BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2561
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: bradford
VERSION: 5/28/14
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 17, 2014
SUBJECT:
Personal agriculture in common-interest developments and rental
housing
DESCRIPTION:
This bill establishes conditions under which residents of
common-interest developments (CIDs) and tenants in rental
housing may engage in personal agriculture.
ANALYSIS:
A CID is a real property development that includes all of the
following: 1) separate ownership of a lot or unit coupled with
an undivided interest in common property; 2) covenants,
conditions, and restrictions that limit use of both the common
area and separate ownership interests; and 3) management of
common property and enforcement of restrictions by a community
association, which a board of directors, generally elected,
governs. Condominiums, planned unit developments, stock
cooperatives, community apartments, and many resident-owned
mobile home parks all fall under the CID umbrella. The
Davis-Stirling Common-interest Development Act is the principal
law that governs CIDs in California.
The Civil Code regulates the rental of real property, including
housing.
This bill establishes conditions under which residents of a CID
and tenants in rental housing may engage in personal agriculture
and the off-site donation of plant crops derived from personal
agriculture. The bill defines personal agriculture as the
cultivation of edible plant crops for personal use, not
including marijuana or illegal or unlawful crops or substances.
Common-interest developments
AB 2561 (BRADFORD) Page 2
With respect to CIDs, the bill provides that any provision of a
CID governing document is void and unenforceable if it
effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a
homeowner's exclusive-use back yard for personal agriculture or
a homeowner from the off-site donation of produce grown on the
homeowner's property. The bill further defines the reasonable
restrictions that a CID may impose as restrictions that do not
significantly increase the cost of engaging in personal
agriculture or significantly decrease its efficiency.
Rental housing
With respect to rental housing on properties of one or two
units, the bill requires a landlord to permit a tenant to
participate in personal agriculture in portable containers in
the tenant's outdoor, ground-level, backyard area if the
following conditions are met:
The tenant regularly removes any dead plant material and
weeds, unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise.
The plant crop will not interfere with the maintenance of the
rental property.
The placement of the portable containers does not interfere
with any tenant's parking spot.
The landlord approves of the location, placement, and type of
the portable containers, and the containers do not create a
health and safety hazard, block doorways, or interfere with
walkways, utility services, or equipment.
The bill further:
Requires a landlord to allow the off-site donation of plant
crops derived from personal agriculture.
Allows a landlord to prohibit the use of synthetic chemical
products.
Allows a landlord to require the tenant to pay excess water
and waste collection bills arising from the tenant's personal
agriculture activities.
Reiterates the existing ability of a landlord to periodically
inspect any area where the tenant is engaging in personal
agriculture.
Clarifies that a landlord may approve the cultivation of plant
crops outside of portable containers.
COMMENTS:
AB 2561 (BRADFORD) Page 3
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, this bill seeks
to ensure that people have the ability to grow edible fruits
and vegetables at home for personal use. In addition, the
bill seeks to increase access to fresh produce for all
Californians, especially those in low-income areas. Just like
the rest of the nation, California is experiencing a rising
epidemic of obesity-related illnesses. 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.
Many of these health conditions are preventable and curable
through lifestyle choices that include consumption of healthy
fresh foods. This bill empowers individuals to grow food at
home on a small scale, which will lead to positive economic,
health, and environmental outcomes.
2.Off-site donation . This bill requires CIDs and landlords to
permit the off-site donation of plant crops derived from
personal agriculture. Neither a landlord nor a CID, however,
is likely to know if a resident donates home-grown food to a
food bank or elsewhere, let alone prohibit it. As a result,
the committee may wish to consider eliminating this provision
as unnecessary.
3.Amendment request . The Educational Community for Homeowners
requests that CIDs be able to prohibit the use of synthetic
chemical products, as the bill allows landlords to do.
4.Technical amendments .
On page 6, lines 5-7, strike "the following definitions
shall apply: (1)"
On page 6, strike line 9.
1.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill to both this committee and the Judiciary Committee. This
analysis focuses on the CID portions of the bill, as the
Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over the landlord/tenant
portions of the bill. In addition, to facilitate the
referral, the author should take any amendments he agrees to
in the Judiciary Committee.
Assembly Votes:
AB 2561 (BRADFORD) Page 4
Floor:53-24
LGov: 5-1
Jud: 6-3
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 11,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Sustainable Economies Law Center (sponsor)
City Slicker Farms
Earth Law Center
Eastbay Area Reciprocity Network
Ecological Farming Association
Phat Beets Produce
Planting Justice
San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Santa Barbara Food Alliance
Virtually Green
OPPOSED: None received.