Amended in Assembly January 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1298

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

February 27, 2015

An act to begin delete add and repeal Section 21168.6.9 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality. end delete begin insert amend Section 65583 of the Government Code, relating to local planning. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1298, as amended, Gipson. begin delete Environmental quality: City of Carson: sports stadium. end delete begin insert Land use: local planning: housing elements. end insert

begin insert

The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan, and requires the general plan to include specified, mandatory elements, including a housing element. That law requires the housing element, in turn, to contain, among other items, an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing.

end insert begin insert

This bill would revise references to redevelopment agencies within those housing element provisions to instead refer to housing successor agencies.

end insert begin delete

(1) The California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the public agency in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approvals for a specified entertainment and sports center project located in the City of Carson to comply with specified procedures. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make applicable certain procedures established by the Judicial Council to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of a public agency’s action in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting project approval that requires the actions or proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. The bill would provide that the above provisions are inoperative and repealed on January 1 of the following year if the applicant fails to notify the lead agency before the release of the draft environmental impact report for public comment that the applicant is electing to proceed pursuant to the above provisions.

end delete begin delete

(2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Carson.

end delete begin delete

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete begin delete

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 65583 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

65583.  

The housing element shall consist of an identification
and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a
statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial
resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation,
improvement, and development of housing. The housing element
shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing,
factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and
shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs
of all economic segments of the community. The element shall
contain all of the following:

(a) An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of
resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs.
The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:

(1) An analysis of population and employment trends and
documentation of projections and a quantification of the locality’s
existing and projected housing needs for all income levels,
including extremely low income households, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 50105 and Section 50106 of the Health
and Safety Code. These existing and projected needs shall include
the locality’s share of the regional housing need in accordance
with Section 65584. Local agencies shall calculate the subset of
very low income households allotted under Section 65584 that
qualify as extremely low income households. The local agency
may either use available census data to calculate the percentage
of very low income households that qualify as extremely low
income households or presume that 50 percent of the very low
income households qualify as extremely low income households.
The number of extremely low income households and very low
income households shall equal the jurisdiction’s allocation of very
low income households pursuant to Section 65584.

(2) An analysis and documentation of household characteristics,
including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing
characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock
condition.

(3) An inventory of land suitable for residential development,
including vacant sites and sites having potential for redevelopment,
and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities
and services to these sites.

(4) (A) The identification of a zone or zones where emergency
shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use
or other discretionary permit. The identified zone or zones shall
include sufficient capacity to accommodate the need for emergency
shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local
government shall identify a zone or zones that can accommodate
at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government
cannot identify a zone or zones with sufficient capacity, the local
government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance
to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the
adoption of the housing element. The local government may
identify additional zones where emergency shelters are permitted
with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also
demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing,
development, and management standards are objective and
encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to,
emergency shelters. Emergency shelters may only be subject to
those development and management standards that apply to
residential or commercial development within the same zone except
that a local government may apply written, objective standards
that include all of the following:

(i) The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be
served nightly by the facility.

(ii) Off-street parking based upon demonstrated need, provided
that the standards do not require more parking for emergency
shelters than for other residential or commercial uses within the
same zone.

(iii) The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting
and client intake areas.

(iv) The provision of onsite management.

(v) The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that
emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.

(vi) The length of stay.

(vii) Lighting.

(viii) Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in
operation.

(B) The permit processing, development, and management
standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be
discretionary acts within the meaning of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(C) A local government that can demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the department the existence of one or more emergency shelters
either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional
agreement that can accommodate that jurisdiction’s need for
emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with
the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zone
or zones where new emergency shelters are allowed with a
conditional use permit.

(D) A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances
that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take
additional action to identify zones for emergency shelters. The
housing element must only describe how existing ordinances,
policies, and standards are consistent with begin delete the requirements of end delete this
paragraph.

(5) An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints
upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing
for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities
as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including
land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site
improvements, fees and other exactions required of developers,
and local processing and permit procedures. The analysis shall
also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints
that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional
housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting
the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive
housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified
pursuant to paragraph (7). Transitional housing and supportive
housing shall be considered a residential use of property, and shall
be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential
dwellings of the same type in the same zone.

(6) An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental
constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development
of housing for all income levels, including the availability of
financing, the price of land, and the cost of construction.

(7) An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of
the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental
disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code; large families; farmworkers; families with female
heads of households; and families and persons in need of
emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be
assessed based on annual and seasonal need. The need for
emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive
housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end
chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which
funding has been identified to allow construction during the
planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or
county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user
coordinated care housing services.

(8) An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with
respect to residential development. Cities and counties are
encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency
improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation
projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that
encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems,
and its electrical system.

