BILL ANALYSIS
AB 842
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 842 (Jones)
As Amended August 18, 2008
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |47-28|(January 28, |SENATE: |22-14|(August 20, |
| | |2008) | | |2008) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD), when ranking applications for funding under
the Infill Incentive Grant (Infill) Program and the Transit
Oriented Development Implementation (TOD) Program, to award
preference or priority to projects located in areas where the
local or regional entity has adopted a general plan,
transportation plan, or regional blueprint that will reduce the
growth of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by at least 10%, and the
project is consistent with that planning document.
The Senate amendments :
1)Remove the requirement for the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) to update its guidelines for the preparation
of regional transportation plans (RTP) including a requirement
that each RTP provide for a 10% reduction in growth increment
of VMT.
2)Clarify that the 10% reduction is for growth increment in VMT,
rather than an absolute 10% reduction of VMT.
3)Require that HCD, when ranking applications, shall rely upon
the expertise of the Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
4)Add in double-jointing language to avoid chaptering-out
problems with AB 1366 (Portantino).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the $850 million Regional Planning, Housing, and
Infill Incentive Account and specifies that funds in the
account shall be made available, upon appropriation and
subject to any other conditions and criteria that the
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Legislature establishes in statute, for the following
purposes:
a) Infill incentive grants for capital outlay related to
infill housing development and other related infill
development, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
i) Park creation, development, or rehabilitation to
encourage infill development, with expenditures for this
purpose limited to no more than $200 million;
ii) Water, sewer, or other public infrastructure costs
associated with infill development;
iii) Transportation improvements related to infill
development projects; and,
iv) Traffic mitigation.
b) Brownfield cleanup that promotes infill housing
development and other related infill development consistent
with regional and local plans.
2)Establishes the Infill Program, to be administered by HCD, to
provide grants for capital improvement projects that are an
integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development
of, a qualifying infill project or a qualifying infill area.
3)Specifies that under the Infill Program, qualifying infill
projects or qualifying infill areas must, among other things,
include at least 15% affordable housing units; meet specified
minimum average residential densities; and, be located in an
area designated for mixed-use or residential developed under
an adopted general plan, project area redevelopment plan,
regional plan, or regional blueprint plan.
4)Requires HCD, in ranking grant applications under the Infill
Program, to base the rankings on the following priorities:
a) Project readiness;
b) The depth and duration of the affordability of the
housing;
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c) The extent to which the average residential densities
will exceed the specified minimum density standards;
d) The inclusion of, or proximity to, a transit station or
major transit stop;
e) The proximity of housing to parks, employment or retail
centers, schools, or social services; and,
f) Consistency with an adopted regional blueprint plan or
other adopted regional growth plan intended to foster
efficient land use.
5)Creates the $300 million TOD Account and specifies that funds
in the account shall be made available, upon appropriation,
for expenditure pursuant to the TOD Program.
6)Establishes the TOD Program under HCD to provide assistance to
cities, counties, cities and counties, transit agencies, and
developers in developing or facilitating the development of
higher density uses within close proximity to transit stations
that will increase public transit ridership.
7)Specifies that to the extent funds are available under the TOD
Program, HCD shall make grants to cities, counties, cities and
counties, or transit agencies for the provision of
infrastructure necessary for the development of higher density
uses within close proximity to a transit station, or to
facilitate connections between that development and the
station.
8)Specifies that to the extent funds are available under the TOD
Program, HCD shall make loans for the development and
construction of a housing development project within close
proximity to a transit station in which at least 15% of the
units will be affordable to lower-income households for at
least 55 years.
9)Requires HCD, in ranking applications for grants and loans
under the TOD Program, to consider the extent to which the
project or development will increase public transit ridership
and minimize automobile trips.
10)Requires HCD, in ranking applications for grants and loans
under the TOD Program, to grant bonus points to projects or
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developments that are in an area designated by the appropriate
council of governments for infill development as part of a
regional plan.
11)Authorizes CTC to prepare guidelines for the preparation of
RTPs.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required:
1)HCD, in ranking applications for capital improvement project
grants under the Infill Program, to give priority to:
a) Applications for projects that are located in a city,
county, or city and county that has adopted a general plan
that will reduce the amount of VMT by at least 10%, if the
project is consistent with the plan; and,
b) Applications for projects that are located in a region
covered by a council of governments that has adopted a
transportation plan, a regional transportation plan, a
regional blueprint, or similar document that will reduce
the amount of VMT by at least 10%, if the project is
consistent with the plan, blueprint, or similar document.
2)HCD, in ranking applications for grants under TOD Program, to
award a substantial preference to:
a) Applications for projects that are located in a city,
county, or city and county that has adopted a general plan
that will reduce the amount of VMT by at least 10%, if the
project is consistent with the plan; and,
b) Applications for projects that are located in a region
covered by a council of governments that has adopted a
transportation plan, a regional transportation plan, a
regional blueprint, or similar document that will reduce
the amount of VMT by at least 10%, if the project is
consistent with the plan, blueprint, or similar document.
3)CTC to update its guidelines for the preparation of RTPs to
include a requirement that each RTP provide for a 10%
reduction in the growth increment of VMT.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
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1)This bill would likely require a consulting contract to review
local entities' VMT modeling and recommend criteria for
inclusion in guidelines and regulations. HCD estimates that
initial costs to implement this bill would be $237,000 for
staff and consulting contracts. Ongoing costs to allow
additional time for application review and to confirm
credibility of VMT reduction claims would be $43,000.
2)This bill could result in a General Fund impact if HCD's
administrative costs exceed 5% as a result of the additional
costs associated with assessing VMT modeling, incorporating
criteria into the guidelines, and rating and ranking project
applications for these programs.
COMMENTS : In November 2006, California voters approved
Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund
Act, to provide $2.85 billion in bonds to support a variety of
housing and development programs. Included in the $2.85 billion
was $850 million for the Regional Planning, Housing, and Infill
Incentives Account to support infill development and brownfield
cleanup and $300 million for the TOD Account to support
higher-density development near transit stations. Existing law
establishes the Infill Program and the TOD Program, both
administered by HCD, to allocate funds from each account.
Both the Infill Program and the TOD Program already include
statutory requirements related to the ranking and prioritizing
of applications. For example, under the Infill Program, HCD
must prioritize projects based on factors such as residential
density, proximity to transit, and project readiness. Under the
TOD Program, HCD must give bonus points to projects that will
increase transit ridership and minimize automobile trips. Both
programs give priority to projects that are consistent with an
adopted regional blueprint plan.
This bill requires, in addition to the criteria established in
existing law, that HCD give priority to projects under the
Infill Program and the TOD Program that are located in a city or
a county that has a general plan that will reduce the growth
increment in VMT by at least 10% or in a region covered by a
council of governments that has a regional transportation plan
or regional blueprint plan that will reduce the growth increment
in VMT by at least 10%.
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When this bill passed the Assembly, it was unclear how HCD would
determine whether a particular local or regional plan is
reducing VMT by 10%. HCD's expertise is in housing, not
transportation modeling, so it could be difficult to make this
determination. To address this concern, amendments were taken
in the Senate to require HCD to rely upon the expertise of
Caltrans when ranking applications.
This bill is intended to help achieve the state's goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by promoting land use and
transportation planning that reduces VMT. The author asserts
that a reduction in VMT will have a strong positive impact on
air quality, will reduce traffic congestion and urban sprawl,
and will help the state develop energy independence.
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0007235