Does SB 79 Allow Taller Housing Near the Solana Beach Train Station?

by Zach Arrington

Not today, but it could. SB 79 has been state law since July 1, 2026, yet the regional map that decides which stations count leaves the Solana Beach station off entirely, so nothing around it has been upzoned. A lawsuit filed in September 2026 asks a court to throw that map out, and if the station is ever classified as a Tier 2 stop, sites within a quarter mile could qualify for buildings up to 65 feet and 100 units per acre.

I'm Zach Arrington, and I work the coastal corridor from Carmel Valley to Cardiff by the Sea. This is the question I would want answered if I owned, or were about to buy, anything within walking distance of the station on Cedros Avenue. Here is what the law says, where the fight stands, and what I would actually do about it.

What SB 79 does

SB 79 was signed on October 10, 2025, and most of it took effect on July 1, 2026, according to Kassouni Law. It lets qualifying housing projects near busy transit stops exceed local height and density limits. Stops are sorted into tiers by service. In the chaptered bill text, high frequency commuter rail means "a total of at least 48 trains per day across both directions." Stops at that level are Tier 2; Tier 1 starts at 72 trains a day, per The Coast News.

Distance from stop	Tier	Max height	Max density	Max FAR
Within a quarter mile	Tier 1	75 feet	120 units per acre	3.5
Within a quarter mile	Tier 2	65 feet	100 units per acre	3.0
Quarter to half mile (cities of 35,000 or more)	Tier 1	65 feet	100 units per acre	3.0
Quarter to half mile (cities of 35,000 or more)	Tier 2	55 feet	80 units per acre	2.5

Source: Allen Matkins. Density is before any state density bonus, and sites within 200 feet of a station's pedestrian access point can add 20 feet of height and 40 units per acre.

That half mile line matters a lot here. Solana Beach has roughly 12,900 residents, according to Councilmember Jewel Edson as quoted in The Coast News, well under the 35,000 threshold. So even in the most aggressive scenario, SB 79 would reach only a quarter mile, about 1,320 feet, around the station, as Cox, Castle and Nicholson points out. Distance is measured from the nearest edge of the parcel, not its center.

Why the station is off the map, and why that may change

The fight is about counting trains. The station at 105 North Cedros Avenue is served by both the NCTD Coaster and the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (Wikipedia). Count them together and transit schedules show 56 weekday trains, according to The San Diego Union Tribune, republished by Mass Transit. That is above the 48 train Tier 2 line.

The state housing department's March 2026 advisory says commuter rail services should be counted together. SANDAG counted each line separately, calls the state guidance advisory rather than binding, and released a draft map on June 18, 2026 that omitted the Solana Beach station (The Coast News). In September 2026, Californians for Homeownership and the California Housing Defense Fund sued SANDAG to invalidate the map, arguing it "miscategorized certain transit stops," per Times of San Diego. No hearing dates had been reported in the coverage I reviewed (Hoodline).

City leaders have been consistent. Solana Beach, along with Encinitas, Del Mar, Vista and Oceanside, publicly opposed SB 79 (The Coast News), and the city had not adopted an implementing ordinance or alternative plan as of late July 2026 (Cox, Castle and Nicholson). Meanwhile the city has permitted 215 homes this housing cycle against a state target of 875 (Mass Transit). That gap is exactly the kind of number that keeps pressure on.

Who would actually be affected

This is where I think most of the conversation gets it wrong. "Upzoning" sounds like every home near the station suddenly becomes a development site. The rules are narrower. Under SB 79, as summarized by Kassouni Law, a qualifying project must:

Sit on a site zoned residential, mixed use or commercial
Have no more than two existing housing units on the site
Propose at least five units at 30 or more units per acre
Keep the average unit at 1,750 net square feet or less
Set aside 7, 10 or 13 percent of base units as affordable (depending on income level) if the project exceeds 10 units

Translated to the ground: the parcels that would matter most are the larger commercial and mixed use lots along Cedros and Highway 101, plus any single family or duplex lot big enough, and owned by someone motivated enough, to assemble a five plus unit building. Condo buildings with many owners are very unlikely to be redeveloped. And a 65 foot building next to a one story beach house is the scenario neighbors fear, but it requires a willing seller, land economics that pencil at Solana Beach prices, and a project that gets through the approvals that still apply.

