BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2176
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2176 (Campos)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 12, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 24, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: H. & C.D.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the City of San Jose to operate an
emergency bridge housing community for homeless persons during a
declared shelter crisis. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines "emergency bridge housing community" to mean any new
or existing facilities including, but not limited to,
temporary housing structures, including, but not limited to,
emergency sleeping cabins, as defined, 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.
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2)Requires an emergency bridge housing community to:
a) Include supportive and self-sufficiency development
services;
b) Have the ultimate goal of moving homeless persons to
permanent housing as quickly as reasonably possible; and
c) 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.
3)Provides that the following apply during a shelter crisis
declared by the City of San Jose:
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) The City, in lieu of compliance with state and local
building, housing, health, habitability, or safety
standards and laws, may adopt 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.
c) The Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) must review the City's draft ordinance to ensure it
addresses minimum health and safety standards, and provide
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its findings to the Senate and Assembly housing committees
and the Senate Judiciary Committee within 30 calendar days
of receiving the draft ordinance.
d) Provisions of any state or local building, housing,
health, habitability, or safety standards or laws shall be
suspended, except as specified, for the emergency bridge
housing communities provided that the City has adopted
health and safety standards for these communities
consistent with ensuring minimal public health and safety
and those standards are complied with.
e) Landlord tenant laws providing for 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 these
communities and those standards are complied with.
f) Provides that 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.
g) Provides that this section only applies to a public
facility or an emergency bridge housing community reserved
for the homeless.
4)Defines an "emergency sleeping cabin" as a relocatable
hard-sided structure that may be used for occupancy only
pursuant to the Shelter Crisis Act and this section.
Emergency sleeping cabins must:
a) 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.
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b) Contain no plumbing or gas service.
c) 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:
i) Electrical power available as needed to meet the
light and heat requirements of this subdivision. The
source of electricity may be solar power.
ii) At least one interior lighting fixture.
iii) Electrical heating equipment approved for
residential use.
iv) Means of ventilation allowing for adequate air
replacement.
v) At least one ground fault circuit interrupter
(GFCI)-protected receptacle for use by the occupant or
occupants.
vi) 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.
vii) A privacy lock on each door.
viii) When required to meet accessibility requirements,
compliance with the applicable requirements specified in
Chapter 11B of the California Building Code.
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ix) 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.
x) 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.
5)Exempts an emergency bridge housing community from the Special
Occupancy Parks Act, the Mobilehome Parks Act, and the
Mobilehome Residency Law.
6)Exempts an emergency bridge housing community that complies
with the applicable requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) from actions under that law for the
duration of the shelter crisis.
7)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 will be available
to live in on or before January 1, 2022.
8)Requires the City to develop a plan for every emergency bridge
housing community to include on-site supportive services by
July 1, 2017.
9)Requires the City to report annually to the Legislature on the
number of residents in every emergency bridge housing
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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.
10)Provides that these provisions remain in effect only until
January 1, 2022.
The Senate amendments:
1)Provide further specification as to how and when the City of
San Jose may adopt local standards for an emergency bridge
housing community. Specifically, during a shelter crisis:
a) The City may, in lieu of compliance with state and local
building, housing, health, habitability, or safety
standards and laws, adopt and enforce by ordinance
reasonable local standards for the design, site
development, and operation of emergency bridge housing
communities and the structures and facilities therein.
b) The above-mentioned local standards may only be adopted
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.
2)Require HCD to review the City's draft ordinance to ensure it
addresses minimum health and safety standards, and provide its
findings to the Senate and Assembly housing committees and the
Senate Judiciary Committee within 30 calendar days of
receiving the draft ordinance.
3)Specify that an emergency bridge housing community includes
emergency sleeping cabins 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
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residents.
4)Define "emergency sleeping cabins" and specify required
building standards for emergency sleeping cabins.
5)Provide that building standards for emergency sleeping cabins
will remain operative until the date on which the California
Building Standards Commission includes conforming standards in
the California Building Standards Code.
6)Provide that 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.
7)Make technical, non-substantive changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
Shelter Crisis Act: The Shelter Crisis Act allows a
jurisdiction to declare a shelter crisis and provides that upon
such declaration, the jurisdiction's liability for the provision
of emergency housing is limited. It also provides that the
jurisdiction may allow homeless persons to occupy designated
public facilities for the duration of the crisis. Further, the
Act suspends state and local housing, health, and safety
standards for public facilities to the extent full compliance
would hamper mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis.
Emergency housing is typically provided as shelter beds allowing
for an overnight stay. There are concerns that because the Act
does not address protection from habitability rules and their
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impact on landlord tenant law, a jurisdiction would potentially
incur liability in providing anything beyond transient shelter
beds in facilities designated under the Act.
Tiny homes: The author and the City believe that small,
minimalist housing units, sometimes referred to as "tiny homes",
may provide a temporary solution as more permanent housing comes
on line. Tiny homes are typically less than 400 square feet,
with some as small as 80 square feet. These units often do not
have running water, electricity or sewer connections. Instead,
communal facilities provide for these and other basic services
typically required by state and local building standards. The
minimalist design of these structures has been reported to
provide significant time and cost savings. Opportunity Village,
a tiny home community housing homeless persons in Eugene,
Oregon, reports that whereas a traditional federally funded
housing unit may cost $200,000 to construct, they were able to
build a total of 30 tiny homes for less than half that amount.
Need for the bill: The City of San Jose's Affordable Housing
Investment Plan states that since the 1980's, the city has
created 18,000 units of affordable rental units. The City
currently manages a $750 million multifamily loan portfolio
which provides $6.5 million in residual receipts annually that
is available for additional affordable housing investments. The
City's Affordable Housing Investment Plan identifies several
additional funding streams and a variety of affordable housing
projects in various stages of development. However, there are
still nearly 4,000 homeless individuals currently in need of
housing within the city. According to the author: "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. In doing so, AB 2176 would provide the City
of San Jose the necessary tools for it to try new and innovative
ways to provide housing now, while new permanent supportive
housing, which can be years in the making, can be financed and
constructed."
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This bill authorizes a pilot program for the City of San Jose to
address its shelter crisis through the construction and
operation of an emergency bridge housing community for homeless
persons. This bill would allow the City to adopt local
standards for the community in lieu of compliance with state and
local laws and standards. Senate amendments provide further
specification about how and when the City may adopt local
standards, and require HCD to review the City's draft ordinance
to ensure it addresses minimum health and safety standards. HCD
must report its findings to the Legislature. Senate amendments
also specify that "emergency sleeping cabins" are a permissible
category of temporary housing under the pilot program. An
"emergency sleeping cabin" is defined as a "relocatable
hard-sided structure", and required building standards are
listed. These standards remain operative until the date on
which the California Building Standards Commission includes
conforming standards in the California Building Standards Code.
Analysis Prepared by: Rebecca Rabovsky/
H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0004838