BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 518|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 518
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 5/28/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-4, 4/21/09
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman, Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 5-3, 4/29/09
AYES: Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Padilla, Simitian
NOES: Huff, Maldonado, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SUBJECT : Vehicles: parking services and fees
SOURCE : Natural Resources Defense Council
DIGEST : This bill limits funding for subsidized parking
and provides incentives for adopting certain measures that
account for the full cost of parking.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law:
1. Authorizes the governing board of a community college
district to require students in attendance and employees
at a campus of the district to pay a fee for the
purposes of partially or fully recovering transportation
costs incurred by the district or of reducing fares for
services provided by common carriers or municipally
owned transit systems to those students and employees.
The fees authorized may be required to be paid only by
students and employees using the services. In the
alternative, all students and employees on that campus
may be required to pay the fees for a certain period of
time upon a favorable vote of a majority of both groups
or by all students on that campus for a certain period
of time upon a favorable majority vote of the students,
however, the employees would be excluded from using the
services. The Los Rios, Peralta, and Rio Hondo
community college districts are only authorized to
charge the transportation services fee to students and
employees using the services, unless the above voting
procedures have been followed.
2. Authorizes the use of state funds to fund the
construction or operations of parking facilities in
California.
3. Authorizes a city or county to provide for the parking
of motor vehicles, including the construction and
operation of parking facilities, and the acquisition of
land, property, and rights-of-way necessary or
convenient for use as public parking places.
4. Prohibits a local authority from establishing parking
meter zones or fixing the rate for those zones except by
ordinance.
This bill:
1. Authorizes community college districts to charge a
specified fee on students and staff for recovering
transportation costs or costs related to subsidized
transit passes.
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2. Prohibits on and after January 1, 2011, the use of state
funds to, directly or indirectly, subsidize the
construction or operations of parking, except as
specified, and for this purpose. Defines the
construction and operating costs of parking, the current
cost of a monthly transit pass, the full cost of a
parking space, and transit intensive areas, and specify
the exceptions to this requirement.
3. Allows, on or before January 1, 2012, a city or county
within a region covered by a metropolitan planning
organization, except as specified, to adopt and
implement measures from a specified menu below that
achieve a total score of at least 20 points, based on
the points associated with that menu to ensure that a
city or county manages its parking so that the actual
cost of a parking space equals its full cost.
4. Authorizes a city or county, to request the Air
Resources Board (ARB) to approve and award points for
other alternate measures to reduce or eliminate
subsidies that fail to charge users for the full cost of
a parking space.
5. Requires the ARB to consider making cities or counties
that adopt and implement measures that exceed a total
score of 20 points to receive carbon reduction credits
through the ARB's cap-and-trade program, and if a total
score of at least 50 points is achieved, the city or
county, with respect to any application for competitive
loan or grant programs funded by a general obligation
bond approved by the voters on or after January 1, 2010,
would receive bonus points equal to five percent of the
total available points.
6. Authorizes the expenditure of any moneys apportioned to
cities or counties from the Highway Users Tax Account
for the adoption or implementation of transportation
demand management measures.
7. Permits a local authority to specify by ordinance a
performance target and allow the rate of fees to be set
administratively to achieve the performance target.
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8. Authorizes a local authority to dedicate any portion of
revenues collected from parking meter zones to benefit
parking benefit districts or to fund programs that
reduce parking demand, including, but not limited to,
public transit, transportation demand management, or
bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements and
promotion.
