BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 409|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 409
          Author:   Kehoe (D)
          Amended:  5/11/05
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE  :  5-4, 4/20/05
          AYES:  Kehoe, Kuehl, Machado, Perata Torlakson
          NOES:  Cox, Ackerman, McClintock, Soto

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


           SUBJECT  :    General plans:  conservation element

           SOURCE  :     Attorney General


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the water resources portion  
          of a general plan's conservation element be correlated with  
          the land use element.  This bill requires counties and  
          cities to correlate the water supply portion of their  
          conservation elements with their land use elements by one  
          year after the deadline for revising their housing elements  
          after 2007.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 5/9/05:  (1) extend the deadline  
          for correlating the water resources portion of the  
          conservation element with the land use element to one year  
          after the deadline for revising their housing elements  
          after 2007, (2) allow cities and counties to adopt written  
          findings declaring that their general plans already comply  
          with this requirement, and (3) clarify the bill's language  
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          and reformat the statute.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:

          Since 1937, state law has required every county and city to  
          adopt a general plan.  All major local land use decisions  
          (zoning, subdivisions, public works projects, conditional  
          use permits) must be consistent with these general plans,  
          which is why the courts call the general plan the  
          constitution for future development.

          Every general plan must contain seven mandatory elements:  
          land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space,  
          noise, and safety.  Recognizing the wide differences among  
          communities, the Planning and Zoning Law lets local  
          officials address each of these seven elements to the  
          extent that the subjects exist in their communities.  The  
          degree of specificity and level of detail must reflect  
          local conditions and circumstances.  General plan elements  
          are supposed to be integrated, internally consistent, and  
          compatible.  For example, state law requires that the  
          contents of the circulation element to be "correlated" with  
          the land use element.

               The land use element must designate the various public  
               and private land use categories, including land for  
               housing, business, industry, open space, education,  
               and public buildings.  The land use element must  
               include standards for population density and building  
               intensity.  

               The conservation element focuses on conserving,  
               developing, and using natural resources, including  
               water.  Planners must coordinate these water-related  
               provisions with public water agencies, discussing and  
               evaluating water supplies covered by urban water  
               management plans.

          The Legislature has also declared that it is vital that  
          there be close coordination and consultation between water  
          agencies and land use officials to ensure that planning for  
          water supplies accommodates development projects.

          When a county or city applies, the Governor's Office of  

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          Planning and Research (OPR) must grant an extension of time  
          for local officials to prepare and adopt a general plan.   
          An initial OPR extension may last for two years; local  
          officials can ask for another year.  During an OPR  
          extension, the county or city is immune from lawsuits  
          challenging the general plan's adequacy.

          This bill requires the water resources portion of a general  
          plan's conservation element be correlated with the land use  
          element.  This bill requires counties and cities to  
          correlate the water supply portion of their conservation  
          elements with their land use elements by one year after the  
          deadline for revising their housing elements after 2007.

          This bill allows cities and counties to adopt written  
          findings declaring that their general plans already comply  
          with this requirement.

           Comments
           
          With an expanding population living in a semi-arid climate,  
          California needs to be sure that water supplies will be  
          available in the future.  Local officials' long-range  
          general plans already designate land for development and  
          already coordinate water supplies with water agencies.   
          What's missing is statutory language that links the land  
          use and conservation elements.  This bill creates that  
          overt link, using the same language that already links the  
          land use and circulation elements.  By requiring local  
          officials to "correlate" these important elements, the bill  
          creates an elegant solution that prepares communities for  
          their future.

          When the opponents of development projects can't muster the  
          political influence to get a city council to turn down a  
          subdivision, they often resort to the courts.  Rather than  
          challenge the project's substance, they file suits that  
          attack the process.  These so-called "collateral attacks"  
          exalt process over substance.  Every change to the already  
          complex requirements for local general plans creates  
          another opportunity for another collateral attack.  A  
          general plan with a solid land use element and a strong  
          conservation element could be challenged because the  
          planners failed to "correlate" them.

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          This bill's requirement to "correlate" the land use and  
          conservation elements uses the same verb as the existing  
          requirement for local planners to correlate their land use  
          and circulation elements.   The 1982 Twain Harte Homeowners  
          Association  case faulted Tuolumne County's circulation  
          element for failing "to describe or discuss the changes or  
          increases in demand" on roads resulting from the growth  
          projected in the County general plan's land use element.   
          The 1985  Concerned Citizens of Calaveras County  case said  
          that the County's land use element allowed unlimited  
          population growth, but provided no methods to finance  
          transportation projects or limit growth if state highways  
          were inadequate.  In February 2005, the  Federation of  
          Hillside and Canyon Associations v. City of Los Angeles   
          decision said "that the circulation element of a general  
          plan must provide meaningful proposals to address changes  
          in the land use element, and the land use element must  
          provide meaningful proposals to reflect changes reflected  
          in the circulation element."  The Court then rejected the  
          challenge to the City's correlation of its elements.  To  
          correlate the land use and the conservation elements, local  
          planners will need to show that the water supplies  
          described in their general plan match the future growth  
          projected by the general plan's land use element.

          Every change to the general plan requirements results in a  
          new state-mandated local program.  This bill disclaims the  
          state's responsibility to pay for these costs because  
          counties and cities can charge fees to pay for the new  
          duty.  The Planning and Zoning Law allows local planners to  
          charge fees to recover their costs of processing  
          applications for development permits.  In 2002, legislators  
          allowed local planners to tack on a surcharge to pay for  
          the cost of keeping their general plans up-to-date.  If the  
          duty to "correlate" the land use and conservation elements  
          results in significant new costs, local officials have the  
          power to recover their costs from applicants' fees.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/12/05)


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          Attorney General Bill Lockyer (source)
          American Farmland Trust
          American Planning Association-California Chapter
          California Farm Bureau Federation
          California League of Conservation Voters
          Clean Water Action
          East Bay Municipal Utility District
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          Planning and Conservation League
          Sierra Club-California

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  5/12/05)

          California Building Industry Association
          California Business Roundtable
          California Business Properties Association
          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Manufacturers and Technologies Association
          Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
          Home Ownership Advancement Foundation
          Regional Legislative Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara  
          Counties
          Resource Landowners Coalition
          Pardee Homes
          Chamber of Commerce of West Covina
          Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce
          Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce


          AGB:nl  5/12/05   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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