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We use “TOD zone,” “TOD area,” and “station area” interchangeably to refer to the buffer around any given SB 79-eligible station.

This map does not reflect anyone’s belief as to where SB 79 except our own—among the co-sponsors, we had spirited debates as to what is and is not covered.

We use “site” and “lot” interchangeably, even if the distinction matters a lot to state housing law.

We use quotations not to diminish it, but to clarify that we are using a technical term defined in state housing law.

On October 10, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 79 into law. With the passage of time, this will be recognized as one of the most important pieces of legislation in modern California history. It marks the fulfillment of at least eight years of work, beginning when Senator Scott Wiener first introduced SB 827, and signals the end of the first phase of YIMBYism—a theme this blog will return to in a future post.

Throughout the process, SB 79 has been shrouded in a fog of misinformation. And this is only the beginning: In a little over eight months, the law will take partial effect. We expect cities to spend years adopting and refining local alternative implementation plans. Beginning around 2030—with the start of the seventh Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) cycle—the law will take full effect.

Given that developing and passing this bill has been the focus of our lives over the past year—along with Senator Wiener’s staff, some amazing co-sponsors, and the whole California YIMBY team—we would like to take a moment to go deep into the weeds. In this first post, we will clarify exactly what SB 79 does as policy. If anything is unclear (or if you think we got something wrong) let us know in the comments.

In future posts, we will shed some light on how we passed it and where the YIMBY movement goes from here.

The bill only applies in urban transit counties. These are counties with 15 or more passenger rail stations. This includes the counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.

Within these counties, areas within a half-mile of most of the following stations are now designated as transit-oriented development (TOD) zones:

🤓☝️ Ahem! The definition of BRT is pretty strict. It’s not your neighborhood bus stop. To qualify, a bus line must have (a) a full-time dedicated bus lane and (b) peak headways of 15 minutes or less. (In plain English: “headway” is how frequently the bus comes.)

An example of SB 79 coverage—note how the buffer is limited to a quarter-mile in the smaller city of La Verne, and there is no eligible station area east of the Los Angeles County line. (M. Nolan Gray)

In smaller cities, defined as cities with a population of less than 35,000 residents, only the quarter-mile area of the TOD zone is covered. And if a county becomes an urban transit county after January 1, 2026, only heavy rail, light rail, and eligible commuter rail will be covered—not BRT.

🤓☝️ Ahem! While airport people movers are not covered, it remains unclear whether the Disneyland monorail is covered.

Yes, for the most part. If a heavy rail, light rail, BRT station, and/or an eligible commuter rail station is (a) identified in a regional transportation improvement program, i.e., a funding plan, or (b) there is a locally preferred route, it’s covered.

That is to say, a politician or planner can’t merely float the idea of a station and have it trigger SB 79. There needs to be a real commitment to building out the station, and it has to be reasonably settled where the station is going to be.

The D Line extension is an example of a series of planned stations that are definitely covered. (Metro)

Any eligible station planned as of January 1, 2026, will be covered. However, light rail, BRT, and high-frequency commuter rail stations planned after this date will not be covered until they are built out. By contrast, heavy rail and extremely high-frequency commuter rail station areas will be covered once they are planned. (Are you confused yet? As you can probably guess, horses were traded!)

Metropolitan planning organizations are required to produce official maps in the coming months. In the meantime, here’s our best guess at coverage. You should not use this map to make any major decisions.2 We are almost certainly missing some eligible planned stations, and interpretation decisions made by local and state regulators will likely shift coverage on the margins.

🤓☝️ Ahem! Why not share a map sooner? A few reasons: First, the law was in a constant state of flux. In most of the 15 (!) rounds of amendments, the geography changed. Second, we wanted to avoid imperfect maps driving the conversation. Third, various unofficial maps had already been put out by activists.

The law applies to all lots that allow residential, commercial, or mixed-use development. Cities can exclude certain lots:

Until one year into the seventh RHNA cycle—generally around 2030 for California’s larger metropolises—cities can exclude the following sites:

SB 79 will not apply to any unincorporated sites prior to the seventh RHNA cycle—no ordinance necessary. In plain English, these are sites that are not incorporated into any city. Instead, they are governed by counties. There’s very little overlap here, as most unincorporated land is rural. But a few exceptional and sensitive sites—namely, unincorporated East Los Angeles—motivated this exclusion.

