BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1995 HEARING: 6/18/14
AUTHOR: Levine FISCAL: No
VERSION: 6/11/14 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Ewing
COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICTS: COVENANTS, CONDITIONS AND
RESTRICTIONS: ENFORCEMENT
Authorizes Bel Marin Keys Community Services District to
enforce covenants, conditions and restrictions on behalf of
homeowners associations within its district.
Background and Existing Law
The Community Services Districts Law is the principal act
that governs community services districts (CSDs), which are
a form of special district. The law governing CSDs was
initially passed in 1951 (AB 2034, Calderott, Chapter 1711)
and re-enacted in 1955 (SB 1714, Desmond, Chapter 1446).
In 2005, the Legislature revised the Community Services
District Law (SB 135, Kehoe, Chapter 249) with the help of
a working group.
A community services district can deliver 31 different
types of services and facilities, such as police
protection, road maintenance, and parks and recreation.
Most of the state's 326 CSDs perform only a few of these
authorized services, depending on what local residents and
property owners are willing to fund.
The Legislature has granted special powers to individual
CSDs when communities face unique circumstances. Eight
CSDs have the authority to enforce covenants, conditions
and restrictions (CC&Rs) on behalf of Homeowners
Associations within their districts. The eight CSDs that
have this special power are:
Cameron Park CSD, El Dorado County,
El Dorado Hills CSD, El Dorado County,
Golden Hills, CSD, Kern County,
Mountain House CSD, Alameda County,
Rancho Murieta CSD, Sacramento County,
Salton CSD, Riverside County,
AB 1995 -- 6/11/14 -- Page 2
Stallion Springs CSD, Kern County, and
Tenaja CSD, Riverside County.
Covenants, conditions and restrictions are limitations and
rules placed on a group of homes by a builder, developer,
neighborhood association or homeowner association. Subject
to legal limitations, CC&Rs can place restrictions of
almost any kind on homeowners, from exterior paint color to
restrictions on curb-side parking, as long as the
homeowners electing to adopt the CC&Rs agree to them.
CC&Rs generally outline procedures for amendments or
rescission.
Prior to the 2005 CSD law revision, 18 CSDs were authorized
to enforce CC&Rs. The working group contacted each CSD to
ask if they were actively enforcing CC&Rs. At that time,
ten CSDs indicated that they were not, and the revision to
the CSD law repealed their CC&R enforcement authority. At
that time, Bel Marin Keys CSD was authorized to enforce
CC&Rs, but it indicated that the authority was not being
used. The 2005 revision repealed its authority. Bel Marin
Keys CSD indicates that this change was an error and would
like the Legislature to re-authorize its authority to
enforce CC&Rs within its district.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 1995 authorizes the Bel Marin Keys Community
Services District to elect, by resolution, to enforce the
covenants, conditions, and restrictions adopted for each
tract within the boundaries of the district, and to assume
the duties of the architectural control committee for each
tract. Prior to establishing enforcement authority, the
CSD must hold a public hearing on the matter, apply and
receive approval from the Local Agency Formation Commission
(LAFCO), and receive indemnification from all affected
landowners or property owners association for all related
services.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
AB 1995 -- 6/11/14 -- Page 3
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . AB 1995 would remedy an oversight
that resulted in the Bel Marin Keys Community Services
District losing its statutory authority to enforce CC&Rs on
behalf of residents. The District exercised this authority
as far back as 1982, until that authority was repealed in
2005. Eight CSDs have the authority to enforce CC&Rs. Bel
Marin Keys CSD officials are concerned that, without
regaining the ability to enforce its CC&Rs, the community's
character will not be preserved.
2. Whose job is it anyway ? AB 1995 charges the Bel Marin
Keys CSD with enforcing the private contractual agreements
among homeowners and their homeowners associations. The
homeowners association, under the terms of the CC&Rs,
already has enforcement authority. It is not clear why a
public agency should take on the charge of enforcing
private contracts. The Committee may wish to consider
whether the state should authorize a local government to
assume this responsibility.
3. Let's be clear . AB 1995 authorizes Bel Marin Keys CSD
to reestablish its powers set forth in former Section
61601.10 of the Government Code, if it meets the conditions
established in AB 1995, including securing LAFCO approval.
Former Section 61601.10 required Bel Marin Keys, before it
could begin to enforce CC&Rs, to determine that it would be
economically sound to enforce CC&Rs and authorized the CSD
to divest of this authority. The former code section also
required the CSD, upon approval of the board of
supervisors, to hold an election during the next general
election, on whether the board could continue to exercise
those powers. That authority was terminated if a majority
of voters did not approve the measure. It is unclear if AB
1995 requires Bel Marin Keys to reestablish those powers
under the terms of former Section 61601.10, in addition to
the terms of AB 1995. The Committee may wish to consider
amending AB 1995 to clarify the process for the CSD to
establish its authority to enforce CC&Rs, including the
authority to divest of that authority.
4. Clarity is good . AB 1995 establishes the authority of
Bel Marin Keys CSD by referencing a former code section
that is not accessible from the primary public sources of
information on state statutes. The Committee may wish to
AB 1995 -- 6/11/14 -- Page 4
consider amending the bill to put into the Government Code
the explicit authority that AB 1995 confers on the CSD.
5. Of petitions and voters . AB 1995 authorizes Bel Marin
Keys CSD to enforce CC&Rs, upon LAFCO approval, for each of
the homeowners associations within the district. AB 1995
does not require the homeowners associations that currently
have the authority to enforce CC&Rs to consent to
conferring this authority on the CSD. Nor does the bill
address the likelihood of competing enforcement efforts
between the CSD and the associations. The residents of the
CSD are not required to consent to the adoption of the new
authority. The Committee may wish to consider amending AB
1995 to:
Require a petition of a majority of residents who
make up each homeowners association, specifying that
the Association is divesting its enforcement authority
and asking the CSD to enforce the CC&Rs, and
Require a vote of the residents of the district to
approve of the new responsibilities.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government Committee:9-0
Assembly Floor: 74-0
Support and Opposition (6/12/14)
Support : Bel Marin Keys Community Services District;
Supervisor Judy Arnold, 5th District, County of Marin.
Opposition : Unknown.