HomeMy WebLinkAbout19 LEGISLATIVE REPORTS 10-07-08TUSTIN
AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: COTOBER 7, 2008
TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE REPORT -SENATE BILL (SB) 375
SUMMARY:
SB 375 generally can be summarized as follows:
1) Requires the Air Resources Board to provide each region with greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector;
2) Requires a regional transportation plan to include a Sustainable Communities
Strategy designed to achieve the targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction;
3) Requires the California Transportation Commission to maintain guidelines for
travel demand models;
4) Requires cities and counties, in general, to revise their housing elements every
eight years in conjunction with the regional transportation plan and complete any
necessary rezonings within a specific time period; and
5) Relaxes CEQA requirements for housing developments that are consistent with a
Sustainable Communities Strategy.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council receive and file.
FISCAL IMPACT:
On September 30, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 375 (See Attachment D -
Press Release). Local jurisdictions that are not in compliance with the adopted
sustainable communities strategy will not be eligible for federal and state funding for
regional transportation projects. This fiscal impact would be significant.
BACKGROUND:
Assembly Bill (AB) 32 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reductions
In 2006, the Legislature enacted AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter 488, the Global Warming Act
of 2006, which requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to establish a statewide
greenhouse gas emissions limit such that by 2020 California reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions to the level they were in 1990. Thereafter, the ARB must adopt the maximum
feasible and cost-effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for sources subject to
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 2
the Act. One of the potential strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to
promote more compact land use that reduces the number and length of vehicle trips.
In response to AB 32, Senator Steinberg proposed SB 375. SB 375 requires the ARB,
by September 30, 2010, to provide each region that has a Metropolitan Planning
Organization or MPO (for Orange County, Southern California Association of
Government or SCAG is the MPO for the southern California region) with greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and
2035, respectively.
With respect to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, SB 375 specifically requires
the following:
• Requires the ARB, no later than January 31, 2009, to appoint a Regional Targets
Advisory Committee (RTAC), as specified, to recommend factors to be
considered and methodologies to be used for setting greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets for the regions.
• Requires the RTAC to transmit its recommended factors and methodologies to
the ARB no later than December 31, 2009.
• Requires the ARB, prior to setting the targets for a region, to exchange technical
information with the MPO, the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the
local air district.
• Allows an MPO to recommend a target for the region.
• Requires the ARB to release draft greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for
each affected region by June 30, 2010 and final targets by September 30, 2010
for the automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035, respectively.
• Requires the ARB, after exchanging technical information with Caltrans, the
MPOs, local governments, and affected air districts and engaging in a
consultative process with public and private stakeholders, to update the regional
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets every eight (8) years consistent with
each MPO's timeframe for updating its regional transportation plan under federal
law until 2050.
Regional Transportation Plan
Current law requires the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to adopt the
State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), which lists all capital improvement
projects that are expected to receive an allocation of state transportation funds from
CTC during the following five fiscal years. The STIP includes both the Interregional
Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) and the Regional Transportation
Improvement Programs (RTIPs) developed by federally-designated MPOs. Seventy-
five (75) percent of STIP funding is programmed by the regions through the RTIPs.
Twenty-five (25) percent of STIP funding is programmed by Caltrans through the ITIP.
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 3
Current law also requires the MPOs to adopt Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs)
directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system,
including, but not limited to, mass transportation, highway, railroad, maritime,
bicycle, pedestrian, goods movement, and aviation facilities and services. The RTP
must contain a policy element, an action element, and a financial element and is the
source for projects programmed in the RTIP.
SB 375 requires that an RTP include a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS)
designed to achieve the ARB targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction and that
the SCS and all other elements of the RTP be internally consistent.
With respect to the RTP, SB 375 specifically:
1) Requires that an SCS:
^ Identify the general location of uses, residential densities, and building
intensities within the region.
^ Consider the state housing goals and identify areas within the region
sufficient to house all economic segments of the population over the course of
the planning period, including areas sufficient to house the eight-year
projection of the regional housing need (RHNA) for the region.
^ Identify a transportation network to service the transportation needs of the
region.
^ Set forth a forecasted development pattern for the region, which, when
integrated with the transportation network and other transportation measures
and policies, will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles
and light trucks to achieve, if feasible, the greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets approved by ARB.
2) Requires the MPO, if an SCS is unable to reach the ARB target, to prepare an
Alternative Planning Strategy (APS) identifying the principal impediments to
achieving the targets through the SCS and showing how the ARB targets would be
achieved through alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or additional
transportation measures or policies. The APS shall be a separate document from
the RTP.
3) States that an SCS or APS does not supersede or interfere with the land use
authority of cities and counties, does not require a city or county's land use policies
and regulations to be consistent with the SCS or APS, and does not limit ARB's
authority under any other provision of law.
4) Provides that an SCS or APS shall not affect any transportation project
programmed for funding on or before December 31, 2011, if it is contained in the
2007 or 2009 STIP, funded through the Transportation Congestion Relief Program,
or specifically listed in a local transportation sales tax ballot measure approved
prior to December 31, 2008. Nor does an SCS or APS require a transportation
sales tax authority to change the funding allocations approved by the voters for
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SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 4
categories of transportation projects in a sales tax measure adopted prior to
December 31, 2010.
Housing Element
The Planning, Zoning, and Development Law requires each city, county, or city and
county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain
mandatory elements, including a housing element. Cities and counties must revise their
housing elements every five years. Before each revision, each community is assigned
its fair share of housing for each income category through the regional housing needs
assessment (RHNA) 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 RHNA. To the
extent that a city or county does not have adequate sites within its existing inventory of
residentially zoned land, then it must adopt a program to rezone land at appropriate
densities to accommodate the jurisdiction's housing need for all income groups.
Each year, every city and county must also submit to HCD a housing element progress
report that includes the number of housing units constructed by income category and
the progress in implementing programs within the element.
SB 375 would require cities and communities to review their housing elements every
eight (8) years in conjunction with the region's RTP, identify in the housing element
specific sites to be rezoned, and complete any necessary rezonings within a time period
of three (3) years.
With respect to the Housing Element, SB 375 specifically mandates the following:
• Changes the RHNA cycle from five (5) years to (8) eight years for regions that adopt
an RTP every four years (applicable to Southern California region).
• Allows a COG to request that HCD use population and household forecast
assumptions from the region's RTP.
• Requires that a COG's allocation of the RHNA to individual cities and counties be
consistent with the SCS, provided that the aggregate regional RHNA is maintained
and that every jurisdiction receives an allocation of housing need for very
low- and low-income households.
• Requires a city or county to establish for each program in its housing element a
timeline for implementation, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the program
within the planning period.
• Requires a city or county to include in its annual housing element progress reports a
description of actions taken by the local government to implement the element's
programs by the specified deadlines.
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 5
• Requires a city or county, to the extent that rezoning of sites is needed to
accommodate its RHNA allocation, to identify in the housing element the specific
sites to be rezoned.
• Requires a city or county under an eight-year planning period to complete the
rezoning of any sites needed to accommodate the RHNA no later than three (3)
years.
• Allows the deadline to complete rezonings to be extended by one (1) year if the local
government has completed rezonings at densities sufficient to accommodate at least
75% of the RHNA need for the very low and low-income categories and makes
specified findings.
• Provides that a city or county that fails to complete the rezonings by the deadline
may only disapprove any housing development located on a site required to be
rezoned that is at least 49% affordable to low- and moderate-income households, by
making a finding that the housing development project would have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety and there is no feasible method to
satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact. This provision is known as the
builder's remedy.
• Permits the developer or any interested person to bring a court action to enforce the
builder's remedy and places the burden of proof on the city or county.
Permits any interested person to bring an action to enforce the requirements and
deadlines associated with rezonings or the removal of governmental constraints at
any time during the planning period.
• Generally requires all regions on an eight-year housing element cycle to begin the
next planning period no later than 18 months after the adoption of the first RTP to be
adopted after September 30, 2010.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
CEQA requires that local government conduct an analysis of the environmental impacts
associated with projects, including private housing developments subject to a
discretionary review. In cases where a full analysis is required, the local government
must certify an environmental impact report (EIR). CEQA provides for limited statutory
and categorical exemptions for qualified infill housing or mixed-use housing
developments, unless the project creates aproject-specific impact or leads to a
significant cumulative impact.
CEQA also allows local governments to adopt specific plans and establishes standards
and criteria by which development will proceed. Within a specific plan area, any
residential development project that is consistent with a specific plan for which an EIR
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 6
has been certified is exempt from further review under CEQA unless substantial
changes have occurred or new information has become available since the EIR was
certified.
SB 375 would exempt a transit priority project from CEQA when the project meets
certain requirements and is declared by the legislative body of a local jurisdiction to be a
Sustainable Communities Project. Specifically, SB 375 would mandate the following:
1) Defines a "transit priority project" as one that:
• Is consistent with the general land use designation, density, building intensity,
and applicable policies specified for the project area in either an approved
SCS or APS, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets.
• Contains at least 50% residential use, based on total building square footage
and, if the project contains between 26% and 50% nonresidential uses, a floor
area ratio of not less than 0.75;
• Provides a minimum net density of at least 20 dwelling units per acre; and,
• Is located within one-half mile of an existing or planned major transit stop or
high-quality transit corridor included in the RTP.
2) Exempts a transit priority project from CEQA if all of the following conditions are
met:
• The project site is not more than eight (8) acres in total area.
• The project does not contain more than 200 residential units.
• The project does not result in any net loss in the number of affordable
housing units.
• The project does not include any single level building that exceeds 75,000
square feet.
• Any applicable mitigation measures or performance standards set forth in
prior environmental impact reports will be incorporated into the project.
• The project is determined not to conflict with nearby operating industrial uses.
• The project and other approved projects can be adequately served by existing
utilities, and the project applicant has committed to pay all applicable in-lieu or
development fees.
• The site of the project does not contain wetlands or riparian areas and does
not have significant value as a wildlife habitat, and the transit priority project
does not harm any protected species.
• The project is not located on developed open space.
• The project does not have a significant impact on historical resources.
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 7
• The site of the project is not included on any list of contaminated facilities and
sites.
• A preliminary endangerment assessment has been prepared for the site and
any hazardous substances have been mitigated to a level of insignificance.
• The site is not subject to unusually high risk of fire or explosion from materials
stored or .used on nearby properties, risk of an excessive public health
exposure, or unmitigated wildland fire, seismic, landslide, or flood risk.
• The project provides one of the following: 1) At least 20 percent of the units
affordable to moderate income households, at least 10 percent of units
affordable to low income households, or at least 5 percent of units
affordable to very low income households, or the developer will pay an
equivalent amount of in-lieu fees; or 2) public open space of at least five
acres per 1,000 residents of the project.
3) Provides that a transit priority project that has incorporated all feasible mitigation
measures and performance standards set forth in prior applicable EIRs does not
need to analyze off-site alternatives to the transit priority project.