(9) An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that
are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the
next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage
prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. “Assisted housing
developments,” for the purpose of this section, shall mean
multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance
under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section
65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs,
local redevelopment begin insert or housing successor agency end insert programs, the
federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local
in-lieu fees. “Assisted housing developments” shall also include
multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local
inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus
pursuant to Section 65916. begin insert The analysis shall do all of the
following: end insert

(A)  begin delete The analysis shall include end delete begin insert Include end insert a listing of each
development by project name and address, the type of
governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of
change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and
nonelderly units that could be lost from the locality’s low-income
housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes
of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this
subparagraph need only contain information available on a
statewide basis.

(B)  begin delete The analysis shall estimate end delete begin insert Estimate end insert the total cost of
producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent
levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use,
and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing
developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be
done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to
contain a project-by-project cost estimate.

(C)  begin delete The analysis shall identify end delete begin insert Identify end insert public and private
nonprofit corporations known to the local government which have
legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing
developments.

(D)  begin delete The analysis shall identify end delete begin insert Identify end insert and consider the use of
all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs which
can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted
housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but
not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant
Program funds, begin delete tax increment funds received by a redevelopment
agency of the community, end delete begin insert funding available to a housing successor
agency, end insert and administrative fees received by a housing authority
operating within the community. In considering the use of these
financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the
amounts of funds under each available program which have not
been legally obligated for other purposes and which could be
available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.

(b) (1) A statement of the community’s goals, quantified
objectives, and policies relative to the maintenance, preservation,
improvement, and development of housing.

(2) It is recognized that the total housing needs identified
pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and
the community’s ability to satisfy this need within the content of
the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing
with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified
objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The
quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of
housing units by income category, including extremely low income,
that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a
five-year time period.

(c) A program begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert sets forth a schedule of actions during
the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation,
which may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that
there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning
period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to
undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and
objectives of the housing element through the administration of
land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory
concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal
and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the
utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund
of begin delete an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project
area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division
24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety
Code). end delete begin insert a housing successor agency. end insert In order to make adequate
provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the
community, the program shall do all of the following:

(1) Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available
during the planning period with appropriate zoning and
development standards and with services and facilities to
accommodate that portion of the city’s or county’s share of the
regional housing need for each income level that could not be
accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and
to comply with begin delete the requirements of end delete Section 65584.09. Sites shall
be identified as needed to facilitate and encourage the development
of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including
multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes,
housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing,
single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional
housing.

(A) Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to
Section 65584, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of
minimum density and development standards, for jurisdictions
with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to
Section 65588, shall be completed no later than three years after
either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after
receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is
extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing
element within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588
for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites,
including adoption of minimum density and development standards,
shall be completed no later than three years and 120 days from the
statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing
element.

(B) Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to
Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be
developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall
include all components specified in subdivision (b) of Section
65583.2.

(C) Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for
sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits
farmworker housing use by right, including density and
development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the
feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and
very low income households.

(2) Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the
needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income
households.

(3) Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove
governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and
development of housing, including housing for all income levels
and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove
constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing
designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive
services for, persons with disabilities.

(4) Conserve and improve the condition of the existing
affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to
mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private
action.

(5) Promote housing opportunities for all persons regardless of
race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color,
familial status, or disability.

(6) Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing
developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision
(a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing
developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available
federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified
in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has
other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not
available. The program may include strategies that involve local
regulation and technical assistance.

(7)  Include an identification of the agencies and officials
responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the
means by which consistency will be achieved with other general
plan elements and community goals.

(8) Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve
public participation of all economic segments of the community
in the development of the housing element, and the program shall
describe this effort.

(d) (1) A local government may satisfy all or part of its
requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the
development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional
agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities,
that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one
year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning
of the planning period.

(2) The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter
capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter
need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was
allocated as part of its housing element.

(3) Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement
shall describe in its housing element all of the following:

(A) How the joint facility will meet the jurisdiction’s emergency
shelter need.

(B) The jurisdiction’s contribution to the facility for both the
development and ongoing operation and management of the
facility.

(C) The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction
contributes to the facility.

(4) The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating
jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual
capacity of the shelter.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to
this article that alter the required content of a housing element
shall apply to both of the following:

(1) A housing element or housing element amendment prepared
pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02,
when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the
department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90
days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.

(2) Any housing element or housing element amendment
prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section
65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit
the first draft to the department before the due date specified in
Section 65588 or 65584.02.

(f) The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be
extended by one year if the local government has completed the
rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent
of the units for low- and very low income households and if the
legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines,
based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following
circumstances exist:

(1) The local government has been unable to complete the
rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of
the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.

