BILL NUMBER: AB 2713 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chiu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mullin)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Section 65850.8 to the Government Code, relating to
local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2713, as amended, Chiu. Land use: local ordinances: energy
systems.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, among other things,
requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a
general plan for the physical development of the county or city and
authorizes the adoption and administration of zoning laws,
ordinances, rules, and regulations by counties and cities.
Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county to
approve an application for the installation of electric vehicle
charging stations, as defined, through the issuance of specified
permits unless the city or county makes specified written findings.
Existing law provides that the implementation of consistent statewide
standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of
electric vehicle charging stations is a matter of statewide concern.
This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to
approve an application for the installation of advanced energy
storage, as defined, through the issuance of specified permits unless
the city or county makes specified written findings based upon
substantial evidence in the record that the proposed installation
would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or
safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or
avoid the specific, adverse impact. The bill would provide that the
implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve the
timely and cost-effective installation of advanced energy storage
systems is a matter of statewide concern.
This bill would require advanced energy storage system to meet
specified standards. The
This bill would, on or before January 31,
2018, September 30, 2017, for a city, county, or
city and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents, or
June 30, 2018, January 31, 2018, for a
city, county, or city and county with a population of less than
200,000 resident, require every the
city, county, or city and county to create an expedited and
streamlined permitting process for advanced energy storage
installations. The bill would require the city, county, or city and
county, in developing the ordinance, to refer to documented best
practices, and would require the ordinance to substantially comply
with the California Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook. The bill
would also require, in developing an expedited review and checklist,
the city, county, or city and county to develop a simplified standard
plan so that an engineering plan check is unnecessary for standard
advanced energy storage system configurations make all
documentation and forms associated with the permitting of advanced
energy storage, as defined, available on a publicly accessible
Internet Web site, as specified. The bill would require a city,
county, or city and county to allow for the electronic
submittal of a permit application and associated documentation, as
specified. The bill would prohibit the calculation of a fee
associated with the permitting or inspection of an advanced energy
storage installation from being calculated based on the value of the
installation or any other factor not directly associated with the
cost to issue the permit .
The bill would require the Governor's Office of Planning and
Research, on or before September 30, 2017, to create a California
Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook, as specified.
By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would
create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65850.8 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
65850.8. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all
both of the following:
(1) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to
achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of advanced energy
storage is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in Section 5
of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead a
matter of statewide concern.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not
adopt ordinances or impose permitting, plan review, or inspection
requirements that create unreasonable barriers to the installation of
advanced energy storage and not unreasonably restrict the ability of
homeowners and agricultural and business concerns to install
advanced energy storage.
(3)
(1) It is the policy of the state to promote and
encourage the installation of advanced energy storage and to limit
obstacles to its use in order to increase the reliability, safety,
and resilience of the state's electrical system.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply
not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative
intent to encourage the installation of advanced energy storage by
removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of, permitting and
inspection of those installations while ensuring they are installed
safely and reliably.
(5)
(2) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
applicable state agencies, including the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research, extend and expand the existing initiative
being conducted by the Public Utilities Commission to further note
best practices in the safe permitting of advanced energy storage.
That effort should ultimately produce an Advanced Energy Storage
Permitting Guidebook, taking advantage of the efforts and lessons
learned in creating the streamlined permitting processes and modeling
in part after the California Solar Permitting Guidebook.
(b) A city, county, or city and county shall administratively
approve an application to install advanced energy storage through the
issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit, as
applicable. Review of the application to install advanced energy
storage shall be limited to the building official's review of whether
it meets all health and safety requirements of local, state, and
federal law. The requirements of local law shall be limited to those
standards and regulations necessary to ensure that the advanced
energy storage system will not have a specific, adverse impact upon
the public health or safety. However, if the building official of the
city, county, or city and county makes a finding, based on
substantial evidence, that the advanced energy storage project or
selected technology could have a specific, adverse impact upon the
public health and safety, the city, county, or city and county may
require the applicant to apply for a use permit.
(c) A city, county, or city and county shall not deny an
application for a use permit to install advanced energy storage
unless it makes written findings based upon substantial evidence in
the record that the proposed installation would have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no
feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific,
adverse impact. The findings shall include the basis for the
rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the
adverse impact.
(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions
(b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the city,
county, or city and county.
(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install advanced
energy storage shall be designed to mitigate the specific, adverse
impact upon the public health and safety at the lowest cost possible.
(f) (1) Advanced energy storage system installations shall meet
applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed by
state and local permitting authorities.
