SB79 will eliminate residential zoning by creating a statewide overlay that will allow five to seven story buildings on any land within a radius of transportation even if the transportation services are planned decades in the future without funding.

Why this is an urban wildfire risk has to do with housing density in areas that lack adequate firefighting capacity. Neighbors for A Better San Diego state the issue well in their SB79 White Paper.

SB 79 ignores fire safety. Many areas in San Diego that SB 79 would make available for high-density development are on canyon rims in high fire hazard severity zones with inadequate fire lanes, cul-de-sacs that don’t meet legal standards for fire equipment clearance or turning radius, and fire hydrant spacings that don’t meet standards set for high-density multi-family zones. SB 79 does not include funding for cities to upgrade infrastructure and roadways in SB 79 eligible areas to meet those standards. – NFABSD

An example of how this law would change the inner suburbs of San Diego (e.g. North Park, South Park, Normal Heights, Kensington) where most parcels are zoned RS 1-7, converts the development opportunity on those parcels from 1 or 2 units and 2 stories to 9 units and 5 stories.

The increased density varies according to distance from qualifying transit and the type of qualifying transit. For the example above, the following sections of the law were used.

65912.156(n) “Tier 2 transit-oriented development stop” means a transit-oriented development stop within an urban transit county, excluding a Tier 1 transit-oriented development stop, served by light rail transit, by high-frequency commuter rail, or by bus service meeting the standards of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 21060.2 of the Public Resources Code.

65912.157(a) A housing development project shall be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development within one-half or one-quarter mile of a transit oriented development stop, if the development complies with the applicable of all of the following requirements:

65912.157(a)(4) For a transit-oriented housing development project further than one-quarter mile but within one-half mile of a Tier 2 transit-oriented development stop, all of the following apply:

65912.157(a)(4)(A) A local government shall not impose any height limit less than 55 feet.

65912.157(a)(4)(B) A local government shall not impose any maximum density standard of less than 80 dwelling units per acre. 

65912.157(a)(4)(C) A local government shall not enforce any other local development standard or combination of standards that would prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 2.5.

65912.157(a)(4)(D) A development that otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, affordability requirements, shall be eligible for one additional concession pursuant to Section 65915.

To read the full text and current status of the bill, visit https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB79