BILL ANALYSIS
SB 375
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 375 (Steinberg)
As Amended August 13, 2008
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-15
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-1 TRANSPORTATION 8-5
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|Ayes:|Caballero, De La Torre, |Ayes:|Nava, Carter, DeSaulnier, |
| |Lieber, Saldana, Soto | |Galgiani, |
| | | |Karnette, Portantino, |
| | | |Ruskin, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Smyth |Nays:|Duvall, Garrick, Horton, |
| | | |Huff, Soto |
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APPROPRIATIONS 11-4
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|Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, | | |
| |DeSaulnier, Furutani, | | |
| |Huffman, Karnette, | | |
| |Krekorian, Lieu, Ma, Nava | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La | | |
| |Malfa, Nakanishi | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to
include sustainable communities strategies (SCS), as defined, in
their regional transportation plans (RTPs) for the purpose of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, aligns planning for
transportation and housing, and creates specified incentives for
the implementation of the strategies. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations concerning the need to make
significant changes in land use and transportation policy in
order to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals established
by AB 32 (Nunez & Pavley), Chapter 444, Statutes of 2006.
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2)Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB), no later
than January 31, 2009, to appoint a Regional Targets Advisory
Committee (committee) to recommend factors to be considered
and methodologies to be used for setting greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets for the affected regions, and
specifies the composition of the committee.
3)Requires the committee to transmit a report with its
recommendations to ARB no later than December 31, 2009, and
requires ARB to consider the report prior to setting targets.
4)Provides that, in recommending factors to be considered and
methodologies to be used, the committee may consider any
relevant issues, including, but not limited to, data needs,
modeling techniques, growth forecasts, the impacts of regional
jobs-housing balance on interregional travel and greenhouse
gas emissions, economic and demographic trends, the magnitude
of greenhouse gas reduction benefits from a variety of land
use and transportation strategies, and appropriate methods to
describe regional targets and to monitor performance in
attaining those targets.
5)Requires that, prior to setting the targets for a region, ARB
exchange technical information with the MPO and the affected
air district, which may include a recommendation for a target
for the region.
6)Requires the MPO to hold at least one public workshop within
the region after receipt of the report from the committee.
7)Requires ARB to update the regional greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets every eight years consistent with each MPO's
timeframe for updating its RTP under federal law until 2050.
8)Authorizes ARB to revise the targets every four years based on
changes in specified factors, and requires ARB to exchange
technical information with the MPOs, local governments, and
affected air districts and engage in a consultative process
with public and private stakeholders prior to updating these
targets.
9)Requires the RTP for specified regions to include an SCS, as
specified, designed to achieve certain goals for the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks
in a region.
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10)Requires each MPO to conduct at least two informational
meetings in each county within the region for members of the
board of supervisors and city councils on the SCS and
alternative planning strategy (APS), if any, subject to
specified conditions and exceptions.
11)Requires each MPO to adopt a public participation plan for
development of the SCS and an APS, as specified.
12)Requires an MPO to quantify the reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions projected to be achieved by the SCS and set forth
the difference, if any, between the amount of that reduction
and the target for the region established by ARB.
13)Requires that, if an SCS is unable to reach the ARB target,
the MPO prepare an APS to the SCS, as a separate document from
the RTP, showing how those greenhouse gas emission (GHG)
targets would be achieved through alternative development
patterns, infrastructure, or additional transportation
measures or policies, as specified.
14)Requires that, prior to starting the public participation
process, the MPO submit a description to ARB of the technical
methodology it intends to use to estimate the GHG from its SCS
and, if appropriate, its APS, and requires ARB to respond to
the MPO in a timely manner with written comments about the
technical methodology, including specifically describing any
aspects of the methodology that will not yield accurate
estimates of GHGs, and suggested remedies.
15)Requires that, after adoption, an MPO submit an SCS or an
APS, if one has been adopted, to ARB for review, including the
quantification of the GHG reductions the plan would achieve
and a description of the technical methodology used to obtain
that result.
16)Limits ARB review to acceptance or rejection of the MPO's
determination that the strategy submitted would, if
implemented, achieve the GHG reduction targets, and require
ARB to complete its review within 60 days.
