BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 349|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 349
          Author:   Gonzalez (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/17/15 in Senate
          Vote:     27  - Urgency

           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE:  11-0, 6/23/15
           AYES:  Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,  
            McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:  7-0, 7/14/15
           AYES:  Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,  
            Wieckowski

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  73-3, 5/28/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Common interest developments:  property use and  
                     maintenance


          SOURCE:    San Diego County Water Authority


          DIGEST:  This bill voids, or makes unenforceable, any provision  
          of a common interest development (CID) governing document or  
          architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies that  
          prohibit the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic  
          surface that resembles grass.


          ANALYSIS:   


          Existing law:








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          1)Finds and declares, as the policy of this state, that the  
            management of urban water demands and the efficient use of  
            water shall be actively pursued to protect both the people of  
            the state and their water resources.  

          2)Requires local agencies to adopt water-efficient landscape  
            ordinances, as specified.  
             
           3)Establishes rules and regulations governing the operation of  
            CIDs and the respective rights and duties of homeowners  
            associations (HOAs) and their members.  
            
          4)Permits the governing board of an HOA to adopt operating rules  
            that apply generally to the management and operation of the  
            CID or the conduct of the business and affairs of the HOA,  
            provided that the rule is within the authority of the board to  
            make, does not conflict with the HOA's articles, bylaws, or  
            governing law, and is reasonable.  

          5)Limits the authority of an HOA or the governing documents of a  
            CID to regulate the use of a member's separate interest.  

          6)Renders void and unenforceable any provision of the governing  
            documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines or  
            policies of an HOA that does any of the following:

             a)   Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect  
               of prohibiting, the use of low-water-using plants as a  
               group or as a replacement of existing turf; or

             b)   Has the effect of prohibiting or restricting compliance  
               with a water-efficient landscape ordinance or regulation or  
               restriction on the use of water.  
             
           1)Provides that an HOA may apply landscaping rules established  
            in its governing documents that do not conflict with other  
            law, as specified.  

          2)Prohibits an HOA from imposing a fine or assessment against an  
            owner of a separate interest for reducing or eliminating the  
            watering of vegetation or lawns during any period for which  
            the Governor has declared a state of emergency due to drought  
            or a local government 







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          This bill:
          
          1)Voids, or makes unenforceable, any provision of a CID  
            governing document or architectural or landscaping guidelines  
            or policies that prohibit the use of artificial turf or any  
            other synthetic surface that resembles grass.

          2)Prohibits a CID from requiring a homeowner to reverse or  
            remove water-efficient landscaping measures upon the  
            conclusion of a state of emergency due to drought, that were  
            installed during that state of emergency.  
          
          Comments

          Permitting artificial grass.  This bill prohibits an HOA from  
          preventing a homeowner from installing artificial turf or  
          synthetic grass.  Existing law allows an HOA to apply  
          landscaping rules that are included in the governing documents,  
          so long as those rules do not prohibit or have the effect of  
          prohibiting the use of low-water-using plants or prevent a  
          homeowner from complying with a local water-efficient  
          landscaping ordinance.  This bill extends those protections to  
          artificial turf or grass.  This means an HOA may establish  
          reasonable restrictions about the type of artificial grass that  
          a homeowner may use so long as those restrictions do not, in  
          effect, prevent a homeowner from installing artificial grass. 

          If at first you don't succeed.  In 2011, Governor Brown vetoed  
          SB 759 (Lieu), which contained identical language to this bill.   
          The Governor's veto message stated:
          
            The decision about choosing synthetic turf instead of natural  
            vegetation should be left to individual homeowners  
            associations, not mandated by state law.  For this reason, I  
            am returning this bill.

          Governor Schwarzenegger also vetoed AB 1793 (Saldana), also  
          containing identical language to this bill, in 2010.  The  
          Governor's veto message stated:

            CIDs provide a system of self-governance through a community  
            association, responsible for managing, maintaining, and  
            repairing the common areas, and have the authority to enforce  







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                                                                    Page  4


            special rules. Decisions such as these regarding the use of  
            artificial turf can be made by the homeowners and amended into  
            their governing documents.

           It is unclear whether the current water crisis in California  
           will cause the Governor to evaluate the immediate bill in a  
           different light.

           Related Legislation
          
          SB 759 (Lieu, 2011) - would have voided, or made unenforceable,  
          any provision of a CID governing document or architectural or  
          landscaping guidelines or policies that prohibit the use of  
          artificial turf or any other synthetic surface that resembles  
          grass.  This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown. 

          AB 1793 (Saldana, 2010) - would have voided, or made  
          unenforceable, any provision of a CID governing document or  
          architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies that  
          prohibit the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic  
          surface that resembles grass.  This bill was vetoed by Governor  
          Schwarzenegger.  
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/18/15)


          Association of California Water Agencies
          California Association of Realtors
          California Landscape Contractors Association
          California Municipal Utilities Association
          Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
          Desert Water Agency
          Lakeside Water District
          Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
          San Diego County Water Authority
          Valley Center Municipal Water District


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/18/15)








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                                                                    Page  5



          Educational Community for Homeowners 

          ARGUMENT IN SUPPORT:  According to the author, this year was the  
          lowest snowpack ever recorded, and California is in the fourth  
          year of a historic, prolonged, and potentially devastating  
          drought.  Governor Brown issued an Executive Order on April 1,  
          2015, which, for the first time ever in California history,  
          directs the State Water Resources Control Board to implement  
          mandatory water reductions across the state to reduce water  
          usage by 25%.  Given the extent of this drought situation,  
          Californians should explore every option they have to improve  
          their water efficiency.  According to the Department of Water  
          Resources, landscape irrigation represents 43% of urban water  
          use, and the installation of artificial turf or synthetic grass,  
          in lieu of conventional lawns and landscapes, can directly  
          reduce outdoor water use to help meet the Governor's mandated  
          25% statewide water use reduction.  

          Today, Californians may elect to install artificial turf or  
          synthetic grass in their single-family residential landscapes.   
          Many homeowners within CIDs, however, have complained that their  
          HOAs have stymied their freedom to conserve through synthetic  
          turf installation by promulgating unreasonable restrictions,  
          including exorbitant fines for homeowners who choose to replace  
          their lawns.

          ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION:  The Educational Community for  
          Homeowners (ECHO) opposes this bill because decisions made  
          regarding landscaping in CIDs is, and should continue to be,  
          made by the community and their elected board of directors.   
          ECHO therefore resists attempts by the state to legislate a  
          "one-size-fits-all" approach to CID governance.  ECHO also  
          raises environmental and public health concerns related to the  
          installation of artificial turf, including the "possible unknown  
          health impacts that could be caused by synthetic turf," and  
          "concerns that the end of the life of synthetic turf will be in  
          landfills."  

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  73-3, 5/28/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,  
            Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu,  
            Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia,  







                                                                     AB 349  
                                                                    Page  6


            Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,  
            Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,  
            Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,  
            Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,  
            Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NOES:  Travis Allen, Brough, Harper
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bloom, Gordon, Grove, Mayes

          Prepared by:Alison Dinmore / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
          8/19/15 20:47:46


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