4) Provides that any residential development, or any mixed-use development that
devotes at least 75% of the square footage to residential uses, that is consistent
with an ARB-approved SCS or APS and incorporates the mitigation measures
required by an applicable prior environmental document need not describe or
discuss in any CEQA document growth inducing impacts, any project specific or
cumulative vehicle impacts on global warming or the regional transportation
network, or a reduced residential density alternative to vehicle impacts.
Cost Reimbursement
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school
districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish
procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the
state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory
provisions.
ANALYSIS
Purpose of the SB 375
According to the author, this bill will help implement AB 32 by aligning planning for
housing, land use, transportation, and greenhouse gas emissions for the 17
MPOs in the state. The environmental organizations sponsoring this legislation
maintain that AB 32 goals cannot be met without changes in land use. Fuel-efficient
cars and low-carbon fuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but reducing driving
by building housing closer to jobs, schools, and shopping venues will also be
necessary.
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 8
This bill seeks to change land use practices in California by giving each region a
greenhouse gas emission reduction target and requiring the regions to adopt regional
growth strategies that can achieve these targets. The regions will then assign
housing needs to cities and counties under housing element law in a manner consistent
with the growth strategy and ensure that regional transportation spending plans are
consistent with the strategy. While local governments are not required to implement the
growth strategy directly, they will be required to rezone land needed to accommodate
their housing needs within three (3) years of the beginning of the housing element
planning period. Lastly, the bill facilitates infill development by granting CEQA relief to
housing developments that are consistent with the growth strategy.
Concerns with SB 375
The language proposed in SB 375 is of concern for the following reasons:
• SB 375 combines RTP, Housing Element, and GHG emission and Climate
Change processes and requirements. The bill loads too much of the process for
developing a regional planning scenario within the RTP, thus creating convoluted
local mandate programs and updates that cities are responsible to implement.
• RTPs and SCS (which SCAG is promoting) are two distinct documents. RTPs
are conduits for federal transportation funding, not overarching planning
documents that try to resolve the regions' other planning related issues i.e.
housing needs, CEQA, local land use authority, etc. The SCS should forecast
realistic development and should be endorsed by local government before being
incorporated into the RTP.
• SB 375 states that the City's General Plan is not required to be consistent with
the regional SCS. This suggests that adoption of the SCS is optional. However,
since each city is mandated to update the housing element to meet its share of
RHNA, and RHNA is subject to consistency with the SCS, each city is indirectly
forced to adopt the SCS and therefore not optional.
• SB 375 mandates that transportation projects be consistent with the SCS to
receive State funding which could be problematic if the City does not endorse or
agree with adopted the SCS.
• The SCS can identify a growth pattern fora region, but individual local
governments must retain full discretion over local land use decisions.
• The bill requires cities to rezone properties within three (3) years. This three-
year requirement is not realistic and imposes burdens on local governments
especially during the uncertainty of local housing market. In addition, without
proper legal protection, cities cannot impose zone changes involving multiple
property owners without proper due process.
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 9
• The bill does not include a funding source for either planning or funding the infill
infrastructure that will be necessary to facilitate the type of infill necessary to
reduce GHG emissions. The bill also does not include necessary funding for
necessary infrastructure improvements to accommodate increase density,
intensity, and capacity as suggested by the Bill.
• The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and
school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions
establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that
no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Benefits of SB 375
• SB 375 would align RHNA and RTP processes and extend the time frame for
updating housing element to 8 years which is more reasonable considering the time
and costs burden by each city in preparing a Housing Element Update.
• While the exemption might prove limited (must meet certain definition), CEQA
streamlining is available for projects; for example, amixed-use project that is
consistent with the sustainable communities plan would not have to undergo
analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative traffic impacts or growth-
inducing impacts, and a reduced density alternative would not be required.
Request for Veto
Finally, on September 10, 2008, the League of California Cities, Orange County Division
sent letters to all mayors and council members and Governor Schwarzenegger requesting
a veto to SB 375 (Attachment B). In general, orange county cities believe that while the
bill requires local agencies to plan for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, the bill provides
regional planning agencies the ability to override local decisions. Moreover, the bill
encourages infill development, yet does not provide money for the related infrastructure
improvements that are necessary to support such development.
Justina Willkom Scott Reekstin
Principal Planner Senior Planner
Elizabeth A. Binsack
Community Development Director
City Council Report
SB 375
October 7, 2008
Page 10
Attachments:
A. SB 375
B. League of California Cities Request for Veto - SB 375
C. SCAG - SB 375 Point Summary
D. Office of the Governor Press Release
ATTACHMENT A
SB 375
Senate Bill No. 375
Passed the Senate August 30, 2008
Secretary of the Senate
Passed the Assembly August 25, 2008
Chief Clerk of the Assembly
This bill was received by the Governor this day
of , 2008, at o'clock M.
Private Secretary of the Governor
SB 375 - 2 -
CHAPTER
An act to amend Sections 65080, 65400, 65583, 65584.01,
65584.02, 65584.04, 65587, and 65588 of, and to add Sections
14522.1, 14522.2, and 65080.01 to, the Government Code, and to
amend Section 21061.3 of, to add Section 21159.28 to, and to add
Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 21155) to Division 13 of,
the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 375, Steinberg. Transportation planning: travel demand
models: sustainable communities strategy: environmental review.
(1) Existing law requires certain transportation planning
activities by the Department of Transportation and by designated
regional transportation planning agencies, including development
of a regional transportation plan. Certain of these agencies are
designated under federal law as metropolitan planning
organizations. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation
Commission, in cooperation with the regional agencies, to prescribe
study areas for analysis and evaluation.
This bill would require the commission to maintain guidelines,
as specified, for travel demand models used in the development
of regional transportation plans by metropolitan planning
organizations. The bill would require the commission to consult
with various agencies in this regard, and to form an advisory
committee and to hold workshops before amending the guidelines.
This bill would also require the regional transportation plan for
regions of the state with a metropolitan planning organization to
adopt a sustainable communities strategy, as part of its regional
transportation plan, as specified, designed to achieve certain goals
for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles
and light trucks in a region. The bill would require the State Air
Resources Board, working in consultation with the metropolitan
planning organizations, to provide each affected region with
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the automobile and
light truck sector for 2020 and 2035 by September 30, 2010, to
appoint a Regional Targets Advisory Committee to recommend
factors and methodologies for setting those targets, and to update
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those targets every 8 years. The bill would require certain
transportation planning and programming activities by the
metropolitan planning organizations to be consistent with the
sustainable communities strategy contained in the regional
transportation plan, but would state that certain transportation
projects programmed for funding on or before December 31, 2011,
are not required to be consistent with the sustainable communities
strategy process. To the extent the sustainable communities strategy
is unable to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,
the bill would require affected metropolitan planning organizations
to prepare an alternative planning strategy to the sustainable
communities strategy showing how the targets would be achieved
through alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or
additional transportation measures or policies. The bill would
require the State Air Resources Board to review each metropolitan
planning organization's sustainable communities strategy and
alternative planning strategy to determine whether the strategy, if
implemented, would achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets. The bill would require a strategy that is found to be
insufficient by the state board to be revised by the metropolitan
planning organization, with a minimum requirement that the
metropolitan planning organization must obtain state board
acceptance that an alternative planning strategy, if implemented,
would achieve the targets. The bill would state that the adopted
strategies do not regulate the use of land and are not subject to
state approval, and that city or county land use policies, including
the general plan, are not required to be consistent with the regional
transportation plan, which would include the sustainable growth
strategy, or the alternative planning strategy. The bill would also
require the metropolitan planning organization to hold specified
informational meetings in this regard with local elected officials
and would require a public participation program with workshops
and public hearings for the public, .among other things. The bill
would enact other related provisions.
Because the bill would impose additional duties on local
agencies, it would impose astate-mandated local program.
(2) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county,
or city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its
jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a
housing element. Existing law requires the housing element to
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SB 375 - 4 -
identify the existing and projected housing needs of all economic
segments of the community.
Existing law requires the housing element, among other things,
to contain a program which sets forth a 5-year schedule of actions
of the local government to implement the goals and objectives of
the housing element. Existing law requires the program to identify
actions that will be undertaken to make sites available to
accommodate various housing needs, including, in certain cases,
the rezoning of sites to accommodate 100% of the need for housing
for very low and low-income households.
This bill would instead require the program to set forth a schedule
of actions during the planning period, as defined, and require each
action to have a timetable for implementation. The bill would
generally require rezoning of certain sites to accommodate certain
housing needs within specified times, with an opportunity for an
extension time in certain cases, and would require the local
government to hold a noticed public hearing within 30 days after
the deadline for compliance expires. The bill would, under certain
conditions, prohibit a local government that fails to complete a
required rezoning within the timeframe required from disapproving
a housing development project, as defined, or from taking various
other actions that would render the project infeasible, and would
allow the project applicant or any interested person to bring an
action to enforce these provisions. The bill would also allow a
court to compel a local government to complete the rezoning within
specified times and to impose sanctions on the local government
if the court order or judgment is not carried out, and would provide
that in certain cases the local government shall bear the burden of
proof relative to actions brought to compel compliance with
specified deadlines and requirements.
Existing law requires each local government to review and revise
its housing element as frequently as appropriate, but not less than
every 5 years.
This bill would extend that time period to 8 years for those local
governments that are located within a region covered by a
metropolitan planning organization in a nonattainment region or
by a metropolitan planning organization or regional transportation
planning agency that meets certain requirements. The bill would
also provide that, in certain cases, the time period would be reduced
to 4 years or other periods, as specified.
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The bill would enact other related provisions. Because the bill
would impose additional duties on local governments relative to
the housing element of the general plan, it would thereby impose
a state-mandated local program.
(3) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires
a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and
certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR)
on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have
a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative
declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.
CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative
declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the
environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate
that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as
revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
This bill would exempt from CEQA a transit priority project, as
defined, that meets certain requirements and that is declared by
the legislative body of a local jurisdiction to be a sustainable
communities project. The transit priority project would need to be
consistent with a metropolitan planning organization's sustainable
communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy that has
been determined by the State Air Resources Board to achieve the
greenhouse gas emission reductions targets. The bill would provide
for limited CEQA review of various other transit priority projects.
The bill, with respect to other residential or mixed-use residential
projects meeting certain requirements, would exempt the
environmental documents for those projects from being required
to include certain information regarding growth inducing impacts
or impacts from certain vehicle trips.
The bill would also authorize the legislative body of a local
jurisdiction to adopt traffic mitigation measures for transit priority
projects. The bill would exempt a transit priority project seeking
a land use approval from compliance with additional measures for
traffic impacts, if the local jurisdiction has adopted those traffic
mitigation measures.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by
the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
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SB 375 - 6
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State
Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the
state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to
these statutory provisions.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The transportation sector contributes over 40 percent of the
greenhouse gas emissions in the State of California; automobiles
and light trucks alone contribute almost 30 percent. The
transportation sector is the single largest contributor of greenhouse
gases of any sector.
(b) In 2006, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed
Assembly Bill 32 (Chapter 488 of the Statutes of 2006; hereafter
AB 32), which requires the State of California to reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels no later than 2020.
