160.2(a)(1) (as each term is defined).

There are exceptions. The California High-Speed Rail and Amtrak Long Distance Service do not qualify. If the TOD stop is identified in the regional transportation improvement plan after January 1, 2026, it will not be eligible unless the stop otherwise qualifies as a Tier 1 TOD stop (defined below). If a county becomes an urban transit county after July 1, 2026, bus service in that county will not qualify as a TOD stop.

What are the threshold requirements?

• The project must include at least five dwelling units and meet the greater of a minimum of at least 30 dwelling units per acre or the minimum density required under local zoning (if applicable).
• The average total floor area for the dwelling units cannot exceed 1,750 net habitable square feet (defined to exclude garages, carports, parking spaces, cellars, half-stories, and unfinished attics and basements).
• The project must qualify as a “housing development project,” meaning that the project must dedicate at least two-thirds of the square footage for residential use, unless the project proposes at least 500 net new residential units and qualifies for 50% residential pursuant to Gov. Code § 65589.5(h)(2). Projects with a hotel, motel, or other transient lodging use are generally excluded, as specified.
• The project site must be “zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development.” Although not specified in SB 79, the zoning applicable to the project site when an SB 330 preliminary application is filed for the project would be vested (locked in).
• The project site must be within at least a half-mile of a qualifying Tier 1 or Tier 2 TOD stop. “Tier 1” is defined to mean a TOD stop within an urban transit county served by heavy rail transit or very high frequency commuter rail (e.g., BART). “Tier 2” is defined to mean a TOD stop (that is not a Tier 1 TOD stop) within an urban transit county served by light rail transit, high frequency commuter rail, or bus service meeting the requirements of Public Resources Code § 21060.2(a)(1) (e.g., SF Muni).
• The project must comply with applicable airport land use plan and statewide fire safety standards, as specified.

What on-site affordability, anti-displacement, and labor requirements apply?

• If the project includes more than 10 dwelling units, on-site affordable housing must be provided. The “base” project (prior to any density bonus under the State Density Bonus Law) must designate: (i) 7% of the total units as extremely low income; (ii) 10% of the total units as very low income; or (iii) 13% of the total units as lower income (as each is defined in the Health and Safety Code). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a local inclusionary housing requirement mandates a higher percentage or a deeper level of affordability, the local requirement shall apply.
• The project cannot require the demolition of rent-controlled or price-controlled housing if there are (or were) more than two units on the project site and the units (i) have been occupied within the past seven years or (ii) were demolished within seven years before a development application is submitted.
• The project must comply with anti-displacement requirements under the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Gov. Code § 66300.6), any local implementation program, and any applicable local demolition and anti-displacement standards established through a local ordinance.
• For any building over 85 feet in height, most (but not all) of the labor requirements under SB 35/SB 423 must be met, including prevailing wage and skilled and trained workforce requirements. (See Gov. Code § 65913.4(a)(8)(A), (B), (C), (D), (F) and (G).)

What development standards apply?

• For projects within one-quarter mile of a Tier 1 TOD stop, the local agency cannot do any of the following: (i) impose a maximum building height of less than 75 feet; (ii) impose a maximum density of less than 120 dwelling units per acre; or (iii) enforce any other local development standard (or combination of standards) that would physically preclude a residential FAR of up to 3.5.
• For projects within a half-mile of a Tier 1 TOD stop or one-quarter mile of a Tier 2 TOD stop – and within a city with a population of at least 35,000 – the local agency cannot do any of the following: (i) impose a maximum building height of less than 65 feet; (ii) impose a maximum density of less than 100 dwelling units per acre; or (iii) enforce any other local development standard (or combination of standards) that would physically preclude a residential FAR of up to 3.0.
• For projects within a half-mile of a Tier 2 TOD stop – and within a city with a population of at least 35,000 – the local agency cannot do any of the following: (i) impose a maximum building height of less than 55 feet; (ii) impose a maximum density of less than 80 dwelling units per acre; or (iii) enforce any other local development standard (or combination of standards) that would physically preclude a residential FAR of up to 2.5.
• Notwithstanding the foregoing, SB 79 provides for an “adjacency intensifier” for projects adjacent to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 TOD stop, in which case the height limit will be increased by an additional 20 feet, the maximum density will be increased by an additional 40 dwelling units per acre, and available residential FAR will be increased by an additional 1.0. The term “adjacent” is defined to mean within 200 feet of any pedestrian access point to a TOD stop.
• The distance of a project from a TOD stop shall be measured in a straight line from the nearest edge of the parcel containing the proposed project to a pedestrian access point for the TOD stop.

Can the State Density Bonus Law also be utilized?

• A qualifying SB 79 project will also be eligible for a density bonus incentives/concessions, waivers or reductions of development standards, and reduced parking ratios under the State Density Bonus Law (or a local density bonus program), and the density allowed under SB 79 will serve as the “base” density.
• However, if the proposed height exceeds the local height limit, the local agency shall not be required to grant a waiver (or incentive/concession) for additional height beyond that specified in SB 79. There is an exception for 100% affordable housing projects that qualify for an automatic height increase under the State Density Bonus Law, as specified in Gov. Code § 65915(d)(2)(D).
• One to three additional incentives/concessions must be granted for qualifying SB 79 projects that meet specified minimum density requirements and provide on-site affordable housing for low, very low, or extremely low-income households.

Do HAA protections apply?

