BILL NUMBER: AB 710 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to add Article 2 (commencing with Section 65200) to Chapter
3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, relating to local
planning.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 710, as amended, Skinner. Local planning: infill and
transit-oriented development.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires specified regional
transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt a regional
transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced
regional transportation system, and requires the regional
transportation plan to include, among other things, a sustainable
communities strategy, for the purpose of using local planning to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill would state the findings and declarations of the
Legislature with respect to parking requirements and infill and
transit-oriented development, and would state the intent of the
Legislature to reduce unnecessary government regulation and to reduce
the cost of development by eliminating excessive minimum parking
requirements for infill and transit-oriented development. This bill
would also express a legislative finding and declaration that its
provisions shall apply to all cities, including charter cities.
This bill would also prohibit a city or county from requiring a
minimum parking standard greater than one parking space per 1,000
square feet of nonresidential improvements and one parking space per
unit of residential improvements for any new development project in
transit intensive areas, as defined. This bill would provide that its
provisions would not apply if certain requirements are met.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Infill
Development and Sustainable Community Act of 2011.
SEC. 2. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Existing parking requirements are based on low density and
single land uses.
(2) Parking is costly to build and maintain and can increase the
cost of infill projects by 10 to 20 percent. The high cost of land,
construction, and maintenance to provide parking adds significantly
to the cost of transit-oriented development, making sites financially
infeasible and hindering economic development strategies.
(3) Increases in public transportation options and the development
of more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods reduce the demand for
parking.
(4) Excessive governmental parking requirements for infill and
transit-oriented development reduce the viability of transit by
limiting the number of households or workers near transit, increasing
walking distances, and degrading the pedestrian environment.
(5) Reducing excessive minimum parking requirements for infill and
transit-oriented development and allowing builders and the market to
decide how much parking is needed can do all of the following:
(A) Ensure sufficient amounts of parking at almost all times.
(B) Significantly reduce the cost of development and increase
housing affordability.
(C) Increase density in areas with the most housing demand, and
facilitate compact development and the attainment of environmental
goals.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce unnecessary
government regulation and to reduce the cost of development by
eliminating excessive minimum parking requirements for infill and
transit-oriented development.
(c) The Legislature further declares that the need to address
infill development and excessive parking requirements is a matter of
statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used
in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore,
this act shall apply to all cities, including charter cities.
SEC. 3. Article 2 (commencing with Section 65200) is added to
Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 2. Infill Development and Sustainable Community Act of
2011
65200. (a) In transit intensive areas, a city, county, or city
and county, including a charter city, shall not require a minimum
parking standard greater than one parking space per thousand square
feet of nonresidential improvements and one parking space per unit of
residential improvements for any new development project, including
changes of use that incorporate existing building improvements.
(b) This section shall not apply if any of the following are met:
(1) The proposed project and immediately adjoining properties are
restricted to development or redevelopment at a floor area ratio of
below 0.75.
(2) The proposed project is located on a parcel or parcels on
which dwelling units whose rents are restricted by recorded covenant
or ordinance to levels affordable to persons and families of low or
moderate income will be destroyed or removed, unless within the
proposed project an equal number of units
bedrooms are to be made available at affordable housing costs
to, and occupied by, persons and families in the same or lower income
category (extremely low, very low, or low) in the same proportion as
the units occupied or last occupied by extremely low, very low, or
low-income households in the property. Rental replacement units shall
be made available at affordable housing costs for at least 55 years,
or at the remaining term of the existing recorded covenants or deed
restrictions that require maintenance of affordable housing costs,
that are consistent with the parties meeting their contractual
obligations. Ownership replacement units shall be subject to
an equity sharing agreement consistent with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 65915. made available at
affordable housing costs for at least 45 years.
(3) The proposed project is located in whole or in part on a
parcel where the owner withdrew residential rental units pursuant to
Chapter 12.75 (commencing with Section 7060) of Division 7 of Title
1, from rental or lease, or offering for rental or lease pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 7060.2.
(c) For purposes of this section, "transit intensive area" means
an area that is within one-half mile of a major transit stop or
within one-quarter mile of the center line of a high-quality
transit corridor included in a regional transportation plan. A major
transit stop is as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources
Code, except that, for purposes of this section, it also includes
major transit stops that are included in the applicable regional
transportation plan. For purposes of this section, a high-quality
transit corridor means a corridor with fixed route bus service with
service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute
hours. A project shall be considered to be within one-half mile of a
major transit stop or within one-quarter mile of the center line
of a high-quality transit corridor if all parcels within the
project have no more than 25 percent of their area farther than
one-half mile from the stop or within one-quarter mile of the
center line of a corridor and if not more than 10 percent of
the residential units or 100 units, whichever is less, in the project
are farther than one-half mile from the stop or within
one-quarter mile of the center line of a corridor.
(d) A city, county, or city and county, including a charter city,
may require higher minimum parking standards for new development
other than those established pursuant to subdivision (a) if it makes
written findings based upon substantial evidence in the record,
including a parking utilization study completed within the last 24
months, that shows existing publicly available parking that includes
all publicly owned on-street and off-street spaces and privately
owned off-street spaces accessible to the general public, within
one-quarter of a mile of the project site, but excluding any spaces
on exclusively residential streets, have a peak occupancy that
exceeds 85 percent at any point during the study period.