Amended in Senate April 10, 2013

Amended in Senate April 2, 2013

Senate Bill No. 628

Introduced by Senator Beall

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section 53395.7.5 to the Government Code, relating to local planning.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 628, as amended, Beall. Infrastructure financing: transit priority projects.

(1) Existing law establishes the Transit Priority Project Program, and authorizes a city or county to participate in the program by adopting an ordinance indicating its intent to participate in the program and by forming an infrastructure financing district. Existing law requires a city or county that elects to participate in the program to amend, if necessary, its general plan, and any related specific plan, to authorize participating developers to build at an increased height of a minimum of 3 stories within the newly created infrastructure financing district. Existing law exempts from these provisions a city or county that has adopted specified language in its charter, or by ordinance or resolution. Under existing law, a transit priority project that meets specified criteria is designated as a sustainable communities project, and is thus exempt from certain environmental review requirements.

This bill would eliminate the requirement of voter approval for the creation of an infrastructure financing district, the issuance of bonds, and the establishment or change of the appropriations limit with respect to a transit priority project. The bill would require a city or county that uses infrastructure financing district bonds to finance its transit priority project to use at least 20% of the associated property tax increment revenues for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of lower and moderate-income housing available in the district and occupied by persons and families of moderate-, low-, very low, and extremely low income. The bill would set forth the findings and declarations of the Legislature, and the intent of the Legislature that the development of transit priority projects be environmentally conscious and sustainable, and that related construction meet or exceed the requirements of the California Green Building Standards Code.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The transportation sector contributes over 40 percent of the
greenhouse gas emissions in the State of California.

(2) Greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks
can be substantially reduced by new vehicle technology and by
the increased use of low-carbon fuel. However, even taking these
measures into account, it will be necessary to achieve significant
additional greenhouse gas reductions from changed land use
patterns and improved transportation.

(3) California local governments need sustainable funding
sources to accommodate transportation and land use planning and
to develop projects that are consistent with the state’s climate, air
quality, and energy conservation goals.

(4) Existing law authorizes cities and counties to create
infrastructure financing districts (IFDs) and utilize related
tax-increment financing for infrastructure improvements in local
jurisdictions.

(5) Tax-increment financing of transit priority projects, through
the use of IFDs, will provide a new tool for green development to
help achieve the sustainable communities strategy and regional
transportation plan goals of Senate Bill 375 of the 2007-08 Regular
Session of the Legislature (Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008),
as well as the greenhouse gas reduction goals of Assembly Bill 32
of the 2005-06 Regular Session of the Legislature (Chapter 488
of the Statutes of 2006).

(6) Recent studies of transit ridership in California indicate that
people who live within a one-half mile radius of transit stations
utilize the transit system in far greater numbers than does the
general public living elsewhere.

(7) Greater use of public transportation, facilitated by the
development of transit priority projects, will increase the
development of walkable, mixed-use communities; increase the
use of public transit, intercity rail, and future high-speed rail
services; improve local street, road, and highway congestion;
provide viable alternatives to automobile use; and decrease
transportation-related emissions.

(8) Investment in local transit priority project development can
improve local and regional economies by providing appropriate
commercial and residential development opportunities, including
job creation through the construction of related facilities, and job
creation through employment opportunities associated with related
entertainment, retail, residential, and other mixed-use development.

(9) Expediting the process for local governments to create IFDs
to implement transit priority projects will provide significant
environmental and economic benefits to local jurisdictions and
help meet the state’s climate, air quality, and energy conservation
goals.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the development of
transit priority projects throughout the state be environmentally
conscious and sustainable, and that related construction meet or
exceed the requirements of the California Green Building Standards
Code (Part 11 (commencing with Section 101.1) of Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations, or its successor code).

SEC. 2.  

Section 53395.7.5 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

53395.7.5.  

(a) The district may finance any project that
implements a transit priority project pursuant to Section 21155 of
the Public Resources Code, regional transportation plan, or other
project that is consistent with the general use, designation, density,
building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project
area in either a sustainable communities strategy, or an alternative
planning strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board,
pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 65080) of
Division 1 of Title 7, has accepted a metropolitan planning
organization’s determination that the sustainable communities
strategy or the alternative planning strategy, if implemented, would
achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

(b) With respect to an infrastructure financing district proposed
to implement a transit priority project pursuant to Section 21155
of the Public Resources Code, an election is not required to form
an infrastructure financing district, issue bonds, or establish or
change the appropriations limit pursuant to this chapter.

(c) At least 20 percent of all revenues derived from the property
tax increment under this begin delete chapter end delete begin insert section end insert shall be used for the
purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of
lower and moderate-income housing available in the district at an
affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health
and Safety Code, and occupied by persons and families of low or
moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and
Safety Code, lower income households, as defined in Section
50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, very low income
households, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety
Code, and extremely low income households, as defined in Section
50106 of the Health and Safety Code.