BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2508
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 2508 (Caballero)
          As Amended  May 3, 2010
          Majority vote 

           HOUSING             9-0         LOCAL GOVERNMENT    9-0         
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Torres, Arambula,         |Ayes:|Smyth, Torlakson,         |
          |     |Bradford, Eng, Gilmore,   |     |Arambula, Bradford,       |
          |     |Knight, Saldana,          |     |Davis, Knight, Logue,     |
          |     |Torlakson, Tran           |     |Solorio, Fong             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :   Allows a local agency to petition the Department of  
          Housing and Community Development (HCD) for an exception to its  
          jurisdictional classification for purposes of the Infill  
          Infrastructure Grant Program (IIG) if the agency believes that  
          it is unable to meet the related minimum housing density  
          requirements.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Allows a local agency to submit a petition with its IIG  
            application.

          2)Requires the petition to include the reasons why the agency  
            believes the exception is warranted.

          3)Requires the agency to provide other information supporting  
            the need for the exception, including, but not limited to, any  
            limitations that the local agency may encounter in meeting the  
            related density requirements. 

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Establishes IIG, administered by HCD, to provide grants to  
            fund capital improvement projects that are an integral part  
            of, or necessary to facilitate the development of, residential  
            or mixed-use infill development.

          2)Requires projects funded under IIG to have average residential  
            densities of at least 30 units per acre in jurisdictions in  
            metropolitan counties, 20 units per acres in suburban  
            jurisdictions, 15 units per acre in incorporated cities within  
            nonmetropolitan counties and in nonmetropolitan counties that  








                                                                  AB 2508
                                                                  Page  2


            have micropolitan areas, and 10 units per acres in rural  
            areas.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           COMMENTS  :  The IIG program was established in 2007 with funding  
          from Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Act of  
          2006.  The program provides grants to fund infrastructure  
          investments that support residential and mixed-use infill  
          development projects.  The program received just over $730  
          million from Proposition 1C; all of these funds have been  
          awarded.  The two IIG funding rounds were extremely competitive,  
          with requests for funding outstripping available resources by  
          approximately four to one.  It is unclear when or if additional  
          funds will be made available for the infill program.

          Under IIG, projects must meet certain average residential  
          densities in order to be eligible for funding.  These densities  
          range from 10 to 30 units per acre depending on the way a  
          jurisdiction is classified.  A jurisdiction's classification is  
          based on definitions established under Housing Element Law.  

          For the purposes of Housing Element Law and thus for the  
          purposes of IIG, the City of Salinas, with a population just  
          under 150,000, is classified as a metropolitan jurisdiction.  As  
          such, an infill project in Salinas would have to be built at 30  
          units per acre or more in order to be eligible under the infill  
          program.  The author and sponsor argue that Salinas lacks the  
          overall infrastructure to develop at a density above 30 units  
          per acre, and that Salinas should not be designated as a  
          metropolitan jurisdiction for the purposes of IIG because it is  
          not a central city or an urban core.  Salinas was unable to  
          compete in the first two funding rounds under IIG because it did  
          not have any projects that met the density requirements.

          The city would like the opportunity to petition HCD in any  
          future IIG funding rounds for a different jurisdictional  
          classification that would allow it to submit projects for  
          consideration that are at a lower density than 30 units per  
          acre.  AB 2508 allows a jurisdiction to submit a petition for a  
          change in classification along with an application under IIG.   
          The petition must explain what the limitations are for the  
          jurisdiction in meeting the minimum density required by its  
          current classification.








                                                                 AB 2508
                                                                  Page  3




           Analysis Prepared by  :    Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)  
          319-2085 

                                                                FN: 0004294