BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 840
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
AB 840 (Torres) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011
SUBJECT : Employee Housing Act: agricultural land use.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that farmworker housing meeting specified
criteria must be treated the same as other agricultural uses in
any zone that allows agricultural uses.
EXISTING LAW
1)Specifies that any employee housing consisting of no more than
36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for
use by a single family or household is considered an
agricultural land use and, for the purpose of all local
ordinances, shall not be deemed a use that implies that the
employee housing is an activity that differs in any other way
from an agricultural use.
2)Specifies that a local government cannot require a conditional
use permit, zoning variance, or other zoning clearance for
this type of employee housing that is not required of any
other agricultural activity in the same zone.
3)Specifies that the permitted occupancy in employee housing in
an agricultural zone must include agricultural employees who
do not work on the property where the employee housing is
located.
4)Specifies that employee housing consisting of no more than 36
beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for
use by a single family or household shall not be subject to
any business taxes, local registration fees, use permit fees,
or other fees to which other agricultural activities in the
same zone are not likewise subject.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
The Employee Housing Act generally provides for the permitting
and inspection of employer-provided housing. The overwhelming
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majority of employee housing is provided for farmworkers and
their families. The Act provides that employer-provided housing
consisting of 12 or fewer units designed for use by a single
household or 36 or fewer beds in group quarters (such as a dorm
or bunkhouse) is deemed an agricultural land use. A city or
county may not require a zoning change, conditional use permit,
or variance that is not required of any other agricultural
activity in the same zone. Jurisdictions may also not impose
any taxes or fees on farmworker housing that is not required of
other agricultural uses in the same zone. These provisions
apply only to farmworker housing provided by an employer, not to
farmworker housing provided by other entities, such as a housing
authority or a non-profit housing organization. The goal of
these provisions is to ensure that farmworker housing can be
located in areas where farm labor is needed.
AB 840 rephrases one sentence in the section of the Employee Act
that requires local governments to treat farmworker housing as
an agricultural land use. The sentence uses the term
"agricultural zone," which some local governments have read to
mean that the provisions apply only in exclusively agricultural
zones, as opposed to zones where agricultural uses are allowed
among other uses. The bill replaces "agricultural zone" with "a
zone that allows agricultural uses." This clarification ensures
that employer-provided farmworker housing is treated the same as
other agricultural uses in any zone where such uses are allowed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085
AB 840
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