Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2356

Introduced by Assembly Member Gomez

February 18, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 21159.26 of end delete begin insert add Section 21081.3 to end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2356, as amended, Gomez. California Environmental Quality Act: begin delete housing projects. end delete begin insert infill planning projects. end insert

Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect, unless the project is exempt from the act.

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The act prohibits a public agency, for a project that includes a housing development, from reducing the proposed number of housing units as a mitigation measure or project alternative for a particular significant effect on the environment if the public agency determines there is another feasible specific mitigation measure or project alternative that would provide a comparable level of mitigation.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

end delete begin insert

This bill would authorize the lead agency to determine whether an infill planning project, as defined, has a significant impact on the environment based on a comparison of the potential change in physical conditions resulting from the infill planning project with the change in physical conditions that would reasonably be expected at build-out under the general plan or zoning designation existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 21081.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 21081.3. end insert   

(a) For the purposes of this section, “infill planning
project” means any activity related to, or approval by a local
government of, amendments to the general plan or changes in zone
designation that meet all of the following criteria:

(1) The proposed amendments or changes collectively increase
planned or zoned housing capacity or jobs capacity within areas
already designated for residential or commercial use.

(2) The area of change proposed by the project occurs within
city limits and is substantially surrounded by urban uses.

(3) Approval of the project does not affect or otherwise modify
the preexisting thresholds for environmental review for subsequent
projects that are within the scope of the project.

(b) The lead agency, in determining whether the infill planning
project has a significant impact on the environment, may base that
determination on a comparison of the potential change in physical
conditions resulting from the infill planning project with the change
in physical conditions that would reasonably be expected at
build-out under the general plan or zoning designation existing
at the time of the lead agency’s determination.

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begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 21159.26 of the Public Resources Code
is amended to read:

21159.26.  

With respect to a project that includes a housing
development, a public agency shall not reduce the proposed number
of housing units as a mitigation measure or project alternative for
a particular significant effect on the environment if the public
agency determines that there is another feasible specific mitigation
measure or project alternative that would provide a comparable
level of mitigation. This section does not affect any other
requirement regarding the residential density of that project.

end delete