According to the State Air Resources Board, in 1990 greenhouse
gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks were 108 million
metric tons, but by 2004 these emissions had increased to 135
million metric tons.
(c) Greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks
can be substantially reduced by new vehicle technology and by
the increased use of low carbon fuel. However, even taking these
measures into account, it will be necessary to achieve significant
additional greenhouse gas reductions from changed land use
patterns and improved transportation. Without improved land use
and transportation policy, California will not be able to achieve
the goals of AB 32.
(d) In addition, automobiles and light trucks account for 50
percent of air pollution in California and 70 percent of its
consumption of petroleum. Changes inland use and transportation
policy, based upon established modeling methodology, will provide
significant assistance to California's goals to implement the federal
and state Clean Air Acts and to reduce its dependence on
petroleum.
(e) Current federal law requires regional transportation planning
agencies to include a land use allocation in the regional
transportation plan. Some regions have engaged in a regional
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"blueprint" process to prepare the land use allocation. This process
has been open and transparent. The Legislature intends, by this
act, to build upon that successful process by requiring metropolitan
planning organizations to develop and incorporate a sustainable
communities strategy which will be the land use allocation in the
regional transportation plan.
(f) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is
California's premier environmental statute. New provisions of
CEQA should be enacted so that the statute encourages developers
to submit applications and local governments to make land use
decisions that will help the state achieve its climate goals under
AB 32, assist in the achievement of state and federal air quality
standards, and increase petroleum conservation.
(g) Current planning models and analytical techniques used for
making transportation infrastructure decisions and for air quality
planning should be able to assess the effects of policy choices,
such as residential development patterns, expanded transit service
and accessibility, the walkability of communities, and the use of
economic incentives and disincentives.
(h) The California Transportation Commission has developed
guidelines for travel demand models used in the development of
regional transportation plans. This act assures the commission's
continued oversight of the guidelines, as the commission may
update them as needed from time to time.
(i) California local governments need a sustainable source of
funding to be able to accommodate patterns of growth consistent
with the state's climate, air quality, and energy conservation goals.
SEC. 2. Section 14522.1 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
14522.1. (a) (1) The commission, in consultation with the
department and the State Air Resources Board, shall maintain
guidelines for travel demand models used in the development of
regional transportation plans by federally designated metropolitan
planning organizations.
(2) Any revision of the guidelines shall include the formation
of an advisory committee that shall include representatives of the
metropolitan planning organizations, the department, organizations
knowledgeable in the creation and use of travel demand models,
local governments, and organizations concerned with the impacts
of transportation investments on communities and the environment.
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Before amending the guidelines, the commission shall hold two
workshops on the guidelines, one in northern California and one
in southern California. The workshops shall be incorporated into
regular commission meetings.
(b) The guidelines shall, at a minimum and to the extent
practicable, taking into account such factors as the size and
available resources of the metropolitan planning organization,
account for all of the following:
(1) The relationship between land use density and household
vehicle ownership and vehicle miles traveled in a way that is
consistent with statistical research.
(2) The impact of enhanced transit service levels on household
vehicle ownership and vehicle miles traveled.
(3) Changes in travel and land development likely to result from
highway or passenger rail expansion.
(4) Mode splitting that allocates trips between automobile,
transit, carpool, and bicycle and pedestrian trips. If a travel demand
model is unable to forecast bicycle and pedestrian trips, another
means may be used to estimate those trips.
(5) Speed and frequency, days, and hours of operation of transit
service.
SEC. 3. Section 14522.2 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
14522.2. (a) A metropolitan planning organization shall.
disseminate the methodology, results, and key assumptions of
whichever travel demand models it uses in a way that would be
useable and understandable to the public.
(b) Transportation planning agencies other than those identified
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14522.1, cities, and
counties are encouraged, but not required, to utilize travel demand
models that are consistent with the guidelines in the development
of their regional transportation plans.
SEC. 4. Section 65080 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65080. (a) Each transportation planning agency designated
under Section 29532 or 29532.1 shall prepare and adopt a regional
transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced
regional transportation system, including, but not limited to, mass
transportation, highway, railroad, maritime, bicycle, pedestrian,
goods movement, and aviation facilities and services. The plan
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shall be action-oriented and pragmatic, considering both the
short-term and long-term future, and shall present clear, concise
policy guidance to local and state officials. The regional
transportation plan shall consider factors specified in Section 134
of Title 23 of the United States Code. Each transportation planning
agency shall consider and incorporate, as appropriate, the
transportation plans of cities, counties, districts, private
organizations, and state and federal agencies.
(b) The regional transportation plan shall be an internally
consistent document and shall include all of the following:
(1) A policy element that describes the transportation issues in
the region, identifies and quantifies regional needs, and describes
the desired short-range and long-range transportation goals, and
pragmatic objective and policy statements. The objective and policy
statements shall be consistent with the funding estimates of the
financial element. The policy element of transportation planning
agencies with populations that exceed 200,000 persons may
quantify a set of indicators including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
(A) Measures of mobility and traffic congestion, including, but
not limited to, daily vehicle hours of delay per capita and vehicle
miles traveled per capita.
(B) Measures of road and bridge maintenance and rehabilitation
needs, including, but not limited to, roadway pavement and bridge
conditions.
(C) Measures of means of travel, including, but not limited to,
percentage share of all trips (work and nonwork) made by all of
the following:
(i) Single occupant vehicle.
(ii) Multiple occupant vehicle or carpool.
(iii) Public transit including commuter rail and intercity rail.
(iv) Walking.
(v) Bicycling.
(D) Measures of safety and security, including, but not limited
to, total injuries and fatalities assigned to each of the modes set
forth in subparagraph (C).
(E) Measures of equity and accessibility, including, but not
limited to, percentage of the population served by frequent and
reliable public transit, with a breakdown by income bracket, and
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percentage of all jobs accessible by frequent and reliable public
transit service, with a breakdown by income bracket.
(F) The requirements of this section may be met utilizing
existing sources of information. No additional traffic counts,
household surveys, or other sources of data shall be required.
(2) A sustainable communities strategy prepared by each
metropolitan planning organization as follows:
(A) No later than September 30, 2010, the State Air Resources
Board shall provide each affected region with greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector
for 2020 and 2035, respectively.
(i) No later than January 31, 2009, the state board shall appoint
a Regional Targets Advisory Committee to recommend factors to
be considered and methodologies to be used for setting greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets for the affected regions. The
committee shall be composed of representatives of the metropolitan
planning organizations, affected air districts, the League of
California Cities, the California State Association of Counties,
local transportation agencies, and members of the public, including
homebuilders, environmental organizations, planning organizations,
environmental justice organizations, affordable housing
organizations, and others. The advisory committee shall transmit
a report with its recommendations to the state board no later than
September 30, 2009. In recommending factors to be considered
and methodologies to be used, the advisory committee may
consider any relevant issues, including, but not limited to, data
needs, modeling techniques, growth forecasts, the impacts of
regional jobs-housing balance on interregional travel and
greenhouse gas emissions, economic and demographic trends, the
magnitude of greenhouse gas reduction benefits from a variety of
land use and transportation strategies, and appropriate methods to
describe regional targets and to monitor performance in attaining
those targets. The state board shall consider the report prior to
setting the targets.
(ii) Prior to setting the targets for a region, the state board shall
exchange technical information with the metropolitan planning
organization and the affected air district. The metropolitan planning
organization may recommend a target for the region. The
metropolitan planning organization shall hold at least one public
workshop within the region after receipt of the report from the
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advisory committee. The state board shall release draft targets for
each region no later than June 30, 2010.
(iii) In establishing these targets, the state board shall take into
account greenhouse gas emission reductions that will be achieved
by improved vehicle emission standards, changes in fuel
composition, and other measures it has approved that will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the affected regions, and prospective
measures the state board plans to adopt to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from other greenhouse gas emission sources as that term
is defined in subdivision (i) of Section 38505 of the Health and
Safety Code and consistent with the regulations promulgated
pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 12.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code).
(iv) The state board shall update the regional greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets every eight years consistent with each
metropolitan planning organization's timeframe for updating its
regional transportation plan under federal law unti12050. The state
board may revise the targets every four years based on changes in
the factors considered under clause (iii) above. The state board
shall exchange technical information with the Department of
Transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, local
governments, and affected air districts and engage in a consultative
process with public and private stakeholders prior to updating these
targets.
(v) The greenhouse gas emission reduction targets may be
expressed in gross tons, tons per capita, tons per household, or in
any other metric deemed appropriate by the state board.
(B) Each metropolitan planning organization shall prepare a
sustainable communities strategy, subject to the requirements of
Part 450 of Title 23 of, and Part 93 of Title 40 of, the Code of
Federal Regulations, including the requirement to utilize the most
recent planning assumptions considering local general plans and
other factors. The sustainable communities strategy shall (i)
identify the general location of uses, residential densities, and
building intensities within the region; (ii) identify areas within the
region sufficient to house all the population of the region, including
all economic segments of the population, over the course of the
planning period of the regional transportation plan taking into
account net migration into the region, population growth, household
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formation and employment growth; (iii) identify areas within the
region sufficient to house an eight-year projection of the regional
housing need for the region pursuant to Section 65584; (iv) identify
a transportation network to service the transportation needs of the
region; (v) gather and consider the best practically available
scientific information regarding resource areas and farmland in
the region as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
65080.01; (vi) consider the state housing goals specified in Sections
65580 and 65581; (vii) set forth a forecasted development pattern
for the region, which, when integrated with the transportation
network, and other transportation measures and policies, will
reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light
trucks to achieve, if there is a feasible way to do so, the greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets approved by the state board; and
(viii) allow the regional transportation plan to comply with Section
176 of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7506). Within
the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission,
as defined by Section 66502, the Association of Bay Area
Governments shall be responsible for clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (v), and
(vi), the Metropolitan Transportation Commission shall be
responsible for clauses (iv) and (viii); and the Association of Bay
Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission shall jointly be responsible for clause (vii).
(C) In the region served by the multicounty transportation
planning agency described in Section 130004 of the Public Utilities
Code, a subregional council of governments and the county
transportation commission may work together to propose the
sustainable communities strategy and an alternative planning
strategy, if one is prepared pursuant to subparagraph (H), for that
subregional area. The metropolitan planning organization may
adopt a framework for a subregional sustainable communities
strategy or a subregional alternative planning strategy to address
the intraregional land use, transportation, economic, air quality,
and climate policy relationships. The metropolitan planning
organization shall include the subregional sustainable communities
strategy for that subregion in the regional sustainable communities
strategy to the extent consistent with this section and federal law
and approve the subregional alternative planning strategy, if one
is prepared pursuant to subparagraph (H), for that subregional area
to the extent consistent with this section. The metropolitan planning
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organization shall develop overall guidelines, create public
participation plans pursuant to subparagraph (E), ensure
coordination, resolve conflicts, make sure that the overall plan
complies with applicable legal requirements, and adopt the plan
for the region.
