BILL NUMBER: AB 1359 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 29, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hernández
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Ammiano)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 66477 of the Government Code, relating to
land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1359, as amended, Roger Hernández. Quimby Act: use of fees.
The Quimby Act, which is within the Subdivision Map Act,
authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to require the
dedication of land or impose fees for park or recreational purposes
as a condition to the approval of a tentative or parcel subdivision
map , if specified requirements are met. One of these
requirements is that the dedicated land or fees, or combination
thereof, shall be used only for the purposes of developing
new, or rehabilitating existing,
neighborhood or community park or recreational facilities to serve
the subdivision for which the land was dedicated or fees were
paid . The act provides that the dedication of land, or the
payment of fees, or both, shall not exceed the proportionate amount
necessary to provide 3 acres of park area per 1,000 persons residing
within a subdivision subject to the act, except as specified.
This bill would authorize fees paid pursuant to the act to also be
used for the purpose of developing new or
rehabilitating existing neighborhood or community
park or recreational facilities to serve the subdivision or
subdivisions in the city or county with the greatest need, as defined
in a neighborhood other than
the neighborhood in which the subdivision for which fees were paid as
a condition to the approval of a tentative map or parcel map is
located, if certain requirements are met . The bill would
require the legislative body to hold a public hearing before using
fees as prescribed in the bill. This bill also would authorize the
use of joint or shared use agreements to facilitate access to park or
recreational facilities for residents in specified areas.
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. Section 66477 of the Government Code, as amended by
Section 61 of Chapter 181 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to
read:
66477. (a) The legislative body of a city or county may, by
ordinance, require the dedication of land or impose a requirement of
the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, for
park or recreational purposes as a condition to the approval of a
tentative map or parcel map, if all of the following requirements are
met:
(1) The ordinance has been in effect for a period of 30 days prior
to the filing of the tentative map of the subdivision or parcel map.
(2) The ordinance includes definite standards for determining the
proportion of a subdivision to be dedicated and the amount of any fee
to be paid in lieu thereof. The amount of land dedicated or fees
paid shall be based upon the residential density, which shall be
determined on the basis of the approved or conditionally approved
tentative map or parcel map and the average number of persons per
household. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the average
number of persons per household by units in a structure is the same
as that disclosed by the most recent available federal census or a
census taken pursuant to Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 40200)
of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 4. However, the dedication of land,
or the payment of fees, or both, shall not exceed the proportionate
amount necessary to provide three acres of park area per 1,000
persons residing within a subdivision subject to this section, unless
the amount of existing neighborhood and community park area, as
calculated pursuant to this subdivision, exceeds that limit, in which
case the legislative body may adopt the calculated amount as a
higher standard not to exceed five acres per 1,000 persons residing
within a subdivision subject to this section.
(A) The park area per 1,000 members of the population of the city,
county, or local public agency shall be derived from the ratio that
the amount of neighborhood and community park acreage bears to the
total population of the city, county, or local public agency as shown
in the most recent available federal census. The amount of
neighborhood and community park acreage shall be the actual acreage
of existing neighborhood and community parks of the city, county, or
local public agency as shown on its records, plans, recreational
element, maps, or reports as of the date of the most recent available
federal census.
(B) For cities incorporated after the date of the most recent
available federal census, the park area per 1,000 members of the
population of the city shall be derived from the ratio that the
amount of neighborhood and community park acreage shown on the maps,
records, or reports of the county in which the newly incorporated
city is located bears to the total population of the new city as
determined pursuant to Section 11005 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code. In making any subsequent calculations pursuant to this section,
the county in which the newly incorporated city is located shall not
include the figures pertaining to the new city which were calculated
pursuant to this paragraph. Fees shall be payable at the time of the
recording of the final map or parcel map or at a later time as may
be prescribed by local ordinance.
(3) (A) The land, fees, or combination thereof are to be used only
for the purpose of developing new or rehabilitating existing
neighborhood or community park or recreational facilities to serve
the subdivision, except as provided in subparagraph (B).
(B) (i) Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), fees may be used for the purpose of developing new
or rehabilitating existing neighborhood or community
park or recreational facilities to serve the
subdivision or subdivisions in the city or county with the greatest
need. The legislative body shall hold a public hearing before using
fees as provided in this subparagraph. in a
neighborhood other than the neighborhood in which the subdivision for
which fees were paid as a condition to the approval of a tentative
map or parcel map is located, if all of the following requirements
are met:
(i) The neighborhood in which the fees are to be expended has
fewer than three acres of park area per 1,000 members of the
neighborhood population.
(ii) The neighborhood in which the subdivision for which the fees
were paid has a park area per 1,000 members of the neighborhood
population ratio that meets or exceeds the ratio calculated pursuant
to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2).
