Palisadians Participate in Statewide Rally Against Senate Bill 79

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Residents opposing Senate Bill 79 joined elected officials and community leaders on Saturday morning, August 23, for a rally in the U.S. Bank parking lot at the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore.

Headed by Pacific Palisades Residents Association President Jessica Rogers, the protest was one of many that took place statewide to advocate against a bill the California Senate Appropriations Committee narrowly passed June 3: San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act.

The bill would allow for the construction of multi-family housing near designated transit stops. Buildings up to seven stories high would be allowed near subway stations, and buildings up to six stories would be allowed within one-quarter mile of light rail, Metrolink or Bus Rapid Transit stops.

“This is a big deal,” said Chris LeGras of Our Neighborhood Voices, a coalition that organized rallies in the Palisades, Altadena, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Marin County, Lakewood, Torrance and Hermosa Beach. “Who gets to decide whose town it’s going to be? They want to build high-density housing in fire severity zones and they call that progress.”

In July, the legislation was moved forward by the Assembly Housing and Local Government committees, though it is still subject to a vote by the full Assembly, which could pass it as is or amend it.

Rogers gave a shout-out to Palisadian celebrity influencer Spencer Pratt, who came to the rally.

“You are fearless,” Rogers said. “We’ve got your back.”

Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag, lost their Chautauqua home in the Palisades fire and have since been displaced to a rental home in Santa Barbara.

“We want to share our voice,” Rogers said while addressing the crowd of people holding signs reading “Stop SB 79 Now.” “We’re going to end SB 79 today. The PPRA has been around for more decades than I’ve been alive. It’s nonpartisan, and this is a nonpartisan issue.”

Rogers said “we don’t want to recreate what’s behind us,” referring to buildings that had burned across the street. She then introduced Councilmember Traci Park.

“We need housing that people can afford, and we need to have a say in where that housing goes,” Park said. “This reckless build from Sacramento undoes all of the work we’ve done as a community. It hands the keys to corporate developers, and this build is being rammed down our throats by bureaucrats who’ve probably never set foot in your neighborhood … Affordable housing needs to be done thoughtfully. I led the City Council’s vote in opposing SB 79. We’re a community, not a commodity.”

Next to the podium was Larry Vein, CEO of Pali Strong, a foundation established to help rebuild the town and support fire recovery efforts.

“Even though we’ve lost our community, we’re coming back so much stronger,” said Vein, who shared how he was trapped in gridlocked traffic for two hours surrounded by fires as he tried to get out of the hills. “We don’t do politics, we do Palisades. We’re coming back, but we’re going to do it smart. There’s a rational way to do it.”

Additional speakers included entrepreneur and LA native Daphne Bradford, who ran for election to the LA County Board of Supervisors in District 2 (she finished second to incumbent Holly Mitchell in March 2024), Westlake Village Mayor Kelly Honig and Alex Villanueva, who served as the 33rd sheriff of Los Angeles County from 2018-22 and is now a candidate for the position again.

Proponents of the bill argue that increasing the supply of housing in transit-oriented areas will help lower overall housing costs, and that increased housing near transit will encourage greater ridership and promote public transportation, thus supporting the financial stability of transit agencies.

“It’ll make evacuations more complicated,” Villanueva said while explaining why he believes SB 79 would put lives in danger. “We have to go a different way … This is about public safety. You matter. Don’t let Sacramento dictate how you rebuild your community.”

Also speaking against SB 79 was Nico Ruderman, who lives in Venice and is campaigning for the State Senate in District 24, a position currently held by Ben Allen.

“It’ll rip communities apart by forcing longtime residents out of neighborhoods it claims to help,” Ruderman said. “We can’t keep building in areas where people need to be able to get out. Nothing in this bill is about affordability. Wiener claims SB 79 won’t affect the Palisades but the Big Blue Bus travels through the Palisades and once it passes Metro gets the zoning. All they have to do is change the routes and it’ll be affecting you.”

Reza Akef, who manages Polaris Homes LLC and launched a petition to waive sales taxes on reconstruction materials for fire victims, also spoke Saturday. He grew up in the Palisades, graduating from Palisades Charter High School in 1998 and, after attending law school, lived in the Palisades for 11 years before relocating to Palms.

“If they have their way in Sacramento there’ll be no backyards,” Akef said. “The American Dream is to be able to buy your own home. I grew up here and in 2022 we left because we wanted to save our money. You work hard to work hard to achieve where you want to live.”

Community activist Susan Collins drove from Sherman Oaks to express her disapproval of the bill, stating that Mayor Karen Bass was asked to sign off on resistance to SB 79—and she did on August 20—clarifying in a post that she opposes SB 79 “unless it is amended to exempt cities with a state-approved and compliant housing element.”

“While I support the intent to accelerate housing development statewide,” Bass wrote, “as written, this bill risks unintended consequences for LA.”

Rally attendees included Larry Goldberg (founder of Palisades Dolphin Strong) and longtime neighborhood safety advocate Mark Ryavec, president of Venice Stakeholders Association, a nonprofit community group founded in 2010.

LeGras delivered closing comments and encouraged everyone to contact their state assemblymember.

“We came within one vote of defeating SB 79 in June,” he said. “If we can flip one or two votes, it’s dead. It’s now in the Assembly so go online, find out who your representative is and call them. It’s amazing how the grassroots works. Ben Allen doesn’t like this bill … he may not oppose it, but he won’t vote for it.”

Allen, who represents Westside communities like the Palisades and Santa Monica, was present June 3, but did not vote, which amounted to an abstention.

In a statement posted on Wiener’s website June 3, the senator is quoted as saying: “Tonight’s vote is a big step toward making California an affordable place for people to live and thrive. California urgently needs to build more homes to bring down costs and building them near transit provides our public transportation systems with an infusion of new riders. This is an idea whose time has come. I thank my Senate colleagues for supporting this legislation and look forward to working with my Assembly colleagues to get the bill across the finish line.”