BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1174
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 1174 (Wolk) - As Amended: June 24, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 22-14
SUBJECT : Land use: general plan: Future Sustainable Communities
Pilot Project.
SUMMARY : Creates, under the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), the
Future Sustainable Communities Pilot Project to provide
financial assistance to five cities and five counties to update
their general plans in order to facilitate the transformation of
disadvantaged unincorporated communities into sustainable
communities, using funds from Proposition 84 (2006).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "disadvantaged unincorporated community" to mean an
unincorporated fringe, unincorporated island, or
unincorporated legacy community in which the median household
income is 80% or less than the statewide median household
income.
2)Defines "unincorporated fringe community" to mean any
inhabited and unincorporated territory that is within a city's
sphere of influence.
3)Defines "unincorporated island community" to mean any
inhabited and unincorporated territory that is surrounded or
substantially surrounded by one or more cities or by one or
more cities and a county boundary or the Pacific Ocean.
4)Defines "unincorporated legacy community" to mean a
geographically isolated community that is inhabited and has
existed for at least 50 years.
5)Establishes the Future Sustainable Communities Pilot Project
and states that the purpose of the project is to provide
funding to update a city's or county's general plan in order
to facilitate the transformation of a disadvantaged
unincorporated community into a sustainable community.
6)Authorizes cities and counties with a disadvantaged
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unincorporated community inside or near their boundaries to
apply to SGC for funding through the Future Sustainable
Communities Pilot Project.
7)Provides that funding for the Future Sustainable Communities
Pilot Project shall come from the $90 million pot contained in
Proposition 84 that is set aside for planning grants and
planning incentives, including revolving loan programs and
other methods to encourage the development of regional and
local land use plans that are designed to promote water
conservation, reduce automobile use and fuel consumption,
encourage greater infill and compact development, protect
natural resources and agricultural lands, and revitalize urban
and community centers.
8)Requires SGC to choose five cities and five counties that meet
the qualifications as prescribed by this bill for the Future
Sustainable Communities Pilot Project.
9)Specifies that upon receipt of financial assistance from SGC,
the planning agency of the pilot city or pilot county shall
review and prepare, and the legislative body of the pilot city
or pilot county shall adopt amendments to one or more elements
of the city's or county's general plan as necessary to include
the data and analysis, goals, implementation measures,
policies, and objectives to address the presence of
unincorporated island, fringe, or legacy communities inside or
near the city's or county's boundaries, and to incorporate in
the general plan efforts that include improving air and water
quality, improving natural resource protection, increasing the
availability of affordable housing, improving transportation,
meeting the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (AB 32), and encouraging sustainable land use in
order to facilitate the transformation of the disadvantaged
unincorporated communities into sustainable communities.
10)Provides that the updated general plan shall include all of
the following:
a) In the case of a city, an identification of each
unincorporated island or unincorporated fringe community,
or in the case of a county, of each unincorporated legacy
community, and requires the identification to include a
description of the community and a map designating its
location;
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b) For each identified community, an analysis of all of the
following:
i) The extent to which households in the community lack
access to sanitary service, municipal water service, and
paved roads, storm drainage, sidewalks, and street
lighting;
ii) The extent to which improved sanitary sewer service,
improved municipal water service, and improved paved
roads, storm drainage, sidewalks, and street lighting,
would improve water quality, water conservation, and
natural resource protection, and the extent to which
improvements would encourage sustainable land use, allow
for greater infill and compact development, and
revitalize urban community centers.
c) An analysis of the city's or county's current programs
and activities to address the conditions or deficiencies
described in b), and an identification of any constraints
to addressing those conditions or deficiencies, and
provides that the analysis shall evaluate whether
annexation of, or extension of service to, any identified
island or fringe community is appropriate.
d) A statement setting forth the city's or county's
specific, quantified goals for eliminating or reducing the
conditions or deficiencies described in b) and found to be
present in an unincorporated island, unincorporated fringe,
or unincorporated legacy community within or proximate to
the boundaries of the city or county, taking into
consideration and giving maximum effect to an effort to
improve air and water quality, improve natural resource
protection, increase the availability of affordable
housing, improve transportation, meet the goals of AB 32,
and encourage sustainable land use.
e) A set of flexible implementation measures designed to
carry out the goals described in d), including an
identification of resources and a timeline of actions.
