BILL NUMBER: AB 29 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 5, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hancock
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Ruskin )
DECEMBER 4, 2006
An act to add Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 66150) to
Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 29, as amended, Hancock. Infill development: incentive grants.
Existing law, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of
2006, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of
$2,850,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law.
Proceeds from the sale of these bonds are required to be used to
finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay related to
infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill
development, and housing-related parks.
This bill would require certain of those funds, upon
appropriation, to be made available to the Department of Housing and
Community Development for the purposes of making infrastructure
grants for construction or acquisition of capital assets, as defined,
to qualifying cities, counties, and cities and counties. The bill
would require a project to meet certain, listed criteria in order to
be eligible for grant funding.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and hereby declares all of the
following:
(a) California's population increased 42 percent between 1980 and
2000, from 24 million residents to 34 million. By 2025, the state's
population is expected to increase by another 44 percent to 49
million people.
(b) Five California urban areas rank in the top 15 most congested
in the nation. Those urban areas are Los Angeles, San
Francisco-Oakland, San Diego, San Bernardino-Riverside, and
Sacramento. The San Jose and Oxnard-Ventura areas are in the top 30.
(c) California's cities and urban neighborhoods encompass nearly
500,000 potential infill parcels comprising 220,000 acres of land. If
the amount of infill development could be doubled, roughly 100,000
acres of undeveloped land could potentially be saved over the next 25
years.
(d) Given current constraints, and understanding that not all of
the identified infill sites would be developed with housing,
California's infill housing potential is estimated in the range of 1
million to 1.5 million additional units.
(e) If every potential infill parcel in California were to be
developed to its fullest potential with housing, the state's infill
inventory could theoretically accommodate between 2 million and 4
million additional housing units.
(f) Between 1980 and 2000, vehicle miles of travel on California's
roads increased 97 percent--from 156 billion miles to 307 billion
miles per year.
(g) In 1960, there were 9 million registered vehicles in the
state. In 2005, there are over 30 million vehicles registered in the
state.
(h) Vehicle miles of travel are projected to increase another 63
percent by the year 2025.
(i) At present, approximately 8 percent of the 100 million acres
in California (8 million acres) are devoted to crops. Each year about
122,000 of these 8 million acres (approximately 1.5 percent) are
lost from production when swallowed by urban and industrial spread.
(j) As the population grows, more and more people need a place to
live and work, placing increasing demands on limited land areas. In
general, each person added to the population requires approximately
one acre of land for urbanization and highways.
(k) When the California population doubles to 64 million, as
projected for 2035, approximately 32 million of California's 100
million acres will need to be used for the housing, employment, and
transportation needs of those 32 million additional people.
SEC. 2. Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 66150) is added to
Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER 11. INFILL DEVELOPMENT
REGIONAL PLANNING, HOUSING, AND INFILL INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM
66150. (a) For the purposes of this chapter the following terms
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Housing and Community
Development.
(2) "Infill development" means residential or mixed commercial and
residential development on an infill site, as defined under Section
21061.3 of the Public Resources Code, or in an area of an
incorporated city that is predominately developed with qualified
urban uses and has been designated for infill development in a
regional growth plan.
(3) "Regional growth plan" is a plan that meets the definition
established under Section 65060.7.
(b) Funds deposited in the Regional Planning, Housing, and Infill
Incentive Account under subdivision (b) of Section 53545 of the
Health and Safety Code, upon appropriation, shall be made available
to the department for the purposes of making infrastructure grants
for construction or acquisition of capital assets, as defined in
Section 16727, to qualifying cities, counties, and cities and
counties. In order to be eligible for funding under this chapter, a
project shall conform to all of the following:
(1) Be consistent with the adopted general plan of the applicant
city, county, or city and county. The adopted general plan shall
include an adopted housing element that the department has found,
pursuant to Section 65585, to be in substantial compliance with the
requirements of Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of
Chapter 3.
(2) Be included in, and be consistent with, the zoning or specific
plan and any of the following additional plans applicable to the
subject area or site:
(A) A project area redevelopment plan.
(B) A regional blueprint plan.
(C) A capital improvement plan.
(D) A regional transportation plan or a transportation corridor
plan.
