BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1191
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 1191
(Nazarian) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Quimby Act: fees.
SUMMARY: Allows the interest income generated from a Quimby Act
fee to be expended in the same manner as the Quimby Act fee,
pursuant to the Quimby Act.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Quimby Act as part of the Subdivision Map Act,
and allows the legislative body of a city or county to, by
ordinance, require the dedication of land or impose a
requirement of the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a
combination of both, for park or recreational purposes as a
condition to the approval of a tentative map or parcel map, if
all of the following requirements are met:
a) The ordinance has been in effect for a period of 30 days
prior to the filing of the tentative map of the subdivision
or parcel map;
b) The ordinance includes definite standards for
determining the proportion of a subdivision to be dedicated
and the amount of any fee to be paid in lieu thereof, as
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specified. However, the dedication of land, or the payment
of fees, or both, shall not exceed the proportionate amount
necessary to provide three acres of park area per 1,000
persons residing within a subdivision subject to this
section, unless the amount of existing neighborhood and
community park area, as calculated pursuant to this
subdivision, exceeds that limit, in which case the
legislative body may adopt the calculated amount as a
higher standard not to exceed five acres per 1,000 persons
residing within a subdivision subject to this section;
i) The park area per 1,000 members of the population of
the city, county, or local public agency shall be derived
from the ratio that the amount of neighborhood and
community park acreage bears to the total population of
the city, county, or local public agency as shown in the
most recent available federal census. The amount of
neighborhood and community park acreage shall be the
actual acreage of existing neighborhood and community
parks of the city, county, or local public agency as
shown on its records, plans, recreational element, maps,
or reports as of the date of the most recent available
federal census.
ii) For cities incorporated after the date of the most
recent available federal census, the park area per 1,000
members of the population of the city shall be derived
from the ratio that the amount of neighborhood and
community park acreage shown on the maps, records, or
reports of the county in which the newly incorporated
city is located bears to the total population of the new
city as determined. In making any subsequent calculations
pursuant to this section, the county in which the newly
incorporated city is located shall not include the
figures pertaining to the new city which were
calculated pursuant to this paragraph. Fees shall be
payable at the time of the recording of the final map or
parcel map, or at a later time as may be prescribed by
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local ordinance.
c) The land, fees, or combination thereof are to be used
only for the purpose of developing new or rehabilitating
existing neighborhood or community park or recreational
facilities to serve the subdivision, except as provided in
i), below.
i) Notwithstanding c), above, fees may be used for the
purpose of developing new or rehabilitating existing park
or recreational facilities in a neighborhood other than
the neighborhood in which the subdivision for which fees
were paid as a condition to the approval of a tentative
map or parcel map is located, if all of the following
requirements are met:
(1) The neighborhood in which the fees are to be
expended has fewer than three acres of park area per
1,000 members of the neighborhood population;
(2) The neighborhood in which the subdivision for
which the fees were paid has a park area per 1,000
members of the neighborhood population ratio that
meets or exceeds the ratio calculated as specified,
but in no event is less than three acres per 1,000
persons;
(3) The legislative body holds a public hearing
before using the fees pursuant to this subparagraph;
(4) The legislative body makes a finding supported
by substantial evidence that it is reasonably
foreseeable that future inhabitants of the subdivision
for which the fee is imposed will use the proposed
park and recreational facilities in the neighborhood
where the fees are used;
(5) The fees are used within a specified radius
that complies with the city's or county's ordinance
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adopted pursuant to subdivision (a), and are
consistent with the adopted general plan or specific
plan of the city or county. For purposes of this
clause, "specified radius" includes a planning area,
zone of influence, or other geographic region
designated by the city or county, that otherwise meets
the requirements of this section.
d) The legislative body has adopted a general plan or
specific plan containing policies and standards for parks
and recreational facilities, and the park and recreational
facilities are in accordance with definite principles and
standards.
e) The amount and location of land to be dedicated or the
fees to be paid shall bear a reasonable relationship to the
use of the park and recreational facilities by the future
inhabitants of the subdivision.
f) The city, county, or other local public agency to which
the land or fees are conveyed or paid shall develop a
schedule specifying how, when, and where it will use the
land or fees, or both, to develop park or recreational
facilities to serve the residents of the
subdivision. Any fees collected under the ordinance shall be
committed within five years after the payment of the fees
or the issuance of building permits on one-half of the lots
created by the subdivision, whichever occurs later. If the
fees are not committed, they, without any deductions, shall
be distributed and paid to the then record owners of the
subdivision in the same proportion that the size of their
lot bears to the total area of all lots within the
subdivision.
i) The city, county, or other local agency to which the
land or fees are conveyed or paid may enter into a joint
or shared use agreement with one or more other public
districts in the jurisdiction, including, but not limited
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to, a school district or community college district, in
order to provide access to park or recreational
facilities to residents of subdivisions with fewer than
three acres of park area per 1,000 members of the
population.
g) If the subdivider provides park and recreational
improvements to the dedicated land, the value of the
improvements together with any equipment located thereon
shall be a credit against the payment of fees or dedication
of land required by the ordinance.
2) Land or fees required shall be conveyed or paid directly to
the local public agency which provides park and recreational
services on a communitywide level and to the area within which
the proposed development will be located, if that agency
elects to accept the land or fee. The local agency accepting
the land or funds shall develop the land or use the funds in
the manner provided in this section.
