BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 747 Hearing Date: June 9,
2015
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|Author: |Eggman | | |
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|Version: |February 25, 2015 Introduced |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Dennis O'Connor |
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Subject: Planning and land use: Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
In 2007, the Governor signed a package of five bills designed to
increase protection from damaging flood waters. Included in
those bills, were a number of requirements for local governments
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to improve local land use
and other planning decisions by strengthening the link between
land use and flood management.
Included in the package of bills was SB 5 (Machado, Chapter 364,
Statutes of 2007) that requires cities and counties to amend
their general plans to incorporate data from the Central Valley
Flood Protection Board Flood Plan and then to update their
zoning ordinances to be consistent with the revised general
plan. Additionally, the law requires that once the general plan
and zoning ordinances have been updated, the local government is
prohibited, starting in 2016, from allowing development on
property within a flood hazard zone unless the property is
determined to have 200-year flood protection.
That law also prohibits a city or county "within the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley shall not approve a discretionary
permit or other discretionary entitlement, or a ministerial
permit that would result in the construction of a new residence,
for a project that is located within a flood hazard zone unless
the city or county finds, based on substantial evidence in the
record" that certain criteria are met.
AB 747 (Eggman) Page 2
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PROPOSED LAW
This bill would limit the prohibition on approving a
discretionary permit or other discretionary entitlement to those
permits or entitlements that "would result in the construction
of a new building or construction that would result in an
increase in allowed occupancy for an existing building."
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "In 2007, the Governor signed a package
of five bills intended to increase protection from damaging
flood waters. Included in those bills, were a number of
requirements for local governments in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Valley to improve local land use and other planning decisions by
strengthening the link between land use and flood management.
"Included in the package of bills was SB 5 (Machado), Chapter
364, Statutes of 2007, that requires cities and counties to
amend their general plans to incorporate data from the Central
Valley Flood Protection Board Flood Plan and then to update
their zoning ordinances to be consistent with the revised
general plan. Additionally, the law requires that once the
general plan and zoning ordinances have been updated, the local
government is prohibited, starting in 2016, from allowing
development on property within a flood hazard zone unless the
property is determined to have 200-year flood protection. The
law also captures permits for construction and remodel that does
not result in an increase in allowed occupancy, which may
include the construction of cell towers, the reconstruction of
structurally unsound buildings/rooms, and other permit-required
work. AB 747 revises flood hazard planning and development
requirements for communities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Valley to allow cities and communities within the area to issue
permits for construction that does not result in an increase in
allowable occupancy.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
COMMENTS
Resolves A Long-Standing Dispute. This bill amends a section of
the government code that has for years been the subject of
AB 747 (Eggman) Page 3
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conflicting interpretations. Some suggested the section as
written would prohibit approving any discretionary permit within
a flood hazard zone. This would include things like permits to
add a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant or the construction
of cell phone towers. In their view, the section as drafted had
a typo, a "missing comma".
Others contended that there was no missing comma, and the
section clearly stated what the author intended. The amendment
to the government code section appears to resolve the different
interpretations.
Prior Legislation.
AB 2108 (Eggman) of 2014 would have made a number of changes
to the statutes relating to flood management in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, including a somewhat different
approach to the issue that this bill is addressing, and
included other broader changes. AB 2108 was never heard by a
policy committee in the Senate.
AB 125 (Eggman) of 2014 was substantially amended in the
Senate on August 22, 2014, to include language that is
substantially similar to AB 747. Amendments to AB 125 on
August 30, 2014, added in a new section relating to the
Department of Water Resources and the Urban Flood Risk
Reduction Program. That bill passed the Senate, but died on
the Assembly Unfinished Business File.
Double-Referral. The Rules Committee referred this bill to both
the Committee on Natural Resources and Water and to the
Committee on Governance and Finance. Therefore, if this bill
passes this committee, it will be referred to the Committee on
Governance and Finance, which will consider the issues within
their jurisdiction
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
SUPPORT
City of Stockton (co-sponsor)
San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors (co-sponsor)
City of Sacramento
OPPOSITION
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None Received
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