BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 518| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 SB 518 Page 2 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. SB 518 Page 3 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. SB 518 Page 4 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: ---------------------------------------------------------- |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 | | SB 518 Page 5 |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 | | SB 518 Page 6 |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. | | |---------------------------------------------------+------| SB 518 Page 7 |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 | SB 518 Page 8 |transportation demand management, or bicycle and |net | |pedestrian infrastructure improvements and |revenu| |promotion. |e | | |direct| | |ed | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 518 Page 9 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 **** END ****