Amended in Senate July 1, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 28, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 7, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 24, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2561

Introduced by Assembly Member Bradford

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(Coauthor: Senator Lara)

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February 21, 2014

An act to add Sections 1940.10 and 4750 to the Civil Code, relating to land use.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2561, as amended, Bradford. Personal agriculture: restrictions.

(1) Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, and prohibits a landlord from interfering with a tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the premises.

This bill would require a landlord to permit a tenant to participate in personal agriculture in portable containers approved by the landlord in the tenant’s private area, as defined, if certain conditions are met.

(2) Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, defines and regulates common interest developments and authorizes the board of directors of the association that manages the development to adopt and amend the operating rules for the development.

This bill would make void any provision of a governing document of a common interest development that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a homeowner’s begin delete back yard end delete begin insert backyard end insert for personal agriculture begin delete or a homeowner from the off-site donation of produce grown on the homeowner’s property end delete .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California industrial agriculture is at risk due to water
shortages, soil degradation, pollution, environmental, and structural
threats to the San Francisco Bay Delta, and the rising cost of oil.
Providing Californians with the capacity to feed themselves and
their communities would drastically improve local food security
and mediate the risks of water, soil, environmental, or fuel-related
crises.

(b) Although California is the “bread basket” of the United
States and has regions of climate and land ideal for agriculture, a
significant amount of California’s food is grown hundreds or
thousands of miles from where it is consumed. This results in high
transportation costs, energy consumption, and lost economic
opportunity for our state. Even food grown in the heart of
California’s farming region is expensive to disperse to the rest of
the state due to rising fuel costs.

(c) California is no exception to rising obesity and
obesity-related diseases in the United States. Two-thirds of
American adults and nearly one-third of American children are
obese or overweight, putting them at risk for developing chronic
diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. In California,
one in every nine children, one in three teens, and over one-half
of adults are already overweight or obese. This epidemic affects
virtually all Californians. Many of these health conditions are
preventable and curable through lifestyle choices that include
consumption of healthy fresh foods.

(d) One of every $10 dollars spent on health care in the United
States goes toward treating diabetes and its complications.
Facilitating opportunities for California residents to grow and
consume fresh, healthy foods will promote lifestyles and diets that
benefit individuals and communities, as well as being a more
effective use of public moneys.

(e) Many homeowners’ associations have rules prohibiting
homeowners from growing food in their yards or from selling food
grown on the property.

(f) Forty percent of Californians live in residences that they do
not own, and may, as a result of lease restrictions or disapproval
by the landlord, face limitations on their ability to grow food on
the land where they reside.

(g) According to a 2011 United States Census Bureau report,
California has the highest poverty rate in the United States. Giving
California residents the right to grow food where they live will
help reduce food costs and the overall burden of poverty for
low-income Californians.

(h) Lawncare is resource intensive, at no nutritional gain. Lawns
are the largest irrigated crop in the United States. In the urban areas
in the United States, 30 to 60 percent of residential water is used
for watering lawns. In arid and semiarid regions, this figure can
reach up to 75 percent. Annually, 67 million pounds (33,500 tons)
of synthetic pesticides are used on lawns in the United States.
Furthermore, lawnmowers use 580 million gallons of gasoline
yearly. These resources could be allocated to more productive
activities, including growing food, thus increasing access to healthy
options for low-income individuals.

(i) Gardens and agriculture on public lands help communities
increase their access to fresh fruits and vegetables, enhance urban
landscapes, motivate healthier eating, and connect neighborhoods.

(j) It is the policy of the state to promote and remove obstacles
to increased community access to fresh fruit and vegetables and
encourage the practice of homeowners growing food in their private
yard space for personal use or for donation to others.

(k) These findings are all matters of statewide concern. The
Legislature recently identified the importance of small-scale,
neighborhood-based food enterprises throughout California in
achieving common, statewide economic, health, and environmental
goals. The Legislature acted upon this by enacting Chapter 415 of
the Statutes of 2012 governing cottage food operations and the
Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act (Chapter 406 of the Statutes
of 2013). Legalizing the growing of produce throughout California
will enhance the positive impacts of such previous legislation.

SEC. 2.  

Section 1940.10 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

1940.10.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:

(1) “Private area” means an outdoor backyard area that is on
the ground level of the rental unit.

(2) “Personal agriculture” means a use of land where an
individual cultivates edible plant crops for personal use or donation.

(3) “Plant crop” means any crop in its raw or natural state, which
comes from a plant that will bear edible fruits or vegetables. It
shall not include marijuana or any unlawful crops or substances.

(b) A landlord shall permit a tenant to participate in personal
agriculture in portable containers approved by the landlord in the
tenant’s private area if the following conditions are met:

(1) The tenant regularly removes any dead plant material and
weeds, with the exception of straw, mulch, compost, and any other
organic materials intended to encourage vegetation and retention
of moisture in soil, unless the landlord and tenant have a preexisting
or separate agreement regarding garden maintenance where the
tenant is not responsible for removing or maintaining plant crop
and weeds.

(2) The plant crop will not interfere with the maintenance of
the rental property.

(3) The placement of the portable containers does not interfere
with any tenant’s parking spot.

(4) The placement and location of the portable containers may
be determined by the landlord. The portable containers may not
create a health and safety hazard, block doorways, or interfere with
walkways or utility services or equipment.

(c) The cultivation of plant crops on the rental property other
than that which is contained in portable containers shall be subject
to approval from the landlord.

(d) A landlord may prohibit the use of synthetic chemical
herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, rodenticides, insecticides, or
any other synthetic chemical product commonly used in the
growing of plant crops.

(e) A landlord may require the tenant to enter into a written
agreement regarding the payment of any excess water and waste
collection bills arising from the tenant’s personal agriculture
activities.

(f) Subject to the notice required by Section 1954, a landlord
has a right to periodically inspect any area where the tenant is
engaging in personal agriculture to ensure compliance with this
section.

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(g) A landlord may not prevent tenants from the off-site donation
of plant crops derived from personal agriculture authorized under
this section.

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(h)

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begin insert (g) end insert  This section shall only apply to residential real property that
is improved with, or consisting of, a building containing not more
than two units that are intended for human habitation.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4750 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

4750.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, begin delete the following
definitions shall apply: end delete

begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete “Personal end delete begin insert “personal end insert agriculture” has the same definition as
in Section 1940.10.

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(2) “Plant crop” has the same definition as in Section 1940.10.

end delete

(b) Any provision of a governing document, as defined in
Section 4150, shall be void and unenforceable if it begin delete does either of
the following: end delete

begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete Effectively end delete begin insert effectively end insert prohibits or unreasonably restricts the
use of a homeowner’s begin delete back yard end delete begin insert backyard end insert for personal agriculture.

begin delete

(2) Effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts a homeowner
from the off-site donation of produce grown on the homeowner’s
property.

end delete

(c) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose
reasonable restrictions on the use of a homeowner’s yard for
personal agriculture.

(2) For purposes of this section, “reasonable restrictions” are
restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of engaging
in personal agriculture or significantly decrease its efficiency.

(d) This section applies only to yards that are designated for the
exclusive use of the homeowner.

(e) This section shall not prohibit a homeowners’ association
from applying rules and regulations requiring that dead plant
material and weeds, with the exception of straw, mulch, compost,
and other organic materials intended to encourage vegetation and
retention of moisture in the soil, are regularly cleared from the
begin delete front yard end delete begin insert backyard end insert .