The lime green areas of this map would enjoy additional flexibility in implementation (California State Treasurer).

🤓☝️ Ahem! Contrary to what your crazy uncle may have sent you over WhatsApp, not one square inch of the Pacific Palisades or Altadena is covered by SB 79. Indeed, the point of SB 79 is to allow more housing in climate-resilient infill areas.

The bill allows mid-rise multifamily housing in all TOD zones. The density and scale of these projects vary based on the quality and proximity of the nearby transit station.

At 72 dwelling units per acre and five stories, Sacramento’s Legado de Ravel Apartments is the sort of development that might be allowed in many Tier 2 areas. (Google Maps)

While cities have substantial flexibility to regulate the form and design of these buildings—such as by requiring courtyards or a Spanish Colonial design—they cannot impose any set of standards that collectively make developments built to these minimum standards physically infeasible.

🤓☝️ Ahem! SB 79 defines residential FAR as the ratio of net habitable floor area to the total lot size. No more funny business, Los Angeles!

If a site is adjacent to a transit station—defined as within 200 feet of the station—cities are obliged to allow 20 feet of additional height, increase the FAR by 1, and permit an additional 40 dwelling units per acre.

🤓☝️ Ahem! All distances are determined based on the nearest pedestrian access point to the transit station. This will be a tricky mapping challenge!

No. Which is a bummer—ministerial approvals bring the highest possible degree of certainty to the permitting process. However, a few things are worth noting here:

SB 79 gives state regulators—specifically, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Attorney General’s office—the right to take actions when cities violate SB 79. If you think a city has violated SB 79 or a project has been inappropriately denied, report it.

🤓☝️ Ahem! Beginning in 2027, if a city denies an SB 79 development proposal in a high-resource area, they are presumed—by default—to be in violation of the HAA and are immediately liable for penalties.

Consistent with AB 130—the budget bill that exempted infill housing developments from CEQA—all SB 79 projects over 85 feet must use a “skilled and trained” workforce.4 In practice, this will require an agreement with a union. This is a much more flexible (and feasible) standard than what has been written into recent California housing laws.

Any SB 79 project on transit agency-owned land must adhere to SB 423 labor standards. This is already the norm with e.g., BART-owned land. In all cases, projects must adhere to local labor standards. These are fairly common in the Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles.

California YIMBY CEO Brian Hanlon and Senator Scott Wiener at a rally for SB 423 and SB 4 with members of the California Conference of Carpenters (California YIMBY).

If successful, SB 79 will kick off a building boom that will create a lot of new construction jobs and bid up the wages of workers. In the meantime, we look forward to working with the carpenters and building trades on bills to legalize high-rise residential developments around downtown transit hubs—projects well-suited to create good union construction jobs.

SB 79 projects that have more than 10 units must include at least some below-market-rate units. We use the standards set out in AB 1893, which are similarly much more flexible (and feasible) than what has been written into many recent housing laws. Projects must set aside:

🤓☝️ Ahem! Cities cannot impose any requirement—whether it be an inclusionary zoning requirement, an additional fee, or some other arbitrary constraint—that only applies to SB 79 projects. Such requirements must be broadly applicable.

In practice, many projects will likely combine SB 79 with state density bonus law, providing additional affordable housing in exchange for additional incentives and concessions. Any SB 79 project that achieves at least 75% of the permitted density is entitled to additional incentives and concessions based on the type of below-market units that it includes. They include:

🤓☝️ Ahem! Cities are not obliged to allow taller buildings than the heights specified above, even if additional height is requested as an extra incentive and/or concession. Of course, they can always allow heights above what SB 79 allows.

If successful, SB 79 will help to drive down costs by increasing the supply of housing. (The evidence here is clear and overwhelming.) In future sessions, we look forward to passing bills to defray the costs that unfunded inclusionary zoning requirements impose upon projects—and make more mixed-income projects pencil.