BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1793|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1793
Author: Saldana (D)
Amended: 4/20/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 5-3, 6/15/10
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-1, 4/22/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Common interest developments: artificial turf
SOURCE : San Diego County Water Authority
DIGEST : This bill prohibits a common interest
development from enforcing any provision of its governing
documents that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting
the use of artificial turf or any other synthetic surface
that resembles grass.
ANALYSIS : A common-interest development (CID) is a form
of real estate where each homeowner has an exclusive
interest in a unit or lot and a shared or undivided
interest in common area property. Condominiums, planned
unit developments, stock cooperatives, community
apartments, and many resident-owned mobilehome parks all
fall under the umbrella of common interest developments.
CIDs are governed by a homeowner's association. The
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Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides the
legal framework under which common interest developments
are established and operate. In addition to the
requirements of the Act, each CID is governed according to
the recorded declarations, bylaws, and operating rules of
the association, collectively referred to as the governing
documents.
The Davis-Stirling Act provides that the covenants and
restrictions in the declaration are "enforceable equitable
servitudes, unless unreasonable." In Nahrstedt v. Lakeside
Village (1994), the California Supreme Court interpreted
this provision to mean that CID governing documents "should
be enforced unless they are wholly arbitrary, violate a
fundamental public policy, or impose a burden on the use of
affected land that far outweighs any benefit."
The Davis-Stirling Act also provides that a provision of
the governing documents is void and unenforceable if it
prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting (1) the use of
low water-using plants as a group, (2) compliance with a
local government's water-efficient landscape ordinance, or
(3) compliance with a local government's regulation or
restriction on the use of water. A CID may enforce
landscaping rules contained in its governing documents to
the extent that they fully conform with these requirements.
This bill further prohibits a CID from enforcing any
provision of its governing documents that prohibits or has
the effect of prohibiting the use of artificial turf or any
other synthetic surface that resembles grass. A CID may
enforce landscaping rules contained in its governing
documents that establish design standards and quality
standards for the installation of such surfaces to the
extent that they fully comply with this requirement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/16/10)
San Diego County Water Authority (source)
Association of California Water Agencies
Association of Synthetic Grass Installers
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City of San Diego
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Desert Water Agency
East Bay Municipal Utility District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Inland Empire Utilities Department
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Olivehain Municipal Water District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/21/10)
Community Associations Institute - California Legislative
Action Committee
Cordova Homeowners Association
Executive Council of Homeowners
Green, Bryant & French LLP
Laguna Woods Village Community
Sea Ranch Association
Sun City Palm Desert
Sun City Roseville Community Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the bill's sponsor,
the San Diego County Water Authority, landscape irrigation
makes up 70 percent of the average household water use. In
the San Diego region, grass lawns alone use up to 46
gallons of water per square foot per year. The use of
artificial turf in landscaping is one method of reducing
water consumption while still allowing property owners to
incorporate expanses of green into their landscaping.
In 2009, the Legislature enacted SB 7 X7 (Steinberg),
Chapter 4, Statutes of 2009-10, Seventh Extraordinary
Session, requiring that California reduce water consumption
by 20 percent per capita by the year 2020. According to
the author's office, water suppliers are committed to meet
this target. The purpose of this bill is to expand the
available means of conserving water by removing impediments
to the use of artificial turf and landscaping in CIDs.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Community Associations
Institute - California Legislative Action Committee
(CAICLAC) opposes this bill for the following reasons:
It singles out a class of property owners in CIDs and may
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violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Artificial grass may ruin a community's curb appeal and
reduce owner and neighbor's property values.
Section 1358.8 of the Civil Code already addresses water
usage and landscaping in CIDs per AB 1061 (Lieu), Chapter
503, Statutes of 2009, which just became effective in
January.
It micromanages communities and overrides local control.
It lacks definition of "grass" ? what variety, color
shade, seasonal versus perennial, length?
It does not address possible water runoff, flammability,
and toxicity issues identified in various governmental
studies.
According to CAICLAC, there are a number of toxicity issues
related to artificial and synthetic grass. CAICLAC claims
artificial grass manufacturers have admitted their product
contains lead other hazardous chemicals banned on the
Proposition 65 list, and The Public Health Trust and the
Center for Environmental Quality tested 150 samples and
found them to contain more than 94 hazardous chemicals and
more than 200 volatile organic compounds.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NOES: Blakeslee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Blumenfield, Caballero, Furutani,
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Harkey, Huber, Huffman, Silva, John A. Perez, Vacancy
JJA:mw 8/2/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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