(D) The metropolitan planning organization shall conduct at
least two informational meetings in each county within the region
for members of the board of supervisors and city councils on the
sustainable communities strategy and alternative planning strategy,
if any. The metropolitan planning organization may conduct only
one informational meeting if it is attended by representatives of
the county board of supervisors and city council members
representing a majority of the cities representing a majority of the
population in the incorporated areas of that county. Notice of the
meeting shall be sent to the clerk of the board of supervisors and
to each city clerk. The purpose of the meeting shall be to present
a draft of the sustainable communities strategy to the members of
the board of supervisors and the city council members in that
county and to solicit and consider their input and recommendations.
(E) Each metropolitan planning organization shall adopt a public
participation plan, for development of the sustainable communities
strategy and an alternative planning strategy, if any, that includes
all of the following:
(i) Outreach efforts to encourage the active participation of a
broad range of stakeholder groups in the planning process,
consistent with the agency's adopted Federal Public Participation
Plan, including, but not limited to, affordable housing advocates,
transportation advocates, neighborhood and community groups,
environmental advocates, home builder representatives,
broad-based business organizations, landowners, commercial
property interests, and homeowner associations.
(ii) Consultation with congestion management agencies,
transportation agencies, and transportation commissions.
(iii) Workshops throughout the region to provide the public with
the information and tools necessary to provide a clear
understanding of the issues and policy choices. At least one
workshop shall be held in each county in the region. For counties
with a population greater than 500,000, at least three workshops
shall be held. Each workshop, to the extent practicable, shall
include urban simulation computer modeling to create visual
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representations of the sustainable communities strategy and the
alternative planning strategy.
(iv) Preparation and circulation of a draft sustainable
communities strategy and an alternative planning strategy, if one
is prepared, not less than 55 days before adoption of a final regional
transportation plan.
(v) At least three public hearings on the draft sustainable
communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and
alternative planning strategy, if one is prepared. If the metropolitan
transportation organization consists of a single county, at least two
public hearings shall be held. To the maximum extent feasible, the
hearings shall be in different parts of the region to maximize the
opportunity for participation by members of the public throughout
the region.
(vi) A process for enabling members of the public to provide a
single request to receive notices, information, and updates.
(F) In preparing a sustainable communities strategy, the
metropolitan planning organization shall consider spheres of
influence that have been adopted by the local agency formation
commissions within its region.
(G) Prior to adopting a sustainable communities strategy, the
metropolitan planning organization shall quantify the reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions projected to be achieved by the
sustainable communities strategy and set forth the difference, if
any, between the amount of that reduction and the target for the
region established by the state board.
(H) If the sustainable communities strategy, prepared in
compliance with subparagraph (B) or (C), is unable to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to achieve the greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets established by the state board, the metropolitan
planning organization shall prepare an alternative planning strategy
to the sustainable communities strategy showing how those
greenhouse gas emission targets would be achieved through
alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or additional
transportation measures or policies. The alternative planning
strategy shall be a separate document from the regional
transportation plan, but it may be adopted concurrently with the
regional transportation plan. In preparing the alternative planning
strategy, the metropolitan planning organization:
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(i) Shall identify the principal impediments to achieving the
targets within the sustainable communities strategy.
(ii) May include an alternative development pattern for the
region pursuant to subparagraphs (B) to (F), inclusive.
(iii) Shall describe how the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets would be achieved by the alternative planning strategy, and
why the development pattern, measures, and policies in the
alternative planning strategy are the most practicable choices for
achievement of the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
(iv) An alternative development pattern set forth in the
alternative planning strategy shall comply with Part 450 of Title
23 of, and Part 93 of Title 40 of, the Code of Federal Regulations,
except to the extent that compliance will prevent achievement of
the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets approved by the
state board.
(v) For purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code), an alternative planning strategy shall not
constitute a land use plan, policy, or regulation, and the
inconsistency of a project with an alternative planning strategy
shall not be a consideration in determining whether a project may
have an environmental effect.
(I) (i) Prior to starting the public participation process adopted
pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 65080, the metropolitan planning organization shall
submit a description to the state board of the technical methodology
it intends to use to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from its
sustainable communities strategy and, if appropriate, its alternative
planning strategy. The state board shall respond to the metropolitan
planning organization in a timely manner with written comments
about the technical methodology, including specifically describing
any aspects of that methodology it concludes will not yield accurate
estimates of greenhouse gas emissions, and suggested remedies.
The metropolitan planning organization is encouraged to work
with the state board until the state board concludes that the
technical methodology operates accurately.
(ii) After adoption, a metropolitan planning organization shall
submit a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative
planning strategy, if one has been adopted, to the state board for
review, including the quantification of the greenhouse gas emission
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reductions the strategy would achieve and a description of the
technical methodology used to obtain that result. Review by the
state board shall be limited to acceptance or rejection of the
metropolitan planning organization's determination that the strategy
submitted would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets established by the state board. The state
board shall complete its review within 60 days.
(iii) If the state board determines that the strategy submitted
would not, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets, the metropolitan planning organization shall
revise its strategy or adopt an alternative planning strategy, if not
previously adopted, and submit the strategy for review pursuant
to clause (ii). At a minimum, the metropolitan planning
organization must obtain state board acceptance that an alternative
planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets established for that region by the
state board.
(J) Neither a sustainable communities strategy nor an alternative
planning strategy regulates the use of land, nor, except as provided
by subparagraph (I), shall either one be subject to any state
approval. Nothing in a sustainable communities strategy shall be
interpreted as superseding the exercise of the land use authority
of cities and counties within the region. Nothing in this section
shall be interpreted to limit the state board's authority under any
other provision of law. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted
to authorize the abrogation of any vested right whether created by
statute or by common law. Nothing in this section shall require a
city's or county's land use policies and regulations, including its
general plan, to be consistent with the regional transportation plan
or an alternative planning strategy. Nothing in this section requires
a metropolitan planning organization to approve a sustainable
communities strategy that would be inconsistent with Part 450 of
Title 23 of, or Part 93 of Title 40 of, the Code of Federal
Regulations and any administrative guidance under those
regulations. Nothing in this section relieves a public or private
entity or any person from compliance with any other local, state,
or federal law.
(K) Nothing in this section requires projects programmed for
funding on or before December 31, 2011, to be subject to the
provisions of this paragraph if they (i) are contained in the 2007
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or 2009 Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program,
(ii) are funded pursuant to Chapter 12.49 (commencing with
Section 8879.20) of Division 1 of Title 2, or (iii) were specifically
listed in a ballot measure prior to December 31, 2008, approving
a sales tax increase for transportation projects. Nothing in this
section shall require a transportation sales tax authority to change
the funding allocations approved by the voters for categories of
transportation projects in a sales tax measure adopted prior to
December 31, 2010. For purposes of this subparagraph, a
transportation sales tax authority is a district, as defined in Section
7252 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, that is authorized to
impose a sales tax for transportation purposes.
(L) A metropolitan planning organization, or a regional
transportation planning agency not within a metropolitan planning
organization, that is required to adopt a regional transportation
plan not less than every five years, may elect to adopt the plan not
less than every four years. This election shall be made by the board
of directors of the metropolitan planning organization or regional
transportation planning agency no later than June 1, 2009, or
thereafter 54 months prior to the statutory deadline for the adoption
of housing elements for the local jurisdictions within the region,
after a public hearing at which comments are accepted from
members of the public and representatives of cities and counties
within the region covered by the metropolitan planning
organization or regional transportation planning agency. Notice
of the public hearing shall be given to the general public and by
mail to cities and counties within the region no later than 30 days
prior to the date of the public hearing. Notice of election shall be
promptly given to the Department of Housing and Community
Development. The metropolitan planning organization or the
regional transportation planning agency shall complete its next
regional transportation plan within three years of the notice of
election.
(M) Two or more of the metropolitan planning organizations
for Fresno County, Kern County, Kings County, Madera County,
Merced County, San Joaquin County, Stanislaus County, and
Tulare County may work together to develop and adopt
multiregional goals and policies that may address interregional
land use, transportation, economic, air quality, and climate
relationships. The participating metropolitan planning organizations
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may also develop a multiregional sustainable communities strategy,
to the extent consistent with federal law, or an alternative planning
strategy for adoption by the metropolitan planning organizations.
Each participating metropolitan planning organization shall
consider any adopted multiregional goals and policies in the
development of a sustainable communities strategy and, if
applicable, an alternative planning strategy for its region.
(3) An action element that describes the programs and actions
necessary to implement the plan and assigns implementation
responsibilities. The action element may describe all transportation
projects proposed for development during the 20-year or greater
life of the plan. The action element shall consider congestion
management programming activities carried out within the region.
(4) (A) A financial element that summarizes the cost of plan
implementation constrained by a realistic projection of available
revenues. The financial element shall also contain
recommendations for allocation of funds. A county transportation
commission created pursuant to Section 130000 of the Public
Utilities Code shall be responsible for recommending projects to
be funded with regional improvement funds, if the project is
consistent with the regional transportation plan. The first five years
of the financial element shall be based on the five-year estimate
of funds developed pursuant to Section 14524. The financial
element may recommend the development of specified new sources
of revenue, consistent with the policy element and action element.
(B) The financial element of transportation planning agencies
with populations that exceed 200,000 persons may include a project
cost breakdown for all projects proposed for development during
the 20-year life of the plan that includes total expenditures and
related percentages of total expenditures for all of the following:
(i) State highway expansion.
(ii) State highway rehabilitation, maintenance, and operations.
(iii) Local road and street expansion.
(iv) Local road and street rehabilitation, maintenance, and
operation.
(v) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail expansion.
(vi) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail rehabilitation,
maintenance, and operations.
(vii) Pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
(viii) Environmental enhancements and mitigation.
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(ix) Research and planning.
(x) Other categories.
(C) The metropolitan planning organization or county
transportation agency, whichever entity is appropriate, shall
consider financial incentives for cities and counties that have
resource areas or farmland, as defined in Section 65080.01, for
the purposes of, for example, transportation investments for the
preservation and safety of the city street or county road system
and farm to market and interconnectivity transportation needs. The
metropolitan planning organization or county transportation
agency, whichever entity is appropriate, shall also consider
financial assistance for counties to address countywide service
responsibilities in counties that contribute towards the greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets by implementing policies for growth
to occur within their cities.
(c) Each transportation planning agency may also include other
factors of local significance as an element of the regional
transportation plan, including, but not limited to, issues of mobility
for specific sectors of the community, including, but not limited
to, senior citizens.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, each
transportation planning agency shall adopt and submit, every four
years, an updated regional transportation plan to the California
Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation.
A transportation planning agency located in a federally designated
air quality attainment area or that does not contain an urbanized
area may at its option adopt and submit a regional transportation
plan every five years. When applicable, the plan shall be consistent
with federal planning and programming requirements and shall
conform to the regional transportation plan guidelines adopted by
the California Transportation Commission. Prior to adoption of
the regional transportation plan, a public hearing shall be held after
the giving of notice of the hearing by publication in the affected
county or counties pursuant to Section 6061.
