BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1303|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1303
Author: Gray (D)
Amended: 8/18/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/15/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Moorlach, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Lara
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Subdivision Map Act: map expiration dates
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill provides an automatic 24-month extension for
unexpired subdivision maps approved on or after January 1, 2002,
and before July 12, 2013, in jurisdictions that meet specified
criteria.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes, pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Map Act),
a statewide regulatory framework for controlling the
subdividing of land, which generally requires a subdivider to
submit, and have approved by the city, county, or city and
county in which the land is situated, a tentative map.
2) Provides for the expiration of tentative subdivision maps
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after specified periods of time.
3) Authorizes cities and counties to grant discretionary map
extensions as specified.
This bill:
1) Extends by 24 months, within counties that meet specified
criteria, the expiration date for any tentative map, vesting
tentative map, or parcel map for which a tentative map or
tentative vesting map was approved on or after January 1,
2002 and before July 12, 2013.
2) Applies only to maps approved within counties that meet the
following criteria:
a) The annual mean household income within the county is
less than 80% of the statewide annual mean income, as
determined by a specified U.S. Census Bureau report.
b) The county's annual nonseasonal unemployment rate is
at least 2.75% higher than the statewide annual
nonseasonal unemployment rate, as defined by a specified
Employment Development Department report.
c) The poverty rate within the county's population is at
least 4% higher than the statewide median poverty rate, as
determined by a specified U.S. Census Bureau report.
1) Allows, for maps approved before January 1, 2000, a
subdivider to file an application for an extension at least
90 days before the expiration of the approved or
conditionally approved tentative map, vesting tentative map,
or parcel map.
2) Requires a legislative body to extend the time at which the
map expires for a period of 24 months, upon a determination
that the map is consistent with the applicable zoning and
general plan requirement in effect when the application is
filed.
3) Authorizes, if a map is determined to be inconsistent with
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applicable zoning and general plan requirements in effect
when the application is filed, the legislative body or
advisory agency to deny or conditionally approve an extension
for a period of 24 months.
4) Requires, prior to the expiration of an approved or
conditionally approved tentative map, upon an application by
the subdivider to extend the map, the map to be automatically
extended for 60 days or until the application for the
extension is approved, conditionally approved, or denied,
whichever occurs last.
5) Allows, if the advisory agency denies a subdivider's
application for an extension, the subdivider to appeal to the
legislative body within 15 days after the advisory agency has
denied the extension.
6) Specifies that an extension provided pursuant to this bill
is in addition to extensions authorized by eight specified
statutes.
7) Extends the expiration date by 24 months for any
legislative, administrative or other approval by a state
agency relating to a development project in a subdivision
affected by this bill.
8) Reduces, from five years to three years, the period of time
after the approval or conditional approval of a tentative
map, or recordation of a parcel map, during which a city or
county is prohibited, with exceptions, from imposing
specified conditions on a building permit or equivalent
permit.
9) Provides that the local agency is not prohibited from
levying a fee, or imposing a condition that requires the
payment of a fee upon the issuance of a building permit.
Background
Under the Map Act, cities and counties approve tentative maps
that must be consistent with their general plans, attaching
scores of conditions. Once subdividers comply with those
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conditions, local officials must issue final maps. For smaller
subdivisions (lot splits) local officials usually use parcel
maps, but they can require tentative parcel maps followed by
final parcel maps.
In good economic times, an experienced subdivider can comply
with a tentative map's conditions in a few years. Scarce
financing, complex settings, and inexperience can drag out the
time between a tentative map's approval and the filing of a
final map. If a tentative map expires, the subdivider must
start over, complying with any new required conditions.
The Permit Streamlining Act sets forth time limits and
procedures for some types of land use decisions, including
tentative maps. It also prohibits a local agency, after it
approves or conditionally approves a tentative map for a
residential unit, from requiring conformance with any condition
the local agency could have imposed, as a condition to the
issuance of any building permit for five-years, after the
recordation of that subdivision's final map or parcel map. A
city or county also can't refuse to issue a building permit for
failing to conform with or perform any conditions that the city,
or county could have imposed as a condition to the previously
approved tentative or parcel map.
Tentative maps can be valid for up to 16 years:
The initial life of a tentative map is two years. At the
option of the city or county, a map's initial life can be
three years.
Local officials can grant extensions for up to six years.
If the subdivider spends substantial funds and files phased
final maps, the remaining tentative map is automatically
extended by three years, up to a maximum of 10 years.
These deadlines don't apply during development moratoria (up
to five years) or during pending litigation (up to five
years).
During periods of economic recession, both in the mid-1990s and
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in the last seven years, the Legislature has extended the life
of unexpired subdivision approvals, without local review or
approval. Unexpired subdivision maps that were valid on:
September 13, 1993, gained two more years (SB 428, Thompson,
Chapter 407, Statutes of 1993).
May 14, 1996, gained one more year (AB 771, Aguiar, Chapter
46, Statutes of 1996).
July 15, 2008, gained one more year (SB 1185, Lowenthal,
Chapter 124, Statutes of 2008).
July 15, 2009, gained two more years (AB 333, Fuentes, Chapter
18, Statutes of 2009).
July 15, 2011, gained two more years (AB 208, Fuentes, Chapter
88, Statutes of 2011).
When the Legislature granted the one-year extension in 2008, it
also let local officials grant an additional year, at their
discretion (SB 1185, Lowenthal, 2008).
In 2013, the Legislature granted unexpired subdivision maps
another two year extension (AB 116, Bocanegra, Chapter 62,
Statutes of 2013). Under the provisions of the Bocanegra bill,
current law automatically extends, by 24 months, the life of a
tentative map that was approved after January 1, 2000, and which
was pending on July 11, 2013. For tentative maps initially
approved before January 1, 2000, a subdivider must file an
application at least 90 days prior to the map expiration. If
the local agency determines that the map is consistent with the
planning and zoning standards in effect at the time of the
extension application, the local agency must grant an extension
of 24 months. If the tentative map is not consistent with the
new standards, then the agency may deny or conditionally approve
the extension for up to twenty four months.
For a tentative map or parcel map that is extended pursuant to
state law, a city or county may levy a fee or impose a condition
that requires the payment of a fee.
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In some California counties, economic conditions have not yet
recovered from the recent recession, which has depressed the
demand for new housing. Until the demand for new housing
resumes, subdividers aren't likely to complete the required
conditions of their tentative maps and qualify for final maps.
With statutory time limits looming, some builders risk losing
their earlier approvals and having to start over again. Similar
to the Legislature's earlier responses during other market
slumps, this bill preserves subdividers' ability to finalize
their maps for two more years in 11 counties that qualify under
this bill's criteria for demonstrating economic hardship
(Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Modoc, Siskiyou,
Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yuba).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
Building Industry Association of Fresno/Madera Counties
Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley
Building Industry Association of Tulare/Kings Counties
California Association of Realtors
California Chamber of Commerce
Home Builders Association of Kern County
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
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Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas
Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
8/19/15 20:39:14
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