BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2180
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2180 (Ting)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |67-0 |(May 27, 2016) |SENATE: |33-1 |(August 24, |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY: Expedites timelines for approval or disapproval by a
public agency for certain types of development projects.
The Senate amendments exempt the California Coastal Commission,
when acting as the responsible agency, from the accelerated
deadlines for certain residential and mixed use development
projects.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, 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.
COMMENTS:
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1)Bill Summary. This bill expedites, for a public agency, the
review process for certain development projects, pursuant to
the Permit Streamlining Act, specifically those development
projects that are either: a) residential units only; or, b)
mixed-use developments consisting of residential and
nonresidential uses in which the nonresidential uses are less
than 50% of the total square footage of the development and
are limited to neighborhood commercial uses and to the first
floor of buildings that are two or more stories.
This bill requires any public agency that is the lead agency
for a development project to approve or disapprove the project
within 120 days from the date of certification by the lead
agency of the environmental impact report (EIR), if an EIR is
prepared for that development project. The bill also requires
a public agency that is a responsible agency for a development
project that has been approved by the lead agency to approve
or disapprove the development project within whichever of the
following periods of time is longer:
a) Within 90 days from the date on which the lead agency
has approved the project; or,
b) Within 90 days of the date on which the completed
application for the development project has been received
and accepted as complete by that responsible agency.
This bill is sponsored by the California Apartment
Association.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "California is
in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis caused by a
severe lack of new housing construction, both market rate and
affordable. In its most recent report on housing, the
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) stressed that facilitating
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more private housing development was needed to make housing
more affordable for low-income Californians. Unfortunately,
the local and state approval processes for new housing
construction are frequently slow and cumbersome.
"AB 2180 seeks to expedite the housing construction permit
approval process by reducing the time for a lead agency to
approve a housing project from 180 to 120 days. The bill
still ensures that purely affordable housing projects continue
to get the same 90 day approval process. In addition, AB 2180
reduces the approval process for any other responsible public
agencies from 180 days to 90 days for all types of housing
developments. AB 2180 will ensure that badly needed housing
projects move through the building approval process faster.
It will not only reduce the amount of time, but will also
reduce costs and other delays that can be associated with a
lengthy approval process. AB 2180 is a modest, yet important
step towards addressing California's severe housing shortage."
3)Background. The Permit Streamlining Act applies to all public
agencies, including charter cities, and was adopted to ensure
that permit applicants for projects are not subjected to
protracted and unjustified governmental delays in the
processing of the applications for development projects. The
Legislature, in enacting the Permit Streamlining Act, declared
that "there is a statewide need to ensure clear understanding
of the specific requirements which must be met in connection
with the approval of development projects and to expedite
decisions on such projects."
Submittal of a project application is the first step in the
streamlined permitting process. Within 30 calendar days of
receiving an application, a city is required to respond to the
applicant in writing with the determination of whether the
application is complete and accepted for filing. If the
application is deemed complete, the city proceeds with the
evaluation of the project, but if the application is
incomplete, the city is required to indicate in detail the
deficiencies in the application.
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All deadlines under the Permit Streamlining Act begin from the
day the application is accepted as complete or deemed
complete. The completion date also starts the clock running
on processing the application. If a city is acting as the
lead agency for a project for which an EIR is prepared, then
the city must approve or disapprove the project within 180
days from the date of the EIR's certification. The Act
specifies other time lines for approval or disapproval by the
public agency, in coordination with specific California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) actions, like whether a
project is exempt from CEQA, the adoption of a negative
declaration, or the certification of an EIR. The Act also
contains timelines for approval of a development project for a
responsible agency, once the project has been approved by the
lead agency. "Development project" is defined as either a)
residential units only; or, b) mixed-use developments
consisting of residential and nonresidential uses in which the
nonresidential uses are less than 50% of the total square
footage of the development and are limited to neighborhood
commercial uses and to the first floor of buildings that are
two or more stories.
If approval or disapproval of a project does not occur within
these deadlines, the project shall be deemed approved provided
the prescribed public notice requirements have been met.
4)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that the bill will
ensure that badly needed housing projects move through the
building approval process faster, thus reducing costs and
other delays that can be associated with a lengthy approval
process.
5)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
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