| While Long Beach City Hall Lets Sac'to's Density Enbling SB 9 Advance, El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Ass'n Takes Action, Sends Sac'to Committee Opposition Letter; Other Groups May Put Themselves On Record Against SB 9 In Today's Sac'to Hearing
"LB Yimby" and other "Yimby" (Yes in my Backyard) groups statewide plus various interest groups support measure
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(April 22,2021. 6:15 a.m.) -- While Long Beach city staff and City Councilmembers remain mum and effectively allow the advance of a Sacramento bill, SB 9, that would require cities statewide to allow four housing units (some SB 9 opponents say it's six units) on single family home lots, the El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association has become the first Long Beach neighborhood group to participate directly in Sacramento lawmaking proceedings in opposition to the bill.
On April 19, veteran community advocate and EPSNA past president Grace Earl, emailed an opposition letter on SB9 to the state Senate's Governance and Finance Committee ahead of its April 22 hearing on SB 9. The opposition email stated: The El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association, consisting of 654 single family homes, is opposed to Bill SB9 as it will be doing away with single family zoning. We witnessed what happened when Long Beach allowed the cracker box apartments to be built in a residential area twenty years ago. We do not want that to happen to all of Long Beach. Please do not vote to turn developers loose in our communities as the negative impacts will reduce the quality of life for residents. The Committee's official legislative analysis now lists "El Dorado Park South Neighborhood Association - Long Beach" in opposition, joining with a lengthy list of cities (including Signal Hill and Lakewood) and neighborhood groups statewide opposed to the bill (full list below.) Other LB groups may put themselves on record against SB 9 with telephoned testimony in today's Committee hearing. Supporters of SB 9 listed in the Committee's legislative analysis include "Long Beach Yimby" (among several "Yimby" (Yes in My Backyard) groups statewide), the Mayors of San Diego, Oakland and Sacramento and various advocacy groups including the Cal Chamber (full list below.) As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, Long Beach officialdom remained silent on SB 9 as the state Senate Housing Committee voted 7-2 on April 15 to advance the bill to the state Senate Governance and Finance Committee. On the April 15 Committee vote, state Senator Tom Umberg (D, SE LB-west OC) voted "yes." Livable California says SB 9 allows up to six units and invites "McMansions" on single family home lots. "SB 9 is an unprecedented experiment that invites speculators and big investors to disrupt home ownership and harm the stability of 21M Californians," states Livable California's website. SB 9 supporters say SB 9's is a "modest" [their term] increase in density to deal with California's housing crisis. Some SB 9 supporters argue SB 9 also combats sprawl that fuels global warming and addresses past racial discrimination they say is reflected in present single family home zoning. Long Beach City Hall has taken no position on SB 9 which is nearly identical to last year's SB 1120, which Long Beach officials (staff and City Councimembers) allowed to steadily advance to near passage without City opposition. SB 1120 then, and SB 9 now, are strongly opposed by Corliss Lee's grassroots The Eastside Voice. Long Beach City Hall's Government Affairs Manager, Dr. Tyler Curley, told LBREPORT.com on April 12 that the City hasn't taken a position on SB 9 "at this time [since] it's still early in the legislative session [and] we continue to monitor these bills as they’re amended through the committee process." Today's (April 22) state Senate Committee hearing is the final state Senate policy committee vote on SB 9; only state Senate's non-policy Appropriations Committee approval remains before SB 9 heads a vote on the state Senate floor. If SB 9 receives state Senate floor approval, the process repeats in the Assembly with Assembly committee hearings followed by an Assembly floor vote. If Assembly amendments (if any) are approved by a follow-up Senate floor vote, SB 9 heads to Governor Newsom for his signature or veto. [Scroll down for further.] . |
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