BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2348|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2348
Author: Mullin (D)
Amended: 6/24/04 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/21/04
AYES: Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Ackerman, Alarcon, Cedillo,
Dunn, Florez, Torlakson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/12/04
AYES: Alpert, Battin, Aanestad, Ashburn, Bowen, Burton,
Escutia, Johnson, Karnette, Machado, Murray, Poochigian,
Speier
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/24/04 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Housing element: regional housing need
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes numerous changes to the
provisions of housing element law pertaining to land
inventory, adequate sites, and permitted use, based on the
work of the Housing Element Work Group.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
I. Housing element law . The Planning and Zoning Law
CONTINUED
AB 2348
Page
2
requires cities and counties to prepare and adopt a
general plan to guide the future growth of a community.
Every general plan must contain seven elements: land
use, circulation, housing, conservation, open-space,
noise, and safety. A housing element must 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.
In order to identify adequate sites to meet its housing
needs, a community must conduct an inventory of land
that allows for new residential development or refill
development at higher densities. To the extent that the
inventory does not demonstrate enough capacity to meet
the community's fair share of the regional housing need
(RHNA), the community must adopt a program to provide
appropriately zoned sites early enough in the planning
period to allow for development of the sites.
Frequently, this program requires a commitment to rezone
specific sites for higher-density residential
development by a specific date. Any sites that must be
rezoned to meet the RHNA must permit development by
right, which is defined as not requiring a conditional
use permit.
Under current law, a community may substitute up to 25
percent of its RHNA requirement with an express
commitment in the housing element that affordable low
and very-low income housing units will be provided
through the substantial rehabilitation of units at
imminent risk of loss to the housing stock, through the
purchase of affordability covenants that constitute a
net increase in affordable housing, and through the
preservation of at-risk affordable housing developments.
With respect to counting substantially rehabilitated
units, the units must previously have been vacant or
subject to being vacant for at least 120 days due to the
existence of extensive code violations.
II. Anti-NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) law . Before proceeding
with the construction or rehabilitation of a housing
project, a developer must submit development plans to
AB 2348
Page
3
the city or county for approval. Under state law, a
city or county must make one of the following findings
before denying an affordable housing project:
A. The city or county has adopted a housing element
in substantial compliance with the law, and the
project is not needed to meet the jurisdiction's
share of regional housing needs for lower-income
households.
B. The project would have an adverse impact to the
public health or safety and there is no way to
mitigate or avoid adverse impacts.
C. The denial is required to comply with state or
federal law.
D. Approval of the project would increase the
concentration of lower-income households in a
neighborhood that already has a disproportionately
high number of lower-income households, and there is
no feasible method of approving the development at a
different site.
E. The project is located on agricultural or resource
preservation land or land that does not have adequate
water or waste water facilities.
F. The jurisdiction has adopted a housing element,
and the project is inconsistent with the general plan
and the zoning ordinance.
III. Density bonus law . Existing law also requires a city
or county to grant a density bonus and at least one
other specified incentive, or other housing incentives
of equivalent value, to a developer who agrees to
construct an affordable housing development of five or
more units unless the local government makes a finding
that the bonus and incentives are not needed to achieve
affordability. The density bonus must be at least 25
percent over the existing maximum density for the site.
The incentives the local government may offer include:
A. A reduction in site development standards.
AB 2348
Page
4
B. A modification of zoning code requirements
(including a reduction in setbacks, square footage
requirements, or parking spaces, or architectural
design requirements that exceed the minimum building
standards).
C. Approval of mixed use zoning in conjunction with
the housing project if commercial, office,
industrial, or other land uses will reduce the cost
of the housing development, and if such
nonresidential uses are compatible with the project.
D. Other regulatory incentives or concessions
proposed by the developer or the city or county that
result in identifiable cost reductions.
This bill makes a number of changes to laws pertaining to
the planning and development of affordable housing,
including housing element law, the anti-NIMBY statute, and
density bonus law. Specifically, the bill:
I. Housing Element Adequate Site Requirement
A. Requires the land inventory to include (1) a
listing of properties by parcel number, (2) the size,
general plan designation and zoning of each property,
(3) for redevelopment sites, a description of
existing uses for the properties and an explanation
of the methodology for determining additional
development capacity, (4) a general description of
infrastructure supply and environmental constraints
in the community, (5) a map showing location of the
sites, and (6) an analysis of the number of units
that can be accommodated on the sites, based on the
zoning as adjusted to accommodate required
development standards.
