Lafayette Mayor Joins CA Group Seeking To Preserve Single-Family Zoning
La Fiesta Square To Be Developed
Lafayette Mayor Susan Candell has joined a group of non-partisian elected officials and community activists, led by Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, to preserve local control of land use and zoning in the state. The group has submitted a proposed initiative to the State Attorney General which would amend the California Constitution to insure this. Once the initiative has been reviewed, the group will have 180 days to collect 1.3 million ballots across the state to have it placed on the November 2022 ballot.
Candell says her greatest concern is the housing legislation now in the state legislature will will do nothing to solve the real affordability and homeless crisis in the state. “These laws are increasing inequity and only benefit developers and real estate speculators,” she notes. For instance, if Senate Bill 9 passes, any single family lot in Lafayette can be split and converted to up to six units without any public hearing or review. She believes Senate Bill 10 is even worse. “Instead of a single lot with six units as in SB 9, SB 10 allows conversion of any lot into 14 unites with no local review. And none are required to be affordable.”
La Fiesta Square in Lafayette is currently for sale, she said, and it is expected it will be bought and converted to a large mixed-use project with retail and commercial on the bottom floor and residential above. The mayor is concerned the community will have little, if any, input which is on one of the largest and most iconic corners of the city.
“The state also is forcing us to develop our BART parking lots into denser and taller housing than anywhere else in our city, again without any community input,” Candell said. “We will lose the parking for riders who need to drive to BART and the new units will have little parking….Our community has lost the ability to prepare and plan for the impacts of our critical infrastructure for which we are responsible. In the case of La Fiesta Square, we will be forced to accept anything they propose if they follow state laws.”
Sign up for the Lamorinda Local Initiative Information Night scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_M_8bay4IRR-o5R0NW5wlEQ