17)Requires that, if ARB determines that the strategy submitted
would not, if implemented, achieve the GHG reduction targets,
the MPO revise its strategy or adopt an APS, if not previously
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adopted, and submit the strategy for review.
18)Requires, at a minimum, that the MPO must obtain ARB
acceptance that an APS would, if implemented, achieve the GHG
reduction targets established for that region.
19)States that:
a) An SCS or APS does not regulate the use of land, nor
shall it be subject to any state approval other than the
ARB action referred to above;
b) Nothing in an SCS or APS shall be interpreted as
superseding or interfering with the exercise of the land
use authority of cities and counties within the region;
c) Nothing in this bill shall be interpreted to authorize
the abrogation of any vested right whether created by
statute or by common law;
d) Nothing in this bill requires a city's or county's land
use policies and regulations, including its general plan,
to be consistent with the RTP or an APS;
e) Nothing in this bill requires an MPO to approve an SCS
or APS that would be inconsistent with specified federal
regulations; and,
f) Nothing in this bill relieves a public or private entity
or any person from compliance with any other local, state,
or federal law.
20)Requires certain transportation planning and programming
activities to be consistent with the SCS in order to obtain
funding, but states that certain transportation projects
programmed for funding on or before December 31, 2011, are not
required to be consistent with the SCS.
21)Specifies that nothing in this bill requires a transportation
sales tax authority, as defined, to change the funding
allocations approved by the voters for categories of
transportation projects in a sales tax measure adopted prior
to December 31, 2010.
22)Requires that, prior to the adoption of specified forms, the
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housing element portion of the annual progress report of a
planning agency on implementation of its general plans must
include a section that describes the actions taken by the
local government towards completion of the programs and status
of the local government's compliance with the deadlines in its
housing element.
23)Changes the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) cycle
from five years to eight years.
24)Requires that rezoning of sites needed to meet RHNA
requirements, including adoption of minimum density and
development standards, shall be completed no later than three
years after either the date the housing element is adopted or
the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD),
whichever is earlier, unless this deadline is extended, as
specified.
25)Allows the deadline for completing required rezoning to be
extended by one year if the local government has completed the
rezoning of at least 75% of the sites for each income group
and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public
hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, makes
specified findings.
26)Prohibits a local government that fails to complete the
rezoning by the deadline, as it may be extended, from
disapproving a housing development project, or requiring a
conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or
other locally imposed discretionary permit or condition that
would render the project infeasible, if the housing
development project is proposed to be located on a site
required to be rezoned pursuant to the program required by
that subparagraph and complies with applicable, objective
general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including
design review standards, described in the program required by
that subparagraph.
27)Provides that any such subdivision of sites shall be subject
to the Subdivision Map Act but shall not constitute a
"project" for purposes of the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
28)Provides that a local government that fails to complete its
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rezoning may disapprove a housing development described in
paragraph only if it makes written findings supported by
substantial evidence on the record that the housing
development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon
the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved
or approved upon the condition that the project be developed
at a lower density, and that there is no feasible method to
satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact other than
the disapproval of the housing development project or the
approval of the project upon the condition that it be
developed at a lower density.
29)Permits the applicant or any interested person to bring an
action to enforce these provisions, and specifies that if a
court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or
conditioned its approval in violation of these provisions, the
court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance
within 60 days, retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order
or judgment is carried out, and, if it determines that its
order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the
court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and
policies of this paragraph are fulfilled.
30)Defines "housing development project" as a project to
construct residential units if the project developer provides
sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency
to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49%
of the housing units for very low-, low-, and moderate-income
households at monthly housing costs with an affordable housing
cost or affordable rent, as defined, for the period required
by the applicable financing.
31)Specifies that rental units shall be affordable for at least
55 years, and that ownership units shall be subject to resale
restrictions or equity sharing requirements for at least 30
years.
32)Requires that a council of governments (COG) provide HCD with
data assumptions about the relationship between jobs and
housing in the region, if available, to assist HCD in
determining the region's RHNA.
33)States legislative intent that:
a) Housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the
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RTP;
b) To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate
housing units within the region consistent with the
development pattern included in the SCS;
c) The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total
regional housing need, by income category, is maintained,
and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an
allocation of units for low- and very low-income
households; and,
d) The resolution approving the final housing need
allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is
consistent with the SCS in the RTP.