B. Establishes "rule of thumb" guidelines for
determining the densities that will accommodate lower
income housing. These guidelines vary in accordance
with a community's classification as a metropolitan,
suburban, or nonmetropolitan.
AB 2348
Page
5
C. Clarifies that the housing element program must
commit to rezone sites to make up any difference
between the RHNA and sites identified in the
inventory.
D. Redefines "use by right," which is required for
all sites to be rezoned for lower income housing
under the housing element program, to mean that the
use shall not require a conditional use permit or
other local government review or approval which
constitutes a project for purposes of the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The use may be
subject to design review which shall not constitute a
project for purposes of CEQA. Sites subject to the
by right requirement shall meet minimum density
standards, and only half may allow non-residential
uses.
II. Counting Rehabilitated and Acquisition Units towards the
RHNA
A. With respect to counting rehabilitated units
towards meeting a community's RHNA obligation,
removes the requirement that the units be vacant or
subject to being vacated prior to rehabilitation and
allows the community to provide required relocation
benefits outside of the Relocation Assistance Law if
the benefits equal at least four months rent and
moving expenses and comparable replacement housing.
B. With respect to counting units newly made
affordable with affordability covenants towards its
RHNA obligation, allows units in developments of four
or more units, as opposed to 16 or more, to qualify,
repeals the requirement that the acquisition price be
less than 120 percent of the median housing price for
the community, and increase the term of the required
affordability covenants from 30 to 55 years.
III. Anti-NIMBY Law
A. Provides that zoning inconsistency cannot be used
to deny or condition a development if the reason for
the inconsistency is the jurisdiction's failure to
AB 2348
Page
6
conform the zoning and land use designation to the
housing element.
B. Removes overconcentration as a reason for
developments to be denied or conditioned.
C. Provides that a local government may apply
objective, quantifiable, written, development
standards so long as they accommodate development at
the allowed densities and are consistent with meeting
the jurisdiction's housing need.
IV. Density Bonus Law
A. At the request of the applicant, limits parking
requirements for density bonus developments to a
specified number of spaces per unit and allows the
spaces to be provided through tandem or uncovered
parking.
B. Allows a developer to seek further parking
reductions as one of the incentives or concessions
required under density bonus law.
V. Double-jointing . This bill is double-jointed to AB 2158
(Lowenthal).
Comments
Purpose of the bill . Developers of affordable housing
often cite the lack of adequately zoned sites and the
uncertainty of the land use entitlement process as two of
the major barriers to the development of new housing.
While housing element law requires communities to identify
adequate sites to accommodate their fair share of the
regional housing needs, the information in the element
often is too general to identify specific sites and fails
to account for serious constraints to development such as
lack of infrastructure capacity and existing uses of the
sites. Moreover, when developments are proposed for
specific sites, unrealistic development standards, such as
excessive parking requirements, and community opposition
can often derail the project. This bill is intended to
facilitate the development of affordable housing by making
AB 2348
Page
7
planning more meaningful, limiting excessive parking
requirements for density bonus developments, and
strengthening protections against arbitrary project
denials.
A collaborative process . This bill and AB 2158 (Lowenthal)
were developed as a consensus package by the Housing
Element Working Group that was convened over the last year
by the State Department of Housing and Community
Development. These bills are contingent upon each other
for passage.
Related Legislation
AB 2158 (Lowenthal) significantly revises the regional
housing needs assessment process under housing element law.
AB 2702 (Steinberg), among other things, amends the
definition of "by right" development required for sites to
be rezoned under the housing element program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Fund
Reimbursable mandate unknown
General
HCD additional workload Minor and absorbable, if
any
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/04)
Housing California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh,
Calderon, Campbell, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu,
Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz,
Dutra, Dutton, Dymally, Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia,
AB 2348
Page
8
Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley
Horton, Houston, Jackson, Keene, Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa,
La Suer, Laird, Leno, Leslie, Levine, Lieber, Liu,
Longville, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Matthews, Maze,
McCarthy, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nakano,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Pacheco, Parra, Pavley, Plescia,
Reyes, Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Runner, Salinas,
Samuelian, Simitian, Spitzer, Steinberg, Strickland,
Vargas, Wesson, Wiggins, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maddox, Nation
NC:mel 8/17/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****