SEC. 5. Section 65080.01 is added to the Government Code,
to read:
65080.01. The following definitions apply to terms used in
Section 65080:
(a) "Resource areas" include (1) all publicly owned parks and
open space; (2) open space or habitat areas protected by natural
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community conservation plans, habitat conservation plans, and
other adopted natural resource protection plans; (3) habitat for
species identified as candidate, fully protected, sensitive, or species
of special status by local, state, or federal agencies or protected
by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, the California
Endangered Species Act, or the Native Plan Protection Act; (4)
lands subject to conservation or agricultural easements for
conservation or agricultural purposes by local governments, special
districts, or nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, areas of the state
designated by the State Mining and Geology Board as areas of
statewide or regional significance pursuant to Section 2790 of the
Public Resources Code, and lands under WilliamsonActcontracts;
(5) areas designated for open-space or agricultural uses in adopted
open-space elements or agricultural elements of the local general
plan or by local ordinance; (6) areas containing biological resources
as described in Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines that may be
significantly affected by the sustainable communities strategy or
the alternative planning strategy; and (7) an area subject to flooding
where a development project would not, at the time of development
in the judgment of the agency, meet the requirements of the
National Flood Insurance Program or where the area is subject to
more protective provisions of state law or local ordinance.
(b) "Farmland" means farmland that is outside all existing city
spheres of influence or city limits as of January 1, 2008, and is
one of the following:
(1) Classified as prime or unique farmland or farmland of
statewide importance.
(2) Farmland classified by a local agency in its general plan that
meets or exceeds the standards for prime or unique farmland or
farmland of statewide importance.
(c) "Feasible" means capable of being accomplished in a
successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into
account economic, enviromnental, legal, social, and technological
factors.
(d) "Consistent" shall have the same meaning as that term is
used in Section 134 of Title 23 of the United States Code.
(e) "Internally consistent" means that the contents of the
elements of the regional transportation plan must be consistent
with each other.
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SEC. 6. Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65400. (a) After the legislative body has adopted all or part
of a general plan, the planning agency shall do both of the
following:
(1) Investigate and make recommendations to the legislative
body regarding reasonable and practical means for implementing
the general plan or element of the general plan, so that it will serve
as an effective guide for orderly growth and development,
preservation and conservation of open-space land and natural
resources, and the efficient expenditure of public funds relating to
the subjects addressed in the general plan.
(2) Provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to the
legislative body, the Office of Planning and Research, and the
Department of Housing and Community Development that includes
all of the following:
(A) The status of the plan and progress in its implementation.
(B) The progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs
determined pursuant to Section 65584 and local efforts to remove
governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and
development of housing pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision
(c) of Section 65583.
The housing element portion of the annual report, as required
by this paragraph, shall be prepared through the use of forms and
definitions adopted by the Department of Housing and Community
Development pursuant to the rulemaking provisions of the'
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with.
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2). Prior to and after
adoption of the forms, the housing element portion of the annual
report shall include a section that describes the actions taken by
the local government towards completion of the programs and
status of the local government's compliance with the deadlines in
its housing element. That report shall be considered at an annual
public meeting before the legislative body where members of the
public shall be allowed to provide oral testimony and written
comments.
(C) The degree to which its approved general plan complies
with the guidelines developed and adopted pursuant to Section
65040.2 and the date of the last revision to the general plan.
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(b) If a court finds, upon a motion to that effect, that a city,
county, or city and county failed to submit, within 60 days of the
deadline established in this section, the housing element portion
of the report required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) that substantially complies with the
requirements of this section, the court shall issue an order or
judgment compelling compliance with this section within 60 days.
If the city, county, or city and county fails to comply with the
court's order within 60 days, the plaintiff or petitioner may move
for sanctions, and the court may, upon that motion, grant
appropriate sanctions. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure
that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines
that its order or judgment is not carried out within 60 days, the
court may issue further orders as provided by law to ensure that
the purposes and policies of this section are fulfilled. This
subdivision applies to proceedings initiated on or after the first
day of October following the adoption of forms and definitions by
the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), but no sooner than six months
following that adoption.
SEC. 7. Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65583. The housing element shall consist of an identification
and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a
statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial
resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation,
improvement, and development of housing. The housing element
shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing,
factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and
shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs
of all economic segments of the community. The element shall
contain all of the following:
(a) An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of
resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs.
The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1) An analysis of population and employment trends and
documentation of projections and a quantification of the locality's
existing and projected housing needs for all income levels,
including extremely low income households, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 50105 and Section 50106 of the Health
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and Safety Code. These existing and projected needs shall include
the locality's share of the regional housing need in accordance
with Section 65584. Local agencies shall calculate the subset of
very low income households allotted under Section 65584 that
qualify as extremely low income households. The local agency
may either use available census data to calculate the percentage
of very low income households that qualify as extremely low
income households or presume that 50 percent of the very low
income households qualify as extremely low income households.
The number of extremely low income households and very low
income households shall equal the jurisdiction's allocation of very
low income households pursuant to Section 65584.
(2) An analysis and documentation of household characteristics,
including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing
characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock
condition.
(3) An inventory of land suitable for residential development,
including vacant sites and sites having potential for redevelopment,
and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities
and services to these sites.
(4) (A) The identification of a zone or zones where emergency
shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use
or other discretionary permit. The identified zone or zones shall
include sufficient capacity to accommodate the need for emergency
shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local
government shall identify a zone or zones that can accommodate
at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government
cannot identify a zone or zones with sufficient capacity, the local
government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance
to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the
adoption of the housing element. The local government may
identify additional zones where emergency shelters are permitted
with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also
demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing,
development, and management standards are objective and
encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to,
emergency shelters. Emergency shelters may only be subject to
those development and management standards that apply to
residential or commercial development within the same zone except
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that a local government may apply written, objective standards
that include all of the following:
(i) The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be
served nightly by the facility.
(ii) Off-street parking based upon demonstrated need, provided
that the standards do not require more parking for emergency
shelters than for other residential or commercial uses within the
same zone.
(iii) The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting
and client intake areas.
(iv) The provision of onsite management.
(v) The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that
emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi) The length of stay.
(vii) Lighting.
(viii) Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in
operation.
(B) The permit processing, development, and management
standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be
discretionary acts within the meaning of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(C) A local government that can demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the department the existence of one or more emergency shelters
either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional
agreement that can accommodate that jurisdiction's need for
emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with
the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zone
or zones where new emergency shelters are allowed with a
conditional use permit.
(D) A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances
that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take
additional action to identify zones for emergency shelters. The
housing element must only describe how existing ordinances,
policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this
paragraph.
(5) An analysis ofpotential and actual governmental constraints
upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing
for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities
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as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including
land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site
improvements, fees and other exactions required of developers,
and local processing and permit procedures. The analysis shall
also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints
that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional
housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting
the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive
housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified
pursuant to paragraph (7). Transitional housing and supportive
housing shall be considered a residential use of property, and shall
be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential
dwellings of the same type in the same zone.
(6) An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental
constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development
of housing for all income levels, including the availability of
financing, the price of land, and the cost of construction.
(7) An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of
the elderly, persons with disabilities, large families, farmworkers,
families with female heads of households, and families and persons
in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall
be assessed based on annual and seasonal need. The need for
emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive
housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end
chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which
funding has been identified to allow construction during the
planning period.
(8) An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with
respect to residential development.
(9) An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that
are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the
next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage
prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. "Assisted housing
developments," for the purpose of this section, shall mean
multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance
under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section
65863.10, state and local multifamily- revenue bond programs,
local redevelopment programs, the federal Community
Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. "Assisted
housing developments" shall also include multifamily rental units
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that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing
program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section
65916.
(A) The analysis shall include a listing of each development by
project name and address, the type of governmental assistance
received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use
and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be
lost from the locality's low-income housing stock in each year
during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally
funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need
only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B) The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new
rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace
the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated
cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost
analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for
each five-year period and does not have to contain a
project-by-project cost estimate.
(C) The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit
corporations known to the local government which have legal and
managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing
developments.
(D) The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal,
state, and local financing and subsidy programs which can be used
to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing
developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not
limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program
funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency
of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing
authority operating within the community. In considering the use
of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify
the amounts of funds under each available program which have
not been legally obligated for other purposes and which could be
available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b) (1) A statement of the community's goals, quantified
objectives, and policies relative to the maintenance, preservation,
improvement, and development of housing.
(2) It is recognized that the total housing needs identified
pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and
the community's ability to satisfy this need within the content of
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the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing
with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified
objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The
quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of
housing units by income category, including extremely low income,
that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a
five-year time period.
(c) A program which sets forth a schedule of actions during the
planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, which
may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there
will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning
period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to
undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and
objectives of the housing element through the administration of
land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory
concessions and incentives, and the utilization of appropriate
federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available
and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income
housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a
redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community
Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section
33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate
provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the
community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available
during the planning period of the general plan with appropriate
zoning and development standards and with services and facilities
to accommodate that portion of the city's or county's share of the
regional housing need for each income .level that could not be
accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and
to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall
be identified as needed to facilitate and encourage the development
of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including
multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes,
housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing,
single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional
housing.
(A) Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
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the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to
Section 65584, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of
minimum density and development standards, for jurisdictions
with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to
Section 65588, shall be completed no later than three years after
either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after
receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is
extended pursuant to subdivision (fj. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing
element within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588
for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites,
including adoption of minimum density and development standards,
shall be completed no later than three years and 120 days from the
statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing
element.
(B) Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to
Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be
developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall
include all components specified in subdivision (b) of Section
65583.2.
(C) Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate
the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for
sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits
farmworker housing use by right, including density and
development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the
feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and
very low income households.
(2) Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the
needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income
households.
(3) Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove
governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and
development of housing, including housing for all income levels
and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove
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constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing
designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive
services for, persons with disabilities.
(4) Conserve and improve the condition of the existing
affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to
mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private
action.
(5) Promote housing opportunities for all persons regardless of
race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color,
familial status, or disability.
(6) Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing
developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision
(a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing
developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available
federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified
in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has
other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not
available. The program may include strategies that involve local
regulation and technical assistance.
(7) The program shall include an identification of the agencies
and officials responsible for the implementation of the various
actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with
other general plan elements and community goals. The local
government shall make a diligent effort to achieve public
participation of all economic segments of the community in the
development of the housing element, and the program shall
describe this effort.
(d) (1) A local government may satisfy all or part of its
requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the
development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional
agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities,
that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one
year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning
of the planning period.
(2) The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter
capacity to each jurisdiction as credit towards its emergency shelter
need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was
allocated as part of its housing element.
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(3) Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement
shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A) How the joint facility will meet the jurisdiction's emergency
shelter need.
(B) The jurisdiction's contribution to the facility for both the
development and ongoing operation and management of the
facility.
(C) The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction
contributes to the facility.
