BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2348
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2348 (Mullin)
As Amended August 23, 2004
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 24, 2004) |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2004) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : 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 (HEWG).
The Senate amendments :
1)Specify that "use by right," as defined, does not exempt any
subdivision of the relevant sites from local ordinances
implementing the Subdivision Map Act.
2)Delete a provision making requirements for identifying sites
for farmworker housing applicable commencing with the next
revision of housing elements after the enactment of the bill.
3)Provide that the provisions of this bill shall only become
operative if AB 2158 (Lowenthal), pending in the Senate, is
also enacted and becomes operative on or before January 1,
2005.
4)Make other minor technical and clarifying changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Revised the criteria for the inventory of sites that can be
developed for housing within the planning period of the
general plan to accommodate that portion of a city's or
county's share of the regional housing need for all income
levels, as specified, and expands the relocation assistance
available to persons displaced by sites identified for
substantial rehabilitation.
2)Required the Department of Housing and Community Development
AB 2348
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(HCD) to evaluate a proposed or adopted housing element for
substantial compliance with governing state law.
3)Revised the requirements that may be imposed on a development
project that contributes to meeting the regional housing need.
4)Allowed a city, county, or city and county to reduce its share
of the regional housing needs by 15% for each income group
under prescribed conditions.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations'
Committee analysis, there are:
1)Unknown state-reimbursable mandated costs, probably in excess
of $150,000 annually, for expanded relocation assistance
requirements on local governments.
2)Minor, absorbable workload costs to HCD.
COMMENTS : Housing element law requires local government to plan
to appropriately zone sites to accommodate their share of the
regional housing need. Current law requires housing elements to
include a land inventory identifying sites suitable for
residential development compared with the local government's
zoned residential development capacity with its share of the
regional housing need by income level. This bill reflects
HEWG's recommended changes to the land inventory and adequate
sites requirement to provide greater certainty in the
development process and provide local governments with greater
clarity and certainty about the statutory requirements. This
bill will also increase the usefulness and value of the housing
element as a tool to facilitate the residential development
process. According to HEWG, this bill will improve
effectiveness of housing element as a tool to:
1)Facilitate housing development.
2)Provide clarity and transparency to current requirements.
3)Promote efficient use of land resources and provide local
government with certainty regarding state review of land
inventory of housing element.
4)Provide clarity about the relationship between the land
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inventory and adequate sites program.
5)Increase the effectiveness of provision in current law that
allows local governments to get "credit" for rehabilitation
when identifying adequate sites.
6)Strengthen existing requirements that local government make
sites available "by-right"
if their land inventory does not identify existing sites
commensurate with the regional housing need.
The concept of "permitted use" or "use by right" is an important
means to greater certainty in the development application
process. However, greater clarity is needed to ensure effective
implementation. This bill changes Housing Element Law to
establish minimum densities for multifamily development on the
identified sites and to strengthen the definition of "use by
right" applicable to such sites. Other areas of existing
planning and zoning law limit the ability of local jurisdictions
to disapprove, or burden with undue conditions, housing
development proposals. This bill repeals the ability of local
jurisdiction to reject a project on the grounds that the project
would cause a disproportionate concentration of lower-income
households, and states that no finding based on inconsistency
with planning or zoning requirements can be used to reject an
affordable project on a site identified for affordable
lower-income housing development in the local housing element.
Density Bonus Law requires that the developer of a residential
project, which meets specified affordability criteria, be
granted an increase equal to at least 25% over the existing
applicable density. In response to concerns that the imposition
of local parking requirements severely hampers the utilization
of the law, HEWG proposes the adoption of maximum parking
standards applicable to density bonus projects.
Analysis Prepared by : J. Stacey Sullivan / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958 FN: 0008720