SACRAMENTO, CA — Senate Bill 457, a targeted measure to strengthen California’s housing laws and prevent misuse of the Builder’s Remedy, did not advance out of the Senate Housing Committee this week, despite growing concerns about speculative projects bypassing local planning.
The Willow-Sunset project in Menlo Park exemplifies the stakes. A proposed Builder’s Remedy project, it includes three towers, with the tallest reaching 37 stories—the tallest building in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco, 665 housing units, with only 20% designated affordable, targeted at 80% AMI (~$148,000/year in San Mateo County), and over 350,000 square feet of office space, a hotel, and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail, raising questions about scale, infrastructure, and intent.
Fact is cities like Saratoga submitted their housing elements on time. Saratoga has been hit with 22 Builder’s Remedy applications—even though they submitted their plan in 2022 and faced months-long review delays by HCD, with different reviewers each time.
This is the kind of project that erodes public trust.
It’s marketed as an affordable housing solution, but the affordability is superficial, the rent thresholds exclude essential workers, and the project includes a hotel and major office space that do little to address our actual housing crisis.
SB 457 was crafted to protect existing projects that comply with the law while preventing future abuse of a system originally designed to push cities toward meaningful housing reform. It would have reduced litigation risks, clarified planning rules, and reinforced smart growth, aligning new housing with infrastructure, transportation, and climate goals.
The Builder’s Remedy should be a tool of last resort to get urgently needed, equitable housing built,” said Becker. “But when it’s used to push luxury towers that sidestep community standards and strain public services, we all lose.”
“This was a focused, practical bill,” said Senator Josh Becker (D–Menlo Park). “I have worked to ensure that SB 457 struck a fair balance to uphold accountability while giving cities that do the right thing the ability to plan responsibly. California’s housing crisis demands laws that are reliable, predictable, and fair. While I am disappointed that this bill didn’t advance, I remain committed to pushing for reforms that support real affordability and restore confidence in our housing policies”
“I was honored to speak in support of Senator Becker’s commonsense bill,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller (District 3). “I applaud him for taking on this heavy lift and speaking up on behalf of our cities.”
"This bill simply asks legislators to correct their unintended consequences and not punish thousands of citizens in housing-compliant cities with egregious projects." - Palo Alto City Mayor Ed Lauing
“SB 457 upholds the balance between producing the housing our communities urgently need and ensuring that development does not put residents, firefighters, and first responders at unacceptable risk. Senator Becker's bill recognizes that producing housing must go hand-in-hand with our communities’ safety needs.” – Director Virginia Chang Kiraly, Menlo Park Fire District
A longtime advocate for affordable housing, Senator Becker authored SB 457 to support cities acting in good faith to meet their housing obligations and ensure that state housing tools like the Builder’s Remedy are used to promote genuine affordability—not exploited to push through outsized developments with minimal public benefit.
SB 457 sought to make two key updates to California’s housing law. It would clarify when a housing element is considered compliant, by tying that status to the date of adoption—subject to HCD or judicial confirmation—rather than leaving cities in limbo during lengthy state review processes; and it would require developers to submit fully complete applications before accessing Builder’s Remedy protections, curbing placeholder or speculative filings that block land without intent to build.