On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) joined forces with Altadena municipal leaders and displaced residents at the Sacramento Swing Space to draw a line in the sand. Together, they launched a high-stakes legislative push for Senate Bill 1090, also known as the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act.
The press conference, held at 9:15 a.m. at 1021 O Street, served as the opening volley for a critical day in the State Capitol. Hours later, the bill faced back-to-back scrutiny in both the Assembly Housing Committee and the Assembly Local Government Committee.
The heart of SB 1090 is a targeted, urgent moratorium on existing housing density laws—specifically Senate Bills 9 and 1123—within the precise boundaries of the Altadena wildfire recovery zones. Local advocates argue that these well-intentioned state housing laws are being weaponized by outside corporate buyers to outbid local families and build high-density complexes without local oversight.
By securing this moratorium, the bill ensures that rebuilding remains in the hands of the community rather than Wall Street investors. It gives families the literal and figurative breathing room to return to their lots without being priced out of their own hometown.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, representing District 5, has thrown her full institutional weight behind the measure. She stands alongside a fierce grassroots coalition determined to protect the vulnerable foothills from overbuilding.
The resistance on the ground is being anchored by the Altadena Town Council and the vigilant neighborhood watchdogs at Altadena Recovery Watch. Council Chair Nic Arnzen and Councilmember Darlene Greene have spent weeks gathering emotional testimony from displaced homeowners to ensure Sacramento lawmakers understand the human cost of predatory real estate practices.
The coalition stresses that pushing high-density development into high-risk fire zones is not just an architectural threat; it is a profound public safety hazard. Rebuilding, they argue, must be done safely, equitably, and with deep respect for local zoning history.
The structural protections embedded in SB 1090 focus on three core areas:
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The Emergency Moratorium: Temporarily freezing SB 9 and SB 1123 lot-splitting provisions within the Eaton Fire impact zone.
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Restoring Local Authority: Returning full zoning and planning oversight to the community and county supervisors during the recovery era.
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Anti-Predatory Safeguards: Creating strict disincentives for aggressive under-market buyouts targeting vulnerable, displaced homeowners.
As SB 1090 navigates the final, critical stretches of the assembly committee process, active community support is vital to ensuring its ultimate passage into law. Foothill residents are encouraged to submit formal letters of support to help keep the momentum alive in Sacramento.
To log your support, track the daily progress of the bill, or obtain information on attending upcoming legislative hearings, you can reach out directly to the senator’s office.
Constituent letters, organizational endorsements, and media inquiries should be submitted via email to Jerome Parra at [email protected]. Written correspondence can also be mailed to the legislative team at the Swing Space, 1021 O Street, Suite 8010, Sacramento, CA 95814.
