BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 470|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 470
Author: Wright (D)
Amended: 5/8/13
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/3/13
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Fuller, Hancock,
Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Community development: economic opportunity
SOURCE : City of Long Beach
DIGEST : This bill allows cities and counties to use some of
the Community Redevelopment Laws financing, property sale, and
brownfield cleanup powers to promote economic development.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Dissolved redevelopment agencies (RDAs) and community
development agencies (CDAs), as of February 1, 2012, and
provides for the designation of a successor agency, as
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defined, to resolve the final matters of the agencies and to
dispose of assets and properties in accordance with certain
procedures.
2. Under the Polanco Redevelopment Act (Polanco Act) which was
part of the Community Redevelopment Act, assisted
redevelopment agencies in responding to brownfield properties
in their redevelopment areas. It prescribed processes for
redevelopment agencies to follow when remediating a hazardous
substance release in a redevelopment project area. It also
provided specified immunity from liability for sites cleaned
up under a cleanup plan approved by the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC) or a Regional Water Quality Control
Board (RWQCB). It provided limited liability protections for
RDAs and future purchasers of properties remediated under the
Polanco Act.
This bill:
1. Replicates the provisions of the California Community
Redevelopment Law (CRL) for cities and counties instead of
RDAs, allowing cities and counties to exercise powers that
are similar to statutory powers that former RDAs used to
have, including: sell property, provide financial assistance
to development projects, and clean up contaminated property
in order to promote economic opportunity specifically for
properties that were part of a former RDA.
2. Defines "economic opportunity" as any of the following:
A. Development agreements or other agreements that create,
retain, or expand new jobs. A city or county must make a
finding that the agreement will create or retain at least
one full-time equivalent, permanent job per $35,000 of
city, county, or city and county investment in the project
after full capacity and implementation of the agreement.
B. Development agreements that increase property tax
revenues to all property tax-collecting entities. A city
or county must make a finding that the agreement will
result in an increase of at least 15% of total property
tax resulting from the project at full implementation when
compared to the year prior to the property being acquired
by the government entity.
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C. Creation of affordable housing, if a demonstrated
affordable housing need exists in the community, as
defined in the approved housing element or regional
housing needs assessment.
D. Projects that meet specified climate, air quality, and
energy conservation goals and have been included in an
adopted Sustainable Communities Strategy or Alternative
Planning Strategy, or a project that specifically
implements the goals of those adopted plans.
E. Transit priority project areas, as defined in state
law.
3. Replicates the provisions of the Polanco Act for cities and
counties instead of RDAs, allowing cities and counties the
authority to remediate brownfields and provides immunity from
liability to public agencies and property purchasers under an
approved cleanup plan.
4. Specifically this bill:
A. Allows a city, county, or city and county to take any
actions that it determines are necessary and that are
consistent with other state and federal laws to remedy
or remove a release of hazardous substances on, under,
or from property within its jurisdiction, that
previously was within the jurisdiction of a former RDA,
whether it owns that property or not, subject to
specified conditions.
B. Requires the city, county, or city and county to
request cleanup guidelines from the DTSC or RWQCB before
taking action to remedy or remove a release, unless an
administering agency has been designated under state
law. The city, county, or city and county must submit
for approval a cleanup or remedial action plan to DTSC
or RWQCB before taking action to remedy or remove a
release. DTSC or RWQCB must respond to the requests for
guidelines and approvals within a reasonable period of
time.
C. Identifies the conditions under which a city, county,
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or city and county can designate a local agency, in lieu
of DTSC or RWQCB, to review and approve a cleanup or
remedial action plan and to oversee the remediation or
removal of hazardous substances from a specific
hazardous substance release site. This bill allows a
local agency to withdraw from its designation and allows
DTSC or RWQCB to require, under specified conditions, a
local agency to withdraw from the designation.
D. Requires a city, county, or city and county to notify
DTSC, RWQCB, and local health and building departments
of cleanup activity at least 30 days before the activity
begins. With specified exceptions, the bill allows DTSC
or RWQCB to require a city, county, or city and county
to remedy or remove a release of a hazardous substance
pursuant to state law if the city, county, city and
county, or a responsible party's action to remedy or
remove a release of a hazardous substance is
inconsistent with an approved plan.
E. Imposes specified conditions on a city, county, or
city and county's authority to remedy or remove a
release of hazardous substances.
