AB 2561, as amended, Bradford. Personal and entrepreneurial agriculture: restrictions.
(1) Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, and prohibits a landlord from interfering with a tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the premises.
This bill would require a landlord to permit a tenant to participate in personal agriculturebegin delete or entrepreneurial agricultureend delete in portable containers in the tenant’s private area, as defined, as long as specified conditions are met.
(2) Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, defines and regulates common interest developments and authorizes the governing board of the homeowners’ association that manages the development to adopt and amend the operating rules for the development.
This bill would make void any provision ofbegin delete theend deletebegin insert aend insert
governingbegin delete documentsend deletebegin insert documentend insert of a common interest development thatbegin delete prohibitsend deletebegin insert effectively prohibits or unreasonably restrictsend insert the use of a homeowner’s front or back yard for personal agriculture orbegin delete entrepreneurial agriculture or prohibitsend delete abegin delete homeowner from theend deletebegin insert homeowner’send insert off-sitebegin delete sale orend delete
donation of produce grown on the homeowner’s property.
(3) The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various elements, including a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses of land.
This bill would provide that a city, county, or city and county may not prohibit personal agriculture, a community garden, or entrepreneurial agriculture, as defined, within its jurisdiction,begin delete notwithstanding a zoning ordinance to the contrary, but may subject these activities to specified requirementsend deletebegin insert
but may, by ordinance, adopt specified restrictionsend insert. This bill would also require each land use zone within a city, county, or city and county to be considered zoned forbegin insert personal, community, andend insert entrepreneurial agriculturebegin insert by rightend insert, unless a local governmental agency, city council, or board of supervisors determines that growing plant crops for human consumption within a particular area within its jurisdiction would pose a significant public health risk. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California industrial agriculture is at risk due to water
4shortages, soil degradation, pollution, environmental, and structural
5threats to the San Francisco Bay Delta, and the rising cost of oil.
P3 1Providing Californians with the capacity to feed themselves and
2their communities would drastically improve local food security
3and mediate the risks of water, soil, environmental, or fuel-related
4crises.
5(b) Although California is the “bread basket” of the United
6States and has regions of climate and land ideal for
agriculture, a
7significant amount of California’s food is grown hundreds or
8thousands of miles from where it is consumed. This results in high
9transportation costs, energy consumption, and lost economic
10opportunity for our state. Even food grown in the heart of
11California’s farming region is expensive to disperse to the rest of
12the state due to rising fuel costs.
13(c) California is no exception to rising obesity and
14obesity-related diseases in the United States. Two-thirds of
15American adults and nearly one-third of American children are
16obese or overweight, putting them at risk for developing chronic
17diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. In California,
18one in every nine children, one in three teens, and over one-half
19of adults are already overweight or obese. This epidemic affects
20virtually all Californians. Many of these
health conditions are
21preventable and curable through lifestyle choices that include
22consumption of healthy fresh foods.
23(d) One of every $10 dollars spent on health care in the United
24States goes toward treating diabetes and its complications.
25Facilitating opportunities for California residents to grow and
26consume fresh, healthy foods will promote lifestyles and diets that
27benefit individuals and communities, as well as being a more
28effective use of public moneys.
29(e) Many homeowners’ associations have rules prohibiting
30homeowners from growing food in front yards or from selling food
31grown on the property.
32(f) begin deleteAdditionally, 40 end deletebegin insertForty
end insertpercent of Californians live in
33residences that they do not own, and may, as a result of lease
34restrictions or disapproval by the landlord, face limitations on their
35ability to grow food on the land where they reside.
36(g) Providing Californians with increased opportunity to
37participate in small-scale entrepreneurial agriculture will
38
supplement incomes during times of high unemployment and
39underemployment and stimulate local economies.
P4 1(h) Lawncare is resource intensive, at no nutritional gain. Lawns
2are the largest irrigated crop in the United States. In the urban areas
3in the United States, 30 to 60 percent of residential water is used
4for watering lawns. In arid and semiarid regions, this figure can
5reach up to 75 percent. Annually, 67 million pounds (33,500 tons)
6of synthetic pesticides are used on lawns in the United States.
7Furthermore, lawnmowers use 580 million gallons of gasoline
8yearly. These resources could be allocated to more productive
9activities, including growing food, thus increasing access to healthy
10options for low-income individuals.
11(i) Gardens and agriculture on public lands help
communities
12increase their access to fresh fruits and vegetables, enhance urban
13landscapes, motivate healthier eating, and connect neighborhoods.
14(j) Potential civil liability for misuse of community garden
15facilities makes some public entities cautious about devoting public
16lands to community gardens or about expanding existing gardens
17to include fruit trees.
18(j) It is the policy of the state to promote and remove obstacles
19to increased community access to fresh fruit and vegetables and
20encourage the practice of homeowners growing food in their
21private yard space for personal use or
for donation to others.
22(k) These findings are all matters of statewide concern. The
23Legislature recently identified the importance of small-scale,
24neighborhood-based food enterprises throughout California in
25achieving common, statewide economic, health, and environmental
26goals. The Legislature acted upon this by enacting Chapter 415
27of the Statutes of 2012 governing cottage food operations and the
28Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act (Chapter 406 of the Statutes
29of 2013). Legalizing the growing of produce throughout California
30will enhance the positive impacts of such previous legislation.
Section 1940.10 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
(a) Forbegin insert theend insert purposes of this section, the following
33begin delete terms are defined as follows:end deletebegin insert definitions shall apply:end insert
34(1) “Common area” means an area of the property that is shared
35with other tenants.
36(2) “Private area” means anbegin insert outdoorend insert area of the
property that is
37for the exclusive use of a tenant.
38(3) “Personal agriculture” means a use of land where an
39individual cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or
40donation.
P5 1(4) “Plant crop” means any crop in its raw or natural state,
2which comes from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or any
3unlawful crops or substances.
4(b) A landlord shall permit a tenant to participate in personal
5agriculturebegin delete or entrepreneurial agricultureend delete in portable containers in
6the tenant’s private area as long as the following conditions are
7met:
8(1) The tenant regularly removes any dead plant material and
9weeds, unless the landlord and tenant have a preexisting or separate
10agreement regarding garden maintenance where the tenant is not
11responsible for removing dead plant material and weeds.
12(2) The placement of the containers does not interfere with any
13tenant’s parking spot.
14(3) The placement of the containers does not create a
15trip-and-fall hazard, block doorways, or block access to utility
16panels.
17(4) The placement of the containers does not cause water or
18other damage to the property.
19(c) If the containers are to be placed on top of grass, a landlord
20may require the tenant to replant
grass prior to vacating the
21property.
22(d) The cultivation ofbegin delete foodend deletebegin insert plant cropsend insert on the rental property
23other than that which is contained in portable containers shall be
24subject to approval from the landlord.
25(e) A landlord may prohibitbegin delete the cultivationend deletebegin insert personal agricultureend insert
26 of any sort by tenants on common areas.
27(f) With the exception of container plants on paved areas, a
28landlord
may choose to require an additional security deposit to
29ensure that all landscaping is restored after the tenant vacates the
30property or ceases to engage inbegin delete food cultivationend deletebegin insert personal
31agricultureend insert. The security deposit shall not exceed the cost of
32anticipated restoration costs in the event that the tenant does not
33restore the landscaping.
34(g) A landlord may require the tenant to enter into a written
35agreement regarding the payment of any excess water and waste
36collection billsbegin delete stemming from the garden.end deletebegin insert end insertbegin insertarising
from the tenantend insertbegin insert’s
37personal agriculture activities.end insert
38(h) A landlord has a right to periodically inspectbegin delete the garden
areaend delete
39begin insertany area where the tenant is engaging in personal agricultureend insert to
40ensure compliance withbegin delete the above rulesend deletebegin insert this sectionend insert.
P6 1(i) A landlord may not prevent tenants frombegin delete selling or donating begin insert the
2products derived from this gardening at an off-site location.end delete
3off-site donation of plant crops derived from personal agriculture
4authorized under this
section.end insert
5(j) This section shall only apply to residential real property that
6is improved with, or consisting of, a building containing not more
7than two units that are intended for human habitation.
Sectionbegin delete 4356end deletebegin insert 4750end insert is added to the Civil Code, to read:
(a) begin deleteNotwithstanding any other law, a provision of any
11of the governing documents of a common interest development end delete
12begin insertAny provision of a governing document, as defined in Section 4150, end insert
13 shall be void and unenforceable if it does either of the following:
14(1) begin deleteProhibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of begin insertEffectively
prohibits or unreasonably restricts end insertthe use
15prohibiting, end delete
16of a homeowner’s front or back yard for personal agriculturebegin delete or .
17entrepreneurial agricultureend delete
18(2) begin deleteProhibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of begin insertEffectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts end inserta
19prohibiting, end delete
20homeowner from the off-sitebegin delete sale orend delete donation of produce grown
21on the homeowner’s property.
22(b) (1) This
section does not apply to provisions that impose
23reasonable restrictions on the use of a homeowner’s yard for
24personal agriculture.
25(2) For purposes of this section, “reasonable restrictions” are
26restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of engaging
27in personal agriculture or significantly decrease its efficiency.
28(b)
end delete
29begin insert(c)end insert This section applies only to yards that are designated for the
30exclusive use of the homeowner.
31(c) This section shall not prohibit a homeowners’ association
32from applying rules and regulations restricting on-site sale of
33agricultural products.
34(d) This section shall not prohibit a homeowners’ association
35from applying rules and regulations restricting the hours of
36operation and the number of visitors to gardens within the
37homeowners’ association. These rules and regulations shall be
38reasonable and not undermine the ability of the homeowner to
39operate the personal agriculture or entrepreneurial agriculture to
40operate efficiently. Rules and regulations that restrict the hours of
P7 1operation, number of visitors, and the frequency of visits shall not
2be substantially different from similar restrictions affecting hours
3of operation, or visitors to homeowner activities, such as outdoor
4birthday parties or recreational activities.
5(e)
end delete
6begin insert(d)end insert This section shall not prohibit a homeowners’ association
7from applying rules and regulations requiring that dead plant
8material and weeds, with the exception of straw, mulch, compost,
9and other organic materials intended to encourage vegetation and
10retention of moisture in the soil, are regularly cleared from the
11front yard.
12(e) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
13shall apply:
14(1) “Personal agriculture” means a use of land where an
15individual cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or
16donation.
17(2) “Plant crop” means any crop in its raw or natural state,
18which comes from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or any
19unlawful crops or substances.
Article 2.10 (commencing with Section 65892) is
21added to Chapter 4 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government
22Code, to read:
23
(a) For purposes of this article, the following definitions
28shall apply:
29(1) “Communitybegin delete garden”end deletebegin insert agricultureend insertbegin insert”end insert means a use of land
30managed by a public entity, nonprofit organization, person, or
31group of individuals to cultivate edible plant crops for donation
32or for personal use by those cultivating the land.
33(2) “Entrepreneurial agriculture”
means a use of land managed
34by a public entity, nonprofit organization, business entity,
35individual, or group of individuals to cultivate edible plant crops
36for the purpose of sale or donation.
37(3) “Personal agriculture” means a use of land where an
38individual cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or donation
39begin delete as an accessory or a primary use of propertyend delete.
P8 1(4) “Plant crop” means any crop in its raw or natural state,begin delete whichend delete
2 comes from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or anybegin delete otherend delete
3 unlawful crops or substances.
4(b) A city, county, or city and county shall not prohibit personal
5agriculture,begin delete aend delete communitybegin delete garden,end deletebegin insert
agriculture,end insert or entrepreneurial
6agriculture within itsbegin delete jurisdiction, notwithstanding a zoning begin insert jurisdiction.end insert However, a city, county,
7ordinance to the contrary.end delete
8or city and county may, by ordinance, adopt the following
9restrictions on any of these agricultural activities in a residential
10or commercial zone:
11(1) Reasonable restrictions pertaining to the presence of dead
12plant material in a front yard, except that a city, county, or city
13and county shall not restrict the use of dead plant material to be
14used as ground cover, mulch, or compost.
15(2) Restrictions on the
cultivation and placement of plants that
16may interfere with a public sidewalk.
17(3) Restrictions on structures for community gardening that do
18not meet the same building standards applicable to accessory
19structures within the zone.
20(4) Retail sales at the site where plant crops are grown and all
21other public use of the site or number of retail visitors. The
22restrictions on hours of retail sales operation shall be reasonable
23and not undermine the ability of the community garden,
24entrepreneurial agriculture, or personal agriculture to operate
25efficiently. Rules and regulations that restrict the number of retail
26visitors, and the frequency of these visits, shall not be substantially
27different from similar restrictions affecting the number of visitors
28to other on-site
activities, such as garage sales or holiday picnics.
29(5) Restrictions on commercial deliveries and pickups that may
30be limited to no less than once per day. On-site sales shall not be
31considered commercial pickups.
32(4) Retail sales at the site of the place where plant crops are
33grown and all other public use of the site may be limited by certain
34hours or days of operation or numbers of visitors on the premises.
35Such hours or days of retail sales operation shall be reasonable
36and not undermine the ability of the site to operate efficiently.
37Rules and regulations that restrict the number of retail visitors,
38and the frequency of such visits, shall not be substantially different
39
from similar restrictions affecting number of visitors to site
40activities such as garage sales or holiday picnics.
P9 1(6)
end delete
2begin insert(5)end insert Restrictions on odor, noise, and dust caused by growing
3produce and thatbegin delete affect home occupancy orend delete cause a nuisance.
4(c) Each land use zone within a city, county, or city and county
5shall be considered zoned forbegin insert personal, community, andend insert
6
entrepreneurial agriculturebegin insert
by rightend insert, unless a local governmental
7agency, city council, or board of supervisors determines that
8growing plant crops for human consumptionbegin delete witinend deletebegin insert inend insert a particular
9area within its jurisdiction would pose a significant public health
10risk. If growing crops in a particular area is determined to present
11a public health risk, this area shall be clearly delineated on a map
12and the public health risk specific to that area shall be documented.
13The map and documentation of any specific public health risk shall
14be available to the general public.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
16this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
17local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
18pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
194 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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