SB 51: the California politics thread

they are engaging with their line of sight

they are disrupting their view

sarahell, of course. i'm just saying that specific ballot measure is not going to happen because:

1. it attempts to compel local govt to do something that is currently illegal according to federal courts (many cities *already* have similar regulations and have been forced to stop enforcing them by the boise ruling).

2. this guy's idea that you just need signatures and votes is, despite the "california ballot measures are crazy" meme, not really all you need, and he has no support.

buy you're absolutely right that more creative harassment of the homeless will always be something they try to do. they're trying to do it right now in LA e.g. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-06/homeless-sleeping-ban-rules-los-angeles.

you don't need a ballot measure for any of that though. this one is just showboating. which is why this is being covered by a columnist in one paper, not the news section of any paper afaict.

btw here's a ballot measure that absolutely sucks, probably wouldn't be thrown out by federal courts, and has sacramento establishment support: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-27/california-housing-crisis-podcast-gavin-newsom-solve-homeless-ballot-measure.

its back awooooo

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-06/sb-50-changes-single-family-zoning-california

(it's not going to pass)

Just ran into @GavinNewsom outside the Capitol. I asked him about #SB50: “I refuse to comment as we’re hours away from new clarity.”

— Liam Dillon (@dillonliam) January 29, 2020

To be clear “new clarity” is referring to the state senate vote that will almost certainly be happening this afternoon on #SB50

— Liam Dillon (@dillonliam) January 29, 2020

it might pass?

better than the old clarity

gonna miss the current opacity :(

welp

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-Senate-kills-SB50-denser-housing-bill-15015081.php

Orinda, Napa, and San Mateo you say... well locally, Glazer's always been a dick

it was southern california that did it. the representatives of rich nimbies deserve the blame as they were most of the no votes, but it fell by a small margin and would have passed with support from a couple of east/south LA senators with what seem to be sincerely held concerns about vulnerable communities and the fact that this bill didn't simultaneously address rent control.

i say "seem" because while they may be sincerely held, the final form went quite a long way to avoid having any implications at all for east/south LA.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EPfutGvU0AAX9xs?format=jpg&name=large

i was so excited to see south pasadena turn into dubai :-(

I see on fb that the Esotouric people were against it because they thought it would lead to the destruction of historic/"LA fabric*" properties.

* Bungalow courts, Mission/Craftsman/Moderne/etc houses.

It would have made it legal to build more bungalow courts. They’re currently almost always forbidden by postwar zoning changes.

But no developer's gonna build a low-density bungalow court when they can build s 4-6 story block (w/underground parking).

This is all based on what I read from interested parties in twitter so who knows, but I don’t think that’s true.

For one, a much larger set of developers can finance single floor buildings like that. There aren’t enough developers capable of building mid rises on the land sb50 etc. would make usable.

The other thing is new bungalow courts are apparently a kind of sweet spot financially. You can make your money back renting them for 1000 month because they’re relatively cheap to build, but they rent for multiples of that. The profit margin on a “luxury” (ie not old) apartment is smaller as a percentage.

Every new project in Pasadena is at least three stories, most are 4-6. I don't see anyone getting rid of a couple houses on a half acre only to put up 6-8 bungalows.

The Esotouric thing I mentioned was a developer wanting to tear down a 1930s bungalow court in the Melrose area in LA for a much higher density project.

It was parking requirements that killed bungalows, with 2 spots necessary per unit there wasn't room for enough sq ft of living area, so developers went for the 2-story dingbat style, with parking on the bottom.

every new project in pasadena is mid-rise because sb50 or similar legislation hasn't passed so multi-unit zoned land is rare and expensive, so you have to build 12+ units to make money. i don't think it would stay that way if everything within half a mile of the gold line got upzoned.

Ehhh, I don't know, I can't see a developer choosing small scale when they could go larger.

right but my point is not all developers can go larger. you need huge amounts of capital to build a four floor apartment building.

(i'm also 100% fine with exclusively mid-rise apartment buildings getting built and no bungalow courts getting built, but i don't think that's what would happen)

Seems like the property owners would not settle for the price a small scale development would get, and would be willing to hold out for a price that only a large development would justify. But who knows, maybe if enough building was allowed the price would drop. Or maybe people would develop decent-sized single family house properties into 2-4 bungalows.

They should build as many market rate apartments and condos near Orinda BART as they are/have in my neighborhood in Oakland.

Ned posted this in the Oakland thread -- but it is actually state legislation, so it can go here too!

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13874382/state-senator-introduces-legislation-to-protect-live-work-and-warehouse-residences

thread from the state assemblywoman who lead AB5 about follow-up legislation

Based on dozens of meetings with freelance journalists & photographers, we have submitted language to legislative counsel that we hope to have available next week to put into AB1850 which will cut out the 35 submission cap & instead more clearly define freelancer journalism 2/

— Lorena (@LorenaSGonzalez) February 6, 2020

(AB5 aside, watch her. she'll be a senator in DC soon.)

she moves fast and breaks things, but she hears you and she'll do better

I wonder how this proposed fund to assist arts nonprofits would work. ... it seems like a well-meaning idea that will create more problems for people

Referred to here:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/AB5-to-ease-caps-for-writers-photographers-more-15036406.php

does it mention any remedies for gig musicians?

