BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2015-2016 Regular Session
AB 2176 (Campos)
Version: June 16, 2016
Hearing Date: June 28, 2016
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
TH
SUBJECT
Shelter Crisis: Emergency Bridge Housing Communities
DESCRIPTION
This bill would, until January 1, 2022, authorize the City of
San Jose to develop and operate an emergency bridge housing
community for homeless residents upon declaration of a shelter
crisis by the city. In lieu of state and local building,
housing, health, habitability, and safety standards, this bill
authorizes the city to enact local standards for an emergency
bridge housing community. This bill requires the city to match
each resident of an emergency bridge housing community to an
affordable housing unit that will be available for the resident
to live in on or before January 1, 2022, to develop a plan to
provide on-site supportive services in a community, and to
report specific information regarding these communities to the
Legislature.
BACKGROUND
The City of San Jose, like many other cities in California, is
experiencing a homelessness crisis. Economic shifts in the
state have made even the most basic housing unaffordable for
many Californians, forcing them to live out in the open.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "Los Angeles city and county
have the most chronically homeless people in the nation, and
homelessness overall grew 12 [percent] from 2013 to 2015."
(Gale Holland, California Legislators Propose Spending $2
Billion to Build Housing for Homeless, Los Angeles Times
(January 4, 2016) [as
of June 19, 2016].)
In San Jose, "[m]ore than 4,060 people are homeless . . . and 69
percent of them are considered 'unsheltered' -- living on the
streets, in storage structures, cars or homeless encampments."
(Ramona Giwargis, San Jose Approves Mobile Showers for Homeless,
Looks to New Housing Projects, Mercury News (April 3, 2016)
[as of June 19,
2016].) The City has taken several steps to assist its homeless
population, including approving "a mobile hygiene program called
Project WeHOPE for people living on the streets." (Id.)
Through this program:
[a] trailer called "Dignity on Wheels" will travel to various
locations in San Jose six days a week to offer 15-minute
showers and a washing machine for small loads. City officials
estimate the truck will provide 30 showers and 18 laundry
loads each day it travels. The program is expected to help
100 unsheltered persons. (Id.)
However, "the city's ultimate goal is getting people housed,"
and "making sure they are not cost-burdened -- meaning they're
not paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing," a
category which "[r]oughly 44 percent of San Jose residents fall
into." (Id.)
This bill authorizes, until January 1, 2022, the City of San
Jose to develop and operate emergency bridge housing
communities, which are housing communities comprised of
temporary structures, such as camping cabins or recreational
vehicles, that are reserved for homeless persons and families
and are located on property leased or owned by the city. This
bill suspends state and local building, housing, health,
habitability, and safety standards for these communities,
provided the city has adopted health and safety standards for
the communities and those standards are complied with.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential
tenancies, and generally requires landlords to keep the rental
units in a condition fit for occupancy. (Civ. Code Sec. 1940 et
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seq.)
Existing law , the Shelter Crisis Act, provides that the
governing body of a political subdivision may declare a shelter
crisis, and may take such action as is necessary to carry out
the provisions of the Act, upon a finding by that governing body
that a significant number of persons within the jurisdiction of
the governing body are without the ability to obtain shelter,
and that the situation has resulted in a threat to the health
and safety of those persons. (Gov. Code Sec. 8698.2.)
Existing law authorizes a political subdivision to suspend
provisions of any state or local regulatory statute, regulation,
or ordinance prescribing standards of housing, health, or safety
during a declared shelter crisis to the extent strict compliance
would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of
the shelter crisis. Existing law authorizes political
subdivisions, in place of such standards, to enact municipal
health and safety standards to be operative during the housing
emergency consistent with ensuring minimal public health and
safety. (Gov. Code Sec. 8698.1.)
Existing law provides that upon declaration of a shelter crisis,
a political subdivision shall be immune from liability for
ordinary negligence in the provision of emergency housing, as
specified. This limitation of liability shall apply only to
conditions, acts, or omissions directly related to, and which
would not occur but for, the provision of emergency housing.
