In recent years, San Diegans have invested billions in trolley lines, the SPRINTER, and COASTER upgrades. But outdated regulations that prevent new homes from being built near stations mean fewer people will be able to use them — and the outcome is predictable: underused transit, congested freeways, and working families pushed out of the region.
Senate Bill 79, a proposed law under consideration in the state legislature, would change that by making it legal to build apartments near frequent transit stops.
For years, highly restrictive housing rules have kept new homes from being built near transit. At the El Cajon trolley stop, for example, empty parking lots dominate where housing could go…