(4) The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating
jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual
capacity of the shelter.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to
this article that alter the required content of a housing element
shall apply to both of the following:
(1) A housing element or housing element amendment prepared
pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02,
when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the
department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90
days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2) Any housing element or housing element amendment
prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section
65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit
the first draft to the department before the due date specified in
Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f) The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be
extended by one year if the local government has completed the
rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent
of the sites for low- and very low income households and if the
legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines,
based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following
circumstances exist:
(1) The local government has been unable to complete the
rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of
the local government of any other state federal or local agency.
(2) The local government is unable to complete the rezoning
because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory
constraints.
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(3) The local government must undertake a major revision to
its general plan in order to accommodate the housing related
policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative
planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the
department together with a detailed budget and schedule for
preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans
for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule
shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year
of the adoption of the resolution.
(g) (1) If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by
the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c), as it maybe extended pursuant to subdivision (f),
except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not
disapprove a housing development project, nor require a
conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other
locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that
would render the project infeasible, if the housing development
project (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be
rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that
subparagraph; and (B) complies with applicable, objective general
plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review
standards, described in the program action required by that
subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the
Subdivision Map Act. Design review shall not constitute a "project"
for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of
the Public Resources Code.
(2) A local government may disapprove a housing development
described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported
by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following
conditions exist:
(A) The housing development project would have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project
is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be
developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a "specific,
adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and
unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public
health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed
on the date the application was deemed complete.
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(B) There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or
avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other
than the disapproval of the housing development project or the
approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at
a lower density.
(3) The applicant or any interested person may bring an action
to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency
disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of
this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment
compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain
jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If
the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried
out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure
that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In
any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the
burden of proof.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, "housing development
project" means a project to construct residential units for which
the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the
appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and
use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-,
and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost
or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the
Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by
the applicable financing.
(h) An action to enforce the program actions of the housing
element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
SEC. 8. Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65584.01. (a) For the fourth and subsequent revision of the
housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in
consultation with each council of governments, where applicable,
shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for
each region in the following manner:
(b) The department's determination shall be based upon
population projections produced by the Department of Finance
and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional
transportation plans, in consultation with each council of
governments. If the total regional population forecast for the
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planning period, developed by the council of governments and
used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is
within a range of 3 percent of the total regional population forecast
for the planning period over the same time period by the
Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by
the council of governments shall be the basis from which the
department determines the existing and projected need for housing
in the region. If the difference between the total population growth
projected by the council of governments and the total population
growth projected for the region by the Department of Finance is
greater than 3 percent, then the department and the council of
governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used
for population projections and seek agreement on a population
projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the
existing and projected housing need for the region. If no agreement
is reached, then the population projection for the region shall be
the population projection for the region prepared by the Department
of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of
discussions with the council of governments.
(c) (1) At least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision
pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and
projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and
consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions
and methodology to be used by the department to determine the
region's housing needs. The council of governments shall provide
data assumptions from the council's projections, including, if
available, the following data for the region:
(A) Anticipated household growth associated with projected
population increases.
(B) Household size data and trends in household size.
(C) The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based
on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic
measures.
(D) The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy
rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility,
as well as housing replacement needs.
(E) Other characteristics of the composition of the projected
population.
(F) The relationship between jobs and housing, including any
imbalance between jobs and housing.
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(2) The department may accept or reject the information
provided by the council of governments or modify its own
assumptions or methodology based on this information. After
consultation with the council of governments, the department shall
make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the
factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (F), inclusive, of paragraph
(1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these
determinations to the council of governments.
(d) (1) After consultation with the council of governments, the
department shall make a determination of the region's existing
and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and
methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (c). The region's
existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement
of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region
using the regional employment projections in the applicable
regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of
the determination from the department, the council of governments
may file an objection to the department's determination of the
region's existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2) The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of
the following:
(A) The department failed to base its determination on the
population projection for the region established pursuant to
subdivision (b), and shall identify the population projection which
the council of governments believes should instead be used for the
determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B) The regional housing need determined by the department
is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions
determined pursuant to subdivision (c). The objection shall include
a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need
based upon the determinations made in subdivision (c), including
analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more
reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions
determined pursuant to subdivision (c).
(3) If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to
this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed
alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also
include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination.
Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this
section, the department shall consider the objection and make a
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final written determination of the region's existing and projected
housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon
which the determination was made.
SEC. 9. Section 65584.02 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65584.02. (a) For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the
housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the existing and
projected need for housing may be determined for each region by
the department as follows, as an alternative to the process pursuant
to Section 65584.01:
(1) In a region in which at least one subregion has accepted
delegated authority pursuant to Section 65584.03, the region's
housing need shall be determined at least 26 months prior to the
housing element update deadline pursuant to Section 65588. In a
region in which no subregion has accepted delegation pursuant to
Section 65584.03, the region's housing need shall be determined
at least 24 months prior to the housing element deadline.
(2) At least six months prior to the department's determination
of regional housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), a council of
governments may request the use of population and household
forecast assumptions used in the regional transportation plan. This
request shall include all of the following:
(A) Proposed data and assumptions for factors contributing to
housing need beyond household growth identified in the forecast.
These factors shall include allowance for vacant or replacement
units, and may include other adjustment factors.
(B) A proposed planning period that is not longer than the period
of time covered by the regional transportation improvement plan
or plans of the region pursuant to Section 14527, but a period not
less than five years, and not longer than six years.
(C) A comparison between the population and household
assumptions used for the Regional Transportation Plan with
population and household estimates and projections of the
Department of Finance.
(b) The department shall consult with the council of
governments regarding requests submitted pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a). The department may seek advice and consult
with the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance,
the State Department of Transportation, a representative of a
contiguous council of governments, and any other party as deemed
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necessary. The department may request that the council of
governments revise data, assumptions, or methodology to be used
for the determination of regional housing need, or may reject the
request submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
Subsequent to consultation with the council of governments, the
department will respond in writing to requests submitted pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(c) If the council of governments does not submit a request
pursuant to subdivision (a), or if the department rejects the request
of the council of governments, the determination for the region
shall be made pursuant to Sections 65584 and 65584.01.
SEC. 10. Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65584.04. (a) At least two years prior to a scheduled revision
required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or
delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop a proposed
methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional
housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the
region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this
section. The methodology shall be consistent with the objectives
listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b) (1) No more than six months prior to the development of a
proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected
housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of
its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information
regarding the factors listed in subdivision (d) that will allow the
development of a methodology based upon the factors established
in subdivision (d).
(2) The council of governments shall seek to obtain the
information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout
the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(3) The information provided by a local government pursuant
to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council
of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source
information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section.
The survey shall state that none of the information received may
be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established
for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(4) If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey
pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may
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submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (d)
prior to the public comment period provided for in subdivision
(c).
(c) Public participation and access shall be required in the
development of the methodology and in the process of drafting
and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs.
Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and
councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to
achieve public participation of all economic segments of the
community. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant
underlying data and assumptions, and an explanation of how
information about local government conditions gathered pursuant
to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed
methodology, and how each of the factors listed in subdivision (d)
is incorporated into the methodology, shall be distributed to all
cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who
have made a written request for the proposed methodology. The
council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall
conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written
comments on the proposed methodology.
(d) To the extent that sufficient data is available from local
governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each
council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall
include the following factors to develop the methodology that
allocates regional housing needs:
(1) Each member jurisdiction's existing and projected jobs and
housing relationship.
(2) The opportunities and constraints to development of
additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of
the following:
(A) Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal
or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and
distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider
other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from
providing necessary infrastructure for additional development
during the planning period.
(B) The availability of land suitable for urban development or
for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized
land, and opportunities for infill development and increased
residential densities. The council of governments may not limit
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its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban
development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions
of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased
residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and
land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable
for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of
Water Resources has determined that the flood management
infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid
the risk of flooding.
(C) Lands preserved or protected from urban development under
existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect
open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources
on a long-term basis.
(D) County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as
defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area.
(3) The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes
of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and
opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and
existing transportation infrastructure.
(4) The market demand for housing.
(5) Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct
growth toward incorporated areas of the county.
(6) The loss ofunits contained in assisted housing developments,
as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583,
that changed tonon-low-income use through mortgage prepayment,
subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(7) High-housing cost burdens.
(8) The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9) The housing needs generated by the presence of a private
university or a campus of the California State University or the
University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10) Any other factors adopted by the council of governments.
(e) The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as
applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors
described in subdivision (d) was incorporated into the methodology
and how the methodology is consistent with subdivision (d) of
Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting.
(f) Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard
of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of
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residential building permits issued by a city or county shall not be
a justification for a determination or a reduction in the share of a
city or county of the regional housing need.
(g) In addition to the factors identified pursuant to subdivision
(d), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as
applicable, shall identify any existing local, regional, or state
incentives, such as a priority for funding or other incentives
available to those local governments that are willing to accept a
higher share than proposed in the draft allocation to those local
governments by the council of governments or delegate subregion
pursuant to Section 65584.05.
(h) Following the conclusion of the 60-day public comment
period described in subdivision (c) on the proposed allocation
methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate
by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable,
as a result of comments received during the public comment period,
each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable,
shall adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation
methodology and provide notice of the adoption of the
methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate
subregion as applicable, and to the department.
(i) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning
be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan.
To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing
units within the region consistent with the development pattern
included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2) The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional
housing need, by income category, as determined under Section
65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region
receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income
households.
(3) The resolution approving the final housing need allocation
plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the
sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation
plan.
SEC. 11. Section 65587 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65587. (a) Each city, county, or city and county shall bring
its housing element, as required by subdivision (c) of Section
65302, into conformity with the requirements of this article on or
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SB 375 - 40
before October 1, 1981, and the deadlines set by Section 65588.
Except as specifically provided in subdivision (b) of Section 65361,
the Director of Planning and Research shall not grant an extension
of time from these requirements.
(b) Any action brought by any interested party to review the
conformity with the provisions of this article of any housing
element or portion thereof or revision thereto shall be brought
pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure; the
court's review of compliance with the provisions of this article
shall extend to whether the housing element or portion thereof or
revision thereto substantially complies with the requirements of
this article.
(c) If a court finds that an action of a city, county, or city and
county, which is required to be consistent with its general plan,
does not comply with its housing element, the city, county, or city
and county shall bring its action into compliance within 60 days.
However, the court shall retain jurisdiction throughout the period
for compliance to enforce its decision. Upon the court's
determination that the 60-day period for compliance would place
an undue hardship on the city, county, or city and county, the court
may extend the time period for compliance by an additional 60
days.
(d) (1) If a court finds that a city, county, or city and county
failed to complete the rezoning required by subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583, as that deadline
may be modified by the extension provided for in subdivision (f)
of that section, the court shall issue an order or judgment, after
considering the equities of the circumstances presented by all
parties, compelling the local government to complete the rezoning
within 60 days or the earliest time consistent with public hearing
notice requirements in existence at the time the action was filed.
