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A DEVELOPING STORY - Here's the playbook for how any California homeowner will instantly become persona non grata to all his/her neighbors.
So, you ask what in heaven's name could cause a neighbor instantly to become despised by everyone living on his/her street? If/when California Senate Bill 79 gets signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, all hell will break loose rapidly in neighborhoods statewide. Most everyone will have never imagined how anything this awful could have happened. Like what, you ask? Well, SB79 provides a potential instantaneous bonanza to most every real estate developer. In the "good old days" (i.e. before the Governor may be signing away "the American Dream" of home ownership), a developer had to wait, and wait, and wait until someone asked to build housing on their lot. But unfortunately, Governor Newsom could soon thrill developers by creating for them a new "California Gold Rush".
Soon, if it does become law, a developer need not wait for an offer. He/she can randomly select ANY NEIGHBORHOOD in California (obviously NOT where the bill's author, State Senator Wiener and the YIMBYs reside). Did you get that? SB 79 has almost no restriction if a neighborhood is within a half mile radius of a "transit hub" (like a bus or metro stop)! Huh? A bus or metro stop? Why those things are everywhere! No kidding.
So, what should that have to do with anything? Well, you might think it's nuts, but that's the reality of SB 79. If you live near any "transit hub", your next-door neighbor can sell their house for maybe 1 1/2 times the market value to a developer. Then, one day you look out your kitchen window to discover a 7 to 9 story apartment building where a single-family home used to be. No additional parking on the block and no consideration for traffic congestion. Just dozens more neighbors instantly living next door to you. Homeowners will live in constant fear of this happening. They can never get away from the possibility that all their hard work and planning can be ruined by politicians, who they mistakenly believed had their best interests in mind.
So, how does it work IF the developer comes to YOU with a 1 1/2 times the market value offer for YOUR home? Well, you actually have no choice but to comply. Huh? No way: I don't have to cave. I don't want to move away. I'll just pass on the potential financial windfall. That's a nice thought, but you WILL cave. "No way", you say. Well, sorry to say, but there is no way you won't sell.
The developer will tell you that if you don't sell, he/she will make the same offer to YOUR NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR (who will turn out to be smarter than you by taking the deal). So, all of the sudden, the writing is on the wall. If YOU do not take the offer, it's YOU with the multi-story monstrosity 20 or so feet outside YOUR kitchen window! So, now YOU are the most screwed homeowner on your block. Cursed you... and everyone else on your block. Since the word is out instantly to every real estate agent, all neighborhood property market values tank by a huge percentage right away. Of course, yours is worth the least because the actual multistory building is physically next door to you.
So, that explains why you would be crazy NOT to take the developer's original offer, right? And taking that offer immediately makes YOU the low-life pariah who ruined the property value and lifestyle for all your wonderful neighbors (who used to love you...past tense). Unfortunately, moneybags YOU may have an entirely new set of unanticipated problems. How outraged are your former best friend neighbors? So, if you do take the developer's get rich-quick offer, you might want to "get outta Dodge pronto!".
If you happen to agree with my 4 recent CityWatchLA articles on SB 79, Governor Newsom might want to hear from you. Psssst, don't forget to let him know how you are sooooo looking forward to the 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary. And congratulate him for becoming your newest hero if/when he vetoes SB 79.
Be thoughtful, be democratic, be of ken.
(Ken Ross is a retired dentist, former Associate Professor at UCLA Dental School, and a longtime animal advocate. He serves as NENC First Vice President, is a staff writer for Valley News Group, and a regular contributor to CityWatchLA.com.)