(2) The local government is unable to complete the rezoning
because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory
constraints.

(3) The local government must undertake a major revision to
its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related
policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative
planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.

The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the
department together with a detailed budget and schedule for
preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans
for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule
shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year
of the adoption of the resolution.

(g) (1) If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by
the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f),
except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert
not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a
conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other
locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that
would render the project infeasible, if the housing development
project (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be
rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that
subparagraph and (B) complies with applicable, objective general
plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review
standards, described in the program action required by that
subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the
Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section
66410)). Design review shall not constitute a “project” for purposes
of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code.

(2) A local government may disapprove a housing development
described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported
by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following
conditions exist:

(A) The housing development project would have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project
is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be
developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a “specific,
adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and
unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public
health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed
on the date the application was deemed complete.

(B) There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or
avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other
than the disapproval of the housing development project or the
approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at
a lower density.

(3) The applicant or any interested person may bring an action
to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency
disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of
this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment
compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain
jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If
the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried
out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure
that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In
any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the
burden of proof.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “housing development
project” means a project to construct residential units for which
the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the
appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and
use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-,
and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost
or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the
Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by
the applicable financing.

(h) An action to enforce the program actions of the housing
element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 21168.6.9 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:

21168.6.9.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall have the following meanings:

(1) “Applicant” means a private entity or its affiliates that
proposes the project and its successors, heirs, and assignees.

(2) “City” means the City of Carson.

(3) “Entertainment and sports center project” or “project” means
a project that substantially conforms to the project description for
the stadium project described in the “Carson Football Stadium
Initiative” filed by the residents of the city on March 4, 2015.

(4) “Stadium” means the following components of the
entertainment and sports center project, from demolition and site
preparation through operation:

(A) A stadium facility located in the city that will become the
new home to a National Football League (NFL) team that does
both of the following:

(i) Receives Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) gold certification for new construction within one year of
completion of the first NFL season.

(ii) Minimizes operational traffic congestion and air quality
impacts through either or both project design and the
implementation of feasible mitigation measures that will do all of
the following:

(I) Achieve and maintain carbon neutrality or better by reducing
to at least zero net emissions of greenhouse gases, as defined in
subdivision (g) of Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code,
from private automobile trips to the stadium as compared to the
baseline as verified by the South Coast Air Quality Management
District.

(II) Achieve a per attendee reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions from automobiles and light trucks compared to per
attendee greenhouse gas emissions associated with the existing
NFL stadium located in the County of San Diego during the
2012-13 NFL season that will exceed the carbon reduction targets
for 2020 and 2035 achieved in the sustainable communities strategy
prepared by the Southern California Association of Governments
for the Los Angeles region pursuant to Chapter 728 of the Statutes
of 2008.

(III) Achieve and maintain vehicle-miles-traveled per attendee
for NFL events at the stadium that is no more than 85 percent of
the baseline.

(B) Associated public spaces.

(C) Facilities and infrastructure for ingress, egress, and use of
the stadium facility.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the procedures established
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 21168.6.6 shall apply to an
action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or
annul the certification of the environmental impact report for the
project or the granting of any project approvals.

(c) (1) The draft and final environmental impact report shall
include a notice in not less than 12-point type stating the following:

THIS EIR IS SUBJECT TO SECTION 21168.6.9 OF THE
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE, WHICH PROVIDES, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, THAT THE LEAD AGENCY NEED NOT
CONSIDER CERTAIN COMMENTS FILED AFTER THE
CLOSE OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE
DRAFT EIR. ANY JUDICIAL ACTION CHALLENGING THE
CERTIFICATION OF THE EIR OR THE APPROVAL OF THE
PROJECT DESCRIBED IN THE EIR IS SUBJECT TO THE
PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN SECTION 21168.6.9 OF THE
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE. A COPY OF SECTION 21168.6.9
OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS INCLUDED IN THE
APPENDIX TO THIS EIR.

(2) The draft environmental impact report and final
environmental impact report shall contain, as an appendix, the full
text of this section.

(3) Within 10 days after the release of the draft environmental
impact report, the lead agency shall conduct an informational
workshop to inform the public of the key analyses and conclusions
of that report.

(4) Within 10 days before the close of the public comment
period, the lead agency shall hold a public hearing to receive
testimony on the draft environmental impact report. A transcript
of the hearing shall be included as an appendix to the final
environmental impact report.

(5) (A) Within five days following the close of the public
comment period, a commenter on the draft environmental impact
report may submit to the lead agency a written request for
nonbinding mediation. The lead agency and applicant shall
participate in nonbinding mediation with all commenters who
submitted timely comments on the draft environmental impact
report and who requested the mediation. Mediation conducted
pursuant to this paragraph shall end no later than 35 days after the
close of the public comment period.