The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or
judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or
judgment is not carried out, the court shall issue further orders to
ensure that the purposes and policies of this article are fulfilled,
including ordering, after considering the equities of the
circumstances presented by all parties, that any rezoning required
by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
65583 be completed within 60 days or the earliest time consistent
with public hearing notice requirements in existence at the time
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41- SB 375
the action was filed and may impose sanctions on the city, county,
or city and county.
(2) Any interested person may bring an action to compel
compliance with the deadlines and requirements of paragraphs (1),
(2), and (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583. The action shall
be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil
Procedure. An action may be brought pursuant to the notice and
accrual provisions of subdivision (d) of Section 65009. In any such
action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden
of proof.
SEC. 12. Section 65588 of the Government Code is amended
to read:
65588. (a) Each local government shall review its housing
element as frequently as appropriate to evaluate all of the
following:
(1) The appropriateness of the housing goals, objectives, and
policies in contributing to the attainment of the state housing goal.
(2) The effectiveness of the housing element in attainment of
the community's housing goals and objectives.
(3) The progress of the city, county, or city and county in
implementation of the housing element.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (7) of subdivision (e), the
housing element shall be revised as appropriate, but not less than
every eight years, to reflect the results of this periodic review, by
those local governments that are located within a region covered
by (1) a metropolitan planning organization in a region classified
as nonattainment for one or more pollutants regulated by the federal
Clean Air Act or (2) a metropolitan planning organization or
regional transportation planning agency that is required, or has
elected pursuant to subparagraph (L) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 65080, to adopt a regional transportation
plan not less than every four years, except that a local government
that does not adopt a housing element within 120 days of the
statutory deadline for adoption of the housing element shall revise
its housing element as appropriate, but not less than every four
years. The housing element shall be revised, as appropriate, but
not less than every five years by those local governments that are
located within a region covered by a metropolitan planning
organization or regional transportation planning agency that is
required to adopt a regional transportation plan not less than every
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SB 375 - 42
five years, to reflect the results of this periodic review. Nothing
in this section shall be construed to excuse the obligations of the
local government to adopt a revised housing element no later than
the date specified in this section.
(c) The review and revision of housing elements required by
this section shall take into account any low- or moderate-income
housing provided or required pursuant to Section 65590.
(d) The review pursuant to subdivision (c) shall include, but
need not be limited to, the following:
(1) The number of new housing units approved for construction
within the coastal zone after January 1, 1982.
(2) The number of housing units for persons and families of
low or moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health
and Safety Code, required to be provided in new housing
developments either within the coastal zone or within three miles
of the coastal zone pursuant to Section 65590.
(3) The number of existing residential dwelling units occupied
by persons and families of low or moderate income, as defined in
Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, that have been
authorized to be demolished or converted since January 1, 1982,
in the coastal zone.
(4) The number of residential dwelling units for persons and
families of low or moderate income, as defined in Section 50093
of the Health and Safety Code, that have been required for
replacement or authorized to be converted or demolished as
identified in paragraph (3). The location of the replacement units,
either onsite, elsewhere within the locality's jurisdiction within
the coastal zone, or within three miles of the coastal zone within
the locality's jurisdiction, shall be designated in the review.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) or the date of adoption of
the housing elements previously in existence, each city, county,
and city and county shall revise its housing element according to
the following schedule:
(1) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Southern California Association of Governments: June 30, 2006,
for the fourth revision.
(2) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Bay Area Governments: June 30, 2007, for the
fourth revision.
a6
- 43 - SB 375
(3) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Council of Fresno County Governments, the Kern County Council
of Governments, and the Sacramento Area Council of
Governments: June 30, 2002, for the third revision, and June 30,
2008, for the fourth revision.
(4) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments: December 31,
2002, for the third revision, and June 30, 2009, for the fourth
revision.
(5) Local governments within the regional jurisdiction of the
San Diego Association of Governments: June 30, 2005, for the
fourth revision.
(6) All other local governments: December 31, 2003, for the
third revision, and June 30, 2009, for the fourth revision.
(7) (A) All local governments within a metropolitan planning
organization in a region classified as nonattainment for one or
more pollutants regulated by the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 7506), except those within the regional jurisdiction of the San
Diego Association of Governments, shall adopt the fifth revision
of the housing element no later than 18 months after adoption of
the first regional transportation plan to be adopted after September
30, 2010.
(B) All local governments within the regional jurisdiction of
the San Diego Association of Governments shall adopt their fifth
revision no more than five years from the fourth revision and their
sixth revision no later than 18 months after adoption of the first
regional transportation plan to be adopted after the fifth revision
due date.
(C) All local governments within the regional jurisdiction of a
metropolitan planning organization or a regional transportation
planning agency that has made an election pursuant to
subparagraph (L) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section
65080 shall be subject to the eight-year planning period pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 65588 and shall adopt its next housing
element 18 months after adoption of the first regional transportation
plan following the election.
(f) For purposes of this article, "planning period" shall be the
time period for periodic revision of the housing element pursuant
to this section.
a6
SB 375 - 44
SEC. 13. Section 21061.3 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:
21061.3. "Infill site" means a site in an urbanized area that
meets either of the following criteria:
(a) The site has not been previously developed for urban uses
and both of the following apply:
(1) The site is immediately adj acent to parcels that are developed
with qualified urban uses, or at least 75 percent of the perimeter
of the site adjoins parcels that are developed with qualified urban
uses, and the remaining 25 percent of the site adjoins parcels that
have previously been developed for qualified urban uses.
(2) No parcel within the site has been created within the past
10 years unless the parcel was created as a result of the plan of a
redevelopment agency.
(b) The site has been previously developed for qualified urban
uses.
SEC. 14. Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 21155) is
added to Division 13 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.2. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE
COMMUNITIES STRATEGY
21155. (a) This chapter applies only to a transit priority project
that is consistent with the general use designation, density, building
intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in
either a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning
strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board, pursuant to
subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section
65080 of the Government Code, has accepted a metropolitan
planning organization's determination that the sustainable
communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would,
if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, a transit priority project shall
(1) contain at least 50 percent residential use, based on total
building square footage and, if the project contains between 26
percent and 50 percent nonresidential uses, a floor area ratio of
not less than 0.75; (2) provide a minimum net density of at least
20 dwelling units per acre; and (3) be within one-half mile of a
major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor included in a
86
- 45 - SB 375
regional transportation plan. A major transit stop is as defined in
Section 21064.3, except that, for purposes of this section, it also
includes major transit stops that are included in the applicable
regional transportation plan. For purposes of this section, a
high-quality transit corridor means a corridor with fixed route bus
service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during
peak commute hours. A project shall be considered to be within
one-half mile of a major transit stop orhigh-quality transit corridor
if all parcels within the project have no more than 25 percent of
their area farther than one-half mile from the stop or corridor and
if not more than 10 percent of the residential units or 100 units,
whichever is less, in the project are farther than one-half mile from
the stop or corridor.
21155.1. If the legislative body finds, after conducting a public
hearing, that a transit priority project meets all of the requirements
of subdivisions (a) and (b) and one of the requirements of
subdivision (c), the transit priority project is declared to be a
sustainable communities project and shall be exempt from this
division.
(a) The transit priority project complies with all of the following
environmental criteria:
(1) The transit priority project and other projects approved prior
to the approval of the transit priority project but not yet built can
be adequately served by existing utilities, and the transit priority
project applicant has paid, or has committed to pay, all applicable
in-lieu or development fees.
(2) (A) The site of the transit priority project does not contain
wetlands or riparian areas and does not have significant value as
a wildlife habitat, and the transit priority project does not harm
any species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), the Native Plant Protection
Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2
of the Fish and Game Code), or the California Endangered Species
Act (Chapter 1.5 (comrriencing with Section 2050) of Division 3
of the Fish and Game Code), and the project does not cause the
destruction or removal of any species protected by a local ordinance
in effect at the time the application for the project was deemed
complete.
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SB 375 - 46 -
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "wetlands" has the same
meaning as in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual,
Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).
(C) For the purposes of this paragraph:
(i) "Riparian areas" means those areas transitional between
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and that are distinguished by
gradients in biophysical conditions, ecological processes, and biota.
A riparian area is an area through which surface and subsurface
hydrology connect waterbodies with their adjacent uplands. A
riparian area includes those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that
significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic
ecosystems. A riparian area is adjacent to perennial, intermittent,
and ephemeral streams, lakes, and estuarine-marine shorelines.
(ii) "Wildlife habitat" means the ecological communities upon
which wild animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, and
invertebrates depend for their conservation and protection.
(iii) Habitat of "significant value" includes wildlife habitat of
national, statewide, regional, or local importance; habitat for
species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531, et seq.), the California Endangered Species
Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3
of the Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act
(Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the
Fish and Game Code); habitat identified as candidate, fully
protected, sensitive, or species of special status by local, state, or
federal agencies; or habitat essential to the movement of resident
or migratory wildlife.
(3) The site of the transit priority project is not included on any
list of facilities and sites compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of
the Government Code.
(4) The site of the transit priority project is subject to a
preliminary endangerment assessment prepared by a registered
environmental assessor to determine the existence of any release
of a hazardous substance on the site and to determine the potential
for exposure of future occupants to significant health hazards from
any nearby property or activity.
(A) If a release of a hazardous substance is found to exist on
the site, the release shall be removed or any significant effects of
the release shall be mitigated to a level of insignificance in
compliance with state and federal requirements.
s6
- 47 - SB 375
(B) If a potential for exposure to significant hazards from
surrounding properties or activities is found to exist, the effects of
the potential exposure shall be mitigated to a level of insignificance
in compliance with state and federal requirements.
(5) The transit priority project does not have a significant effect
on historical resources pursuant to Section 21084.1.
(6) The transit priority project site is not subject to any of the
following:
(A) A wildland fire hazard, as determined by the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection, unless the applicable general plan
or zoning ordinance contains provisions to mitigate the risk of a
wildland fire hazard.
(B) An unusually high risk of fire or explosion from materials
stored or used on nearby properties.
(C) Risk of a public health exposure at a level that would exceed
the standards established by any state or federal agency.
(D) Seismic risk as a result of being within a delineated
earthquake fault zone, as determined pursuant to Section 2622, or
a seismic hazard zone, as determined pursuant to Section 2696,
unless the applicable general plan or zoning ordinance contains
provisions to mitigate the risk of an earthquake fault or seismic
hazard zone.
(E) Landslide hazard, flood plain, flood way, or restriction zone,
unless the applicable general plan or zoning ordinance contains
provisions to mitigate the risk of a landslide or flood.
(7) The transit priority project site is not located on developed
open space.
(A) For the purposes of this paragraph, "developed open space"
means land that meets all of the following criteria:
(i) Is publicly owned, or financed in whole or in part by public
funds.
(ii) Is generally open to, and available for use by, the public.
(iii) Is predominantly lacking in structural development other
than structures associated with open spaces, including, but not
limited to, playgrounds, swimming pools, ballfields, enclosed child
play areas, and picnic facilities.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "developed open space"
includes land that has been designated for acquisition by a public
agency for developed open space, but does not include lands
86
SB 375 - 48 -
acquired with public funds dedicated to the acquisition of land for
housing purposes.
