San Diego Council approves first reading to phase SB 79 implementation, defers final stop map to SANDAG

Council President LaCava presided over a special San Diego City Council meeting that approved on first reading an ordinance to phase implementation of California Senate Bill 79, with the council accepting a last-minute staff revision to remove a city-enumerated list of qualifying transit stops and defer final stop identification to the SANDAG regional map.

City planning staff presented the proposed ordinance as a way to implement SB 79 while accounting for local conditions including very high fire severity zones, designated historic resources, areas vulnerable to one foot of sea-level rise, and neighborhoods lacking a safe one-mile walking path to transit. “SB 79 permits phased implementation in low resource areas,” city planning staff told the council, noting the bill allows a TOD alternative plan and directs cities to submit ordinances to the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review.

The staff presentation said SB 79 — signed by Governor Newsom on 10/10/2025, according to the staff memo — takes effect July 1 and requires the city to identify qualifying transit-oriented development stops within a half-mile of certain transit stations. Staff recommended phasing implementation in places the city identifies as low-resource or at elevated climate or fire risk and returning later with a TOD alternative plan to address neighborhood-level issues.

Public comment stretched for more than two hours. Speakers were sharply divided. Housing advocates and transit groups urged the council to include an expanded set of bus corridors they say meet the statute’s requirement for ‘‘full-time dedicated’’ bus lanes and to accelerate implementation. Zach DeFazio Ferrell, treasurer of the YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County, argued the city’s narrower interpretation leaves out as many as 48 qualifying bus stops and said, “three of the corridors we’re talking about… are full-time, they are dedicated according to state law and according to the city's own definition.”

Other commenters, including community planning groups and preservation and heritage organizations, urged a cautious, phased approach. Paul Coogan, secretary of the City-chartered Community Planners Committee, told the council that measured phasing in low-resource and high-fire areas would allow the city to align infrastructure, safety planning and community impacts before increasing density.

Council members probed staff on legal interpretation and timing. City planning staff said all existing trolley stops clearly qualify under SB 79 and that staff had identified four additional bus-lane stops meeting the city’s reading of the law; staff also emphasized that the final list would be adjusted if SANDAG’s map differs. Deputy City Attorney Shannon Eckmeier confirmed staff had coordinated with state agencies and that the city would be required to amend the ordinance if SANDAG’s map later identified different TOD stops.

Councilmember Whitburn proposed an amendment to explicitly include San Diego trolley stops and all bus stops served by full-time dedicated bus lanes on El Cajon Boulevard, University Avenue and Park Boulevard with service at 15-minute or better weekday peak frequencies. Council President LaCava, citing the narrow timeline to complete action before July 1, said he would not accept that change that evening and called for a short recess.

After a recess and further consultation, staff offered a compromise: strike the staff-enumerated recital and replace it with a provision deferring the identification of qualifying TOD stops to the SANDAG map when released, and prepare implementing maps consistent with that direction. Councilmember Whitburn said his office would lead a letter to SANDAG asking that the three contested corridors be included. The council adopted the revised motion.

Clerk voting procedures recorded the final action as passing on first reading 6–0, with three council members absent (Councilmember Foster, Council President Pro Tem Lee, and Councilmember Elo Rivera). The council approved the ordinance’s first reading and instructed staff to transmit the ordinance to HCD for its 90–120 day review; HCD may require revisions or the city may adopt a resolution explaining its rationale.

What happens next: staff said they will prepare the TOD alternative plan and updated maps for public review and commission/council consideration later this year. The first-reading approval means the ordinance will return for a required second reading; staff will work with SANDAG and HCD as the implementation timeline moves forward.