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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 in a presentation to colleagues, citing a 2022 safety-element evacuation analysis that showed some Lafayette evacuation routes already could take 30 to 175 minutes depending on location.
Why it matters: Council members and staff said the combination of high fire severity, narrow local streets and a limited number of evacuation routes means large numbers of new units clustered near the BART station could materially increase evacuation times in a Diablo-wind-driven fire.
What the council asked staff to do: Councilmembers asked the legislative committee and city manager to meet immediately with their state senator and assemblymember, press for language carving out areas inside evacuation zones that overlap high- or very-high fire-severity areas, and to continue to refine and press the proposed amendment. The city manager's office will also publish an informational item in the city's regular newsletter to explain the bill and the council's position to residents.
Council members differed in tone but not direction. Several said they would prefer to kill the bill outright rather than accept any form of statewide upzoning, but the body ultimately moved to combine an expressed opposition with an active push for amendment because of the bill's political momentum in Sacramento.
The legislative committee reported staff had prepared draft amendment language intended to exempt parcels inside designated evacuation zones that intersect high or very-high fire-severity areas. Council staff said they had briefed Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan's and Senator Grayson's offices and planned follow-up meetings; the council asked the legislative team to press those offices for a clear stance.
Next steps: The council directed staff to (1) meet with the city's state representatives immediately, (2) continue to work with the city's lobbyist and regional partners, and (3) publish a plain-language explanation of SB 79 and its potential local effects in the weekly city newsletter to encourage resident engagement with state lawmakers.
The council made clear that its position could change if legislators accept the narrowly targeted amendment the city proposed but that at present Lafayette is officially opposed to SB 79 as drafted.
Ending: Council members said they would return to the issue if the bill's language changes or the council receives new information from the city's representatives in Sacramento.
