BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2208|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2208
Author: Santiago (D), et al.
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Local planning: housing element: inventory of land
for residential development
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill adds to the list of types of sites that a
local government can identify as suitable for residential
development in their housing element.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Requires cities and counties, under existing planning and
zoning law, to prepare and adopt a general plan, including a
housing element, to guide the future growth of a community.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and
analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a
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statement of goals, policies objectives, financial resources
and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and
development of housing.
2) Requires the housing element to identify adequate sites for
housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing,
mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate
provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic
segments of the community.
3) Requires a local government to inventory land suitable for
residential development to identify sites that can be
developed to meet the jurisdiction's regional housing needs
for all income levels. Provides that "land suitable for
residential development" includes all of the following:
a) Vacant sites zoned for residential use
b) Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow
residential development
c) Residentially zoned sites that are capable of being
developed at a higher density
d) Sites zoned for nonresidential use that can be
redeveloped for, and as necessary, rezoned for, residential
use
This bill:
1) Adds the following to the list of land suitable for
residential development:
a) Provides, for residentially zoned sites that are capable
of being developed at a higher density, that this includes
the airspace above sites (e.g., space above existing
buildings) owned or leased by a city, county or city and
county.
b) Provides, for non-residentially zoned sites that can be
redeveloped for residential use, that this includes the
airspace above sites (e.g., space above existing buildings)
owned or leased by a city, county, or city and county.
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2) States that the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) shall provide guidance to local agencies to
property survey, detail, and account for sites listed in the
housing element.
Comments
1)Purpose. According to the author, California's housing costs
have far outpaced those of other states in the last half
century. As of 2015, the typical California home costs
$440,000 - two-and-half times the national average, and the
average monthly rent in California is $1,240 - about 50%
higher than in other states. It is possible to offset the
effects of high land costs through more dense development. In
a sense, an area that acquires potential for air-rights
development increases the supply of buildable land. In
California's largest urban areas, and those where land costs
are the highest, it is particularly important that local
governments and developers both think outside the box on how
to use land and space more effectively. This bill takes an
important step in this direction by requiring that local
governments specifically consider non-traditional spaces in
their property surveys for housing. Specifically, this bill
requires local governments to include available air rights
when surveying property that may be applicable for use in
affordable housing as a part of their housing element.
2)Housing element background. Every local government is
required to prepare a housing element as part of its general
plan. The housing element process starts when HCD determines
the number of new housing units a region is projected to need
at all income levels (very low-, low-, moderate-, and
above-moderate income) over the course of the next housing
element planning period to accommodate population growth and
overcome existing deficiencies in the housing supply. This
number is known as the regional housing needs assessment
(RHNA). The council of government (COG) for the region, or
HCD for areas with no COG then assigns a share of the RHNA
number to every city and county in the region based on a
variety of factors.
In preparing its housing element, a city or county must show
how it plans to accommodate its share of the RHNA. The
housing element must include an inventory of sites already
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zoned for housing. If a community does not have enough sites
within its existing inventory of residentially zoned land to
accommodate its entire RHNA, then the community must adopt a
program to rezone land within the first three years of the
planning period.
Cities and counties are required to demonstrate that sites are
adequate to accommodate housing for each income group based on
the zoning after taking into consideration individual site
factors such as property size, existing uses, environmental
constraints, and economic constraints. With respect to the
zoning, density can be used as a proxy for affordability.
Jurisdictions may establish the adequacy of a site for very
low- or low-income housing by showing that it is zoned at the
"default" density (also referred to as the Mullin density).
These densities range from 10 to 30 units per acre, depending
on the type of jurisdiction. Jurisdictions may also include
sites zoned at lower densities by providing an analysis of how
the lower density can accommodate the need for affordable
housing.
3)Unintended consequences. This bill adds the airspace above
sites of publicly owned or leased buildings to the types of
sites that can be identified to accommodate a local
jurisdiction's share of the RHNA. An unintended consequence
of this bill is that local jurisdictions could count these
sites towards the RHNA, even if constructing residential
developments above existing buildings may not be feasible.
This would result in no additional housing being built on
those sites, to the detriment of identifying other feasible
sites where housing construction is feasible.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor and absorbable HCD costs to provide specified guidance.
(General Fund)
Unknown local costs by requiring cities and counties to
consider new types of sites that could be identified for
residential development. These costs are not
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state-reimbursable because local agencies have the authority
to levy fees and charges to offset costs associated with local
planning requirements.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
California Apartment Association
California Council for Affordable Housing
California Housing Consortium
City of Los Angeles
League of California Cities
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos,
Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Gordon
Prepared by:Alison Dinmore / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/15/16 20:10:16
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