Whereas Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 10 is the latest effort to discourage public engagement on critical housing decisions and obstruct the will of the people;

 

Whereas that bill sends a chilling message to the people of California: that the most democratic of procedures, the citizens’ initiative, must be tamed, apparently because we keep voting and making decisions that Senator Wiener disagrees with;

 

Whereas SB 10 allows the override of the 108-year-old right of the people of California to enact laws that politicians cannot overrule, implying that there will be little reason to participate in such elections because every outcome is subject to legislative approval and therefore moot;

 

Whereas SB 10 is therefore clearly designed to suppress voters and discourage public participation in democracy;

 

Whereas this bill is a recipe for corruption that would encourage developers to buy city council positions, in order to gain the power to ignore and override the will of the people;

 

Whereas SB 10 allows 10-unit market rate apartments to be built anywhere, with no requirement for affordable units, granting powers to city councils that would allow them to ignore any city’s existing zoning or General Plan;

 

Whereas poorly-defined terms, such as “urban infill” and “underutilized”, provide linguistic cover for acting with complete disregard for local concerns;

 

Therefore, it is resolved that the Telegraph Hill Dwellers stand in strong opposition to SB 10 and encourage all committee members and state Senators to vote against SB 10.