3)If park and recreational services and facilities are provided
by a public agency other than a city or county, the amount and
location of land to be dedicated or fees to be paid shall, as
specified, be jointly determined by the city or county having
jurisdiction and that other public agency.
FISCAL EFFECT: None.
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill allows the interest income generated
from a Quimby Act fee to be expended in the same manner as the
fee itself, consistent with the provisions of the Quimby Act.
This bill is sponsored by the City of Los Angeles.
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2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "State law does
not grant cities the statutory authority to use interest
generated on Quimby fees for park development. Existing law
ties the hands of local municipalities by making local Quimby
resources inaccessible and used for their specified purpose.
AB 1191 makes long overdue clarifying changes in the law to
give cities authority to utilize dormant funds. Specifically,
this bill will ensure Quimby interest fees are used to create
much needed public outdoor space."
According to the author, interest of Quimby fees has amounted
to an estimated $15 - $20 million in untapped Quimby revenue
for the City of Los Angeles.
3)Quimby Act and Previous Legislation. Cities and counties have
been authorized since the passage of the 1975 Quimby Act to
pass ordinances that require developers to set aside land,
donate conservation easements, or pay fees for park
improvements. The Quimby Act was substantially amended in
1982 to further define acceptable uses of or restrictions on
Quimby funds, and provide acreage/population standards and
formulas for determining the exaction. One other major change
was to specify that the exactions must be closely tied to a
project's impacts as identified through traffic studies
required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),
meaning that there has to be a "nexus."
To impose Quimby Act fees, the city or county must have a
general plan or specific plan that contains policies and
standards for park facilities. Prior to 2014, fees were
required to bear a reasonable relationship to the proposed
subdivision. Those fees could only be used for developing new
parks or rehabilitating parks that serve that subdivision. As
well, the Quimby Act requires that the amount and location of
land to be dedicated or the fees to be paid shall bear a
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"reasonable relationship to the use of the park and
recreational facilities by the future inhabitants of the
subdivision."
However, AB 1359 (Hernández), Chapter 412, Statutes of 2013,
made several changes to the Quimby Act. AB 1359 revised the
requirements that needed to be met in order for Quimby Act
fees to be used for the purpose of developing new or
rehabilitating existing park or recreational facilities in a
neighborhood other than the neighborhood in which the fees
were paid, as follows:
a) The neighborhood in which the fees are to be expended
must have fewer than three acres of park area per 1,000
members of the neighborhood population;
b) The neighborhood in which the subdivision for which the
fees were paid cannot have less than three acres per 1,000
members;
c) The legislative body must hold a public hearing before
using the fees in this manner;
d) The legislative body must make a finding supported by
substantial evidence that it is reasonably foreseeable that
future inhabitants of the subdivision for which the fee is
imposed will use the proposed park and recreational
facilities in the neighborhood where the fees are used;
and,
e) The fees must be used within a "specified radius" that
complies with the city's or county's ordinance adopted
pursuant to the Quimby Act, and must be consistent with the
adopted general plan or specific plan of the city or
county. "Specified radius" is defined to include a
planning area, zone of influence, or other geographic
region designated by the city or county, that otherwise
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meets the requirements of the bill.
4)Policy Considerations. The Committee may wish to consider the
following:
a) Prospective Change? The provisions of the bill are not
retroactive. Therefore, the $15 - $20 million that is
"untapped" Quimby revenue in the city of Los Angeles will
not be able to be used because the bill is prospective,
taking effect January 1, 2016. The Committee may wish to
ask the author to clarify whether the intent is to apply
the bill retroactively.
b) Interest Follows the Fee. The generally held principle
on local finances is that the interest income follows the
source, in this case the Quimby fee itself. The Committee
may wish to ask the author and sponsor about the City of
Los Angeles' legal interpretation that they could not
expend the interest income in the same manner as the fee.
c) Explicit Prohibition vs. Implicit Understanding. The
author and sponsor argue that the Quimby Act is silent on
how interest income on Quimby fees can be used, and thereby
prohibits the usage of interest income in the same manner
as the fees themselves. However, there is no outright
prohibition in the Quimby Act that prevents a local agency
from doing this.
d) Impact on Local Jurisdictions that are Already Using
Interest Income in this Manner. Several jurisdictions,
including Cathedral City, Yuba County, have adopted Quimby
Act ordinances at the local level that specify that
interest income shall be counted as part of the Quimby fee,
and used for the purposes specified for the fees in the
Quimby Act. The Committee may wish to consider whether the
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addition of this language in AB 1191 might be harmful to
those jurisdictions that have already been treating
interest income as Quimby fees, and whether the bill may
call into question their legality in order to do so.
e) How Long? The Committee may wish to ask the author and
sponsor how long the $15 - $20 million has been sitting in
accounts? The Quimby Act provides that any fees collected
under the ordinance "shall be committed within five years
after the payment of the fees or the issuance of the
building permits on one-half of the lots created by the
subdivision, whichever occurs later." The Quimby Act also
provides that "if the fees are not committed, they, without
any deductions, shall be distributed and paid the then
record owners of the subdivision in the same proportion
that the size of their lot bears to the total area of all
lots within the subdivision."
Because the bill seeks to treat interest income in the same
manner as Quimby fees, then the Committee may wish to
consider whether interest income sitting in an account for
longer than five years would actually need to follow the
above provisions and be returned.
5)Arguments in Support. The City of Los Angeles argues that
state law currently leaves these funds in limbo and prevents
cities from using these funds for any public benefit.
6)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 1191
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Support Opposition
City of Los Angeles None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958