(B) A request for mediation shall identify all areas of dispute
raised in the comment submitted by the commenter that are to be
mediated.

(C) The lead agency shall select one or more mediators who
shall be retired judges or recognized experts with at least five years
experience in land use and environmental law, science, or
mediation. The applicant shall bear the costs of mediation.

(D) A mediation session shall be conducted on each area of
dispute with the parties requesting mediation on that area of
dispute.

(E) The lead agency shall adopt, as a condition of approval, any
measures agreed upon by the lead agency, the applicant, and the
commenter who requested mediation. A commenter who agrees
to a measure pursuant to this subparagraph shall not raise the issue
addressed by that measure as a basis for an action or proceeding
challenging the lead agency’s decision to certify the environmental
impact report or to grant one or more initial project approvals.

(6) The lead agency need not consider written comments
submitted after the close of the public comment period, unless
those comments address any of the following:

(A) New issues raised in the response to comments by the lead
agency.

(B) New information released by the public agency subsequent
to the release of the draft environmental impact report, such as
new information set forth or embodied in a staff report, proposed
permit, proposed resolution, ordinance, or similar documents.

(C) Changes made to the project after the close of the public
comment period.

(D) Proposed conditions for approval, mitigation measures, or
proposed findings required by Section 21081 or a proposed
reporting and monitoring program required by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 21081.6, where the lead agency releases
those documents subsequent to the release of the draft
environmental impact report.

(E) New information that was not reasonably known and could
not have been reasonably known during the public comment period.

(7) The lead agency shall file the notice required by subdivision
(a) of Section 21152 within five days after the last initial project
approval.

(d) Subdivision (f) of Section 21168.6.6 applies to the
preparation of the record of proceedings for the project.

(e) (1) As a condition of approval of the project subject to this
section, the lead agency shall require the applicant, with respect
to any measures specific to the operation of the stadium, to
implement those measures that will meet the requirements of this
division by the end of the first NFL regular season or February of
the first NFL regular season, whichever is later, during which an
NFL team has played at the stadium.

(2) To maximize public health, environmental, and employment
benefits, the lead agency shall place the highest priority on feasible
measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the stadium
site and in the neighboring communities of the stadium. Mitigation
measures that shall be considered and implemented, if feasible and
necessary, to achieve the standards set forth in subclauses (I) to
(III), inclusive, of clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4)
of subdivision (a), including, but not limited to:

(A) Temporarily expanding the capacity of a public transit line,
as needed, to serve stadium events.

(B) Providing private charter buses or other similar services, as
needed, to serve stadium events.

(C) Paying its fair share of the cost of measures that expand the
capacity of a public fixed or light rail station that is used by
spectators attending stadium events.

(3) Offset credits shall be employed by the applicant only after
feasible local emission reduction measures have been implemented.
The applicant shall, to the extent feasible, place the highest priority
on the purchase of offset credits that produce emission reductions
within the city or the boundaries of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.

(f) (1) (A) In granting relief in an action or proceeding brought
pursuant to this section, the court shall not stay or enjoin the
construction or operation of the stadium unless the court finds
either of the following:

(i) The continued construction or operation of the stadium
presents an imminent threat to the public health and safety.

(ii) The stadium site contains unforeseen important Native
American artifacts or unforeseen important historical,
archaeological, or ecological values that would be materially,
permanently, and adversely affected by the continued construction
or operation of the stadium unless the court stays or enjoins the
construction or operation of the stadium.

(B) If the court finds that clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A)
is satisfied, the court shall only enjoin those specific activities
associated with the stadium that present an imminent threat to
public health and safety or that materially, permanently, and
adversely affect unforeseen important Native American artifacts
or unforeseen important historical, archaeological, or ecological
values.

(2) An action or proceeding to attack, set aside, void, or annul
a determination, finding, or decision of the lead agency granting
a subsequent project approval shall be subject to the requirements
of this chapter.

(3) Where an action or proceeding brought pursuant to this
section challenges aspects of the project other than the stadium
and those portions or specific project activities are severable from
the stadium, the court may enter an order as to aspects of the project
other than the stadium that includes one or more of the remedies
set forth in Section 21168.9.

(g) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application.

(h) (1) This section does not apply to the project and shall
become inoperative on the date of the release of the draft
environmental impact report and is repealed on January 1 of the
following year, if the applicant fails to notify the lead agency prior
to the release of the draft environmental impact report for public
comment that the applicant is electing to proceed pursuant to this
section.

(2) The lead agency shall notify the Secretary of State if the
applicant fails to notify the lead agency of its election to proceed
pursuant to this section.

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution because of the unique need for the development of
an entertainment and sports center project in the City of Carson
in an expeditious manner.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.

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