11)Requires the city or county, in preparing the review and
update required by this bill, to make a diligent effort to
involve all members of the public, including, but not limited
to, residents of the unincorporated island, unincorporated
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fringe, or unincorporated legacy communities.
12)Makes findings and declarations about the existence and needs
of disadvantaged unincorporated communities in California.
13)States that it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
cities and counties, through participation in the Future
Sustainable Communities Pilot Project or otherwise, to
identify disadvantaged communities and ways to improve the
conditions that exist within them, and to review and update
its general plan to address and improve those conditions,
while concurrently implementing the purposes set forth in
Proposition 84 and SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes
of 2008.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes approximately $5.4 billion in general obligation
bonds for safe drinking water, water quality and water supply,
flood control, natural resource protection, and park
improvements pursuant to Proposition 84, of which $90 million
is specified for planning grants and incentives and $90
million for urban greening programs.
2)Provides for the creation of SGC, and provides that SGC shall:
a) Identify and review activities and funding programs of
member state agencies that may be coordinated to improve
air and water quality, improve natural resource protection,
increase the availability of affordable housing, improve
transportation, meet the goals
of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize
urban and community centers in a sustainable manner;
b) Recommend policies and investment strategies and
priorities to the Governor, the Legislature, and to
appropriate state agencies to encourage the development of
sustainable communities;
c) Provide, fund, and distribute data and information to
local governments and regional agencies that will assist in
developing and planning sustainable communities;
d) Manage and award grants and loans to support the
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planning and development
of sustainable communities; and,
e) Develop guidelines for awarding financial assistance and
eligibility, and develop criteria for determining the
amount of financial assistance.
3)States that SGC, for the planning and development of
sustainable communities, shall award a revolving loan to an
applicant for a planning project, unless SGC determines that
the applicant lacks the fiscal capacity to carry out the
project without a grant.
4)Requires every city and county to adopt a general plan with
seven mandatory elements including land use, circulation,
housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety.
5)Establishes the procedures for the organization and
reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts
under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Reorganization Act of
2000.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008, created the
SGC, consisting of the Director of the Office of Planning and
Research (OPR), the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency,
the Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency,
the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services
Agency, and a public member. The SGC is required to recommend
policies to the Governor, state agencies, and the Legislature
to encourage the development of sustainable communities and
provide local governments and regional agencies with data to
assist in planning sustainable communities. The SGC is
charged with awarding and managing grants for the $90 million
pot contained in Proposition 84 - "The Safe Drinking Water,
Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal
Protection Bond Act of 2006" that was specifically set aside
for "planning grants and incentives." Additionally, the SGC
has the responsibility of commenting on OPR's Environmental
Goals and Policies Report (EGPR) and the state's five-year
infrastructure plan. AB 1473 (Hertzberg), Chapter 606,
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Statutes of 1999, required the Governor, beginning in 2002, to
submit annually a five-year proposed capital improvement plan
to the Legislature that includes proposed capital improvement
projects and their proposed funding sources.
2)SB 1174 creates the Future Sustainable Communities Pilot
Project under SGC to provide financial assistance to five
cities and five counties, as chosen by the SGC, to update
their general plans in order to facilitate the transformation
of disadvantaged unincorporated communities into sustainable
communities, to be funded by a pot of planning money contained
in Proposition 84. Once funding is received by the local
government, the city or county would then review and prepare
amendments to their General Plan to address the presence of
these types of disadvantaged unincorporated communities,
including the extent
to which the households in the communities lack access to
sanitary sewer service, municipal water service, paved roads,
storm drainage, sidewalks, and street lighting, and how
improvements in these areas would encourage sustainable land
use.
3)According to the author, SB 1174 addresses a very serious
public health and planning problem in California - the
existence of hundreds of disadvantaged unincorporated
communities that lack basic necessities such as clean drinking
water, adequate sewage disposal and other critical
infrastructure. The author notes that there is funding
contained in Proposition 84 that is aimed to begin planning
and addressing the needs of these communities, and this bill
helps to implement policy toward that direction by creating a
pilot project for five cities and five counties.
