BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1690|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1690
Author: Gordon (D)
Amended: 6/30/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/24/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/15/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Housing elements sites
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows a city or county to accommodate
their very low and low-income housing needs on sites designated
for mixed uses if those sites allow 100% residential use; and
requires that residential use occupy 50% of the total floor area
of a mixed-use project.
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.
Following a staggered schedule, cities and counties located
within the territory of a metropolitan planning organization
must revise their housing elements every eight years, and cities
and counties in rural non- metropolitan planning organization
regions must revise their housing elements every five years.
These five- and eight-year periods are known as the housing
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element planning period.
Before each revision, each community receives its fair share of
housing for each income category through the regional housing
needs assessment 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 regional
housing needs assessment, and ensure that regulatory systems
provide opportunities for, and do not unduly constrain, housing
development.
As part of the process to identify adequate sites, a city or
county first prepares an inventory of existing sites zoned for
housing. When the inventory of existing sites is insufficient
to accommodate the need for one or more income categories, the
housing element must contain a program to rezone sites within
the first three years of the planning period. If needed to
accommodate the need for very low- or low-income households, the
city or county must rezone sites to permit multifamily
residential use by right (i.e., projects consistent with the
zoning standards are approved ministerially without a
discretionary action) at a minimum density of 16 or 20 units to
the acre. At least 50% of the capacity on these sites must be
reserved exclusively for residential uses.
The Department of Housing and Community Development reviews both
draft and adopted housing elements to determine whether or not
they are in substantial compliance with the law.
This bill allows a city or county to accommodate their very low
and low-income housing needs on sites designated for mixed uses
if those sites allow 100% residential use; and requires that
residential use occupy 50% of the total floor area of a
mixed-use project.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/14)
California Building Industry Association
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
City of Santa Monica
City/County Association of Government of San Mateo County
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Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
League of California Cities
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/1/14)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
mixed-use developments make sense and have been successful in
the urban areas of this state where most future growth will be
concentrated. Encouraging mixed-use development is critical to
California's smart growth goals and, near transit at least,
necessary to ensure competitiveness for federal transit funds.
In some cases, integrating rent-paying commercial uses into an
affordable housing development can help subsidize affordability.
Most importantly, mixed-use projects can bring residents closer
to jobs and services. This bill gives cities and counties
additional flexibility on how best to plan in their communities.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that developing
affordable housing on mixed-use sites is more difficult and
expensive than on residentially zoned sites. The loss of
redevelopment funding has made mixed-use development only more
challenging. By limiting the use of mixed-use zones as
affordable housing sites, current law creates the greatest
potential for affordable housing development. This bill removes
that modest restriction.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 05/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Donnelly, Mansoor, Vacancy
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JA:nl 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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