Spencer Pratt Again Blasts California Housing Density Moves

After months of deriding everyone and everything from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass to proposed wildfire recovery bills, Spencer Pratt is turning his focus to another piece of controversial legislation.

The reality TV personality has taken to social media to call out Senate Bill 79, the recently approved measure that would upzone areas near transit hubs to increase density, Politico reported.

The bill passed the California Senate last week and is headed to Newsom’s desk. It calls for boosting housing density across the state by allowing apartment buildings of up to nine stories next to train stations and major transit stops. Most cities in California have zoned the land around transit stops for single-family homes.

Pratt blasted the bill on Instagram, sharing a video of the January wildfires that destroyed his Pacific Palisades home and urging followers to “Call Newsom and tell him Palisades can’t have more density” and to “Stop SB 79.”

There are no train stations or major transit hubs in the Pacific Palisades. State Sen. Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, noted the concern over a non-issue for Pratt.

“He’s spreading a bald-faced lie, saying that SB 79 applies in the Palisades,” Wiener told Politico. “It does not, and that is shameful.”

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution expressing opposition to the plan with the support of Mayor Karen Bass. The bill ended up passing in the state legislature last week.

Prior to the SB 79 outrage, Pratt criticized Senate Bill 549, which would establish a government body to determine a path forward after January’s deadly wildfires. Opponents such as Pratt argued it would allow Los Angeles County to take over burned lots and sell them to the highest bidder.

“The Hills” star expressed his disdain for SB 549 in a series of videos on TikTok. He claimed he consulted with an artificial intelligence chatbot that told him the bill would allow L.A. County to buy burned lots in the Palisades and convert them into low-income housing, remove local zoning decisions and push for denser reconstruction in the area. That bill was paused in the legislature after Bass raised concerns about its effects.

“Instead of a [recovery] plan to make the city affordable for its residents, we have Spencer Pratt influencing the mayor of L.A. to kill housing,” Matthew Lewis, a spokesperson for California YIMBY, told Politico.

Pratt also criticized Senate Bill 9, which was signed into law in 2021. The legislation was meant to address the state’s housing shortage by allowing homeowners in most single-family residential zones to split their lot into separate parcels and build two units on a single lot. Following Pratt and Bass’ criticism of the law, Newsom waived its enforcement in fire-prone areas.

It remains to be seen whether Newsom will sign SB 79 into law. As for Pratt’s influence on the governor, it appears to be nonexistent.

“Our office doesn’t communicate with Spencer Pratt,” Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos told Politico. “I don’t even think the governor knows who he is.”— Chris Malone Méndez