F. Allows a city, county, or city and county to require
the owner or operator of any site within a project area
to provide the city, county, or city and county with all
existing environmental information pertaining to the
site, except for information which is determined to be
privileged. A person can only be requested to furnish
information that is within their possession or control,
including actual knowledge of information within the
possession or control of any other party. If
environmental assessment information is not available,
the city, county, or city and county can require the
owner of the property to conduct an assessment in
accordance with standard real estate practices for
conducting phase I or phase II environmental
assessments.
G. Provides that a city, county, or city and county is
not liable under specified state and local liability
laws if it undertakes and completes an action, or causes
another person to undertake and complete an action, to
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remedy or remove a hazardous substance release in
accordance with a cleanup or remedial action plan that
meets specified criteria.
H. Requires that a city, county, or city and county must
receive written acknowledgement from DTSC, RWQCB, or
local agency that it will receive specified immunity
from liability upon proper completion of a remedial or
removal action in accordance with an approved plan.
I. Specifies the manner in which DTSC, RWQCB, or local
agency must make a determination that a remedial or
removal action has been properly completed and notify
the city, county, or city and county in writing that the
immunity provided by this bill is in effect. A city,
county, or city and county must reimburse DTSC, RWQCB,
and local agency for costs incurred in reviewing or
approving cleanup or remedial action plans.
J. Requires that a local agency's approval of a cleanup
or remedial action also must be subject to the
concurrent approval by DTSC or RWQCB, under specified
conditions.
K. Identifies the people and entities to which it
extends immunity from specified liability upon proper
completion of a remedial or removal action. The bill
also identifies people and entities to which it does not
extend immunity.
L. States that this bill:
(1) Provides immunity that is in addition to any
other immunity of a city, county, or city and county
provided by law.
(2) Does not impair specified causes of action
against the person, firm, or entity responsible for
the hazardous substance release that is the subject
of a removal or remedial action.
(3) Does not apply to, or limit, alter, or
restrict, any action for personal injury, property
damage, or wrongful death.
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(4) Does not limit liability under a specified
provision of federal law.
(5) Does not establish, limit, or affect the
liability of a city, county, or city and county for
any release of a hazardous substance that is not
investigated or remediated pursuant to state laws.
M. Requires any responsible parties to be liable to a
city, county, or city and county that remedies or removes,
or requires others to remedy or remove, a release of a
hazardous substance. The bill prohibits a city, county,
or city and county from recovering the costs of goods and
services that were not procured in accordance with
applicable procurement procedures. The amount of the
costs must include the interest, calculated according to a
specific formula, on the costs accrued from the date of
expenditure and reasonable attorney's fees. The costs can
be recovered in a civil action.
O. Identifies the defenses that are available to a
responsible party under state law.
P. Allows a city, county, or city and county to recover
costs for developing and implementing an approved cleanup
or remedial action plan to the same extent DTSC is
authorized to recover those costs. The bill defines the
scope and standard of liability for recovering a city,
county, or city and county's costs.
Q. Requires a city, county, or city and county to begin an
action to recover costs of a remedy or removal within
three years after completion of the remedy or removal.
The bill states that the cost recovery authority it grants
is in addition to, and is not to be construed as
restricting, any other cause of action available to a
city, county, or city and county.
R. With specified exceptions, requires that a city,
county, or city and county that undertakes and completes a
remedial action, or otherwise causes a remedial action to
be undertaken and completed, shall not be liable, based on
its ownership of property after a release occurred, for
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any costs that any responsible party incurs to investigate
or remediate the release or to compensate others for the
effects of that release.
S. With specified exceptions, states that its provisions
do not limit the powers of the State Water Resources
Control Board or a RWQCB to enforce specified provisions
of state law.
T. Replicates the Polanco Act's definitions for numerous
terms.
Comments
According to the author's office, the ability to sell land based
upon "fair reuse value", rather than "fair market value" enables
local governments to negotiate for the use that best fits the
community. The city can engage in a process to identify the
community need, and then sell land to a private party who will
create a development that fits those needs. Redevelopment
agencies functioned for very many years using this process. It
was a tool that was key to their success. This authority should
be reinstated for the benefit of local communities, with the
local government absorbing any costs that may be incurred. This
power will only be used for land owned by cities, and no tax
increment will be utilized, so there will be no fiscal impact on
the State, school districts, or other taxing entities.
Related legislation
AB 440 (Gatto) allows local agencies to clean up hazardous
substance releases and receive liability immunity under
provision that are similar to those in the Polanco Redevelopment
Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/20/13)
City of Long Beach (source)
California Contract Cities Association
City of Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster
City of Whittier
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Gateway Cities Council of Governments
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido
Western Center on Law and Poverty
AGB:d 5/21/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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