Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate BillNo. 359


Introduced by Senator Corbett

February 20, 2013


An act to amend Sectionbegin delete 21092.2 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.end deletebegin insert 21159.24 of the Public Resources Code, relating to the environment.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 359, as amended, Corbett. begin deleteCalifornia Environmental Quality Act: environmental impact reports. end deletebegin insertEnvironment: CEQA exemption: housing projects.end insert

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(1) The California Environmental Quality Act, commonly referred to as CEQA, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

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CEQA exempts residential infill projects meeting specified criteria, including, among other things, that a community-level environmental review was adopted or certified within 5 years of the date that the application for the project is deemed complete and the project promotes higher density infill housing. CEQA conclusively presumes that a project with a density of at least 20 units per acre promotes higher density infill housing. For the purposes of this exemption, CEQA defines “residential” to include a use consisting of residential units and primarily neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not exceed 15% of the total floor area of the project.

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This bill would instead exempt as “residential” a use consisting of residential units and neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not exceed 25% of the total building square footage of the project.

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(2) Because this bill would require a lead agency to determine whether a housing project meets the above criteria to qualify for an exemption from CEQA, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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(3) 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.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA requires notices regarding a lead agency determination to require an EIR or other actions pursuant to that act be mailed to every person who files a written request and provides that the failure of a person to receive a requested notice shall not invalidate the action if there has been substantial compliance with these notice provisions.

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This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in these CEQA notice provisions.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 21159.24 of the end insertbegin insertPublic Resources Codeend insert
2begin insert is amended to read:end insert

P3    1

21159.24.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), this
2division does not apply to a project if all of the following criteria
3are met:

4(1) The project is a residential project on an infill site.

5(2) The project is located within an urbanized area.

6(3) The project satisfies the criteria of Section 21159.21.

7(4) Within five years of the date that the application for the
8project is deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943 of the
9Government Code, community-level environmental review was
10certified or adopted.

11(5) The site of the project is not more than four acres in total
12area.

13(6) The project does not contain more than 100 residential units.

14(7) Either of the following criteria are met:

15(A) (i) At least 10 percent of the housing is sold to families of
16moderate income, or not less than 10 percent of the housing is
17rented to families of low income, or not less than 5 percent of the
18housing is rented to families of very low income.

19(ii) The project developer provides sufficient legal commitments
20to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability
21and use of the housing units for very low, low-, and
22moderate-income households at monthly housing costs determined
23pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (h) of Section 65589.5 of
24the Government Code.

25(B) The project developer has paid or will pay in-lieu fees
26pursuant to a local ordinance in an amount sufficient to result in
27the development of an equivalent number of units that would
28otherwise be required pursuant to subparagraph (A).

29(8) The project is within one-half mile of a major transit stop.

30(9) The project does not include any single level building that
31exceeds 100,000 square feet.

32(10) The project promotes higher density infill housing. A
33project with a density of at least 20 units per acre shall be
34conclusively presumed to promote higher density infill housing.
35A project with a density of at least 10 units per acre and a density
36greater than the average density of the residential properties within
371,500 feet shall be presumed to promote higher density housing
38unless the preponderance of the evidence demonstrates otherwise.

P4    1(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this division shall apply
2to a development project that meets the criteria described in
3subdivision (a), if any of the following occur:

4(1) There is a reasonable possibility that the project will have
5a project-specific, significant effect on the environment due to
6unusual circumstances.

7(2) Substantial changes with respect to the circumstances under
8which the project is being undertaken that are related to the project
9have occurred since community-level environmental review was
10certified or adopted.

11(3) New information becomes available regarding the
12circumstances under which the project is being undertaken and
13that is related to the project, that was not known, and could not
14have been known, at the time that community-level environmental
15review was certified or adopted.

16(c) If a project satisfies the criteria described in subdivision (a),
17but is not exempt from this division as a result of satisfying the
18criteria described in subdivision (b), the analysis of the
19environmental effects of the project in the environmental impact
20report or the negative declaration shall be limited to an analysis
21of the project-specific effect of the projects and any effects
22identified pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b).

23(d) For the purposes of this section, “residential” means a use
24consisting of either of the following:

25(1) Residential units only.

26(2) Residential units and primarily neighborhood-serving goods,
27services, or retail uses that do not exceedbegin delete 15end deletebegin insert 25end insert percent of the total
28begin delete floor areaend deletebegin insert building square footageend insert of the project.

29begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

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No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
30Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
31a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
32charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
33level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
3417556 of the Government Code.

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begin delete35

SECTION 1.  

Section 21092.2 of the Public Resources Code
36 is amended to read:

37

21092.2.  

(a) The notices required pursuant to Sections 21080.4,
3821083.9, 21092, 21108, 21152, and 21161 shall be mailed to every
39person who has filed a written request for notices with either the
40clerk of the governing body or, if there is no governing body, the
P5    1director of the agency. If the agency offers to provide the notices
2by email, upon filing a written request for notices, a person may
3request that the notices be provided to him or her by email. The
4request may also be filed with any other person designated by the
5governing body or director to receive these requests. The agency
6may require requests for notices to be annually renewed. The public
7agency may charge a fee, except to other public agencies, that is
8reasonably related to the costs of providing this service.

9(b) If there has been substantial compliance with the
10requirements of this section, subdivision (a) shall not be construed
11in any manner that results in the invalidation of an action because
12of the failure of a person to receive a requested notice.

13(c) The notices required pursuant to Sections 21080.4 and 21161
14shall be provided by the State Clearinghouse to any legislator in
15whose district the project has an environmental impact, if the
16legislator requests the notice and the State Clearinghouse has
17received it.

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