(Gov. Code Sec. 8698.1.)
This bill states that notwithstanding the above, upon a
declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of San Jose,
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.
This bill states that, in lieu of state and local building,
housing, health, habitability, or safety standards and laws, the
city may enact local standards for emergency bridge housing
communities to be operative during the shelter crisis consistent
with ensuring minimal public health and safety, and that during
the shelter crisis, provisions of any state or local regulatory
statute, regulation, or ordinance prescribing standards of
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building, housing, health, habitability, or safety 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.
This bill states that specified landlord tenant laws 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, as specified.
This bill specifies that an emergency bridge housing community
constructed or allowed by these provisions shall not be subject
to the Special Occupancy Parks Act, the Mobilehome Parks Act, or
the Mobilehome Residency Law. This bill specifies that an
emergency bridge housing community that complies with the
applicable requirements of the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act shall be exempt from specified provisions in
the Civil Code pertaining to blind and other physically disabled
persons for the duration of the shelter crisis.
This bill requires the city to 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.
This bill requires the city, or before July 1, 2017, to develop
a plan for every emergency bridge housing community to include
on-site supportive services, and to make the report publicly
available.
This bill requires the city to annually report specified
information concerning its emergency bridge housing communities
to the Legislature.
This bill states that its provisions shall remain in effect only
until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
This bill defines "emergency bridge housing community" to mean
any new or existing facilities, including, but not limited to,
housing in temporary structures, such as camping cabins or
recreational vehicles that are reserved for homeless persons and
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families and located on property leased or owned by a political
subdivision. Those facilities shall include supportive and
self-sufficiency development services, 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.
This bill makes related findings and declarations.
COMMENT
1.Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
In 2015 the City of San Jose conducted a survey to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the experiences of homeless
persons. This survey revealed that, although some improvement
was made since 2013, the homeless population was above 2011
numbers with over 4,000 homeless people. The survey also
revealed that 33 [percent] of the homeless population was
under the age of 25, and that 69 [percent] of the homeless
were unsheltered. Housing First is an approach to ending
homelessness that centers on providing people experiencing
homelessness with housing as quickly as possible - and then
providing services as needed. This approach has already
proven successful around the country. The State of Utah
reported in 2015 that the Housing First model reduced the
ranks of the chronically homeless by 91 [percent]. Studies in
New York City and in Utah have shown that every homeless
person housed in programs such as Housing First saves
taxpayers $10,000 and $8,000 a year, respectively.
To apply this approach, the City of San Jose has developed a
long-term and a short-term plan to combat its homelessness
crisis. In the long-term, the City has committed over $103
million in the development of new housing, with over 850 units
in the pipeline identified. This permanent housing is
expected to reach completion 3-5 years from now. In the
short-term, the City is exploring the possibility of
establishing an emergency "bridge" housing community to
provide stable housing to the homeless while permanent housing
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is built. The envisioned emergency housing would include zero
footprint mini houses, compostable toilets and a community
center with shared facilities and services. However, in
exploring this option, the City found that certain state codes
and regulations prevent them from developing the envisioned
emergency housing. The City is willing to establish local
safety, health and habitability standards to ensure that an
emergency housing community can operate safely, but it first
needs the state to grant it the authority to do so.
AB 2176 would authorize the City of San Jose to prepare local
building, housing, health, habitability, or safety standards,
in lieu of such state laws, for the development of an
emergency "bridge" housing community. This authorization
would expire in January, 2022, by which time the City would
finish transitioning residents to the permanent supportive
housing that is currently in the works. This model would
provide the homeless community with a structured and stable
place to live while new permanent supportive housing, 3-5
years in the making, can be financed and constructed. To
ensure safety and accountability, the bill also requires the
city to:
match each resident of the emergency housing community
to a permanent affordable housing unit identified in the
city's plan;
develop a plan for how [the city] will provide on-site
supportive services, and make it public; and
report data on its progress annually to the Legislature.
