BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1000 (Leyva) - Land use: general plans: environmental
justice
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|Version: April 12, 2016 |Policy Vote: GOV. & F. 5 - 1, |
| | E.Q. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 9, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1000 would require cities and counties to adopt a
new mandatory environmental justice element of the general plan
upon the adoption or next revision of the housing element that
occurs on or after January 1, 2018.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time costs of up to $60,000 to the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research (OPR) to produce written guidance
related to the mandatory environmental justice element to
supplement the adopted General Plan Guidelines. (General Fund)
Unknown, significant local costs to develop and adopt a new
environmental justice general plan element and revise other
elements to ensure consistency. These local costs are not
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state-reimbursable. (see staff comments)
Background: Existing law requires cities and counties to adopt a general
plan with seven mandatory elements: land use, circulation,
housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety. Although
state law specifies the minimum requirements of a plan, local
officials may adopt optional elements that address additional
topics based on regional necessity. Once adopted, those
optional elements have the same legal force as the mandatory
elements. The general plan must be "internally consistent,"
which means the various elements cannot have conflicting
information or assumptions. With the exception of the housing
element, which must be updated every five to eight years, cities
and counties are not required to regularly update the general
plan.
Existing law requires OPR to periodically revise guidelines for
the preparation and content of local general plans. AB 1553
(Keeley), Chap. 762/2001, specifically required OPR to adopt
recommendations in its guidelines by 2003 that local governments
can use to address environmental justice issues in their general
plans. OPR is currently in the final stages of the first
comprehensive update to the General Plan Guidelines since 2003.
The proposed guidelines include stand-alone chapters on
environmental justice and community engagement, and also include
provisions providing guidance on social equity.
According to OPR's most recent Annual Planning Survey from 2014,
101 cities and counties reported that their general plans
provide consideration for equity issues, and two cities have
adopted optional general plan elements specifically addressing
environmental justice.
Proposed Law:
SB 1000 would require cities and counties to adopt or review
an environmental justice element upon the adoption or next
revision of the housing element that occurs on or after January
1, 2018. The environmental justice element must identify:
Disadvantaged communities within the planning area,
including both those communities identified by the
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California Environmental Protection Agency (CALEPA) for the
purpose of allocating cap-and-trade funding and communities
with median household incomes below 80 percent of the
statewide median.
Objectives and policies to reduce the health risks in
disadvantaged communities through means that include
reducing pollution exposure, improving air quality, and
promoting public amenities, food access, healthier homes,
and physical activity, as defined.
Objectives and policies to promote civil engagement in
the public decision-making process.
SB 1000 specifies that "public amenities" include public
facilities, adequate public services, and infrastructure, as
specified.
Staff
Comments: This bill requires local governments to develop and
adopt a new mandatory environmental justice element upon the
next housing element revision that occurs after 2017, but also
indirectly requires a broader general plan update to ensure
there is internal consistency between the new element and other
parts of the general plan. These updates and changes could also
trigger further analysis of the planning impacts pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As such, SB 1000
will impose significant costs on cities and counties. Staff
notes that existing law prevents local governments from
qualifying for reimbursement from the state for any costs
incurred to meet the requirements of the bill because of the
local authority to charge planning and development fees. Even
though local agencies have the authority to set these fees at a
level sufficient to cover their local planning costs, it may not
be feasible to adjust any appropriate fees to recover costs that
are directly attributable to this bill.
Since OPR is expected to release a comprehensive update to its
General Plan Guidelines this year, SB 1000 is likely to require
OPR to provide supplemental guidance to local agencies to
account for new environmental justice mandatory planning
requirements. OPR would incur costs of up to $60,000 to develop
and publish a supplement to its General Plan Guidelines.
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