BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 873
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
AB 873 (Torres) - As Amended: March 21, 2013
SUBJECT : Land use: general plan: housing element.
SUMMARY : Clarifies the definition of "supportive housing" for
purposes of Housing Element Law. Specifically, this bill :
1)Removes the cross-reference in Housing Element Law to the
definition of supportive housing in the statutes governing the
Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) and instead defines
supportive housing for purposes of Housing Element Law as
housing with no limit on length of stay that is linked to
onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing
resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health
status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when
possible , work in the community.
2)Replaces the cross-reference in Housing Element Law to the
definition of transitional housing in the statutes governing
MHP with the actual definition.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires every city and county to prepare a housing element as
part of its general plan and requires the element to identify
and analyze existing and projected housing needs, identify
adequate sites with appropriate zoning to meet the housing
needs of all income segments of the community, and ensure that
regulatory systems provide opportunities for, and do not
unduly constrain, housing development (Government Code Section
65580, et seq.).
2)Pursuant to Housing Element Law, requires that cities and
counties treat transitional and supportive housing as a
residential use of property subject to only those restrictions
that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in
the same zone (Government Code Section 65583).
3)Establishes the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) to assist
with the new construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of
permanent and transitional rental housing for lower income
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households (Health and Safety Code Section 50675).
4)Establishes criteria for projects funded through the
supportive housing component of MHP (MHP-SH) (Health and
Safety Code Section 50675.14).
5)Defines "supportive housing" for the purposes of MHP-SH to
mean housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied
by the target population, and that is linked to onsite or
offsite services that assist the supportive housing resident
in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status,
and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible,
work in the community (Health and Safety Code Section
50675.14).
6)Defines "target population" for purposes of MHP-SH as persons,
including persons with disabilities, and families who are
homeless or who are homeless youth (Health and Safety Code
Section 50675.14).
7)Defines "transitional housing" for purposes of the MHP program
to mean buildings configured as rental housing developments,
but operated under program requirements that call for the
termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted
unit to another eligible program recipient at some
predetermined future point in time, which shall be no less
than six months (Health and Safety Code Section 50675.2)
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
SB 2 (Cedillo, Chapter 633, Statutes of 2007) required, among
other things, that cities and counties consider supportive and
transitional housing to be a residential use of property for
zoning purposes, subject to only those restrictions that apply
to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same
zone. The goal was to ensure that local governments were
considering the use of a building in the zoning process rather
than the specific user group, a practice that can lead to
discrimination claims.
In defining the terms "supportive housing" and "transitional
housing," SB 2 cross-referenced existing definitions in law that
applied for purposes of the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP), a
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funding program administered by the Department of Housing and
Community Development. The cross-referenced code section for the
purposes of defining "supportive housing" included both a
general definition of the term and a reference to the target
population for the funding available under the supportive
housing component of MHP (MHP-SH).
In 2011, AB 483 (Torres, Chapter 275) made changes to the target
population for MHP-SH funding. The goal of the bill was to more
narrowly focus the very limited funds available under MHP-SH and
ensure that awards went to projects that would be serving the
neediest populations. The change to the target population was
not intended to mean that supportive housing projects serving
populations that had previously been eligible for MHP-SH funding
were no longer considered to be supportive housing.
Unfortunately, because of the cross-reference in Housing Element
Law, that could be an unintended interpretation.
AB 873 takes the general definition of supportive housing from
the MHP statutes and places it directly into Housing Element Law
without reference to the target population for funding under
MHP-SH. This change will ensure that all supportive housing is
treated as a residential land use for zoning purposes, not just
supportive housing that is eligible for funding under MHP-SH.
AB 873 additionally removes the cross-reference to the MHP
definition for transitional housing and instead puts the
definition directly into Housing Element Law. The definition
remains the same as it has been since the passage of SB 2.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
AB 873
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319-2085