BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1690|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
                                           
                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1690
          Author:   Gordon (D)
          Amended:  6/30/14 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  11-0, 6/24/14
          AYES:  DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,  
            Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/15/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Housing elements sites

           SOURCE :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill allows a city or county to accommodate  
          their very low and low-income housing needs on sites designated  
          for mixed uses if those sites allow 100% residential use; and  
          requires that residential use occupy 50% of the total floor area  
          of a mixed-use project.

           ANALYSIS  :    The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities and  
          counties to prepare and adopt a general plan, including a  
          housing element, to guide the future growth of a community.   
          Following a staggered schedule, cities and counties located  
          within the territory of a metropolitan planning organization  
          must revise their housing elements every eight years, and cities  
          and counties in rural non- metropolitan planning organization  
          regions must revise their housing elements every five years.   
          These five- and eight-year periods are known as the housing  
                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                    AB 1690
                                                                     Page  
          2

          element planning period.

          Before each revision, each community receives its fair share of  
          housing for each income category through the regional housing  
          needs assessment process.  A housing element must identify and  
          analyze existing and projected housing needs, identify adequate  
          sites with appropriate zoning to meet its share of the regional  
          housing needs assessment, and ensure that regulatory systems  
          provide opportunities for, and do not unduly constrain, housing  
          development.  

          As part of the process to identify adequate sites, a city or  
          county first prepares an inventory of existing sites zoned for  
          housing.  When the inventory of existing sites is insufficient  
          to accommodate the need for one or more income categories, the  
          housing element must contain a program to rezone sites within  
          the first three years of the planning period.  If needed to  
          accommodate the need for very low- or low-income households, the  
          city or county must rezone sites to permit multifamily  
          residential use by right (i.e., projects consistent with the  
          zoning standards are approved ministerially without a  
          discretionary action) at a minimum density of 16 or 20 units to  
          the acre.  At least 50% of the capacity on these sites must be  
          reserved exclusively for residential uses.

          The Department of Housing and Community Development reviews both  
          draft and adopted housing elements to determine whether or not  
          they are in substantial compliance with the law.  

          This bill allows a city or county to accommodate their very low  
          and low-income housing needs on sites designated for mixed uses  
          if those sites allow 100% residential use; and requires that  
          residential use occupy 50% of the total floor area of a  
          mixed-use project.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   Local:  
           No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/1/14)

          California Building Industry Association
          Cities Association of Santa Clara County
          City of Santa Monica
          City/County Association of Government of San Mateo County

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                    AB 1690
                                                                     Page  
          3

          Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
          League of California Cities

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  7/1/14)

          California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
          Western Center on Law and Poverty

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          mixed-use developments make sense and have been successful in  
          the urban areas of this state where most future growth will be  
          concentrated.  Encouraging mixed-use development is critical to  
          California's smart growth goals and, near transit at least,  
          necessary to ensure competitiveness for federal transit funds.   
          In some cases, integrating rent-paying commercial uses into an  
          affordable housing development can help subsidize affordability.  
           Most importantly, mixed-use projects can bring residents closer  
          to jobs and services.  This bill gives cities and counties  
          additional flexibility on how best to plan in their communities.

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Opponents argue that developing  
          affordable housing on mixed-use sites is more difficult and  
          expensive than on residentially zoned sites.  The loss of  
          redevelopment funding has made mixed-use development only more  
          challenging.  By limiting the use of mixed-use zones as  
          affordable housing sites, current law creates the greatest  
          potential for affordable housing development.  This bill removes  
          that modest restriction.  


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 76-0, 05/15/14
          AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,  
            Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth  
            Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,  
            Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,  
            Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez,  
            Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,  
            Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,  
            Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Donnelly, Mansoor, Vacancy

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                    AB 1690
                                                                     Page  
          4



          JA:nl  7/2/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                   ****  END  ****






































                                                                CONTINUED