Lawmakers kickstart development of BART parking lots into retail, housing

A BART train passes the Vaya housing project, a 178 unit transit-oriented development slated to open this year in Walnut Creek, Calif. A BART train passes the Vaya housing project, a 178 unit transit-oriented development slated to open this year in Walnut Creek, Calif. Photo: Noah Berger / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Noah Berger / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Lawmakers kickstart development of BART parking lots into retail, housing 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A bill to speed up the development of housing and retail on BART parking lots and other property is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, despite staunch oppostion from local political leaders around the East Bay.

Assembly Bill 2923 would require the transit agency to zone its parking lots and other vacant land for building construction and limit cities’ ability to get in the way. It would apply to any BART-owned land within half a mile of a station. Existing surface lots could be replaced with parking structures and new apartments and shops.

“We’re talking about surface parking lots that have not been developed for 45 years,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who co-authored the bill with Assemblyman Timothy Grayson, D-Concord.

Noting that most projects on BART lots take decades to build because of all the squabbling and negotiations between agencies, Chiu said the legislation would simplify and expedite the process.

It would “allow us to simultaneously address two of the Bay Area’s biggest challenges: housing affordability and traffic congestion,” he said in a statement following the bill’s passage.

BART recently committed to build out its lots by 2040, producing 20,000 units of housing and 4.5 million square feet of commercial space, including child care and educational facilities. Chiu and Grayson’s bill limits building heights to one story higher than structures in the surrounding area. At least one-third of the housing would be affordable to low- and moderate-income families.

But the idea of handing land use authority over to BART hit resistance on the Assembly floor. Republican Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, whose district includes five BART stations in the Tri-Valley area, was among its most spirited opponents.

“Let me tell you a little bit about the agency that would be in control of this housing,” Baker said, painting a grim picture of the recent crime wave and equipment problems on BART.

“Right now BART is in the headlines for stabbings,” Baker said, pointing out that on Monday — a day before the critical Assembly vote — BART earned a $6.8 million federal grant to beef up safety measures.

It came just as a stretch of track went out of service for hours in east Contra Costa county, Baker said.

Her criticisms echoed those of mayors and neighborhood groups throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Many of them touted the virtues of transit-oriented development, but said that cities should do it on their own time and their own terms, without BART calling the shots.

Yet others, including East Bay Assemblyman Rob Bonta, showed fervent support for the bill. It passed 44-25.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan