BILL NUMBER: AB 2561 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 7, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bradford
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Sections 1940.10 and 4750 to the Civil Code,
and to add Article 2.10 (commencing with Section 65892) to
Chapter 4 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code,
relating to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
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 agriculture in portable containers in the
tenant's private area, as defined, as long as specified
if certain 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 directors
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 of a governing document of
a common interest development that effectively prohibits or
unreasonably restricts the use of a homeowner's front or back yard
for personal agriculture or a homeowner's
homeowner from the off-site 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, but
may, by ordinance, adopt specified restrictions. This bill would
also require each land use zone within a city, county, or city and
county to be considered zoned for personal, community, and
entrepreneurial agriculture by right, 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
no . State-mandated local program: yes
no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California industrial agriculture is at risk due to water
shortages, soil degradation, pollution, environmental, and structural
threats to the San Francisco Bay Delta, and the rising cost of oil.
Providing Californians with the capacity to feed themselves and their
communities would drastically improve local food security and
mediate the risks of water, soil, environmental, or fuel-related
crises.
(b) Although California is the "bread basket" of the United States
and has regions of climate and land ideal for agriculture, a
significant amount of California's food is grown hundreds or
thousands of miles from where it is consumed. This results in high
transportation costs, energy consumption, and lost economic
opportunity for our state. Even food grown in the heart of California'
s farming region is expensive to disperse to the rest of the state
due to rising fuel costs.
(c) California is no exception to rising obesity and
obesity-related diseases in the United States. Two-thirds of American
adults and nearly one-third of American children are obese or
overweight, putting them at risk for developing chronic diseases,
including diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. In California, one in
every nine children, one in three teens, and over one-half of adults
are already overweight or obese. This epidemic affects virtually all
Californians. Many of these health conditions are preventable and
curable through lifestyle choices that include consumption of healthy
fresh foods.
(d) One of every $10 dollars spent on health care in the United
States goes toward treating diabetes and its complications.
Facilitating opportunities for California residents to grow and
consume fresh, healthy foods will promote lifestyles and diets that
benefit individuals and communities, as well as being a more
effective use of public moneys.
(e) Many homeowners' associations have rules prohibiting
homeowners from growing food in front yards or from selling food
grown on the property.
(f) Forty percent of Californians live in residences that they do
not own, and may, as a result of lease restrictions or disapproval by
the landlord, face limitations on their ability to grow food on the
land where they reside.
(g) Providing Californians with increased opportunity to
participate in small-scale entrepreneurial agriculture will
supplement incomes during times of high unemployment and
underemployment and stimulate local economies.
(h) Lawncare is resource intensive, at no nutritional gain. Lawns
are the largest irrigated crop in the United States. In the urban
areas in the United States, 30 to 60 percent of residential water is
used for watering lawns. In arid and semiarid regions, this figure
can reach up to 75 percent. Annually, 67 million pounds (33,500 tons)
of synthetic pesticides are used on lawns in the United States.
Furthermore, lawnmowers use 580 million gallons of gasoline yearly.
These resources could be allocated to more productive activities,
including growing food, thus increasing access to healthy options for
low-income individuals.
(i) Gardens and agriculture on public lands help communities
increase their access to fresh fruits and vegetables, enhance urban
landscapes, motivate healthier eating, and connect neighborhoods.
(j) It is the policy of the state to promote and remove obstacles
to increased community access to fresh fruit and vegetables and
encourage the practice of homeowners growing food in their private
yard space for personal use or for donation to others.
(k) These findings are all matters of statewide concern. The
Legislature recently identified the importance of small-scale,
neighborhood-based food enterprises throughout California in
achieving common, statewide economic, health, and environmental
goals. The Legislature acted upon this by enacting Chapter 415 of the
Statutes of 2012 governing cottage food operations and the Urban
Agriculture Incentive Zones Act (Chapter 406 of the Statutes of
2013). Legalizing the growing of produce throughout California will
enhance the positive impacts of such previous legislation.
SEC. 2. Section 1940.10 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1940.10. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Common area" means an area of the property that is shared
with other tenants.
(2) "Private area" means an outdoor area of the property that is
for the exclusive use of a tenant.
(3) "Personal agriculture" means a use of land where an individual
cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or donation.
(4) "Plant crop" means any crop in its raw or natural state, which
comes from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or any unlawful
crops or substances.
(b) A landlord shall permit a tenant to participate in personal
agriculture in portable containers in the tenant's private area
as long as if the following conditions
are met:
(1) The tenant regularly removes any dead plant material and
weeds, unless the landlord and tenant have a preexisting or separate
agreement regarding garden maintenance where the tenant is not
responsible for removing dead plant material and weeds.
(2) The placement of the containers does not interfere with any
tenant's parking spot.
(3) The placement of the containers does not create a
trip-and-fall hazard, block doorways, or block access to utility
panels.
(4) The placement of the containers does not cause water or other
damage to the property.
(c) If the containers are to be placed on top of grass, a landlord
may require the tenant to replant grass prior to vacating the
property.
(d) The cultivation of plant crops on the rental property other
than that which is contained in portable containers shall be subject
to approval from the landlord.
(e) A landlord may prohibit personal agriculture of any sort by
tenants on common areas.
(f) With the exception of container plants on paved areas, a
landlord may choose to require an additional security deposit to
ensure that all landscaping is restored after the tenant vacates the
property or ceases to engage in personal agriculture. The security
deposit shall not exceed the cost of anticipated restoration costs in
the event that the tenant does not restore the landscaping.
(g) A landlord may require the tenant to enter into a written
agreement regarding the payment of any excess water and waste
collection bills arising from the tenant's personal agriculture
activities.
(h) A landlord has a right to periodically inspect any area where
the tenant is engaging in personal agriculture to ensure compliance
with this section.
(i) A landlord may not prevent tenants from the off-site donation
of plant crops derived from personal agriculture authorized under
this section.
(j) This section shall only apply to residential real property
that is improved with, or consisting of, a building containing not
more than two units that are intended for human habitation.
SEC. 3. Section 4750 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
4750. (a) Any provision of a governing document, as defined in
Section 4150, shall be void and unenforceable if it does either of
the following:
(1) Effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a
homeowner's front or back yard for personal agriculture.
(2) Effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts a homeowner
from the off-site donation of produce grown on the homeowner's
property.
(b) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose
reasonable restrictions on the use of a homeowner's yard for personal
agriculture.
(2) For purposes of this section, "reasonable restrictions" are
restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of engaging
in personal agriculture or significantly decrease its efficiency.
(c) This section applies only to yards that are designated for the
exclusive use of the homeowner.
(d) This section shall not prohibit a homeowners' association from
applying rules and regulations requiring that dead plant material
and weeds, with the exception of straw, mulch, compost, and other
organic materials intended to encourage vegetation and retention of
moisture in the soil, are regularly cleared from the front yard.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1) "Personal agriculture" means a use of land where an individual
cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or donation.
(2) "Plant crop" means any crop in its raw or natural state, which
comes from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or any unlawful
crops or substances.
SEC. 4. Article 2.10 (commencing with Section
65892) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the
Government Code, to read:
Article 2.10. Personal, Community, and Entrepreneurial
Agriculture
65892. (a) For purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Community agriculture" means a use of land managed by a
public entity, nonprofit organization, person, or group of
individuals to cultivate edible plant crops for donation or for
personal use by those cultivating the land.
(2) "Entrepreneurial agriculture" means a use of land managed by a
public entity, nonprofit organization, business entity, individual,
or group of individuals to cultivate edible plant crops for the
purpose of sale or donation.
(3) "Personal agriculture" means a use of land where an individual
cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or donation.
(4) "Plant crop" means any crop in its raw or natural state, comes
from a plant. It shall not include marijuana or any unlawful crops
or substances.
(b) A city, county, or city and county shall not prohibit personal
agriculture, community agriculture, or entrepreneurial agriculture
within its jurisdiction. However, a city, county, or city and county
may, by ordinance, adopt the following restrictions on any of these
agricultural activities in a residential or commercial zone:
(1) Reasonable restrictions pertaining to the presence of dead
plant material in a front yard, except that a city, county, or city
and county shall not restrict the use of dead plant material to be
used as ground cover, mulch, or compost.
(2) Restrictions on the cultivation and placement of plants that
may interfere with a public sidewalk.
(3) Restrictions on structures for community gardening that do not
meet the same building standards applicable to accessory structures
within the zone.
(4) Retail sales at the site of the place where plant crops are
grown and all other public use of the site may be limited by certain
hours or days of operation or numbers of visitors on the premises.
Such hours or days of retail sales operation shall be reasonable and
not undermine the ability of the site to operate efficiently. Rules
and regulations that restrict the number of retail visitors, and the
frequency of such visits, shall not be substantially different from
similar restrictions affecting number of visitors to site activities
such as garage sales or holiday picnics.
(5) Restrictions on odor, noise, and dust caused by growing
produce and that cause a nuisance.
(c) Each land use zone within a city, county, or city and county
shall be considered zoned for personal, community, and
entrepreneurial agriculture by right, unless a local governmental
agency, city council, or board of supervisors determines that growing
plant crops for human consumption in a particular area within its
jurisdiction would pose a significant public health risk. If growing
crops in a particular area is determined to present a public health
risk, this area shall be clearly delineated on a map and the public
health risk specific to that area shall be documented. The map and
documentation of any specific public health risk shall be available
to the general public.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.