• Qualifying SB 79 projects are eligible for protections under the Housing Accountability Act (Gov. Code § 65589.5) (HAA).
• SB 79 provides that for purposes of Gov. Code § 65589.5(j), a project that is consistent with SB 79 standards and applicable local objective general plan and zoning standards (that do not alone or in concert prevent achieving SB 79 standards), as modified by any incentive/concession or waiver under the State Density Bonus Law, “shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision” for purposes of the HAA.
• To summarize, this means that the local agency cannot disapprove or impose a condition that the project be developed at a lower density unless it makes specified findings based on the preponderance of the evidence (i.e., that the project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety that cannot be mitigated). This creates a high threshold for the local agency.
• Furthermore, beginning on January 1, 2027, a local agency that denies a qualifying SB 79 project that is located in a high-resource area (as defined) shall be presumed to be in violation of the HAA and immediately liable for penalties under the HAA, unless the local agency demonstrates that there is a health, life, or safety reason for denying the project pursuant to Gov. Code § 65589.5(j) and (o).

What other local agency constraints apply?

• The local agency may enact and enforce standards, including inclusionary housing requirements, that do not (alone or in concert) prevent achieving the SB 79 development standards. However, the local agency cannot adopt any requirements, including, but not limited to, increased fees or inclusionary housing requirements, that apply to a project solely or partially on the basis that the project is seeking approval under SB 79.
• The term “objective” is not included in the foregoing provision but is later referenced in the context of a potential local implementing ordinance, which “may include objective development standards, conditions, and policies” that apply to SB 79 projects.

What is the project approval process?

• SB 79 does not mandate a streamlined ministerial (i.e., no CEQA) approval process but does provide for modified criteria for streamlined ministerial approval of qualifying SB 79 projects under SB 35/SB 423 (Gov. Code § 65913.4), as summarized below.
• If the project does not qualify for streamlined ministerial approval, it “shall be reviewed according to the jurisdiction’s development review process” and the HAA, except that any local zoning standard conflicting with SB 79 requirements shall not apply.
• To qualify for streamlined ministerial approval, the SB 79 project must comply with most SB 35/SB 423 requirements, including thatspecified labor standards must be met (e.g., prevailing wage requirements, which apply to all projects regardless of the building height).
• Among other requirements, the project site must meet the SB 35 siting criteria under Gov. Code § 65913.4(a)(6). SB 35 siting criteria prohibits projects within environmentally sensitive areas, including certain coastal zone areas, habitat for protected species, wetland, very high fire hazard severity zone, hazardous waste site, delineated earthquake fault zone, special flood hazard area, regulatory floodway, land dedicated for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan, or conservation easement (as defined and specified and subject to certain exceptions).
• However, a qualifying SB 79 project will be exempt from specified requirements under Gov. Code § 65913.4(a), meaning that the project (i) does not have to be located in a jurisdiction that is otherwise subject to SB 35/SB 423 streamlining (due to insufficient RHNA progress) and (ii) does not have to be consistent with local objective standards (but see above). See Gov. Code § 65913.4(a)(4)(A), (a)(5).
• The project must comply with the affordability requirements under Gov. Code § 65913.4(a)(4)(B)(i)(I)-(III). For example, for-rent projects must dedicate at least 10% of the total number of units (prior to calculating any density bonus) as very low-income households (below 50% AMI), unless the local ordinance requires a greater percentage of very low-income units or the project is located in the nine-county Bay Area, in which case there is an alternate option for compliance (as specified). Please recall that threshold affordable housing requirements would need to be met to qualify under SB 79 in the first instance (see above).
• If the project site is zoned for commercial or light industrial uses, the requirements of SB 35/SB 423 necessitate that the applicable general plan or zoning designation also allows residential or residential mixed-uses (or the project must separately qualify under SB 6: the Middle-Class Housing Act of 2022).

Could my property be excluded or permitted density modified?

• The local agency may adopt an SB 79 implementing ordinance, subject to review by HCD, that excludes an otherwise qualifying site from SB 79. To do so, the local agency must make a finding that there is no walking path providing access to a TOD stop within less than one mile from the site. See also the exclusion provision related to large industrial employment hubs.
• The local agency may also adopt a local TOD alternative plan, subject to review by HCD, to reduce the permitted residential density on SB 79 sites. However, that plan cannot reduce the SB 79 residential density for any individual site by more than 50%, unless the site is (i) within a very high fire hazard zone, (ii) vulnerable to one foot of sea level rise, or (iii) a designated local historic resource, as specified.
• Any local TOD alternative plan must maintain at least (i) the same total net zoned capacity (total units and residential floor area) across all TOD development zones within the jurisdiction and (ii) 50% of the development capacity in any individual TOD development zone (total units and residential floor area). Any commensurate increase in permitted density cannot exceed 200% of the SB 79 density for the applicable site.
• Additional exclusion provisions apply prior to one year following the adoption of the seventh cycle housing element update. For example, up until that time, the local agency may also exclude certain sites within low-resource areas, as specified. See Gov. Code § 65912.161(b)(1) for more information.

Where is SB 79 most likely to apply?

• As explained in a recent California Planning and Development Report, SB 79 is expected to impact the Bay Area most significantly since virtually all BART and Caltrain stations qualify as Tier 1 TOD stops.
• Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento are also expected to be impacted since there are qualifying Tier 2 TOD stops in those jurisdictions, along with the Bay Area.