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First thing to know:
SB 79 has two effective dates with different maps.
Cities are allowed to exempt certain areas till 2031.
In Unincorporated LA County, it doesn’t go into effect at all until 2031
First we’ll look at the 2031 map, and then we’ll go back to the July 2026 map.
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Next: which transit lines are eligible?
For transit open today, it’s heavy rail lines (B & D), light rail lines (K, E, & A) and a very small number of bus lines with dedicated lanes (Metro G, some of Metro J, Sepulveda Blvd in the Valley, and a single stop on Venice in Palms)
In addition, planned transit lines are eligible, but only if they’re far enough along that a route has been finalized.
In LA, this covers the Vermont BRT, the NoHo-Pasadena BRT, the East Valley Light Rail, The Southeast Gateway Light Rail, and the K Line Southern Extension.
I didn’t include the K Line Northern Extension or the Sepulveda Line, because their final routes haven’t been chosen yet, but those should be coming in the next year or so.
There’s also the chance that a few additional projects, like the Lincoln BRT, might be eligible, depending on how you read the language. I’ve held off include those until there is further guidance.
This is my best attempt at the 2031 eligibility map. It’s probably not perfect… in particular there are likely stops where the “Beverly Hills Carve-Out” applies that I missed.
What’s the “Beverly Hills Carve-Out”?
For cities with a population under 35,000, SB 79 only applies for a quarter-mile rather than a half-mile.
This creates some really weird situations, because a lot of transit stops are near the boarder of two cities
A couple other things to know is:
1) this map doesn’t filter out parcels that are ineligible
2) Cities can enact their own implementation plan and move density around if they want to
Ok, now on to 2026…
When SB 79 goes into effect in July 2026, it gives cities wide leeway to exempt parcels for a wide list of reasons.
Some cities (Santa Monica) probably won’t take any of the opt-outs. Others will try aggressively to opt-out every parcel. I suspect LA will be in between.
In addition to the opt-outs, SB 79 does not allow for projects that require demolishing more than two rent-controlled units. Although not every city has rent control, this map assumes that they do.
The first, and largest opt-out is for low-resource neighborhoods.
A huge portion of the region, particularly in South East LA and the Valley, is low resource.
Although I completely removed these neighborhoods, not EVERY city will be eligible to exempt them. The sites need to be located in a transit zone that is already zoned for 40% of SB 79 capacity, or all of the transit zones in the city must total at least 50% of SB 79 Capacity.
The next opt-out is for Very High Fire Severity Zones.
I expect every city eligible will take this one
I shown them on the map as black blobs.
Some opt-outs I don’t show:
- historic resources are parcel-by-parcel
- cities can opt out any land already zoned to allow >50% of the density of SB 79
- cities can opt out an entire transit area if it’s zoned to allow > 70% of the density of SB 79
The remaining parcels I color-coded by current land use:
- Commercial is light grey
- Industrial is purple
- Apartment buildings are dark grey/black
- Condo buildings are salmon
- Public/institutional is green
Some commercial (light grey) and industrial (purple) will be eligible, but the primary land use SB 79 is upzoning is single family homes and duplexes.
- Single family homes are yellow
- Duplexes are light blue
This is my complete map for where SB 79 will apply in LA County for July 2026.
Let me know if you want to see an area zoomed in!
I mean the areas that are broadly yellow are mostly single-family neighborhoods, so those would be the ones with the biggest change
great work! it seems like this is going to have a comparatively big impact on Burbank and the SFV. do you know how lower-resource areas are determined? I was surprised by a few of them in Pasadena.
Only if they have at least 48 trains per day (which would apply to two or three Metrolink stations if it counts only weekdays, but not if it is required to be 7 days a week)
Did the Beverly Hills carve out win us any votes? Obviously not Zbur or Allen. Otherwise, what’s the point?
You should take out the J Line south of Harbor Gateway (fails the frequency test), and I question the J Line in total as that is not on dedicated bus lanes, although that may end up being decided by a court.
You should post this map with City of LA borders overlaid. Developers are not touching that area due to ULA. Cheaper to buy existing apt buildings than build new.
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