BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 821|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 821
Author: Kuehl (D)
Amended: 5/1/07
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/25/07
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Cox, Harman, Kehoe, Machado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Land use: water supplies
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the California Research
Bureau, in consultation with the State Clearinghouse, to
report to the Legislature by July 1, 2008, information
relating to adequate water supplies for proposed
residential developments. The study would cover 2004,
2005, and 2006 calendar years.
ANALYSIS : The Subdivision Map Act requires cities and
counties to include as a condition in their approval of a
tentative map for a subdivision with more than 500 dwelling
units that a sufficient water supply must be available (SB
221, Kuehl, Chapter 642, Statutes of 2001).
Cities and counties must consider information provided by
water suppliers when they act on proposals for large-scale
residential, commercial, hotel, industrial, or mixed-use
CONTINUED
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projects. Every large-scale development project must have
a water supply assessment (SB 610, Costa, Chapter 643,
Statutes of 2001).
This bill requires the California Research Bureau (CRB), in
consultation with the State Clearinghouse in the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research, to report to the
Legislature and specified Senate committees, by July 1,
2008. Covering 2004, 2005, and 2006, CRB's report must:
1. Determine the number of subdivisions, determine the
number of dwelling units, and estimate the amount of
water affected by the Map Act's requirements that
apply to subdivisions of 500 or more dwelling units.
2. Determine the number of subdivisions, determine the
number of dwelling units, and estimate the amount of
water that would have been affected if the threshold
had been 250 dwelling units instead of 500 dwelling
units.
3. Estimate the number of large-scale, non-residential
projects and the amount of water affected by the
statutory requirement to prepare water supply
analyses.
4. Present options for statutory changes to the Map Act
requirements, the water supply planning statutes, and
related laws.
5. In preparing this report, CRB must consult with the
State Clearinghouse in the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research. CRB may consult with other
public agencies and private organizations with
expertise in water supply or land use planning and
development.
Background
Specifically, the 2001 Kuehl bill:
1. Required that proof of the availability of a
sufficient water supply must be based on a written
verification from the applicable public water system.
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2. Allowed either the applicant or the city or county to
request the written verification and gave the public
water system 90 days to respond.
3. Allowed the city or county or any other interested
party to seek a writ of mandate if the public water
system fails to deliver the water supply assessment.
4. Allowed a city or county to find that sufficient water
supplies will be available, even if the public water
system does not provide written verification.
5. Required that, when a public water system's written
verification relies on projected water supplies, the
verification must be based on written contracts,
adopted capital outlay programs, and infrastructure
construction permits.
6. Required that, when a public water system's written
verification relies on groundwater, the public water
system must evaluate whether the landowner has
additional groundwater rights.
7. Applied these requirements to residential subdivisions
with more than 500 dwelling units. The requirements
also apply to subdivisions that increase service
connections by 10 percent or more in public water
systems with less than 5,000 connections.
8. Applied this same requirement to development
agreements that include larger residential
subdivisions.
9. Exempted certain residential projects from these
requirements.
10. Exempted the County of San Diego under certain
conditions.
In October 2003, the Senate Local Government Committee and
the Senate Agriculture and Water Resources Committee held a
joint hearing on "Water and Land Use Planning" in Tracy.
After two hours of comments from 14 witnesses, the
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committees' staffs identified five findings:
1. Local officials have not fully implemented SB 221 and
SB 610.
2. There is support for including water supply and water
demand information in city and county general plans.
3. Urban water management plans and agricultural water
management plans were a good start, but more needs to
be done.
4. Legislators should amend the water and land use
planning statutes to improve the law's clarity and
effectiveness.
5. Legislators should consider lowering the threshold
that triggers a water supply and demand analysis for
proposed development projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/15/07)
Planning and Conservation League
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/16/07)
California Building Industry Association
AGB:nl 5/16/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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