BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2176


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          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,      |
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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