BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 147|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 147
Author: Dickinson (D)
Amended: 5/31/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 6-3, 06/08/11
AYES: Wolk, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Liu
NOES: Huff, Fuller, La Malfa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-23, 05/05/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Subdivisions
SOURCE : California State Association of Counties
DIGEST : This bill authorizes counties and cities to
require fees to pay for constructing transportation
facilities as a condition of approving final subdivision
maps and building permits. This bill defines
transportation facilities as pedestrian, bicycle, transit,
and transportation-calming facilities. The bill requires
counties and cities to impose these transportation
facilities fees subject to the Mitigation Fee Act. This
bill declares that the authority in the Map Act's article
on fees is in addition to other legal authority.
ANALYSIS : The Subdivision Map Act controls how counties
and cities review and approve property owners' requests to
convert larger parcels into smaller lots. Local officials
commonly attach scores of conditions when they approve
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tentative subdivision maps. Mainstream legal thinking
holds that counties and cities have three sources of
authority to impose conditions on proposed subdivisions:
1) conditions to make the subdivision consistent with the
local general plan, 2) conditions to mitigate a
subdivision's environmental impacts, and 3) conditions that
the Map Act specifically authorizes.
This bill authorizes counties and cities to require fees to
pay for constructing transportation facilities as a
condition of approving final subdivision maps and building
permits. This bill defines transportation facilities as
pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and transportation-calming
facilities. The bill requires counties and cities to
impose these transportation facilities fees subject to the
Mitigation Fee Act.
This bill also sets out procedures for charging fees to pay
for transportation facilities. A county board of
supervisors or city council must adopt an ordinance that
refers to the circulation element of its general plan
(which identifies the proposed transportation facilities),
identifies the projects' costs, identifies the boundaries
of the "area of benefit" where the fees will apply, and
proposes a fair method of allocating the costs. The county
or city must hold a noticed public hearing and measure any
protests. If the owners of more than half of an area of
benefit protest, the county or city must stop the
proceedings. If there was a majority-protest, the county
or city must wait a year before trying again. However,
with the 4/5-vote of the county supervisors or city
council, the county or city can try to levy these fees in a
smaller area of benefit if they find that landowners who
own more than half of the area are in favor. If the
proceedings succeed, the county or city must record a
certified copy of a resolution that describes the area of
benefit, the projects' costs, and the formula for
apportioning the fees. The fee revenues must go into a
separate special fund for each proposed transportation
facility and the county or city can spend the fee revenues
only for constructing those projects. A county or city can
pledge these fees as security and borrow against them.
Comments
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Most, but not all, counties believe that the Subdivision
Map Act allows local officials to charge subdivision fees,
provided that they meet the nexus tests spelled out in the
Mitigation Fee Act. In contrast, Contra Costa County wants
the Legislature to create specific statutory authority for
counties and cities to charge fees to pay for constructing
transportation facilities. By making these fees explicit
in the Subdivision Map Act and by linking the fees to the
nexus requirements in the Mitigation Fee Act, this bill
satisfies Contra Costa County's need for statutory
specificity without confusing the law for other counties
and cities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/9/11)
California State Association of Counties (source)
American Lung Association
California Transit Association
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
County of Contra Costa
Environmental Defense Fund
Housing California
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Natural Resources Defense Fund
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Sierra Club California
TransForm
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Gatto, Gordon,
Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell,
Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
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Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries,
Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Norby,
Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Furutani, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gorell, Jones, Nielsen, Vacancy
AGB:nl 6/9/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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