Amended in Senate August 19, 2016

Amended in Senate August 3, 2016

Amended in Senate August 2, 2016

Amended in Senate June 16, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 28, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 19, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2176

Introduced by Assembly Member Campos

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 8698 of, and to add and repeal Section 8698.3 of, the Government Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2176, as amended, Campos. Shelter crisis: emergency bridge housing communities.

Existing law authorizes a governing body of a political subdivision, as defined, to declare a shelter crisis if the governing body makes a specified finding. Existing law authorizes a political subdivision to allow persons unable to obtain housing to occupy designated public facilities, as defined, during the period of a shelter crisis. Existing law provides that certain state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances are suspended during a shelter crisis, to the extent that strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis.

This bill, until January 1, 2022, upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of San Jose would authorize emergency housing to include an emergency bridge housing begin delete community, as defined, end delete begin insert community end insert for the homeless. begin insert The bill would define an emergency bridge housing community to include, but not be limited to, housing in temporary structures including, but not limited to, emergency sleeping cabins, as defined. end insert The bill, in lieu of compliance with state and local building, housing, health, habitability, or safety standards and laws, would authorize the city to adopt begin delete and enforce end delete by ordinance reasonable local standards for emergency bridge housing communities, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to review the draft ordinance to ensure it addresses minimum health and safety standards and to provide its findings to committees of the Legislature, as provided. The bill would require the city, among other things, to match each resident of an emergency bridge housing community to an affordable housing unit identified in the city’s housing plan that will be available for the resident to live in on or before January 1, 2022, and develop a plan for emergency bridge housing communities to include on-site supportive services. The bill would further require the city to annually report to the Legislature specific information on emergency bridge housing communities, including, among other information, the number of residents in every emergency bridge housing community and the actual and projected number of permanent affordable housing units available through January 1, 2022.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of San Jose.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 8698 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

8698.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) “Political subdivision” includes the state, any city, city and
county, county, special district, or school district or public agency
authorized by law.

(b) “Governing body” means the following:

(1) The Governor for the state.

(2) The legislative body for a city or city and county.

(3) The board of supervisors for a county.

(4) The governing board or board of trustees for a district or
other public agency.

(5) An official designated by ordinance or resolution adopted
by a governing body, as defined in paragraph (2), (3), or (4).

(c) “Public facility” means any facility of a political subdivision
including parks, schools, and vacant or underutilized facilities
which are owned, operated, leased, or maintained, or any
combination thereof, by the political subdivision through money
derived by taxation or assessment.

(d) “Declaration of a shelter crisis” means the duly proclaimed
existence of a situation in which a significant number of persons
are without the ability to obtain shelter, resulting in a threat to their
health and safety.

(e) “Emergency bridge housing community” means any new or
existing facilities, including, but not limited to, housing in
temporary structures, begin delete such as camping cabins or recreational
vehicles that are reserved for homeless persons and families and
located on property leased or owned by a political subdivision.
Those facilities shall include supportive and self-sufficiency
development services, end delete begin insert including, but not limited to, emergency
sleeping cabins consistent with the requirements of subdivision
(h) of Section 8698.3 that are reserved for homeless persons and
families, together with community support facilities, including,
but not limited to, showers and bathrooms adequate to serve the
anticipated number of residents all of which may be located on
property leased or owned by a political subdivision. An emergency
bridge housing community shall include supportive and
self-sufficiency development services, end insert have the ultimate goal of
moving homeless persons to permanent housing as quickly as
reasonably possible, and limit rents and service fees to an
ability-to-pay formula reasonably consistent with the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development’s requirements
for subsidized housing for low-income persons.

SEC. 2.  

Section 8698.3 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

8698.3.  

Notwithstanding any other provisions in this chapter,
upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of San Jose, the
following shall apply during a shelter crisis:

(a) Emergency housing may include an emergency bridge
housing community for the homeless located or constructed on
any city-owned or city-leased land, including land acquired with
low- and moderate-income housing funds.

(b) (1) The begin delete city may, end delete begin insert city, end insert in lieu of compliance with state and
local building, housing, health, habitability, or safety standards
and laws, begin insert may end insert adopt begin delete and enforce end delete by ordinance reasonable local
standards for the design, site development, and operation of
emergency bridge housing communities and the structures and
facilities therein, to the extent that it is determined at the time of
adoption that strict compliance with state and local standards or
laws in existence at the time of that adoption would in any way
prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter
crisis. The Department of Housing and Community Development
shall review the city’s draft ordinance to ensure it addresses
minimum health and safety standards. The department shall, as
set forth in Section 9795 of the Government Code, provide its
findings to the Senate and Assembly housing committees and the
Senate Judiciary Committee within 30 calendar days of receiving
the draft ordinance.