34)Directs a court that finds that a city, county, or city and
county has failed to complete the required rezoning, as that
deadline may be extended, to issue an order or judgment
compelling the local government to complete the rezoning
within 60 days or the earliest time consistent with public
hearing notice requirements and the overall equities of the
circumstances, to retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order
or judgment is carried out, and, if the court determines that
its order or judgment is not carried out, to issue further
orders, including ordering that any required rezoning be
completed within 60 days or the earliest time consistent with
public hearing notice requirements, and may impose sanctions
on the city, county, or city and county, taking into account
the overall equities of the circumstances.
35)Permits any interested person to bring an action to compel
compliance with the specified deadlines and requirements, and
specify that in any such action, the city, county, or city and
county shall bear the burden of proof.
36)Requires a local government that does not adopt a housing
element within 90 days after receipt of comments from HCD on
its draft housing element, or the date the legislative body
takes action subsequent to HCD determining that the draft
housing element does not substantially comply, whichever is
earlier, to revise its housing element as appropriate, but not
less than every four years, rather than eight years.
37)Specifies that all housing element revisions after the fourth
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revision shall be completed in not less than eight year
intervals in conjunction with the development of RTPs.
38)Specifies that, with one exception, the Implementation of the
Sustainable Communities Strategy chapter of CEQA applies only
to a transit priority project that is consistent with the
general use designation, density, building intensity, and
applicable policies specified for the project area in either
an SCS or an APS, for which CARB has accepted an MPO's
determination that the SCS or APS would, if implemented,
achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
39)Requires a transit priority project to:
a) Contain at least 50% residential use, based on total
building square footage and, if the project contains
between 26% and 50% nonresidential uses, a floor area ratio
of not less than 0.75;
b) Provide a minimum net density of at least 20 dwelling
units per acre; and,
c) Be within one-half mile of an existing or planned major
transit stop, as defined,, or high-quality transit
corridor, as defined, as set forth in the applicable
regional transportation plan.
40)Provides that no additional review is required pursuant to
CEQA for a transit priority project if the legislative body of
a local jurisdiction finds, after conducting a public hearing,
that the project meets certain criteria and is declared to be
a sustainable communities project.
41)Authorizes the legislative body of a local jurisdiction to
adopt traffic mitigation measures for future residential
projects that meet specified criteria, and exempts such a
residential project seeking a land use approval from
compliance with additional measures for traffic impacts, if
the local jurisdiction has adopted those traffic mitigation
measures.
42)Specifies that, if a residential or mixed-use residential
project is consistent with the use designation, density,
building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the
project area in either an SCS or an APS, for which ARB has
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accepted the MPO's determination that the SCS or the APS
would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets and if the project incorporates the
mitigation measures required by an applicable prior
environmental document, any findings or other determinations
for an exemption, a negative declaration, a mitigated negative
declaration, an environmental impact report, or addenda
prepared or adopted for the project pursuant to CEQA shall not
be required to reference, describe, or discuss growth inducing
impacts or any project specific or cumulative impacts from
cars and light-duty truck trips generated by the project on
global warming or the regional transportation network.
43)Specifies that any environmental impact report prepared for a
project described above shall not be required to reference,
describe, or discuss a reduced residential density alternative
to address the effects of car and light-duty truck trips
generated by the project.
44)Defines "regional transportation network" as all existing and
proposed transportation improvements that were included in the
transportation and air quality conformity modeling, including
congestion modeling, for the final RTP adopted by the MPO, but
shall not include local streets and roads.
45)Specifies that nothing in the foregoing relieves any project
from a requirement to comply with any conditions, exactions,
or fees for the mitigation of the project's impacts on the
regional transportation network or local streets and roads.
46)Defines a "residential or mixed-use residential project" as a
project where at least 75% of the total building square
footage of the project consists of residential use or a
project that is a transit priority project.
47)States that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines
that this bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those
costs shall be made pursuant applicable sections of the
Government Code.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires certain transportation planning activities by the
California Department of Transportation and by designated
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regional transportation planning agencies, including
development of an RTP.
