Thread by @SFyimby

We're at the MTC/ABAG Legislative Committee Meeting, supporting several bills. The conversation is like all housing conversations in California: completely bonkers.

Talking about a bill to allow BART to set minimum zoning requirements on land that it owns. Local process still applies, and local jurisdictions choose how to zone, but BART could set minimums on it's land.

But there is a PASSION FOR PARKING.

"Part of the problem with BART is that you’re talking about parking what it is, not the need..I use BART for long-term parking...We should be looking at the unmet parking demand...You should not be taking away any parking, you should be adding." -Dave Hudson, Vice Mayor San Ramon

"Parking is a premium now."

"This bill takes the land use authority and gives it to BART. It sets a minimum level residential density…"

"BART requires an awful lot of state and federal funding..we are wasting billions of dollars in government funding in transit when we don’t build housing...

If we can’t commit to building densely on BART stations, we’re lost. As a region we’re lost."
- @sliccardo, Mayor San Jose

"Local jurisdictions are in the land use business. BART does not have a history of being in the land use business. …if the local community comes out in opposition, this gives BART the authority to ignore that…The cities are the best position to zone." - Julie Pierce, Clayton

"There isn’t enough parking in the transit system."
- Scott Haggerty, Alameda Supervisor

"The BART Board would set minimum zoning standards, the city would be able to meet those standards how it likes.

BART is an elected board of directors. this is still local control, …local elected officials collaborating with other local officials," notes BART Board @josefow

"The entire Plan Bay Area rises and falls around Caltrain and BART stations. BART is the largest land owner in these critical areas.

...If we can’t get it right there, we’re really lost. We’re not going to reach any of our regional goals."
- BART Board @josefow

Member complains that her elected official on BART is consistently outvoted. (That's called regional democracy...).

"They’re not going to get to go BELOW what BART is saying, they’re just going to be able to increase it. ...That’s not right."

Or is the point entirely...?

"We do not need a regional body coming in to tell us you’re not doing it right.

…We have a lot of places that are doing it right…You should exempt those that are doing it right."

Places that are already zoned for high density, won't have to rezone though...

"We don’t have any BARTs up in Sonoma County. Previous decisions took care of that."

Lolz.

"I used to drive…I now ride the bus from fairfield… I changed my habit. I don’t need that parking anymore."
- James P. Spering of Solano County

"We talk about the housing crisis, we talk about the billions of transit dollars invested… We can’t build high density housing at a BART station? That just doesn’t make sense to me."

"I don't know if i agree that the cities and counties are all doing the right thing. We see housing projects voted down and elected officials being run out of office."

"They’re going to think their local city council. [voters] don’t do their homework enough to know who built it. They’re going to go after their local elected officials."

Fears that elected officials in districts that build housing will be ousted.

"What’s the genesis? Are you all having trouble developing on some properties?"

"BART has 250 acres of land it has not been able to develop. …There could be 20,000 units of housing, 7,000 of which would be Affordable.

...the pace of development has been absolutely glacial."
- BART Board Nick Josefowitz @josefow

Nick @josefow speaks about a project proposed in Berekeley:
"It was originally slated to be a 3 story building… after 14 years it ended up as a 1 story building… as well as a requirement to build so much parking that it’s on average only 25% full."

"Like with a lot of development in the Bay area, it gets slower and slower and lower and lower and then it doesn’t fulfill the goals of the Bay Area."
- BART Board Nick Josefowitz @josefow

"I haven’t heard people in my district calling for more housing."

Rep from Contra Costa.

Everyone go send an email to your Supervisor and tell them you want to see more housing built.

"When I look at parking, I'm not just looking at what exists, I’m looking at whats on the books and what's needed."

The demands for parking are very important... the demands for housing, not so much.

Reassuring words, "Bart has to go out and do a dog and pony show, and with CEQA and its public hearings, BART would have to go through the a long process. ...I can imagine that this would be a very contentious and involved process."

yay?

"Is the policy of bart to build no more parking?!"
"Um, no. We’re in the process of adding parking in communities like Pittsburg."

ABAG votes to support AB 2923 with amendments.