(2) During the shelter crisis, begin insert except as provided in this section, end insert
provisions of any state or local building, housing, health,
habitability, or safety standards or laws shall be suspended for the
emergency bridge housing communities provided that the city has
adopted health and safety standards for emergency bridge housing
communities consistent with ensuring minimal public health and
safety and those standards are complied with. Landlord tenant laws
codified in Sections 1941 to 1942.5, inclusive, of the Civil Code
providing a cause of action for habitability or tenantability, shall
be suspended for the emergency bridge housing communities
provided that the city has adopted health and safety standards for
emergency bridge housing communities and those standards are
complied with. begin insert During the shelter crisis, the local and state law
requirements for an emergency bridge housing project to be
consistent with the local land use plans, including the general
plan, shall be suspended. end insert

(3) This section applies only to a public facility or an emergency
bridge housing community reserved for the homeless pursuant to
this chapter.

(c) An emergency bridge housing community constructed or
allowed under this chapter shall not be subject to the Special
Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860)
of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), the Mobilehome
Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division
13 of the Health and Safety Code), or the Mobilehome Residency
Law (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 798) of Title 2 of
Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code).

(d) An emergency bridge housing community that complies
with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336), as amended by the ADA
Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-325), shall be exempt
from Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 54) of Division 1 of the
Civil Code and actions thereunder for the duration of the shelter
crisis.

(e) The city shall match each resident of an emergency bridge
housing community to an affordable housing unit identified in the
city’s housing plan that shall be available for the resident to live
in on or before January 1, 2022.

(f) On or before July 1, 2017, the city shall develop a plan for
every emergency bridge housing community to include on-site
supportive services. The city shall make the report publicly
available.

(g) On or before January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the
city shall report to the Legislature the number of residents in every
emergency bridge housing community, the number of residents
who have moved from an emergency bridge housing community
into permanent affordable housing, the average time required for
a resident to receive a permanent affordable housing unit, and the
actual and projected number of permanent affordable housing units
available through January 1, 2022.

begin insert

(h) An “emergency sleeping cabin” means a relocatable
hard-sided structure that may be used for occupancy only pursuant
to Section 8698 and this section. It shall have a raised floor area
of no less than 120 square feet of interior space for two occupants
and a minimum of 70 square feet of interior space for one
occupant. It shall contain no plumbing or gas service. An
emergency sleeping cabin shall meet a minimum of a 20 pounds
per square foot live load roof structure, shall be provided light,
heat, and ventilation, and shall comply with minimum emergency
bridge housing design standards as follows:

end insert begin insert

(1) Electrical power available as needed to meet the light and
heat requirements of this subdivision. The source of electricity
may be solar power.

end insert begin insert

(2) At least one interior lighting fixture.

end insert begin insert

(3) Electrical heating equipment approved for residential use.

end insert begin insert

(4) Means of ventilation allowing for adequate air replacement.

end insert begin insert

(5) At least one GFCI-protected receptacle for use by the
occupant or occupants.

end insert begin insert

(6) At least two forms of egress placed remotely from each other,
one of which may be an egress window with a sill height of not
more than 44 inches from the floor, a minimum net opening height
of 24 inches, and a minimum width of 20 inches.

end insert begin insert

(7) A privacy lock on each door.

end insert begin insert

(8) When required to meet accessibility requirements,
compliance with the applicable requirements specified in Chapter
11B of the California Building Code.

end insert begin insert

(9) One permanently wired smoke alarm with battery backup,
listed and labeled in accordance with UL 217, installed in
accordance with the California Residential Code and NFPA 72.
Battery powered alarms are permissible in lieu of wired alarms
only when the cabin is solar powered and other electrical service
is not supplied to the cabin. Smoke alarms shall be listed and
approved by the State Fire Marshal.

end insert begin insert

(10) This subdivision shall remain operative until the date on
which the California Building Standards Commission includes
standards in the California Building Standards Code that conform
to this subdivision.

end insert begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.  

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 to address the problem
of homelessness in the City of San Jose.