Unlike models that propose to put people without dedicated
resources into environments not meant for long-term habitation
such as campgrounds, this emergency community alternative is a
much more sound option, since the proposed structures would
provide much better protection than tents.
1.Innovative solutions for housing the homeless
This bill authorizes the City of San Jose to develop emergency
bridge housing communities for the city's homeless on land owned
or leased by the city. The housing provided in these
communities, which would be co-located with on-site supportive
services, falls somewhere between lawful campgrounds and
low-income housing. Recent media reports suggest that San Jose
is considering constructing so-called "tiny homes" to provide
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shelter for the homeless. According to the Mercury News:
These shed-sized homes are usually less than 300 square feet,
with a locking door, closets, full-size beds and small
kitchens. The units can house up to two people. The models
being explored by San Jose also could have composting toilets
and solar heating.
The idea is unconventional, and there are questions about how
it might work, but officials say it's one of few short-term
solutions to San Jose's unprecedented housing crisis -- a
troubling epidemic fueled by rising rents, job uncertainties
and a housing shortage.
. . .
Portland was one of the first cities to create a tiny homes
community for the homeless. The idea started two decades ago
with a homeless man, a raggedy tent and a few pieces of
plywood. . . .Today, Dignity Village is home to 60 tiny home
structures of all shapes and sizes -- from a makeshift castle
to a ranch with a white-picket fence. Some have two or more
people inside, while most can only fit one or two. Residents
pay $35 a month for water and electricity in common areas.
Residents use portable toilets and a shared space for showers
and washing dishes.
Critics of the program say the residents get complacent and
stay too long, instead of transitioning to permanent housing
and allowing more people to use the tiny homes. One Portland
man lived in his "tiny home" for more than a decade. . . . But
San Jose leaders want to see if the idea could work here,
especially since other housing options the city is pursuing --
using old motels for apartments or building new units -- could
take years to develop. (Ramona Giwargis, San Jose: Could
'Tiny Homes' Solve the Homeless Problem?, Mercury News (June
18, 2016)
[as of June 19,
2016].)
By waiving state and local health and safety standards and laws,
and allowing the City of San Jose to enact special regulations
ensuring minimal public health and safety, this bill would
enable the city to develop "tiny home" communities for homeless
residents of the sort that have helped other cities house their
homeless populations.
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2.Risk of creating substandard housing
While potentially transformative for the lives of homeless
residents who obtain housing in an emergency bridge housing
community, this bill could potentially authorize the City of San
Jose to construct de-facto favelas to house portions of its
homeless residents. Under existing law, the Shelter Crisis Act
enables municipalities to open public facilities to homeless
residents for use as temporary shelter during a shelter crisis.
Like this bill, that Act suspends state and local rules
prescribing standards for housing, health, and safety, but does
so only "to the extent that strict compliance would in any way
prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of [a]
shelter crisis." (Gov. Code Sec. 8698.1.) This bill has no
such limitation. Rather, it would allow waiver of these
ordinances and regulations in emergency bridge housing
communities for the duration of a declared shelter crisis, or
until January 1, 2022, whichever occurs first, provided the city
enacts its own local standards to ensure minimal public health
and safety. Additionally, this bill would authorize the city to
collect rent and service fees from residents in these
communities, but would remove the duty to ensure that tenancies
are habitable, and would also suspend California's robust
disability access laws, retaining only those standards
established under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
Given the pressing need to consider innovative approaches to
address San Jose's homeless crisis, the Committee may
nonetheless wish to consider whether the broad waivers of
housing, access, health, and safety standards proposed in this
bill ought to be more limited to ensure that California's
homeless residents receive appropriate housing - even on a
temporary or interim basis - that befits their dignity as human
persons.
Support : Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California;
Silicon Valley at Home
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
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Source : City of San Jose
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote :
Senate Transportation and Housing Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 0)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 77, Noes 0)
Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee (Ayes 7,
Noes 0)
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