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  ****