Twenty years ago, California passed a landmark land-use bill designed to get more homes built near daily destinations. The Sustainable Communities Act has increased investments in transit and safe, walkable streets across California. SB 1087 is the first meaningful update to this legislation, shifting the focus from regional planning to building projects that support California’s climate goals.

Progress toward a more climate-friendly California happens through 20-year plans called Sustainable Communities Strategies. These plans shape where housing and transportation are built. Each region works toward its climate target by creating more walkable, transit-accessible communities where people can drive less.

SB 1087 updates the existing law to relieve some of the planning burdens and costs to regions, increase the focus on regional implementation, and hold the state accountable to the same standards as regions by:

• Extending the emissions reduction targets to 2045
• Requiring Caltrans’s state highway project planning to align with statewide climate goals and sustainable communities strategies in each region
• Reducing administrative implementation burdens and costs on metropolitan planning organizations

This important bill is on the governor’s desk. Tell him to sign it.