(2) Advanced energy storage installations shall meet all
applicable safety and performance standards established by the
California Building Standards Code, the California Electrical Code,
and accredited testing laboratories, such as Underwriters
Laboratories, and, where applicable, regulations of the Public
Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.
(g) (1)
(b) On or before January 31, 2018,
September 30, 2017, every city, county, or city
and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents, and on or
before June 30, January 31, 2018, every
city, county, or city and county with a population of less than
200,000 residents, shall, in consultation with the local
fire department or district and the utility director, if the city,
county, or city and county operates a utility, adopt an ordinance,
consistent with the goals and intent of this section, that creates a
streamlined permitting and inspection process for advanced energy
storage installations. The ordinance shall substantially comply with
the California Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook created pursuant
to subdivision (k). In developing a streamlined permitting process,
the city, county, or city and county shall adopt a checklist of all
requirements with which advanced energy storage installations shall
comply to be eligible for expedited review. An application that
satisfies the information requirements in the checklist, as
determined by the city, county, or city and county, shall be deemed
complete. Upon confirmation by the city, county, or city and county
of the application and supporting documents being complete and
meeting the requirements of the checklist, and consistent with the
ordinance, a city, county, or city and county shall, consistent with
subdivision (b), approve the application and issue all required
permits or authorizations. Upon receipt of an incomplete application,
a city, county, or city and county shall issue a written correction
notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and any
additional information required to be eligible for expedited permit
issuance. An application submitted to a city, county, or city and
county that owns and operates an electric utility shall demonstrate
compliance with the utility's interconnection polices prior to
approval.
(2) In developing the ordinance, the city, county, or city and
county shall refer to documented best practices in California,
including relevant practices or procedures from its own expedited
permitting process for rooftop solar pursuant to Section 65850.5 and
for electric vehicle charging stations pursuant to Section 65850.7,
and applicable safety-related findings published or promoted by the
Public Utilities Commission.
(3) In developing the streamlined permitting review and checklist,
the city, county, or city and county shall develop a simplified
standard plan so that an engineering plan check is unnecessary for
standard system configurations, known as an "over-the-counter review."
If the expedited review process requires an engineering plan check,
this check shall be completed no later than five business days after
the application is deemed complete.
(4) The checklist
and required permitting documentation shall be published
shall make all documentation and forms associated with the
permitting of advanced energy storage available on a publicly
accessible Internet Web site, if the city, county, or city and county
has an Internet Web site, and the site. The
city, county, or city and county shall allow for electronic
submittal submission of a permit
application and associated documentation, and shall authorize the
electronic signature on all forms, applications, and other
documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. If
a city, county, or city and county determines that it is unable to
authorize the acceptance of an electronic signature on all forms,
applications, and other documents in lieu of a wet signature by an
applicant, the city, county, or city and county shall state, in the
ordinance required under this subdivision, the reasons for its
inability to accept electronic signatures and acceptance of an
electronic signature shall not be required.
(h) A city, county, or city and county shall not condition
approval for any advanced energy storage installation permit on the
approval of the installation by an association, as that term is
defined in Section 4080 of the Civil Code.
(i) A city, county, or city and county shall calculate the
reasonable cost of executing the process as specified in this
section. The details and results of this calculation shall be
reported to the Energy Commission upon implementation of the
expedited process and the fee charged to each application will be
reported to the Energy Commission on an annual basis.
(j)
(c) Any fee charged for the permitting or inspection of
an advanced energy storage installation shall not be calculated
based on the value of the installation or any other factor not
directly associated with the cost to issue the permit.
(k)
(d) On or before September 30, 2017, the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research shall, in consultation with local
building officials, the State Fire Marshall, the storage industry,
the Public Utilities Commission, and other stakeholders, and through
review of any existing streamlined permitting practices used by
cities, counties, or city and counties, create a California Energy
Storage Permitting Guidebook modeled substantially on the California
Solar Permitting Guidebook.
(l)
(e) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
specific, adverse impact" includes, but is not limited to, any
cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city,
county, or city and county on another similarly situated application
in a prior successful application for a permit.
(2)
(1) "Advanced energy storage" means an energy storage
system, as defined in Section 2835 of the Public Utilities Code, as
well as an energy storage system that is designed to provide backup
energy services in the event of a grid outage, that is limited to
either of the following:
(A) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing packages.
(B) Customer sited installations.
(3)
(2) "Customer sited" means the system is interconnected
to the electrical grid through an existing retail customer
interconnection.
(4)
(3) "Electronic submittal" means the utilization of one
or more of the following:
(A) Email.
(B) The Internet.
(C) Facsimile.
(5) "Specific, adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable,
direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and
written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as
they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.