BILL ANALYSIS
AB 494
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 494 (Caballero)
As Amended April 23, 2009
Majority vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 6-0 AGRICULTURE 5-1
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Knight, |Ayes:|Galgiani, Fuller, Ma, |
| |Arambula, Davis, | |Mendoza, Bonnie Lowenthal |
| |Krekorian, Skinner | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Tom Berryhill |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-3
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Davis, | | |
| |Krekorian, Hall, John A. | | |
| |Perez, Price, Skinner, | | |
| |Solorio, Audra | | |
| |Strickland, Torlakson | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, | | |
| |Miller | | |
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SUMMARY : Provides for conditions that a local government must
allow for the subdivision of land for the purpose of farmworker
housing. Specifically, this bill :
1)Amends the Williamson Act (Act) to allow a landowner, subject
to other conditions, to subdivide land that is currently
designated as an agricultural preserve if the parcel to be
sold or leased has access to existing drinking water and
sanitary sewer service.
2)Provides that when an applicant proposes to subdivide land for
the purposes of developing farmworker housing, the city,
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county, or city and county shall not enforce or impose any
local ordinance, regulation, or development standard that
requires a minimum parcel size if the farmworker housing meets
all of the following:
a) The parcel to be created is on land currently zoned for
agricultural use or on land zoned for open space but
currently in agricultural use, provided the land is not
subject to an open-space easement;
b) The parcel to be sold or leased is five acres or
smaller;
c) The parcel shall be sold or leased to a nonprofit
organization, a city, a county, a housing authority, or a
state agency; and,
d) The parcel to be sold or leased shall be subject to a
deed restriction that limits the use of the parcel to
farmworker housing facilities for not less than 30 years.
3)Declares that the development of farmworker housing shall be
considered an agricultural use of the land.
4)Provides that the provisions of the bill apply to those
jurisdictions that have less than 100 acres of land that has
been developed with farmworker housing pursuant to this bill.
5)Specifies that no reimbursement is required by this bill
because a local agency or school district has the authority to
levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay
for the program or level of service mandated by this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, under the Act, for conditions that allow a landowner
to subdivide land that is currently designated as an
agricultural preserve, if the parcel to be sold or leased, as
specified.
3)Specifies that a subdivision of land under a Williamson Act
contract shall not affect the contract; and the parcel to be
sold or leased shall remain subject to that contract.
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4)Allows the legislative body of any county or city the power to
adopt ordinances that regulate the use of buildings,
structures, and land, as specified.
5)Provides for certain limitations on a city or county's
planning and zoning ordinances in cases where there is a
statewide concern.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are no negligible state costs. Local costs not
state-reimbursable.
COMMENTS : AB 1505 (Ducheny), Chapter 967, Statutes of 1999,
authorized a landowner subject to a Williamson Act contract to
subdivide not more than five acres of land to be sold or leased
to a non-profit organization, city, county, housing authority,
or a state agency for the purposes of developing farmworker
housing. The purpose of the bill was to remove any financial
disincentives to creating a separate parcel by ensuring that the
parcel will remain under Williamson Act contract. AB 1505 also
required the housing element of local general plan to identify
adequate sites for farmworker housing.
According to the sponsor, the California Rural Legal Assistance
Foundation (CRLA), there is a severe shortage of decent, safe
housing for farmworkers, particularly unaccompanied migrant
adult workers, and one of the impediments to building housing is
the difficulty in creating a separate parcel of land on which
the farmworker housing can be developed.
CRLA notes that it is preferable to create a separate parcel for
a variety of reasons. First, nearly all funding sources require
a deed restriction running with the land on which the housing is
built. This encumbrance, if recorded against the entire farm,
will impair the ability of the grower to get operating loans,
and thus a separate legal parcel against which the restriction
can be recorded is desirable. Moreover, housing located on a
farm presents a practical problem if the owner decides to no
longer operate the housing. The housing cannot be easily sold
to another party, and its location may make it undesirable for
housing workers or families not employed on the farm where it is
located. A separate, alienable parcel ensures that housing will
continue to be operated as affordable housing during the
regulatory period.
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Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958 FN: 0000706