BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1867|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1867
Author: Harkey (R)
Amended: 8/2/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley,
Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ashburn
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/6/10 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Housing elements: credit for conversion
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows a city or county to count
against its housing need the conversion of existing
homeownership units in complexes of three or more units to
affordable rental housing, provided an equal number of
new-construction multifamily units affordable to lower
income households have been constructed in the city or
county within the same planning period.
ANALYSIS : The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities
and counties to prepare and adopt a general plan, including
a housing element, to guide the future growth of a
community. Cities and counties located within the
territory of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO)
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must revise their housing elements every eight years
following the adoption of every other regional
transportation plan. Cities and counties in rural non-MPO
regions must revise their housing elements every five
years. Before each revision, each community is assigned
its fair share of housing for each income category through
the regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) process.
A housing element must identify and analyze existing and
projected housing needs, identify adequate sites with
appropriate zoning to meet its share of the RHNA, and
ensure that regulatory systems provide opportunities for,
and do not unduly constrain, housing development. The
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
reviews both draft and adopted housing elements to
determine whether or not they are in substantial compliance
with the law.
In general, in order for a city or county to show that it
can accommodate its RHNA allocation, it must identify sites
on which new housing may be built. Current law also allows
a city or county, however, to meet up to 25 percent of its
RHNA allocation through the conversion (converting
non-affordable units to affordable units through purchase
of affordability covenants or the units themselves),
preservation (extending the term of affordability on
existing affordable housing units), or substantial
rehabilitation of affordable housing units under specified
conditions, including among others:
The city or county must have met (i.e., housing units were
built) at least some portion of its RHNA allocation for
very low- and low-income housing in the previous planning
period.
The city or county must identify the specific, existing
sources of available funding in the housing element and
commit assistance to individual developments (i.e., enter
into a legally binding agreement to provide the necessary
financial assistance) within the first two years of the
housing element planning period.
The converted, preserved, or rehabilitated units must be
made available for occupancy within two years of the
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execution of the agreement committing assistance.
For purposes of counting units against the city's or
county's RHNA allocation, the converted, preserved, or
rehabilitated units must be counted in the appropriate
income category.
The city or county must include in its annual housing
element progress report it submits to HCD for the third
year of the planning period an update on its progress in
providing the units counted.
With respect to units converted from non-affordable to
affordable in particular, the following conditions also
apply:
The units must be located in multifamily rental
housing complexes of four or more units.
The units must not be acquired by eminent domain.
The units must be unoccupied by low-income
households or, if occupied, the city or county must
provide relocation assistance to occupants displaced
by the conversion.
The units must constitute a net increase in the
city's or county's stock of assisted affordable
housing units.
The units must be subject to an affordability
covenant and remain affordable for a period of at
least 55 years.
This bill, for purposes of utilizing the authority to meet
up to 25 percent of its RHNA allocation through the
conversion of non-affordable units to affordable units,
allows a city or county to count the conversion of existing
homeownership units in complexes of three or more units to
affordable rental housing, provided an equal number of
new-construction multifamily units affordable to lower
income households have been constructed in the city or
county within the same planning period
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10)
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California State Association of Counties
Cities of Buena Park, City of Dana Point, City of Laguna
Hills, City of Mission Viejo, City of Oakland, City of
Palm Desert, City of San Clemente, City of Torrance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
local governments must have more tools to provide housing
for all segments of their populations. This bill allows
for greater flexibility for local governments, will result
in additional affordable housing opportunities in
appropriate sites, and will allow municipalities to help
the low-income residents of existing substandard dwelling
units
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,
Mendoza, Vacancy
JJA:do 8/2/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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