BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2180 (Ting) - Land use: development project review
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|Version: March 31, 2016 |Policy Vote: GOV. & F. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2180 would accelerate the timeframes by which a
public agency must approve or disapprove certain residential and
mixed-use development projects under the Permit Streamlining
Act.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown significant Coastal Commission costs, potentially in
excess of $1 million, to expedite approval of projects in the
coastal zone for which the Commission is the responsible
agency. In order to comply with the accelerated timelines for
project approval, the Commission would require an unknown
number of additional staff. The magnitude of additional costs
and staffing needs would depend upon the number and complexity
of projects requiring a coastal development permit. (General
Fund)
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Unknown local costs to comply with accelerated project
approval timelines. These costs are not state-reimbursable
because local agencies can charge fees to offset any increased
costs. (local fee disclaimer)
Background: The Planning and Zoning Law requires every county and city to
adopt a general plan that sets out the intensity (density) and
location for planned uses in the area covered by the plan.
Local zoning laws and building codes specify where housing may
be built, as well as its density, quality, and style. Housing
developers must obtain building permits from city and county
planning departments and typically must gain approval from local
planning commissions and city councils or county boards of
supervisors.
The 1977 Permit Streamlining Act requires public agencies to act
fairly and promptly on applications for development permits.
Public agencies generally have 30 days to determine whether
applications for development projects are complete and accepted
for filing; failure to act results in an application being
"deemed complete." If additional information is required, there
could be time extensions before an application is deemed
complete. Once a complete application has been submitted, the
Act requires public officials to act within a specific time
period after completing any environmental review documents
required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Specifically, local governments that serve as lead agencies
under CEQA must act within: (1) 60 days after completing a
negative declaration or determining that a project is exempt
from review, or (2) 180 days after certifying an environmental
impact report (EIR).
However, shorter deadlines apply to certain affordable housing
developments. A lead agency must decide within 90 days of
certifying an EIR for a residential or mixed use development
that meets specified conditions, including: residential units
make up at least half of the overall square footage, commercial
space is reserved for specified small businesses that serve
local residents, and at least 49% of units are available to low-
or very low-income households.
The Permit Streamlining Act also sets deadlines for responsible
agencies that are not the lead agency under CEQA, but have a
role in approving a permit or other authorization for some
AB 2180 (Ting) Page 2 of
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aspect of the proposed project. Responsible agencies rely on
the lead agency's CEQA documentation to issue permits and make
decisions. The Permit Streamlining Act requires responsible
agencies to approve or disapprove the development project within
180 days of the date that either the lead agency approved the
project or deemed the application complete, whichever is longer.
If the public agency fails to approve or disapprove the
application in the relevant time period, the application is
deemed approved and the applicant may sue to order the local
government to issue the permit. Upon mutual agreement between
the government and the applicant, the deadlines may be extended
once for up to 90 days.
Existing law, the Coastal Act, calls for the protection and
enhancement of public access and recreation, marine resources,
environmentally sensitive habitat areas, marine water quality,
agriculture, and scenic resources, and makes provisions for
coastal-dependent industrial and energy development. New
development in the coastal zone requires a coastal development
permit either from a local government or the Coastal Commission.
Local governments are required to prepare a local coastal plan
(LCP) for the coastal zone portion of their jurisdiction. After
an LCP has been reviewed and approved by the Coastal Commission
as being consistent with the Coastal Act, the Commission's
regulatory authority over most types of new development is
delegated to the local government, subject to limited appeals to
the Commission. Approximately 83 percent of the state's coastal
geographic area is covered by LCPs, but there are currently 27
jurisdictions that do not have a certified LCP in place. As
noted above, any permits for new development in these
jurisdictions requires approval by the Coastal Commission.
Proposed Law:
AB 2180 would expedite the Permit Streamlining Act deadlines
for a public agency to approve or disapprove certain types of
development projects. Specifically, AB 2180 would do the
following:
Require a lead agency to approve or disapprove an application
for a residential or mixed use development within 120 days of
certifying the EIR (rather than 180 days), if the project
devotes at least half of its square footage to residential
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units and only includes small-scale commercial enterprises.
Require a responsible agency to approve or disapprove those
projects within 90 days (rather than 180 days) of the date
that either the lead agency approved the project or deemed the
application complete, whichever is longer.
Staff
Comments: This bill would impose a state-mandated local program
on local agencies by increasing the duties of local officials.
Since local agencies have the authority to charge fees to
recover any increased costs associated with the bill, they are
not eligible for state-reimbursement of those costs.
The Coastal Commission indicates that the bill's accelerated
timelines for development project approvals would hinder its
ability to properly review, analyze, revise, and agendize
residential projects in the coastal zone for which the
Commission is the responsible agency. In those jurisdictional
segments of the coastal zone that are not covered by an approved
LCP, the Commission must analyze a project for Coastal Act
consistency, including public access, public viewsheds, sea
level rise, and sensitive habitats. Although many projects are
non-controversial and have minimal impacts, some are exceedingly
complex and require extensive analysis and revisions to a
project's scope. The Commission estimates that it would likely
require significant additional staff resources in order to
comply with the accelerated timelines. In addition, the
Commission meets at different locations in the coastal zone each
month, and acceleration of timelines will make it difficult to
agendize significant permit actions in places that are near the
proposed development site.
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