BILL NUMBER: AB 1129 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 18, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 7, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Arambula
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to add Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 50845) to Part
2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1129, as amended, Arambula. San Joaquin Valley Regional
Affordable Housing Trust.
The Planning and Zoning-law Zoning Law
requires each city, county, or city and county to prepare and
adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains mandatory
elements, including a housing element. The housing element is
prepared for the purposes of, among other things ,
fostering cooperation among local governments in order to address
regional housing needs.
This bill would establish the San Joaquin Valley Regional
Affordable Housing Trust as a voluntary organization for the purposes
of fostering the regional collaboration of San Joaquin Valley
cities, counties, developers, financial institutions, and
community-based organizations to meet affordable housing needs in the
region.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The cumulative population of the San Joaquin Valley, including
the Counties of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno,
Kings, Tulare, and Kern, currently totals 3.3 million people, which
is doubled every 30 years, and which is expected to grow to 5 million
people by the year 2025. This growth places extreme pressure on the
region and its communities to provide increased levels of housing for
the shelter of residents and workers.
(b) The median household income of the valley is twelve thousand
dollars ($12,000) below the statewide median. Six of the eight
counties in the valley rank among the 13 lowest wage rate areas in
the state. Fifty percent of valley residents cannot afford a
median-priced two bedroom rental apartment, and rental rates have
recently increased by 24 percent. The population density of the
valley, which is 5.5 persons per acre, is significantly lower than
the statewide average.
(c) The relatively large size of the valley region, and vast
expanses of undeveloped agricultural land that spatially separate one
valley community from another, have resulted in planning decisions
to accommodate growth on a community-by-community basis.
(d) Changing social and economic circumstances spurred by changes
in mobility, labor costs, land and housing prices, and environmental
factors in the valley region, coupled with new housing bond money
made available under the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act
of 2006, and the formation of the California Partnership for the San
Joaquin Valley, has have created a
unique opportunity to establish a San Joaquin Valley Regional
Affordable Housing Trust Fund to assist valley communities in the
provision of affordable housing for residents and workers. The trust
fund can provide the valley region with the ways and means to
cooperatively meet the housing goals set forth in community general
plans throughout the valley and described in the San Joaquin Valley
Regional Blueprints.
(e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to establish the
San Joaquin Valley Regional Affordable Housing Trust to assist
communities in securing and distributing affordable housing
development funding.
SEC. 2. Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 50845) is added to
Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 13.5. SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY REGIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING
TRUST
50845. (a) The San Joaquin Valley Regional Affordable Housing
Trust is hereby established for the following purposes:
(1) Receiving and administering federal, state, local, and private
financial resources made available to the trust for the development
of affordable housing projects in communities that are members of the
trust.
(2) Fostering the regional collaboration of cities, counties,
developers, and financial and community-based organizations in its
geographical area to meet affordable housing needs, as set forth in
the general plans of the members, and consistent with San Joaquin
Valley Regional Blueprints.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the "trust" is the San
Joaquin Valley Regional Affordable Housing Trust established under
subdivision (a).
50845.2. The trust shall do all of the following:
(a) Establish a governing board, which may include, but is not
limited to, one member from each participating council of governments
in the San Joaquin Valley, three representatives from the California
Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, one representative from an
affordable housing advocate organization from the San Joaquin Valley,
one representative from a nonprofit affordable housing developer in
the San Joaquin Valley, and one housing industry representative from
the San Joaquin Valley. Membership in the trust is voluntary.
(b) Develop a regionwide strategy for selecting and funding
affordable housing projects that is consistent with and helps
implement the goals and vision of the San Joaquin Valley Regional
Blueprints.
(c) Apply for federal grants and state loans and grants, and
solicit and receive contributions from trust members and private
organizations, including, but not limited to, other trusts,
foundations, and financial institutions that are dedicated to funding
the operation of the trust and funding affordable housing grants and
loans made by the trust to affordable housing projects in the
region.
(d) Create one or more revolving loan accounts for funding
affordable housing projects located in the jurisdictions of trust
members.
(e) Make loans to nonprofit housing corporations, and other public
and private entities proposing to build affordable housing projects
in the region served by the trust. Loan funds shall be disbursed only
after the governing body of the jurisdiction within which the
project will be built has certified that the project is consistent
with the housing element of the community's general plan and the
applicable San Joaquin Valley Regional Blueprint. Certification shall
also include assurances that each project will have obtained all
environmental clearances approvals and
development permits, and that there is a local public
financial commitment to the project.
(f) Develop criteria for selecting projects for funding. Criteria
shall address the following issues:
(1) Housing Increased housing
densities.
(2) Mixed income development.
(3) Infill development.
(4) Fair share allocation.
(5) Transit-oriented development.
(6) Proximity to centers of employment.
(g) Establish requirements for local financial project commitments
or matching contributions by local jurisdictions and other project
sponsors.
(h) Establish loan repayment terms.
(i) Develop benchmarks and performance standards to monitor the
progress of each project for which the trust provides funding. The
standards and benchmarks shall be developed in consideration of
benchmarks and standards that are used by other affordable housing
funding entities.
(j) Provide technical assistance to members on affordable housing
projects.
(k) Assist in assembling partnerships for affordable housing
demonstration projects of larger, master planned, mixed-use elements,
with high-density design.
(l) Prepare reports and supporting documentation that may be
required as a condition of receiving federal and state funding.
(m) Develop and implement a regional education campaign that
promotes the benefits of higher density, mixed use, public
transit-oriented communities that are responsive to local and state
environmental policies.
(n) Make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for
regulatory reform that can eliminate obstacles to providing
affordable housing.
(o) Commencing on January 1, 2011, make a biennial report to the
Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing and the Director of
Housing and Community Development on its activities during the
preceding two fiscal years, and the impacts those activities have had
in providing affordable housing in the region, in fostering a
regional approach to meeting affordable housing needs, and in
implementing the housing goals of the San Joaquin Valley Regional
Blueprints.
50845.4. The governing board shall adopt a set of bylaws that
shall address, but are not limited to, all of the following issues:
(a) Organizational structure of the trust.
(b) The dues structure.
(c) The voting structure.
(d) Member contribution requirements.
(e) Annual election of officers.
(f) A mission statement that sets forth a purpose to foster the
regional collaboration of San Joaquin Valley cities, counties,
developers, financial institutions, and community-based organizations
to meet affordable housing needs in the region.
50845.6. The trust may use funds that it receives, other than
federal and state housing grants, to pay for its operations.
50845.6. Administrative costs shall not exceed five percent of
trust assets.
50845.8. The trust shall utilize the staff services of member
jurisdictions to carry out its functions to the maximum feasible
extent. However, the trust may hire staff and consultants for
specialized purposes, such as conducting studies and grant writing.
50846. The governing board may form advisory committees, as
deemed necessary.
50846.2. The governing board shall be the approving authority for
grant applications submitted for approval by the trust, and shall
set the terms for receiving grants and loans made to the trust. The
board shall also approve the conditions under which the trust may
make loans to affordable housing project applicants.