As the California Legislature’s session is ramping up to vote on bills, Greenbelt Alliance is advocating to advance a climate-smart agenda. Our team has endorsed 11 bills and, for the first time, co-sponsored a bill!
Our goal continues to be building a resilient and inclusive Bay Area for all, where communities are more walkable, diverse, and interconnected. We hope that the following sponsored and endorsed bills will strengthen the Bay and California as a whole to face the dual challenges of the environmental and housing crises.
Greenbelt Alliance selects legislative priorities to further our team’s mission to educate, advocate, and collaborate, ensuring the Bay Area’s lands and communities are resilient to a changing climate. Learn more about our legislative priorities here and check out the endorsed bills below!
Climate-smart Housing
Senate Bill 79 (Wiener) — Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act
Status: Passed Senate > in Assembly committee
Greenbelt Alliance’s first sponsored bill in the California legislature, SB 79, allows for the development of new higher-density housing near key public transit stations, otherwise known as Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Based on a tiered system dependent on the distance from a station, properties near major public transit sites can be rezoned into multi-family, mixed-use, or commercial development. This bill supersedes local zoning rules but authorizes local governments to have their own TOD plan as an alternative.
As a co-sponsor for the bill, Greenbelt Alliance has worked closely with Senator Wiener and fellow sponsors to shape what transit-oriented development can be in California. We are promoting more development within our existing communities and preventing environmental and climate risks associated with urban sprawl. Learn more.
AB 736 (Wicks)/ SB 417 (Cabaldon) — Affordable Housing Bond Act
Status: AB 736 Passed the Assembly > in Senate committee
To address the housing shortage and skyrocketing housing costs in California, AB 736 and its companion bill in the Senate (SB 417) will authorize the state to issue $10 billion worth of bonds for development projects. These bonds will be used to fund affordable rental housing and home ownership programs, including the Multifamily Housing Program, the CalHome Program, and the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. This bill, if passed in the legislature, will be brought to California voters at the June 2, 2026, statewide primary election.
AB 609 (Wicks) — The CEQA Exemption for Environmentally-Friendly Housing Act
Status: Passed Assembly > in Assembly committee
AB 609 will expand and expedite the development of much-needed housing in climate-safe communities, where infrastructure, jobs, schools, and transit already exist. The bill limits environmental review (CEQA) under set infill conditions, including: projects of 20 acres or less, located in incorporated cities or urbanized areas, with prior or adjacent urban development, consistent with local plans, and meeting at least half the minimum residential density. By preventing CEQA from hampering key development in infill areas while ensuring that other projects still get environmental review, AB 609 has the capacity to combat California’s housing and climate crises head-on.
Open Space Protection and Habitat Protection
Senate Bill 427 (Blakespear) — Extension of the Habitat Conservation Fund
Status: Passed Senate > in Senate committee
This bill ensures that California’s habitat conservation funding lasts for future decades, protecting critical ecosystems and wildlife. While essential in and of itself, the conservation of natural habitats also provides vital benefits for our communities, including natural buffers against climate hazards, recreation, and carbon sequestration. Functionally, SB 427 removes the current sunset clause that ends the Habitat Conservation Fund in 2030 and allows the fund to continue in perpetuity.
AB 902 (Schultz) — Transportation projects and barriers to wildlife movement
Status: Passed Assembly > in Senate committee
AB 902 is a critical bill for long-term ecological resilience because it supports wildlife connectivity in natural environments. This has compounding benefits, allowing animals to have greater access to food, water, and mates (integral for genetic diversity against disease) while also allowing freedom of migration, whether that is natural movement or in response to environmental hazards. The bill requires lead agencies to integrate wildlife connectivity into their transportation infrastructure projects in designated areas throughout the state.
Sustainable Transportation
SB 445 (Wiener) — Sustainable Transportation Planning Projects
Status: Passed Senate > in Assembly committees
This bill establishes standards and timelines for what qualifies as a sustainable transportation project and how a lead agency interacts and collaborates with third-party entities. Notably, it sets deadlines for relevant bodies to comply with the permitting process.
SB 71 (Wiener) — CEQA exemption for transit projects
Status: Passed in the Senate > Moving to the Assembly
Paired with SB 445, SB 71 further streamlines sustainable transportation projects by fast-tracking them through California’s environmental review procedure (CEQA). Some pre-existing CEQA exemptions for sustainable transportation (like SB 288, 2020) will continue indefinitely instead of expiring in 2029.
Streamlining Housing Development
AB 1021 (Wicks) — Streamlining housing projects on educational institution lands
Status: Passed Assembly > in Senate committees
This bill would allow the construction of housing on any property owned by a local educational agency under specific conditions. This provision would last until January 1, 2036. The bill also clarifies that education housing projects can be exempt from CEQA review if they meet the right affordability requirements.
AB 1294 (Haney) — Permit Streamlining Act
Status: Passed Assembly > in Senate committees
The Permit Streamlining Act would allow the State’s housing department, HCD, to set clear standards for development applications statewide. It holds cities accountable for following application processes on time and mandates them to be transparent on scheduled fees and other requirements.
Housing in the Coastal Zone
SB 484 (Laird) — Coastal Zone Permitting Exclusion
Status: Passed Senate > in Assembly committees
This bill helps support new housing development in the coastal zone by allowing certain projects to circumvent getting a coastal development permit (in addition to a typical development permit) if they meet the affordability and infill criteria. It requires the Coastal Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to identify potential areas that would be applicable and allow them to have the coastal permitting exclusion.
AB 357 (Alvarez) — Student and Faculty Housing Success Act
Status: Passed Assembly > in Senate committees
AB 357 requires the Coastal Commission to approve or deny completed coastal development permit applications within 90 days of submission. This applies if the application involves student, faculty, or staff housing development.
