Dear WeHo: Attorneys Representing WeHo Residents Demand City Act on SB 79

This law firm represents a group of owners and residents (the “Residents”) in the City of West Hollywood (“City”) who are concerned about the lack of a local Transit-Oriented Development Alternative Plan (“TODAP”), or other legally available phase-in or delay provisions, adopted by the City, regarding the implementation of SB 79.

It is now mid-June, 2026. The City has known about the implementation date for SB 79 since its passage in October 2025. Yet, no action has been taken to maintain local control over the SB 79-required density increases. As set forth in the staff report on this item, taking no action will inhibit the City from tailoring the requirements of SB 79 in a way that addresses local concerns, including steering future transit-oriented development toward commercial corridors where density will be less impactful on existing neighborhoods. Creating a TODAP would give the City the ability to protect vulnerable areas, including rent-stabilized housing, senior residents, Very High and High Fire Severity Hazard zones, high water table or liquefaction zones, and other parts of the City that cannot geologically support high density development.

The Residents consider that the City has already fumbled its response to SB 79, particularly as it relates to the K-Line extension’s applicability thereto. The City failed to communicate the SB 79 upzoning implications of the K-Line extension and its proposed/unmapped stations with its constituents. Despite using public funds to actively lobby both Metro and Sacramento for the K-Line extension, the City deliberately failed to disclose the loss of local control and upzoning impacts that the K-Line extension would trigger under SB 79. To the contrary, Councilmembers have publicly and specifically told stakeholders that “our hands are tied” with regard to the upzoning caused by these Metro stops and SB 79.

Sacramento does not understand the unique specificities of West Hollywood’s geology or density. The ability to address local circumstances is the reason that the TODAP mechanism is included in the law. For example, the state would not know that there are serious land subsidence/de-watering issues in the area surrounding the proposed K-line extension, or that the West Hollywood Heights neighborhood above Sunset is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity zone¹ and is already facing concerns regarding over-development and fire/public safety response times. Densely populated HFHS zones, like the neighborhoods between Sunset and Holloway and Sunset and Fountain, also require special attention. Without a TODAP to address these issues, such local concerns and vulnerabilities would not be reviewed and addressed. By not proceeding with a TODAP, the City is deliberately ignoring the mechanism to protect its residents and the safety of its citizens.

We understand that at a recent Council meeting, a Councilmember suggested that there was a deadline to create a TODAP. This is incorrect. Nothing in SB 79 prohibits a city from adopting and submitting a TODAP after July 1, 2026. The staff report advises that other cities, including Culver City, will be implementing their TODAPs after July 1, 2026.

The Residents urge the City Council to represent its constituents’ interests and concerns with regard to zoning regulations and proceed with a TODAP or other legally available phase-in or delay provisions regarding the implementation of SB 79.