Senate Bill 328 (Grayson)

What the bill does:

Senate Bill 328, authored by Senator Tim Grayson and co-sponsored by HAC, SPUR, and the Bay Area Council, addresses a major cost barrier to building housing on contaminated sites by reforming the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) Generation and Handling Fee. In 2021, SB 158 removed the cap on this fee, causing housing developments to see significant, unexpected costs increases. Since then, the fee has been administratively raised twice. SB 328 corrects this by restoring fee caps specifically for housing projects.

The bill would restore a $100,000 fee cap for infill housing projects, nonprofit projects, and parks, and would create a new $250,000 cap for master planned developments. These reforms reduce both the cost and unpredictability of cleaning up contaminated land for housing.

Why this bill matters:

For affordable and nonprofit housing especially, runaway DTSC fees can be the difference between a project moving forward or being shelved indefinitely. California has thousands of underutilized brownfield sites — former industrial and commercial properties sitting idle in infill locations where housing is desperately needed. The uncertainty around fees and timelines is itself a barrier: the longer it takes, the more costs compound as prices, materials, and workforce availability shift. By capping fees and imposing response deadlines on DTSC, SB 328 makes site cleanup/remediation and more financially predictable — which is often the difference between a project penciling out and not. Not passing SB 328 could result in unremedied sites across California.

Contact Ali Sapirman at Ali@housingactioncoalition.org for more information.