STATEWIDE RALLIES TO PROTEST SB 79: EXPERTS WARN BILL PUTS PROFITS OVER SAFETY AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
August 23, 2025 — San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Marin
On Saturday, August 23, Californians in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities will rally against Senate Bill 79, which allows developers to build large-scale housing projects within a half-mile of existing or proposed transit stops. Critics say the bill overrides local safety standards, infrastructure limits, and community input.
The San Diego rally begins at 10 a.m. near the North Clairemont Recreation Center, corner of Genesee andBannock Avenue.
State Senator Aisha Wahab told a group of California smart housing growth advocates during a recent Zoom call that “tech billionaire and developer money funneled through YIMBY lobbying is misleading younger legislators into thinking this is a simple fix for affordability.” She urged lawmakers to focus on protecting a pathway to homeownership, not locking Californians into high-cost rentals.
Molly Mowery, Executive Director of the Community Wildfire Planning Center, told CalMatters in April 2025 that “no other state has as many wildfire requirements in place or direction on what communities have to include in their general plans,” warning those safeguards are often bypassed when statehousing mandates override local planning.
Geoffrey Boomhower, wildfire policy researcher at UC San Diego, told CalMatters in May 2024, “We have all these homes that were built in places with pretty high fire risk during a period in which we weren’t thinking as much about the risk… The climate is making this worse.” A UC Berkeley-led study of 28 major California wildfires found that nearly 60 percent of destroyed buildings were rebuilt within six years, with no consistent trend toward making them more fire-resistant.
NFABC supports building more homes but calls for smarter planning, community input, and safety first. “We all want more affordable housing,” said Marcella Bothwell, NFABC chair. “But this bill risks creating the next preventable tragedy.”
I attended the rally for a few minutes only to witness all the fools and their absurd smugness. There is only one solution. These folks have a cause celebre, I get it. Here is why they are fools. 22% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the last San Diego County election. 34% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the last D2 Primary. These people represent a miniscule proportion of voters. Furthermore, the lower tier candidates not raising tons of campaign cash who agree with these people are overlooked in favor of the very candidates who disagree with them. It makes no sense and defines hypocrisy to a new level. Gloria has two years to go after next year’s midterms. Does anyone in their right mind believe Gloria will allow a dissenter to be elected in D2. That is why these people are fools.
My own party the GOP are the true fools. We could capitalize on overdevelopment and ADUS to take back the council and mayoral race but have abandoned San Diego in favor of other places in the county.
Dan, that’s BS. These folks took the time and energy in the hot Clairemont sun to get the word out thru their bannering on Genessee and via the media who showed up. The issue is to shake the couches to make Californians aware of this horrendous bill. Calling them fools just speaks to your own cynicism and lack of vision.
Dan I empathize with your despair, and you’re right, it is no longer a matter of a couple of bad policy ideas, it’s is the collective intended agenda of a Party run amok.
But I showed up, and you didn’t.
Perishing with no “vision” will be the result of apathy. Apathy that you condone yourself quite by hypocritically criticizing those that take action in the face of your self-sidelining “what’s the use” apathy.
If we collectively stop SB 79 it will SAVE LIVES from the genocide of hyper-gentrification. If that is something I can pitch in to help to end the threat of, then I will be there.
I showed up because protesting also exposes more of the public to the well known reality of the “money only” agenda of the corrupted California Democratic Party. And this is coming from a real Progressive.
Though shockingly, this publication has thrown all it’s weight behind isolating and marginalizing conservatives to “gerrymander for democracy.” I and several others are deeply opposed to this grandstanding and the politicized and deliberately antagonistic divisive threat that it is.
The crowd at the protest(s) consist of independent, conservative, liberal, republican, democrat, libertarian and politically agnostic San Diegans from all nine districts gathered together in Unison to fight corrupted policies, regardless of ideology.
Gathering with others to protest is the only thing providing any kind of solace for me. You may find the same commonality and solace if you were to join in too. The politico-corporate real estate policy merits your participation against it, and all are welcome.
Unity against oppression is what this country was built on and how we have sustained for 250 years. We may keep going but it will only be through strength in numbers, God willing and the creek don’t rise…
Protesters that I have met left the non-sensical political baggage at the door, to come together and it will be the only way we can solve everything. Indiscriminate suppressing, isolating and othering only serve to keep us divided and that is why we’re being conquered.
Dan, I encourage you to join in and stop with the “somebody else should do something.” There is no Cavalry we are the Cavalry, all of us.
Out of curiosity, ever think about how accurate those voting participation numbers are? Ever question the “hardly anybody voted accounting metric?
“22 % and 34%” participation… in todays politically charged climate?
Doesn’t it at all seem suspicious, to anyone, that we all just blindly accept these rather important “low voter turnout” statistical numbers as Gospel truth when they seem to be so unbelievable low? Without any question election after election the public cannot inquire, nor require, and most importantly, can get no independent verification for the scratched and broken record, repeatedly and redundantly decrying “low voter turnout” that we hear following every single election in California for the last twenty years since our Registrar of Voters got off the train that Michael Vu was run out of Cuyahoga County, Ohio on?
At least 100 people protested SB79 at the intersection of Genessee and Bannock today in Clairemont.
Clairemont deserves better,great job today for everybody at the rally.Thanks for showing up.