State Assemblyman Marc Berman, whose 24th District includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View, remains uncommitted, at least publicly, on a controversial bill that would force high-density housing along major transportation corridors.
Berman, who invited supporters and local leaders to a March 7 open house at his Los Altos-based headquarters, fielded a question from Los Altos Mayor Lynette Lee Eng on whether he supported Senate Bill 50, State Sen. Scott Wiener’s second attempt to put such housing along thoroughfares including San Antonio Road and El Camino Real. Wiener’s initial attempt under SB 827 failed to advance out of the committee stage.
“Many of us are concerned about the loss of local control,” Lee Eng told Berman during a question-and-answer period.
The new bill prevents cities from limiting housing density on sites within a half-mile radius of rail transit and a quarter-mile from high-use bus stops.
Berman said it was premature to give an opinion on a bill that will be amended as it progresses through the State Senate before reaching the Assembly.
“I don’t want to take a position until it makes its way through the process,” he said. “I would not vote for it in its current form.”
The Democrat, however, intimated that he generally supports initiatives addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis.
“We don’t have enough housing in Silicon Valley, in the Bay Area and California,” Berman said. “Change is scary, (but) the status quo is not working.”
“When is enough enough?” one attendee asked. “All we’re getting is giant buildings … that only rich people can afford.”
“Enough (housing) will be enough when we don’t see rows of RVs along El Camino, when 19 percent of students attending community colleges aren’t homeless,” Berman responded. “We don’t have nearly enough.”
Solutions for students
Berman has introduced Assembly Bill 302, which would allow homeless students to sleep in parking lots at community colleges.
“This is not the long-term solution,” he acknowledged, but it “makes it easier to go to college.”
The state, he noted, needs also to address student challenges that include the cost of housing, food insecurity and access to mental health services.
Berman said he is part of a group of legislators developing a master plan for higher education.
At the high school level, he wants to create the position of a state computer science coordinator, through AB 20, to address the lack of diversity among students with access to computer science classes. Berman said that access belongs to mostly white and Asian populations, not to Hispanic and African-American students.
Other issues
As the member of a legislative committee on the 2020 Census, Berman addressed the Trump administration’s plan to include a citizenship question on the upcoming Census. As a result, he said the state is “at risk of losing billions of dollars” from underrepresentation if residents avoid participation. A U.S. District judge in California ruled March 6 that the question violated administrative law, but Berman said the issue is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On the high-profile subject of sexual assaults, Berman said his office is working on a bill, AB 538, to increase access to sexual assault forensic examiners, as well as improve efficiency and quality.
“We’re lucky that Santa Clara County has these resources, but a lot of our rural counties don’t,” he said.
Berman said he is also working to increase protections for survivors of sexual assault. He wants to extend the statute of limitations for such crimes from the current two years to 10 years.
“Too many survivors come to us (saying that) going though the criminal justice process was almost as bad as going through (the abuse),” Berman said.
He recently honored Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford with Woman of the Year honors for his district after she testified against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh last year over his alleged sexual misconduct.
“She’s a hero to millions of people across the country,” Berman said. “I was honored to be able to honor her.”