(iii) The legislative body holds a public hearing before using the
fees pursuant to this subparagraph. If the distance between the
neighborhoods described in clauses (i) and (ii) is greater than two
miles, the legislative body shall make a finding supported by
substantial evidence that it is reasonably foreseeable that future
inhabitants of the subdivision for which the fee is imposed will use
the proposed park and recreational facilities.
(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, "subdivision or subdivisions
of the city or county with greatest need" includes a subdivision with
fewer than three acres of park area per 1,000 members of a city,
county, or local public agency.
(4) (A) The legislative body has adopted a
general plan or specific plan containing policies and standards for
parks and recreation recreational
facilities, and the park and recreational facilities are in
accordance with definite principles and standards.
(B) The principles and standards provide for consistency between
the calculation of the existing neighborhood and community park area
inventory pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) and the
criteria and procedures that the local agency applies to a
determination regarding the suitability of land offered for
dedication and credits for private open space. Consistency is not
provided where the local agency refuses to do any of the following:
(i) Accept an area in complete or partial satisfaction of the land
dedication requirement on the basis that it is unsuitable for park
and recreational uses, if the area is substantially similar to areas
included in the park area inventory.
(ii) Accept an area in complete or partial satisfaction of the
land dedication requirement on the basis that the type of use the
subdivider proposes is not an appropriate park and recreational use,
if the use is substantially similar to uses on areas included in the
park area inventory.
(iii) Provide more than the minimum required credit pursuant to
subdivision (e) on the basis that the active recreational uses
proposed by the subdivider are not appropriate park and recreational
uses, if the recreational uses are substantially similar to uses on
areas included in the park area inventory.
(5) The amount and location of land to be dedicated or the fees to
be paid shall bear a reasonable relationship to the use of the park
and recreational facilities by the future inhabitants of the
subdivision.
(6) (A) The city, county, or other local public agency to which
the land or fees are conveyed or paid shall develop a schedule
specifying how, when, and where it will use the land or fees, or
both, to develop park or recreational facilities to serve the
residents of the subdivision. Any fees collected under the ordinance
shall be committed within five years after the payment of the fees or
the issuance of building permits on one-half of the lots created by
the subdivision, whichever occurs later. If the fees are not
committed, they, without any deductions, shall be distributed and
paid to the then record owners of the subdivision in the same
proportion that the size of their lot bears to the total area of all
lots within the subdivision.
(B) The city, county, or other local agency to which the land or
fees are conveyed or paid may enter into a joint or shared use
agreement with one or more other public districts in the
jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, a school district or
community college district, in order to provide access to park or
recreational facilities to residents of subdivisions with fewer than
three acres of park area per 1,000 members of the population.
(7) Only the payment of fees may be required in subdivisions
containing 50 parcels or less, except that when a condominium
project, stock cooperative, or community apartment project, as those
terms are defined in Sections 4105, 4125, and 4190 of the Civil Code,
exceeds 50 dwelling units, dedication of land may be required
notwithstanding that the number of parcels may be less than 50.
(8) Subdivisions containing less than five parcels and not used
for residential purposes shall be exempted from the requirements of
this section. However, in that event, a condition may be placed on
the approval of a parcel map that if a building permit is requested
for construction of a residential structure or structures on one or
more of the parcels within four years, the fee may be required to be
paid by the owner of each parcel as a condition of the issuance of
the permit.
(9) If the subdivider provides park and recreational improvements
to the dedicated land, the value of the improvements together with
any equipment located thereon shall be a credit against the payment
of fees or dedication of land required by the ordinance.
(b) Land or fees required under this section shall be conveyed or
paid directly to the local public agency which provides park and
recreational services on a communitywide level and to the area within
which the proposed development will be located, if that agency
elects to accept the land or fee. The local agency accepting the land
or funds shall develop the land or use the funds in the manner
provided in this section.
(c) If park and recreational services and facilities are provided
by a public agency other than a city or county, the amount and
location of land to be dedicated or fees to be paid shall, subject to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), be jointly determined by the city
or county having jurisdiction and that other public agency.
(d) This section does not apply to commercial or industrial
subdivisions or to condominium projects or stock cooperatives that
consist of the subdivision of airspace in an existing apartment
building that is more than five years old when no new dwelling units
are added.
(e) Common interest developments, as defined in Section 1351 of
the Civil Code, shall be eligible to receive a credit, as determined
by the legislative body, against the amount of land required to be
dedicated, or the amount of the fee imposed, pursuant to this
section, for the value of private open space within the development
which is usable for active recreational uses.
(f) Park and recreation purposes shall include land and facilities
for the activity of "recreational community gardening," which
activity consists of the cultivation by persons other than, or in
addition to, the owner of the land, of plant material not for sale.
(g) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Quimby
Act.