BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1897
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 1897 (Campos) - As Amended: May 2, 2012
SUBJECT : Land use: general plan: access to healthy food.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Governor's Office of Planning and
Research (OPR) to prepare and amend the guidelines for the
preparation of and the content of the mandatory elements
required in city and county general plans to contain advice,
developed in consultation with the California Department of Food
and Agriculture (CDFA), for improving the health of Californians
by increasing access to healthy affordable food. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Allows OPR, upon the next revision of the guidelines related
to the preparation of and the content of the mandatory
elements required in city and county general plans, to prepare
and amend the guidelines to contain advice, developed in
consultation with CDFA, for improving the health of
Californians by increasing access to healthy affordable food.
2)Allows the advice to include, but not be limited to,
information on how a city or county may choose, if relevant,
to address the following issues:
a) Access to full and discount grocery stores;
b) Access to urban farming;
c) Access to community or school gardens;
d) Access to farmers' markets;
e) Access to affordable food, including food retail spaces
that accept CalFresh benefits received under the federal
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the federal
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, or benefits received under
the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,
Infants, and Children, as specified; and,
f) Access to transportation near grocery stores, including,
but not limited to, bus stops or other mass transportation
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stops near the grocery store, free or low-cost shuttles to
and from the grocery store, taxi vouchers, and carpool
programs.
3)States that information included in the next revision of the
guidelines pursuant to the bill's provisions can be made
applicable to a city or county only at the discretion of its
legislative body.
4)Makes other findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires OPR to implement various long-range planning and
research policies and goals that are intended to shape
statewide development patterns and significantly influence the
quality of the state's environment and, in connection with
those responsibilities, to adopt guidelines for the
preparation and content of the mandatory elements required in
city and county general plans.
2)Requires each planning agency to prepare and the legislative
body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive,
long-term general plan for the physical development of the
county or city, and of any land outside its boundaries which
in the planning agency's judgment bears relation to its
planning.
3)Requires the land use element of the general plan, to
designate the proposed general distribution and general
location and extent of the uses of the land for housing,
business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural
resources, recreation, and enjoyment
of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid
and liquid waste disposal facilities, and other categories of
public and private uses of land.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)A general plan is a local government's long-term blueprint for
development. OPR is responsible for updating the General Plan
Guidelines - the "how to" resource for drafting a General
Plan. OPR also monitors General Plan implementation with
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annual progress reports from cities and counties, and grants
general plan extensions for qualified cities and counties.
OPR, created by statute in 1970, is part of the Office of the
Governor. OPR serves the Governor and his Cabinet as staff
for long-range planning and research, and constitutes the
comprehensive state planning agency.
OPR last issued comprehensive general plan guidelines in 2003,
with several supplements on specific topics released more
recently. According to OPR, they are currently working on a
plan to move forward on the next revision of the general plan
guidelines.
2)This bill allows OPR, as part of the regular updating of
guidelines for cities and counties for the preparation of and
the content of the mandatory elements required in general
plans, to prepare and amend the guidelines to contain advice,
developed in consultation with CDFA, for improving the health
of Californians by increasing access to healthy affordable
food. The bill includes several issues that that advice could
focus on, including access to full and discount grocery
stores, access to urban farming, access to community or school
gardens, access to farmers' markets, and access to
transportation near grocery stores. The bill's provisions
specify that it is up to the discretion of the legislative
body of the city or county whether the guidelines would be
applicable to that city or county.
3)According to the author, "increasing access to healthy food
provides several community benefits, including improved
health, increased economic opportunities, increased tax
revenue to the municipality, and recapturing local dollars
that are spent at grocery stores outside the local area.
By authorizing the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
to prepare or amend general plan guidelines, this bill
provides an opportunity to improve the health of Californians
by increasing access to healthy affordable food. This bill is
not intended to force or mandate a city or county to amend
their general plans. This bill will provide the option to OPR
and further work as a tool for cities and counties if they so
desire to do so."
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4)Supporters argue that this bill is an important step toward
improving healthy food access for all Californians, and
encourages location-appropriate solutions - from grocery
stores to farmers' markets to urban farming - and will allows
local governments, if they choose, to plan for the improved
health of their communities in innovative, comprehensive ways.
5)One concern raised by several groups in opposition is that
this bill attempts to circumvent an existing process aimed at
developing recommendations to promote access to healthy foods
in underserved communities. Specifically, the California
Grocers Association (CGA) references the passage of AB 581
(Perez), Chapter 505, Statutes of 2011, which required CDFA to
engage in a multi-stakeholder council in order to craft
recommendations relating to access to healthy foods. The
recommendations from that multi-stakeholder process are due to
be released in July of 2012.
CGA writes that "until recommendations have been received from
CDFA, it is inappropriate to forward legislation that
presupposes conclusions of the �multi-stakeholder] council?and
there is no reason to go around the process that the
Legislature established just months ago �in AB 581]."
The Committee may wish to ask the author how this bill aligns
with the current process at CDFA.
6)The current version of this bill takes a very different
approach from previous iterations of the bill which mandated
new duties on local governments to plan for access to healthy
foods in the general plan process. Because the bill has been
amended significantly, it appears that Section 1 of the bill
that makes findings and declarations is no longer relevant to
the approach in the bill that allows OPR to update their
general plan guidelines. Section 1 still remains in the
current bill in print; however, the author has committed to
removing that section going forward.
7)Support arguments : According to the California Farm Bureau,
local communities would benefit economically as well by
encouraging the siting of new food outlets that can act as
anchors for other retail outlets.
Opposition arguments : The California Grocers Association
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writes that this bill circumvents the multi-stakeholder CDFA
process already established by AB 581 (Perez, 2011) that is
currently being undertaken.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
California Black Health Network
California Farm Bureau
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States Council
Opposition
American Council of Engineering Companies, California (unless
amended)
American Fence Association (unless amended)
American Planning Association, California Chapter
Associated Builders and Contractors of California (unless
amended)
Building Owners and Managers Association of California (BOMA)
(unless amended)
California Apartment Association (unless amended)
California Building Industry Association (unless amended)
California Business Properties Association (unless amended)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Fence Contractors Association (unless amended)
California Grocers Association
California Retailers Association
California State Association of Counties (unless amended)
Engineering Contractors' Association (unless amended)
Flasher Barricade Association (unless amended)
Golden State Builders Exchanges (unless amended)
International Council of Shopping Centers (unless amended)
League of California Cities
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Marin Builders Association (unless amended)
NAIOP of California (unless amended)
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) (unless
amended)
Regional Council of Rural Counties
United Contractors (unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958