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Lafayette council opposes SB 79 as written, asks legislators to carve out high-fire evacuation zones
Summary
Council directed staff and its legislative committee to press state lawmakers for amendments to Senate Bill 79 that would exempt high-fire-severity evacuation zones around Lafayette BART from automatic upzoning, and agreed to inform residents of the bill's potential local impact.
Lafayette's City Council voted to record formal opposition to Senate Bill 79 as drafted and directed the city's legislative committee and city manager to seek amendments that would exempt high-fire-severity evacuation zones around the BART station from the bill's automatic upzoning provisions.
The council said SB 79 (Sen. Scott Wiener) would allow dramatically higher residential densities near transit stations'up to 80 units per acre inside a quarter-mile of a station and 60 units per acre in the quarter- to half-mile ring'and that applying those standards around Lafayette BART would create safety risks during wildfire evacuations.
"When you add denser housing around the BART station, what you're going to do is increase the time it takes for people to get out," Councilmember Cervantes said…
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