The menu contained in this bill is as follows:
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|MEASURE |POINTS|
| | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND ZONING | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Eliminate minimum parking requirements citywide or |20 |
|within the unincorporated county. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Reduce average minimum parking requirements for | |
|all general office, general retail, general | |
|commercial, and similar development citywide or |2 |
|within the unincorporated county to: |5 |
|Less than 3 spaces per 1,000 square feet |10 |
|Less than 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet | |
|Less than 1 space per 1,000 square feet | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Reduce minimum parking requirements for | |
|residential uses to: | |
|1 uncovered space per zero- or one-bedroom unit | |
|1.5 uncovered spaces per two-bedroom unit |5 |
|2 uncovered spaces per three-bedroom or larger | |
|unit | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Reduce minimum parking requirements for all sizes | |
|of residential units below 1 uncovered space per |10 |
|unit. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Eliminate minimum parking requirements for |10 |
|projects in transit intensive areas. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish maximum parking restrictions for all | |
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|general office, general retail, general | |
|commercial, and similar development at or below |10 |
|the following: |15 |
|3 spaces per 1,000 square feet |20 |
|2 spaces per 1,000 square feet | |
|1 space per 1,000 square feet | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish commercial parking maximums of 2 or | |
|fewer spaces per 1,000 sq. feet citywide or within |10 |
|the unincorporated county. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish commercial parking maximums of 2 or | |
|fewer spaces per 1,000 sq. feet in transit |5 |
|intensive areas. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish residential parking maximums of 1 or | |
|fewer spaces per unit in transit intensive areas. |5 |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Remove restrictions against residential tandem | |
|parking, including eliminating requirements that | |
|parking must be independently accessible to count |2 |
|toward minimum residential parking requirement, if | |
|any. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Remove restrictions against mechanized and | |
|mechanical "lift" parking, including counting |2 |
|mechanized spaces toward minimum requirement, if | |
|any. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish a shared parking ordinance and | |
|requirements for interconnection of parking in all |2 |
|commercial areas. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Remove or increase by 50% allowable density limits | |
|and floor area ratios (FAR), allowing infill |10 |
|development on existing parking lots. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to require that any lease for a | |
|residential dwelling unit within a housing | |
|development of five or more units, if a parking | |
|space or spaces are provided in connection with | |
|the lease, include a separate unbundled charge for | |
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|the parking space or spaces that reflects the full | |
|cost of the parking space or spaces but is not |5 |
|less than the number of parking spaces associated | |
|with each unit multiplied by the current cost of a | |
|monthly transit pass within the city or county and | |
|grant the lessee the ability to opt out of the | |
|parking charge by foregoing use of the parking | |
|space or spaces. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to require, with respect to the | |
|initial sale of a separate interest within a | |
|common interest development of five or more units, |5 |
|that access to parking be sold separately at a | |
|price that reflects the full cost of the parking | |
|space or spaces. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to require that any lease for | |
|commercial space in a complex of five or more | |
|commercial tenants include a separate unbundled | |
|charge for the parking space or spaces that | |
|reflects the full cost of the parking space or | |
|spaces but is not less than the number of leased |5 |
|parking spaces multiplied by the current cost of a | |
|monthly transit pass within the city or county and | |
|grant the lessee the ability to opt out of the | |
|parking charge by foregoing use of the parking | |
|space or spaces. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to require that any new | |
|employment contract under which the employer | |
|provides a parking space within the city, county, | |
|or city and county include a nonreimbursable | |
|charge to the employee that reflects the full cost |5 |
|of the parking space but is not less than the cost | |
|of a monthly transit pass within the city, county, | |
|or city and county and that the employee may opt | |
|out of by foregoing use of the parking space. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to require employers to offer | |
|transit passes to all employees, including | |
|full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees, on a |2 |
|pretax basis and certify compliance upon | |
|application for a new or renewal business license. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
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|PARKING MANAGEMENT | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to set on-street parking meter | |
|and public parking lot and garage rates to achieve | |
|an 85% target occupancy rate during hours when | |
|adjacent businesses are open or employ |10 |
|demand-responsive rates that vary throughout the | |
|day to achieve an 85% target occupancy rate. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish a Parking Benefit District, whereby all | |
|or a portion of new public parking revenues are |5 |
|directed toward improvements within the district | |
|where the revenue was raised. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Establish a Residential Parking Benefit District, | |
|whereby a limited number of parkers may pay to | |
|park in an otherwise restricted Residential |5 |
|Parking Permit area, with the net revenue directed | |
|toward improvements within the district where the | |
|revenue was raised. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Install parking meters in areas with parking | |
|occupancy rates of greater than 85% and establish |2 |
|meter rates such that parking availability | |
|improves to 85% or better. | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|PARKING REVENUE | |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt an ordinance to direct some portion of net |6 |
|public parking revenues to programs that reduce |multiplied|
|parking demand, including, but not limited to, | |
|public transit, transportation demand management, |by % |
|or bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure |of |
|improvements and promotion. |net |
| |revenu|
| |e |
| |direct|
| |ed |
|---------------------------------------------------+------|
|Adopt a parking sales tax, a property assessment |6 |
|upon parking owners, or a use fee upon parkers, |multiplied|
|with some portion of resulting net revenue | |
|directed at programs that reduce parking demand, |by % |
|including, but not limited to, public transit, |of |
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|transportation demand management, or bicycle and |net |
|pedestrian infrastructure improvements and |revenu|
|promotion. |e |
| |direct|
| |ed |
| | |
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Comments
According to the author's office, "free" parking has
significant social, economic, and environmental costs.
This bill seeks to facilitate economic development, reduce
traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions and save
scarce public resources by reducing governmental or
government-required subsidies for parking.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Local mandate Unknown, potentially significant
costsGeneral
ARB monitoring $85 $85
Special*
State funding prohibition Unknown cost savingsGeneral/
Special
* Air Pollution Control Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/09)
Natural Resources Defense Council (source)
American Lung Association
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California League of Conservation Voters
Genentech
Housing California
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Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club
Transform
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/28/09)
American Planning Association
California Apartment Association
California Building Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturing and Technology Association
California State Association of Counties
League of California Cities
JJA:mw 5/29/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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