4)SGC released final guidelines for the Sustainable Communities
Planning Grant and Incentives Program in March of 2010, with a
proposed application due date of August 31, 2010 for local
governments. The guidelines specify that at least 20% of each
round of funding shall be prioritized for projects that target
economically disadvantaged communities (EDCs). The SGC
guidelines define an EDC as a community with a median
household income less than 80% of the statewide average. The
Committee may wish to ask the author why it is necessary to
establish a new, somewhat duplicative program under SGC
specifically designed for disadvantaged communities, when the
disadvantaged unincorporated communities targeted in this bill
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are already eligible to apply for the existing Sustainable
Communities Grant and Incentives Program.
Additionally, the Committee may wish to ask the author how the
bill's provisions would work in light of the timeline of
having grant applications due for the existing program this
summer. Is the intention to carve out funding from the $90
million pot to be used exclusively for the Future Sustainable
Communities Pilot Project, or would the provisions of SB 1174
be used as additional criteria for the existing prioritization
for EDCs under the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant and
Incentives Program?
5)SB 1174 links together the addressing of the presence of
disadvantaged unincorporated communities by the pilot local
government with concepts of sustainability - specifically
improving air and water quality, improving natural resource
protection, increasing the availability of affordable housing,
improving transportation, meeting the goals of AB 32,
encouraging sustainable land use, allowing for greater infill
and compact development, and revitalizing urban community
centers. The Committee may wish to ask the author if local
governments will be able to accomplish all of these
sustainability goals through identifying and addressing
disadvantaged unincorporated communities and analyzing their
infrastructure needs.
6)Existing law states that SGC, for the planning and development
of sustainable communities, shall award a revolving loan to an
applicant for a planning project, unless SGC determines that
the applicant lacks the fiscal capacity to carry out the
project without a grant. The Committee may wish to ask the
author if a revolving loan will suffice for the new planning
duties under the provisions of this bill for entities that
participate in the Future Sustainable Communities Pilot
Project.
7)There are several other bills moving through the legislative
process that address the needs
of unincorporated disadvantaged communities, including AB 853
(Arambula) and SB 194 (Florez). The Committee may wish to ask
the author how these bills align with SB 1174.
8)Support Arguments : Supporters argue that over one million
Californians live in disadvantaged unincorporated communities,
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and residents of these areas often live without the most basic
features of a safe and healthy environment. Few local
governments' local land use plans focus any attention on the
existence of disadvantaged unincorporated communities, much
less how to solve their many challenges. SB 1174 begins to
address these disparities and also helps to prepare public
officials to make better decisions based on better
information.
Opposition Arguments : Providing funds for local governments
to complete planning duties is a noble goal; however, having
funds to do the planning does not necessarily mean that issues
like lack of sanitary sewer service, lack of municipal water
service and lack of paved roads and sidewalks will be resolved
because the city or county will need additional funding and
resources to complete those infrastructure improvements. The
Committee may wish to consider if it may be more prudent to
stick to the current SGC process instead of tying its hands
even more.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation [CO-SPONSOR]
PolicyLink [CO-SPONSOR]
CA Coalition for Rural Housing
CA Communities Against Toxics
CA Environmental Rights Alliance
CA Pan-Ethnic Health Network
CA Safe Schools
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Del Amo Action Committee
Dolores Huerta Foundation
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Fresno Metro Ministry
Having Our Say
Healthy Places Coalition
Henry Perea, Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Housing California
Just Transition Alliance
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
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Michael Rubio, Kern County Board of Supervisors
Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Joaquin Valley Latino Environmental Advancement Project
Sierra Club California
Urban Habitat
One individual
Neutral (based on June 24, 2010 version)
County of Los Angeles
Opposition (based on the April 29, 2010 version)
American Planning Association (APA)
CA Chapter of APA
CA State Association of Counties
Cities of: Cerritos, Fountain Valley, Sacramento, Visalia
County of Butte
League of CA Cities
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958