BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 359
          Author:   Corbett (D)
          Amended:  4/1/13
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 5/1/13
          AYES:  Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Hancock, Jackson, Leno,  
            Pavley
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Fuller

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8


            SUBJECT  :    Environment:  California Environmental Quality Act  
                      exemption:  housing projects

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill revises the residential infill project  
          exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by  
          increasing the amount of allowable neighborhood-serving goods,  
          services, or retail uses from 15% to 25% of the building square  
          footage.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires, under CEQA, lead agencies  
          with the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving  
          a proposed discretionary project to prepare a negative  
          declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental  
          impact report (EIR) for this action, unless the project is  
          exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory exemptions, as  
          well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines).  
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          Exempts a residential infill project if certain conditions are  
          met.  Under this exemption, "residential" is either:  (1)  
          residential units only; or (2) residential units and primarily  
          neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not  
          exceed 15% of the total project floor area.

          This bill revises the residential infill exemption by increasing  
          the amount of allowable neighborhood-serving goods, services, or  
          retail uses from 15% to 25% of the building square footage.

           Background
           
           CEQA  .  CEQA provides a process for evaluating the environmental  
          effects of a project, and includes statutory exemptions as well  
          as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines.  If a project  
          is not exempt from CEQA, an initial study is prepared to  
          determine whether a project may have a significant effect on the  
          environment.  If the initial study shows that there would not be  
          a significant effect on the environment, the lead agency must  
          prepare a negative declaration.  If the initial study shows that  
          the project may have a significant effect on the environment,  
          then the lead agency must prepare an EIR.

          Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed project,  
          identify and analyze each significant environmental impact  
          expected to result from the proposed project, identify  
          mitigation measures to reduce those impacts to the extent  
          feasible, and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to the  
          proposed project.  Prior to approving any project that has  
          received an environmental review, an agency must make certain  
          findings.  If mitigation measures are required or incorporated  
          into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring  
          program to ensure compliance with those measures.

          If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant  
          effects in addition to those that would be caused by the  
          proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure must be  
          discussed but in less detail than the significant effects of the  
          proposed project.

           Revising infill provisions  .  SB 1925 (Sher, Chapter 1039,  
          Statutes of 2002) consolidated provisions relating to housing,  
          established a residential infill exemption, revised affordable  

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          housing exemptions, and revised certain definitions, terms and  
          conditions.

          The SB 1925 residential infill exemption applies if certain  
          conditions are met (e.g., project site is not more than four  
          acres, project does not contain more than 100 residential units,  
          project promotes higher density development).  

          SB 375 (Steinberg, Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008) contains  
          provisions in CEQA for certain projects that are consistent with  
          a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning  
          strategy, including a provision where a residential or mixed-use  
          project consists of at least 75% of the total building square  
          footage for residential use.  

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

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/10/13)

          California State Association of Counties
          Urban Counties Caucus

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, "Over the last  
          decade, smart growth planning principles have continued to  
          encourage the integration of residents' day-to-day needs within  
          close proximity of those same residences.  This type of design  
          encourages lower vehicle miles traveled (VMT) due to local  
          residents' ability to access these services by walking or biking  
          instead of traveling by car.  Lowering VMT improves air quality,  
          reduces greenhouse gas emissions, lessens the need for new roads  
          and extends the life of existing roads.  One method pursued by  
          many local jurisdictions to implement these VMT-reducing  
          policies in an urbanized setting is to encourage building design  
          that incorporates ground-floor neighborhood-servicing uses on  
          the bottom floor, with residential housing on the floors above.   
          This means that for projects using this design, the current 15%  
          limit for neighborhood-serving uses confines the use of this  
          exemption to only those projects that are at least seven stories  
          tall.  This is much taller than many jurisdictions allow, even  
          though the project would otherwise meet all other infill and  
          environmental review requirements.  An increase to 25% of the  
          total building square footage would allow for a four-story  
          project of this type to meet the exemption requirements."

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          RM:k  5/14/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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