(3) For any plan identified in paragraph (1) or (2) that is
subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), the
notice of determination pursuant to that act shall have been
completed, and the statutory period for challenges shall have
expired. Both the infrastructure project for which funding is applied
for, and the housing project to be facilitated, shall be identified
with sufficient specificity to be considered to have complied with
the California Environmental Quality Act.
(4) Be an integral part of infrastructure needs that are required
to allow an infill housing project to proceed to completion in a
timely manner, including, but not limited to, brownfield cleanup.
(c) For the purposes of this program, a qualifying infill project
shall be located within one-half mile of a mass transit system. For
the purposes of this subdivision, "mass transit system" includes, but
is not limited to, light rail, fixed rail, trolley car, ferry, and
major bus hub.
(d) In its review and rating of applications for funding under
this chapter, the department shall consider factors that include, but
are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of housing units to be created.
(2) The depth and duration of the affordability of the housing.
(3) The creation of housing in job-rich areas.
(4) The proximity of housing to access to parks, social services,
and other amenities.
(5) The local jurisdiction's share of historical housing
production within the region.
(6) The local jurisdiction's share of production of affordable
housing.
(7) Whether the local jurisdiction has an inclusionary housing
ordinance.
(e) To the extent feasible, the project selection process shall
ensure a reasonable geographic distribution of funds.
(f) Funds awarded pursuant to this chapter shall supplement, but
shall not supplant, other available funding.
(1) If the housing identified in the grant application is not
produced within five years after the date of completion of the
infrastructure project funded under this chapter, all funds allocated
under the grant shall be reimbursed by the applicant to the Regional
Planning, Housing, and Infill Incentive Account.
(2) The department may grant one five-year extension to the
deadline imposed under paragraph (1) if it determines that the
inability to complete the required housing was related to
unanticipated market forces beyond the control of the applicant.
(g) (1) For each year that funds are available, the department
shall issue a Notice of Funding Availability to cover building
permits issued during a 12-month time period. The department shall
accept applications at the close of the 12-month period. Grant
amounts shall be determined as a per-bedroom incentive for each unit.
For the purposes of this section single-room occupancies and studio
apartments shall be considered as one-bedroom units. The grant shall
be allocated according to the following formula:
(A) For market rate units, two thousand dollars ($2,000) per
bedroom.
(B) For moderate-income units, four thousand dollars ($4,000) per
bedroom.
(C) For low-income units, seven thousand five hundred dollars
($7,500) per bedroom.
(D) For very low income units, ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per
bedroom.
(2) If the eligibility for funds exceeds the amount of funding
available for this program, the department shall reduce all grants
proportionally.
(h) Grant funds may be used for any capital outlay purpose
consistent with this chapter and subdivision (b) of Section 53545 of
the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, any of the
following purposes:
(1) Creation, development and rehabilitation of urban parks,
bicycle paths, river parkways , trails, access ways that connect
neighborhoods with open-space areas , and other public
recreational facilities.
(2) Urban greening projects, including, but not limited to, tree
planting, community landscaping, public gardening, and other
improvements to enhance the enjoyment and livability of urban
neighborhoods.
(3) Water, sewer transferring public, utilities to
underground , or other public utility infrastructure costs
associated with infill development , including, but not limited
to, the costs of transferring public utilities underground .
(4) Street, road, or other transportation improvements, including,
but not limited to, transit improvements, bikeways, trolleys, and
pedestrian facilities.
(5) Expansion of recreational opportunities in high density
housing areas through acquisition and enhancement of park land.
(6) Creation of safe routes to schools for children.
(i) Allocation of grants shall be consistent with regional plans
for growth and shall do all of the following:
(1) Promote infill development and equity by rehabilitating,
maintaining, and improving existing infrastructure that supports
infill development and appropriate reuse and redevelopment of
previously developed, underutilized land that is presently served by
transit, street, water, sewer, and other essential services,
particularly in underserved areas, and by preserving cultural and
historic resources.
(2) Encourage efficient development patterns by ensuring that any
infrastructure associated with development that is not infill
supports new development that uses land efficiently, is built
adjacent to existing developed areas, is in an area appropriately
planned for growth, is served by adequate transportation and other
essential utilities and services, and minimizes ongoing costs to
taxpayers.