In a series of letters to California state Senate and Assembly Committees, Livable California formally Opposed SB50, SB330 and AB1487

 

_{_____________________________________}

_{April 14, 2019}

_{CA Senate Governance & Finance Committee
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814}

_{SB 50 –  OPPOSED}

_{Dear Senator Mike McGuire, Chair, and members of the Senate Governance & Finance Committee:}  

_{Livable California urges you to oppose SB 50.  We agree there is a housing problem, but this bill does not offer a solution. It is a developer give-away that makes the housing affordability crisis worse. and puts our cities in harms way.}

_{Livable California is a statewide coalition of elected and community leaders.  We represent dozens of neighborhood and homeowner coalitions with a reach to thousands of homeowners and renters throughout California.  Members are uniformly opposed to top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates.  We object to SB 50’s harsh legislative solution that creates an adversarial relationship with city councils and representative bodies, punishing cities for a problem they did not create.}

_{Yes, something must be done. Cities have already tackled the problem of affordable housing, the jobs/housing imbalance, and renter protections. Rather than building on the progress that’s been made, this bill sets back the accomplishments and reduces the trust and good will that is necessary for a long-term solution.}

_{We urge you to oppose SB 50.}

_{Sincerely, Susan Kirsch, President Livable California}

________________________

_{April 14, 2019}

_{CA Senate Housing Committee
State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814}

 _{SB 330 –  OPPOSED}

_{Dear Senator Wiener and Members of the Senate Housing Committee:}  

_{Livable California urges you to oppose SB 330.} 

_{It is inconceivable that 21st century legislators who expect to be re-elected as representatives of their constituents would attempt to make it illegal for local jurisdictions or citizens to use ballot measures to control their own land use planning where housing is an allowable use.}  

_{It is further unacceptable that members of the Housing Senate Committee would inappropriately seek to prohibit a city or county from conducting as many hearings as they deem appropriate for a housing development project.} 

_{It is shameful to assert this law is both retroactive and prevails with ten-year emergency status.} 

_{Livable California is a statewide coalition of elected and community leaders who support officials who represent constituents, not special interests.  We represent dozens of neighborhood and homeowner coalitions with a reach to thousands of homeowners and renters throughout California.  Members are uniformly opposed to top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates.  We object to SB 330’s harsh legislative solution that creates an adversarial relationship with city councils and representative bodies, attempting to punish cities for problems they did not create.}  

_{We urge you to oppose SB 330.}

_{Sincerely, Susan Kirsch, President Livable California}

________________________

_{April 14, 2019}

_{CA Assembly Committee on Local Government
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814}

_{AB 1487 –  OPPOSED}

_{Dear Assembly Member Auiar-Curry, Chair, and Members of the Committee on Local Government:}

_{Livable California urges you to oppose AB 1487.} 

 _{As the Committee on Local Government, we count on you to represent California cities of all sizes.  AB 1487 grows out of the flawed CASA Compact, which failed to include 97 of the 101 small and medium-sized cities of the 9-county Bay Area.} 

_{A growing number of elected officials and community leaders are speaking out against the CASA Compact, confusingly named to represent the Committee to House the Bay Area.  Senator Scott Wiener and many of his Bay Area colleagues might sing CASA’s praises when they point to an 18-month process, 50+  participants including both a Steering Committee and a Technical Committee, and producing “A 15-Year Emergency Policy Package to Confront the Housing Crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area.”}

 _{AB 1487’s intent to create a Housing Alliance for the Bay Area (HABA) is the wrong approach for a serious problem.  HABA undermines the well-placed authority in local jurisdictions to identify and collaboratively solve regional problems without creating more layers of bureaucracy.}   

_{Livable California is a statewide coalition of elected and community leaders who support officials who represent constituents, not special interests.  We represent neighborhood and homeowner coalitions with a reach to thousands of owners and renters throughout California.  Members are opposed to top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates.}   

 _{We urge you to oppose AB 1487.}

_{Sincerely, Susan Kirsch, President Livable California}