Eleven Pérez Bills Await Newsom’s Decision, Including an Altadena-Only Pause on State Density Laws

Eleven bills authored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, have cleared the California Legislature and are awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, according to her office. Six respond to the Eaton Fire, and one applies only to Altadena.

That measure, SB 1090, the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act, would take effect the moment it is signed and would suspend the state’s ministerial-approval requirements for housing developments and subdivision maps in ZIP Codes 91001 and 91003, for applications filed on or after Oct. 1. Ministerial approval is the fast, non-discretionary track created by SB 9 and SB 1123, which allow lot splits and additional units on single-family parcels. The Assembly concurred in the final amendments Aug. 30 on a 36-0 vote. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is sponsoring the bill, and Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, is a principal coauthor.

“The people of Altadena are demanding protection from speculators who are buying land from distressed fire survivors and trying to exploit the intent of existing laws,” Pérez said in June.

Developers bought just under half of the 287 vacant lots sold in Altadena last year but were not more likely than individual owners to delay rebuilding, the Los Angeles Times reported in May.

Also on the governor’s desk: SB 877 and SB 878, on insurer loss estimates and payment delays; SB 742, on abandoned powerlines; SB 1098, on utility spending; SB 1417, on mutual water company rate notice, which a trade group opposes; and five measures covering detention oversight, law enforcement, school misconduct, youth apprenticeships and clinic licensing.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to act, and none of the eleven had been signed or vetoed as of Aug. 31. If SB 1090 is signed, it governs covered applications filed on or after Oct. 1 and expires Jan. 1, 2030.