Highlights
- Signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 10, 2025, Senate Bill (SB) 79 overrides local zoning limitations to allow greater heights and densities for residential development near transit stops.
- The legislation allows dense residential development along established transit corridors, primarily in the Bay Area, Sacramento County and Southern California urban counties.
- Although SB 79 does not itself create a new California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-exempt approval pathway, it does create new opportunities to be paired with SB 35 at a lower level of affordability and can also be paired with other streamlining laws such as SB 330, the Housing Accountability Act, and the State Density Bonus Law.
Holland & Knight LLP – Daniel R. Golub, Chelsea Maclean, William E. Sterling and Franklin B. Muñoz
October 10 2025