Meanwhile, AB-5 has forced the local playhouse here in Sierra Madre to cancel a show:

https://abc7.com/business/local-theater-struggles-under-ca-law-restricting-independent-contractor-designation/5899734/

Every new project in Pasadena is at least three stories, most are 4-6.

They're called Five-Over-Ones, One-Plus-Fives, etc. but the construction is the same: five floors of residential wood construction on top of a concrete box retail floor. A vast chunk of American civic land is zoned to prohibit construction over 65 feet, which makes it just right for these five or six story boxes. They're cheap as hell to build and taller/denser construction would run up against different standards for fire regulation, parking, etc. etc. The architecture derives from being the minimal legal hassle to maximize as much possible profit.

More:
http://archplanbaltimore.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-one-plus-five-is-shaping-american_27.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-13/why-america-s-new-apartment-buildings-all-look-the-same

oooooh! thank you!

Five-Over-Ones, One-Plus-Fives,
No one here gets out alive.

also interesting along these lines

https://www.curbed.com/2019/1/16/18184194/mcmansion-hell-kate-wagner-modern-building-materials
https://whyy.org/segments/we-dont-build-them-like-we-use-to-why-new-houses-arent-made-of-brick/

Didn’t read but isn’t the short answer seismic safety — unreinforced masonry

Lol ok I read it and it is about Philly. But changes to building codes and the ability to use alternative methods is a relevant issue.

as a Seattle resident there's far too much unreinforced masonry still standing for my nerves

There are ways to legally and safely reinforce the unreinforced masonry, but not cheaply

Yeah and it’s not blanket-required “lol”

what a mess

https://www.patreon.com/posts/34027460

law is totally gonna get amended/re-written. not a bad thing imo. still hope it puts uber etc out of business.

anyone in LA CD12? apparently this flyer is supposed to make you not want to vote for lundquist?!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQxZyzHU0AEKvmQ?format=jpg&name=medium

she's got a good shot. she lost to lee (a republican) by a small amount in a very low turnout special election last year. she'll benefit from increased democrat turnout in march and lee knows this (he's running as an indpendent) if she gets more than 50% in the primary she wins right away.

what a mess

https://www.patreon.com/posts/34027460

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, February 14, 2020 2:47 PM (four hours ago)

What's even messier is how the people who have legal expertise in these industries (publishing, media, art, theater, music, etc.) don't even seem to understand the law -- or at least are giving sloppy advice to freelancers. Like, the forming an LLC is so not gonna qualify. I am glad the author of this article didn't do it and have to spend $800 (at least) per year for something legally useless for AB5 issues. It's possible that one could get away with forming an S-Corp where you pay yourself as an employee, and the client pays your S-Corp, though CA Lawyers for the Arts said in their toolkit they just put out that that was a bit dicey and that would fall under a "loan out" provision that is considered non-exempt from AB5.

AB5 is also interesting in relation to the Federal TCJA provisions from last year that eliminated deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses. Like, in one way it is regressive and shitty, because it tends to affect people like teachers and non-profit staff that have underfunded workplaces, as well as people who are dues-paying members of unions (teachers again, nurses, etc.). However, one could argue, that it gives employees more impetus to get their employers to pay for things rather than expecting the employees to pay for stuff out of pocket because they care about their work.

Basically, if I were involved in unionization type work, I would be like, "this is our moment" and would be in manic activist mode right now.

california

Ladies and gentlemen, the best Palo Alto Online post of all time pic.twitter.com/wmp5kDym7y

— Mark Mollineaux 🦀🔰🕊🌹🌐 (@bufordsharkley) February 22, 2020

commute from Salinas isn't that bad tbh

It’s an hour and 20 minutes without traffic from Salinas to my office in PA and the planet is dying.

It's way longer from Tracy tho

the idea of commuting from Tracy to Palo Alto is the stuff of nightmares

I commuted for years, anything over an hour in the end is brutal

My endorsements

LA ballot measure R: yes (sheriff sucks)
State ballot measure 13: yes
CD 10: aura vasquez (ie not mark Ridley Thomas)
County 2: holly Mitchell (ie not Herb Wesson)
LA DA: Gascon (I prefer Rossi but Gascon has a better shot at Lacey in the general)
Cd 12: lundquist (climate, housing, phd astrophysicist, not a republican, might get over 50% in the primary)
Cd 4: nithya Raman (she rules and she’s not this guy https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ryu-attempted-rape-charge-dismissed-20150420-story.html)

I commuted for years, anything over an hour in the end is brutal

― Dan S, Saturday, February 22, 2020 6:24 PM (yesterday)

I did the same -- for me, it depended on the difference between how long it would take without traffic vs. actual commute duration.

The LA DA race is heating up!

#BREAKING This morning Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s husband pulled a gun out on Black Lives Matter activists who protested his wife in front of their house. @BLMLA pic.twitter.com/wnCFMMvaWV

— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) March 2, 2020