The coastal question nobody can answer yet

The entire City of Solana Beach lies within the state Coastal Zone, according to the city's own Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan. The text of SB 79 does not mention the Coastal Act or the coastal zone at all (LegiScan). It does let local plans exclude sites vulnerable to one foot of sea level rise, though housing advocates at BuildSD say no sites in the station zone show up on NOAA's one foot map. My read: until a project actually tests it, anyone telling you exactly how SB 79 and Solana Beach's coastal rules interact is guessing. For a specific parcel, that is a question for a land use attorney, and I am happy to point clients to one.

The date to watch: January 1, 2027

Starting January 1, 2027, denying a qualifying SB 79 project in a high resource area creates a presumption that the city violated the Housing Accountability Act, with penalties of $10,000 per unit unless the city proves a valid health, life or safety reason (Kassouni Law). That provision only bites where SB 79 applies, so for Solana Beach it matters if the station lands on the map. But if it does, the city's leverage to say no shrinks considerably after that date.

What Zach Arrington would tell a client

If you are buying within a few blocks of the station: do not pay a premium for "development potential" that depends on a lawsuit you cannot predict. Do price in the other side of the coin: a view or a quiet street next to a commercial or mixed use parcel could change over a decade. Before you write an offer, I will check how close the parcel edge sits to the quarter mile line and what the neighboring parcels are zoned. I handle the questions to the listing agent myself, so you get answers in writing rather than secondhand.

If you own a commercial or mixed use parcel near Cedros: this is the group with real optionality. Watch the lawsuit, and get a land use opinion before you sell, so you are not leaving value on the table or overpricing on a maybe.

If you own a single family home nearby: in my view, for most owners, very little changes in the near term. The value story in Solana Beach is still the coast, the schools and walkability, not density math.

As Zach Arrington, Broker Associate with Real, I track rules like this because they quietly move values block by block, and Solana Beach is a small enough market that one decision can matter. If you want to know how SB 79 touches a specific address, call or text me at (619) 374-5339 or email zach@zarealtygroup.com.

FAQ

Is the Solana Beach train station covered by SB 79?

Not currently. SANDAG's draft map released June 18, 2026 left the Solana Beach station off, so no upzoning applies around it today. A September 2026 lawsuit by Californians for Homeownership and the California Housing Defense Fund asks a court to invalidate that map, which could change the answer.

How many trains stop at Solana Beach station each weekday?

About 56 weekday trains when the Coaster and Pacific Surfliner are counted together, according to reporting by The San Diego Union Tribune and The Coast News. SB 79's Tier 2 threshold is 48 trains per day across both directions. SANDAG counted each line separately, which is why the station fell short on its map.

How tall could buildings be near the Solana Beach station under SB 79?

If the station were classified as Tier 2, qualifying projects within a quarter mile could reach 65 feet and 100 units per acre, with up to 20 more feet and 40 more units per acre within 200 feet of the station's pedestrian access point. Those limits are before any state density bonus.

Why would SB 79 only reach a quarter mile in Solana Beach?

The quarter to half mile band applies only in cities with at least 35,000 residents. Solana Beach has roughly 12,900, so only the quarter mile zone around the station could ever qualify.

Can a single family lot near the Solana Beach station be redeveloped under SB 79?

Only if the station qualifies and the project meets the law's conditions: a site zoned residential, mixed use or commercial, no more than two existing units, at least five new units at 30 or more units per acre, and an average unit size of 1,750 net square feet or less. Projects over 10 units also need an affordable set aside.

What changes on January 1, 2027 under SB 79?

Starting that date, denying a qualifying SB 79 project in a high resource area is presumed to violate the Housing Accountability Act, with penalties of $10,000 per unit unless the city shows a valid health, life or safety reason. It applies only where SB 79 already applies.

Does SB 79 override Solana Beach's coastal rules?

That is unsettled. The whole city sits in the state Coastal Zone, and SB 79's text does not mention the Coastal Act. It does allow local plans to exclude sites vulnerable to one foot of sea level rise. Anyone with a specific parcel should get advice from a land use attorney.

Does SB 79 apply in Encinitas, Del Mar or Carmel Valley?

SB 79 is a statewide law, not a Solana Beach rule, but it applies only near stops on the regional map. The North County stops on SANDAG's draft map were in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido. Carmel Valley is in the City of San Diego, where the first areas upzoned on July 1, 2026 were mainly North Park, City Heights, Bay Park, Clairemont and the UTC area, according to KPBS. Check the official maps for any specific address.

Has Solana Beach adopted its own SB 79 plan?

As of late July 2026, Solana Beach had not adopted an implementing ordinance or a transit oriented development alternative plan, according to Cox, Castle and Nicholson. The city publicly opposed SB 79 before it passed.