2)Authorizes CTC, in cooperation with the regional agencies, to
prescribe study areas for analysis and evaluation.
3)Requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be
prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental
impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or
approve that may have a significant effect on the environment
or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the
project will not have that effect.
4)Requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative
declaration for a project that may have a significant effect
on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or
mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that
the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on
the environment.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee of the
March 24, 2008, version of this bill:
1)CTC would incur one-time costs of up to $200,000 in 2007-08
for the adoption of modeling guidelines. Potential minor
ongoing costs associated with updated guidelines and reviews
of regional models.
2)ARB would require one-half of an additional personnel year
(PY) in 2007-08 and 2008-09 (annual costs of $72,500), and a
full additional PY thereafter (annual cost of $145,000) for
the workload associated with this bill.
3)The requirement that regional transportation planning agencies
develop enhanced travel demand models and preferred growth
scenarios may result in a reimbursable state mandate,
potentially resulting in state costs exceeding several
millions of dollars.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill provides a
mechanism for reducing greenhouse gases from the single largest
sector of emissions, cars and light trucks. The environmental
organizations sponsoring this legislation maintain that changes
in land use and transportation policy must be made to achieve
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the goals of AB 32. Although GHGs can be reduced by producing
more fuel efficient cars and using low carbon fuel, reductions
in vehicle miles traveled will also be necessary. Thus, the
travel demand models used by MPOs to develop RTPs must assess
the effects of land use decisions, transit service, and economic
incentives. According to the author, this bill will help
implement AB 32 by amending programs that are beyond the current
authority of ARB. It creates new provisions for the preparation
of sustainable communities strategies as part of RPTs, aligns
the RTP and RHNA processes to achieve integrated regional land
use strategies, and creates new provisions in CEQA to encourage
the implementation of plans for greenhouse gas reductions at the
local level.
After long and intense negotiations between the author and
stakeholders, this bill has been amended to do the following.
The application of the bill has been limited to
federally-designated metropolitan planning areas, thus
eliminating some small counties. A Regional Targets GHG
reduction targets for the regions. A new provision makes
consideration of local general plans explicit in the development
of a sustainable communities strategy. The planning priority
provisions, which have been criticized as creating "concentric
circles," have been eliminated. The regions will "gather and
consider" information about, rather than identify, important
resources and farmlands. A provision has been added requiring
the first "analysis year" (normally about eight years out) of
the sustainable communities strategy be consistent with RHNA.
The document formerly referred to as the "supplement" is now
called the "alternative planning strategy". This is intended to
clarify further that this document is not a part of the
sustainable communities strategy nor the RTP. There are new
provisions that require APS to include the most practicable
policies for actually achieving the GHG reduction targets. There
is a new provision which requires a region to submit its SCS/APS
to ARB for its certification that the strategy, if implemented,
would actually achieve the targets. If ARB disapproves, the
region must revise the strategy. A new rural sustainability
element is added to the RTP authorizing regions to consider
financial incentives for jurisdictions that have resource areas
or farmlands and contribute to GHG reductions by encouraging
growth within the urban footprint. The definitions of resource
areas and farmlands have been modified. The most important
change eliminates certain descriptions of habitat areas and
substitutes the phrase "biological resources" as defined in
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Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines. Changes have been made to
the modeling provisions reflecting the adoption of the new
guidelines by the CTC.
In the areas of RHNA and CEQA, this bill aligns the RHNA and RTP
programs by requiring that the housing element be updated every
eight years rather than its current five-year cycle. A new
statutory deadline for completing rezoning would be added to the
RHNA program. If a local government failed to rezone within the
new deadline, remedies would be created for affordable housing
development projects and for a writ of mandate to compel
rezoning. New provisions would be added to CEQA that would
apply to residential or residential mixed use projects that were
consistent with an ARB certified SCS/APS. These projects would
not have to analyze their growth inducing impacts or their
impacts on global warming or on the regional transportation
network. A lead agency would not be required to address a
reduced density alternative because of car and light duty truck
trips. The provisions of CEQA in the March 24 version of this
bill would now apply only to projects that were consistent with
an ARB certified SCS/APS and that were "transit priority
projects."
Analysis Prepared by : J. Stacey Sullivan / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0006937