BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2685
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
David Chiu, Chair
AB 2685
(Lopez) - As Amended March 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Housing elements: adoption
SUMMARY: Requires a local planning agency to make a draft
housing element available to the public prior to the submission
to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the planning agency to make the draft housing element
available to the public at least 30 days prior to the
submission to HCD.
2)Requires the planning agency to provide public comments it has
received to the legislative body before the housing element is
adopted.
3)Makes other non-substantive technical changes.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires every city and county to prepare and adopt a general
plan containing seven mandatory elements, including a housing
element. (Government Code Sections 65300 and 65302)
2)Requires a jurisdiction's housing element to identify and
analyze existing and projected housing needs, identify
adequate sites with appropriate zoning to meet the housing
needs of all income segments of the community, and ensure that
regulatory systems provide opportunities for, and do not
unduly constrain, housing development. (Government Code
Section 65583)
3)Requires cities and counties located within the territory of a
metropolitan planning organization (MPO) to revise their
housing elements every eight years following the adoption of
every other regional transportation plan. Cities and counties
in rural non-MPO regions must revise their housing elements
every five years. (Government Code 65588)
4)Requires, prior to each housing element revision, that each
council of governments (COG), in conjunction with HCD, prepare
a regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) and allocate to
each jurisdiction in the region its fair share of the housing
need for all income categories. (Government Code 65584).
5)Requires the housing element to contain a program which sets
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forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each
with a timeline for implementation.
a. In order to make adequate provision for the housing
needs of all economic segments of the community, the
program must include a diligent effort by the local
government to achieve public participation of all
economic segments of the community in the development of
the housing element. (Government Code Section 65583)
6)Requires the jurisdiction to submit a draft housing element to
HCD at least 90 days prior to adopting the housing element, or
60 days prior amending the housing element. (Government Code
Section 65585)
7)Requires HCD to review the draft and report its written
findings to the local jurisdiction within 90 days of its
receipt of the draft in the case of an adoption or within 60
days of its receipt in the case of a draft amendment.
(Government Code Section 65585)
8)Requires HCD to consider written comments from any public
agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted
element or amendment under review. (Government Code Section
65585)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Every local government is required to prepare a housing element
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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 governments (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.
The housing element must show how the city or county plans to
accommodate its share of the RHNA. The housing element must
include an inventory of sites already 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.
During the development of the housing element, local governments
are required to make a "diligent" effort to achieve public
participation. Regarding public participation, HCD has
previously stated: "Most jurisdictions use a variety of
approaches such as workshops, surveys, and targeted outreach
with community representatives to garner public participation.
However, there are not consistent standards on what constitutes
"diligent" resulting in a variety of strategies and efforts that
may or may not achieve successful public participation. As a
result, housing elements may not accurately reflect the housing
needs of the community."
( http://www.hcd.ca.gov/housing-policy-development/docs/staffrepor
t-publicparticipation.pdf ).
Before a local government can adopt or amend its housing
element, it must submit a draft to HCD for review. This is
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another opportunity for public participation, as HCD must
consider any written comments it receives from a public agency,
group, or person during the review process. The findings of
HCD's review have to be considered by the local government prior
its adoption of the housing element or amendment to the housing
element.
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, "The community
feels very strongly about the need to be engaged in the public
participation process at every opportunity and would like more
opportunities to voice their
views/comments/suggestions/opposition. Advocates feel that when
they do make comments about housing issues, the City does not
fully take those comments into account. In the case of the
housing element update, it is too late to provide comment
because the City is taking a vote on the approved housing
elements and is not likely to want to amend the approved housing
element. This bill would codify that the community has one more
time to comment, that the City has to review public comment
before taking a vote to adopt the plan."
Staff comments : The bill does not address public access to the
draft element after it is submitted to HCD where it may be
further amended. The committee may wish to consider directing
HCD to provide public access to the draft following each
amendment, perhaps within an abbreviated timeframe.
Double referred : If AB 2685 passes this committee, the bill
will be referred to the Committee on Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 2685
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Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Ken Spence / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085,
Ken Spence / H. & C.D. / (961) 319-2085