BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 654
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 654 (Hueso)
As Amended April 25, 2011
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 10-1LOCAL GOVERNMENT 7-2
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Blumenfield, |Ayes:|Smyth, Alejo, Bradford, |
| |Campos, Fong, Gatto, | |Campos, Davis, Gordon, |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, Hueso, | |Hueso |
| |Lara, Olsen, Yamada | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman |Nays:|Knight, Norby |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bradford, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | |
| |Nielsen, Smyth, Wagner | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires historical properties subject to historic
preservation contracts to be inspected prior to entering into a new
contract and every five years, and for local agencies to take
actions to enforce these contracts. Specifically, this bill
requires:
1)That contracts for preservation of historical properties include a
provision providing for an inspection of the interior and exterior
of the premises by a party appointed by the legislative body of
the local agency entering into the contract prior to a new
agreement and every five years thereafter to determine the owner's
compliance with the contract.
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2)The owner of the property to record the contract with the county
in which the property is located.
3)The city or county entering into the contract to charge the owner
a fee sufficient to cover but not exceed the reasonable costs of
administering the program, including the cost of processing
designation requests, contracts, monitoring, inspections and
enforcement.
4)The legislative body of the local agency, if they determine that
the owner has breached the contract or allowed the property to
deteriorate to the point that it no longer qualifies, to either
cancel the contract or bring an action in court to enforce the
contract.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes cities and counties to enter into contracts with owners
of qualified historical properties that restrict the use of the
property in exchange for lowered property assessment values.
Requires that the contracts be for a minimum period of 10 years
and provides for periodic examinations of the premises, as
necessary.
2)Requires the owner of the historical property to provide written
notice of the contract to the Office of Historic Preservation.
3)Requires the city or county entering into the contract to charge
the owner a fee not to exceed the reasonable cost of administering
the program.
4)Authorizes the legislative body of the local agency to cancel a
contract if the owner breaches the contract or allows the property
to deteriorate to the point that it no longer qualifies, or, as an
alternative to cancelling the contract, to bring an action in
court to enforce the contract, including by specific enforcement
or injunction.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
negligible state costs, if any, fully reimbursed by the local
government to which the property owner pays the historic
preservation fee.
COMMENTS : The author indicates this bill is needed to ensure that a
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property tax break is not given to a historical property owner
without the property owner's compliance. Under existing law known
as the Mills Act, owners of historical properties can enter into a
contract with a city or county under which the owner agrees to
restrict the use of the property in exchange for a lowered property
assessment value. The law sets forth requirements for the contracts
and provides for periodic inspections of the property for compliance
as needed. According to the author, the inspections are not
specifically required and do not always occur. In addition, while
the current law requires the city or county to charge the property
owner an administrative fee, the fee is not necessarily sufficient
to recover all administrative costs of the program.
To enhance program compliance, this bill requires the local
government entering into the contract to appoint a party to inspect
the property at the time of a new contract and every five years
thereafter. This bill also requires that the fee charged to the
landowner be sufficient for the local government to recover all
costs associated with administering the program, including
processing, contracts, monitoring, inspections and enforcement.
This bill requires the local agency to take action if the agency
determines that the owner has breached a condition of the contract
or allowed the property to deteriorate to the point that it no
longer qualifies for the program, by either cancelling the contract
or bringing a court action to enforce the contract. Current law
authorizes but does not require the local agency to take such
actions to enforce compliance.
Currently there is considerable variation in the fees charged for
Mills Act contracts among cities and counties in the state,
depending on how a particular legislative body has chosen to
administer their historic preservation ordinances. The Assembly
Local Government Committee looked at a cross-section of cities that
have implemented Mills Act contracts and found fees ranging from no
fee in the City of Eureka to a flat fee of $590, plus additional
fees for monitoring and enforcement, in the City of San Diego. In
some communities where fees do not cover the costs of administering
the program, the program is subsidized by the city's general fund.
For further discussion on the implementation of the Mills Act and
how increases in administrative fees may affect these programs,
please see the Assembly Local Government Committee's policy
analysis.
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Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096 FN:
0000745