BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 931
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
AB 931 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 15, 2011
SUBJECT : CEQA exemption: housing projects.
SUMMARY : Increases the maximum retail use from 15 percent to
25 percent in the definition of "residential" for purposes of an
existing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption
for infill housing projects meeting specified criteria.
EXISTING LAW
1)Under CEQA requires lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed
project to prepare a negative declaration, mitigated
declaration, or environmental impact report (EIR) for this
action, unless the project is exempt from CEQA. CEQA includes
various statutory exemptions, as well as categorical
exemptions in the CEQA Guidelines. (Public Resources Code
Section 21000, et seq.)
2)Exempts from CEQA specified residential housing projects that
meet criteria established to ensure the project does not have
a significant effect on the environment, including:
a) Affordable agricultural housing projects of not more
than 45 units within a city, or 20 units within an
agricultural zone, on a site not more than five acres in
size;
b) Affordable urban housing projects of not more than 100
units on a site not more than five acres in size; and
c) Urban infill housing projects of not more than 100 units
on a site not more than four acres in size that is within
one-half mile of a major transit stop.
(Public Resources Code Sections 21159.20-21159.28)
3)With respect to the CEQA exemption for urban infill housing
projects, specifies that the exemption applies only to
residential projects and defines "residential" as a use
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consisting of either of the following:
a) Residential units only; or
b) Residential units and primarily neighborhood-serving
goods, services, or retail uses that do not exceed 25
percent of the total floor area of the project.
(Public Resources Code Section 21159.24)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
CEQA provides a process for evaluating the environmental effects
of applicable projects undertaken or approved by public
agencies. If a project is not exempt from CEQA, an initial study
is prepared to determine whether the project may have a
significant effect on the environment. If the initial study
shows that the project would not have a significant effect on
the environment, the lead agency must prepare a negative
declaration. If the initial study shows that the project may
have a significant effect, the lead agency must prepare an EIR.
Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed project,
identify and analyze each significant environmental impact
expected to result from the proposed project, identify
mitigation measures to reduce those impacts to the extent
feasible, and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to the
proposed project. Prior to approving any project that has
received environmental review, an agency must make certain
findings. If mitigation measures are required or incorporated
into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring
program to ensure compliance with those measures.
SB 1925 (Sher), Chapter 1039, Statutes of 2002, exempted from
CEQA certain residential projects providing affordable urban or
agricultural housing, or located on an infill site within an
urbanized area, and meeting specified unit and acreage criteria.
The stated intent of the Legislature in enacting those
provisions included "creating a streamlined procedure for
agricultural employee housing, affordable housing, and urban
infill housing projects that do not have an adverse effect on
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the environment."
For purposes of qualifying for the CEQA exemption for infill
housing, among other criteria projects must be either entirely
residential or include residential units and primarily
neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not
exceed 15 percent of the total floor area of the project.
AB 931 increases the amount of a project that can be devoted to
retail uses to 25 percent. According to the author, numerous
communities around the state have indicated frustration over the
inability of certain infill projects to meet the criteria for
exemption from CEQA under existing law. The author argues that
in order to encourage more infill development in existing urban
areas consistent with the goals of SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter
728, Statutes of 2008, the infill exemption needs to be
re-examined. AB 931 makes a relatively minor change to the
existing exemption for infill housing as an initial step in
making the exemption more usable in communities that are trying
to encourage infill.
Double referred : The Assembly Committee on Rules referred AB
931 to the Committee on Natural Resources and Housing and
Community Development. This bill is schedule to be heard in the
Committee on Natural Resources on April 25, 2011.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085