The Pleasanton City Council had plenty to say Tuesday night about one of the most controversial housing legislation proposals under consideration this year in Sacramento, Senate Bill 50.

A bill by San Francisco Democrat Sen. Scott Wiener, SB 50 aims to spur rapid housing development by relaxing standards for many residential projects and overriding local zoning regulations near transit stations and "job-rich" areas.

But the proposal has come under fire from suburban communities, and even some urban ones, as circumventing local control in favor of an unfair "one size fits all" approach to housing solutions and not prioritizing actual affordable housing, among other criticisms.

The legislation, which was reclassified as a two-year bill after its introduction in 2019, experienced some initial amendments as it returned to the State Senate's agenda this month, but Pleasanton officials think much more needs to be done to improve the bill -- or defeat it altogether.

"This bill could very much erode our ability to make decisions within our own community. It's that important," Councilwoman Karla Brown said Tuesday night at the Pleasanton Civic Center.

"If our community members were asked to vote on SB 50, which would allow four-plexes in both of your neighbors' properties, along with the threat to our historic downtown and parking restrictions, I know my community would not support this," Councilwoman Julie Testa added.

As it stands, despite hesitance or outright opposition from many local jurisdictions and even some local leaders and advocates in big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, SB 50 is likely to pass in the State Senate next week, according to Alex Gibbs, from the city's advocacy firm, Townsend Public Affairs.

It would then head to the Assembly for more debate, possible amendments and final consideration during the year.

The council has maintained an official position of "oppose unless amended" on SB 50, mainly as a strategy to get a seat at the table, so to speak, as Wiener and supporters consider drafting amendments.

City staff recommended a similar strategy while early and future amendments become clearer -- and the council did not change its position Tuesday -- but Brown criticized what exactly the "seat at the table" has accomplished since some of Pleasanton major concerns are still not satisfactorily addressed.

"It's time to stand up and say 'oppose.' Why do we still say 'unless amended'?" Testa added. "It's going to be devastating if it passes."

Ellen Clark, the city's community development director, told the council that despite the recent revisions, a number of aspects of SB 50 remain potentially problematic for Pleasanton.

The bill as written still retains relaxation of standards for apartment height, density and parking for eligible projects in "jobs-rich" or "transit-rich" areas.

Pleasanton remains particularly concerned about those impacts, in part because the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) train station would be considered a major transit stop and thus triggering a "transit-rich" designation for much of downtown. City officials are advocating for low-frequency rail like ACE not to be considered major transit.

The city also wants stronger protections for historic neighborhoods. SB 50 language would protect historic resources listed on the stringent state and federal registry, but the vast majority of the homes and buildings formally cited by Pleasanton as historic resources in downtown are not on those lists.

City officials are concerned too about lack of clarity in SB 50 on topics such as the proposed "jobs-rich" area maps and how the bill would impact the next Housing Element update and regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) process for Pleasanton.

"I've heard a lot of clarification and definition in the discussion tonight. And that's what this bill looks like: It's not defined," Councilman Jerry Pentin said.

He later asked the city's lobbyist whether SB 50 proponents "understand that cities don't build, they zone and then get out of the way once (private developers) have the permits?"

"The goal of this bill, I think, is to produce housing that's affordable. Where is that in here, the affordability piece of it?" Vice Mayor Kathy Narum added. "I don't see it, and maybe I'm missing it, the things that would make it affordable. There's nothing in here about relaxing CEQA, for example."

No residents spoke to the council on SB 50 during the meeting.

Council members didn't take any action, as the item was designed as informational-only, but they concurred with staff's plan to continue efforts to monitor the bill and to engage with Tri-Valley community partners to develop regional and local responses during the process.

Mayor Jerry Thorne was absent from Tuesday's meeting, away in Washington, D.C. representing Pleasanton at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In other business

* The council voted 4-0 to approve the city's first-ever local preference policy to give Pleasanton contractors and vendors a potential leg up in the bid process for certain city projects and supply agreements.

The two-fold policy involves first adding a local preference provision for Pleasanton businesses in cases of tie bids.

So in situations in which two or more bids are competitively matched in relation to qualifications, quality, cost and experience, the policy would allow the city to award the contract based on preference to the Pleasanton-based bidder over an out-of-city business.

The other aspect of the policy creates a bid calculation preference of 5% (up to $5,000 per transaction) for Pleasanton businesses in the bidding process for city contracts for supplies, equipment and trade services.

* Council members postponed until February discussion of proposed modifications to the city's down payment assistance program, including increasing the maximum loan for qualifying buyers from $20,000 to $100,000 (with up to $300,000 available in the program per year), restructuring the loan terms as a deferred payment loan and adopting a shared appreciation loan policy for repayment.

* They also approved a 20-item consent calendar, a collection of items deemed routine and voted upon all at once at the beginning of the meeting.

Consent topics Tuesday included the second reading and final adoption of three ordinances previously discussed at length: giving voting authority to youth members on four city commissions, confirmation of new penalties for illegal demolition of historic structures and approval of a project to replace the long-vacant Denny's restaurant on Owens Drive with a new multi-tenant commercial building.

Also on consent were a $466,089 contract with Lehr Auto Electric for Pleasanton police's automated license plate reader system, a $275,149 agreement with Park Planet for playground renovations at Orloff Neighborhood Park and accepting new public artwork for Alviso Adobe Community Park -- "Eventide," a cold-welded steel replica of a mountain lion.