Author: Oliver Rosenbloom

AB 2923 is Constitutional, but Cities Will Find Ways Combat Dense Zoning

AB 2923 is Constitutional, but Cities Will Find Ways Combat Dense Zoning

Overview Assembly Bill 2923, which took effect on September 30, 2018, requires the Bay Area Rapid Transit District to impose transit-oriented development (TOD) zoning guidelines near BART stations. These guidelines empower BART to create higher density residential areas than city zoning plans otherwise allow. The Senate analysis of AB 2923 stated the bill “upends” traditional city and county land use power, concluding that “granting land use authority to a local government that isn’t a municipality sets a significant precedent.”[1] This article examines the constitutional issues AB 2923 raises and the range of legal and policy responses available to its opponents,...