(S) The buildings in the transit priority project are 15 percent
more energy efficient than required by Chapter 6 of Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations and the buildings and landscaping
are designed to achieve 25 percent less water usage than the
average household use in the region.
(b) The transit priority project meets all of the following land
use criteria:
(1) The site of the transit priority project is not more than eight
acres in total area.
(2) The transit priority project does not contain more than 200
residential units.
(3) The transit priority project does not result in any net loss in
the number of affordable housing units within the project area.
(4) The transit priority project does not include any single level
building that exceeds 75,000 square feet.
(5) Any applicable mitigation measures or performance
standards or criteria set forth in the prior environmental impact
reports, and adopted in findings, have been or will be incorporated
into the transit priority project.
(6) The transit priority project is determined not to conflict with
nearby operating industrial uses.
(7) The transit priority project is located within one-half mile
of a rail transit station or a ferry terminal included in a regional
transportation plan or within one-quarter mile of ahigh-quality
transit corridor included in a regional transportation plan.
(c) The transit priority project meets at least one of the following
three criteria:
(1) The transit priority project meets both of the following:
(A) At least 20 percent of the housing will be sold to families
of moderate income, or not less than 10 percent of the housing
will be rented to families of low income, or not less than 5 percent
of the housing is rented to families of very low income.
(B) The transit priority project developer provides sufficient
legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the
continued availability and use of the housing units for very low,
low-, and moderate-income households at monthly housing costs
with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in
Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code,
86
49 - SB 375
respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
Rental units shall be affordable for at least 55 years. Ownership
units shall be subject to resale restrictions or equity sharing
requirements for at least 30 years.
(2) The transit priority project developer has paid or will pay
in-lieu fees pursuant to a local ordinance in an amount sufficient
to result in the development of an equivalent number of units that
would otherwise be required pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) The transit priority project provides public open space equal
to or greater than five acres per 1,000 residents of the project.
21155.2. (a) A transit priority project that has incorporated all
feasible mitigation measures, performance standards, or criteria
set forth in the prior applicable environmental impact reports and
adopted in findings made pursuant to Section 21081, shall be
eligible for either the provisions of subdivision (b) or (c).
(b) A transit priority project that satisfies the requirements of
subdivision (a) may be reviewed through a sustainable communities
environmental assessment as follows:
(1) An initial study shall be prepared to identify all significant
or potentially significant impacts of the transit priority project,
other than those which do not need to be reviewed pursuant to
Section 21159.28 based on substantial evidence in light of the
whole record. The initial study shall identify any cumulative effects
that have been adequately addressed and mitigated pursuant to the
requirements of this division in prior applicable certified
environmental impact reports. Where the lead agency determines
that a cumulative effect has been adequately addressed and
mitigated, that cumulative effect shall not be treated as
cumulatively considerable for the purposes of this subdivision.
(2) The sustainable communities environmental assessment
shall contain measures that either avoid or mitigate to a level of
insignificance all potentially significant or significant effects of
the project required to be identified in the initial study.
(3) A draft of the sustainable communities environmental
assessment shall be circulated for public comment for a period of
not less than 30 days. Notice shall be provided in the same manner
as required for an environmental impact report pursuant to Section
21092.
(4) Prior to acting on the sustainable communities environmental
assessment, the lead agency shall consider all comments received.
s6
SB 375 - 50 -
(5) A sustainable communities environmental assessment may
be approved by the lead agency after conducting a public hearing,
reviewing the comments received, and finding that:
(A) All potentially significant or significant effects required to
be identified in the initial study have been identified and analyzed.
(B) With respect to each significant effect on the environment
required to be identified in the initial study, either of the following
apply:
(i) Changes or alterations have been required in or incorporated
into the project that avoid or mitigate the significant effects to a
level of insignificance.
(ii) Those changes or alterations are within the responsibility
and jurisdiction of another public agency and have been, or can
and should be, adopted by that other agency.
(6) The legislative body of the lead agency shall conduct the
public hearing or a planning commission may conduct the public
hearing if local ordinances allow a direct appeal of approval of a
document prepared pursuant to this division to the legislative body
subject to a fee not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(7) The lead agency's decision to review and approve a transit
priority project with a sustainable communities environmental
assessment shall be reviewed under the substantial evidence
standard.
(c) A transit priority project that satisfies the requirements of
subdivision (a) may be reviewed by an environmental impact report
that complies with all of the following:
(1) An initial study shall be prepared to identify all significant
or potentially significant effects of the transit priority project other
than those that do not need to be reviewed pursuant to Section
21159.28 based upon substantial evidence in light of the whole
record. The initial study shall identify any cumulative effects that
have been adequately addressed and mitigated pursuant to the
requirements of this division in prior applicable certified
environmental impact reports. Where the lead agency determines
that a cumulative effect has been adequately addressed and
mitigated, that cumulative effect shall not be treated as
cumulatively considerable for the purposes of this subdivision.
(2) An environmental impact report prepared pursuant to this
subdivision need only address the significant or potentially
significant effects of the transit priority project on the environment
86
51- SB 375
identified pursuant to paragraph (1). It is not required to analyze
off-site alternatives to the transit priority project. It shall otherwise
comply with the requirements of this division.
21155.3. (a) The legislative body of a local jurisdiction may
adopt traffic mitigation measures that would apply to transit priority
projects. These measures shall be adopted or amended after a public
hearing and may include requirements for the installation of traffic
control improvements, street or road improvements, and
contributions to road improvement or transit funds, transit passes
for future residents, or other measures that will avoid or mitigate
the traffic impacts of those transit priority projects.
(b) (1) A transit priority project that is seeking a discretionary
approval is not required to comply with any additional mitigation
measures required by paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 21081, for the traffic impacts of that project on
intersections, streets, highways, freeways, or mass transit, if the
local jurisdiction issuing that discretionary approval has adopted
traffic mitigation measures in accordance with this section.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not restrict the authority of a local
jurisdiction to adopt feasible mitigation measures with respect to
the effects of a project on public health or on pedestrian or bicycle
safety.
(c) The legislative body shall review its traffic mitigation
measures and update them as needed at least every five years.
SEC. 15. Section 21159.28 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:
21159.28. (a) If a residential or mixed-use residential project
is consistent with the use designation, density, building intensity,
and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a
sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning
strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board pursuant to
subparagraph (I) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section
65080 of the Government Code has accepted the metropolitan
planning organization's determination that the sustainable
communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would,
if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets and if the project incorporates the mitigation measures
required by an applicable prior environmental document, then any
findings or other determinations for an exemption, a negative
declaration, a mitigated negative declaration, a sustainable
86
SB 375 - 52
communities environmental assessment, an environmental impact
report, or addenda prepared or adopted for the project pursuant to
this division shall not be required to reference, describe, or discuss
(1) growth inducing impacts; or (2) any project specific or
cumulative impacts from cars and light-duty truck trips generated
by the project on global warming or the regional transportation
network.
(b) Any environmental impact report prepared for a project
described in subdivision (a) shall not be required to reference,
describe, or discuss a reduced residential density alternative to
address the effects of car and light-duty truck trips generated by
the project.
(c) "Regional transportation network," for purposes of this
section, means all existing and proposed transportation system
improvements, including the state transportation system, that were
included in the transportation and air quality conformity modeling,
including congestion modeling, for the final regional transportation
plan adopted by the metropolitan planning organization, but shall
not include local streets and roads. Nothing in the foregoing
relieves any project from a requirement to comply with any
conditions, exactions, or fees for the mitigation of the project's
impacts on the structure, safety, or operations of the regional
transportation network or local streets and roads.
(d) A residential or mixed-use residential project is a project
where at least 75 percent of the total building square footage of
the project consists of residential use or a project that is a transit
priority project as defined in Section 21155.
SEC. 16. If the Commission on State Mandates determines
that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
86
Approved , 2008
Governor
ATTACHMENT B
League of California Cities Request for Veto - SB 375
LE-~GL~OF ORANGE COUNTY DIVISION
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%, September 10, 2008
The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
ALISO VIIJU
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RE: SB 375 -Transportation Planning: Travel Models: Review
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Bl'ENA PARK
•
REQUEST FOR VETO - SB 375
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Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:
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DANA lx)IN
FUUNTAIN VALLEY
On behalf of the members of the Orange County Division, League of California
r-ul_I_rxroN
I'iUN1'INGI'UN ftHACFI Cities (the Division), we are writing to convey the Division's continued opposition to
nivlNC: Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg) and urge you to veto this bill, which proposes to link
I_A FIABRA greenhouse gas reduction goals to regional planning for transportation and housing.
LA PAI,.MA
LAruNn tlt:Arrl The Division first voted to oppose SB 375 in March 2008. Since that time, there
I.AUUNA Ii11..LS have been several amendments to the bill, which.is now supported by the League of
L,AGUNA NIGUEI. California Cities. Nonetheless, many concerns remain over this complex bill that
LACUNA WOODS will have significant implications for local land use authority, the CEQA process, and
LAKE t:oRF:_S~r the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). For this reason, we would ask
LOS AI_AMITOS [hat you defer consideration of SB 375 until the 2009-10 legislative session to ensure
Mrssl°" v[E)o the true impacts of the bill are fully examined.
NEWPORT BEACH
ORANGE In its current form, SB 375 represents yet another attempt by the state to usurp local
PLACENI'IA land use authority. The bill requires local agencies to plan for greenhouse gas (GH{i)
RANCHO SANTA M,ARUARl1'A
SAN CLE~IENTE reductions, but provides regional planning agencies -which are not accountable to
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO the electorate -with the potential ability to override local decisions. Moreover, the
s,wTA ANA bill encourages infill development, yet does not provide money for the related
SEAL BE:1CF1 infrastructure improvements that are necessary to support that development.
STANTON
TUS1'[N For these and many other reasons, the Division opposes SB 375, and we respectfully
VILLA PARK request that you veto this bill. If you have any questions or would like further
wES-rnnNSTER information regarding the Division's position, please 'contact Lacy Kelly, Orange
Y'URBA LINDA County Division Executive Director, at (7l4) 564-3201.
Sincerely,
~~~
John Beauman
President
Orange County Division,
League of California Cities
cc: League of California Cities
Y~
Peter Herzog
Advocacy Chair
Orange County Division,
League of California Cities
-I
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September 10, 2008
Mayors and Councilmembers of California Cities
Al_Iti0 VIElO
nNAIIEIM
E{RL'1 Re: The Future of Local Control
L{UEN.1 F'nRK
COS"I'A titl:Sn
c1'PRESS
Dear Mayors and Councilmembers:
unN,1 Pci1N'r
POUN"PAIN VALLEY Each of you represents a very unique and wonderful community. There are
11tLL[RTON small and large cities, urbanized, suburban and rural cities, cities with big
t1U:'N'r'ING'I'ON I3[~AC'H budgets and small ones, and cities with small staffs and ones with large
IRVINE
I
A H
RRA personnel resources. One size does not fit all or address the diversity of people
.
A
r:1 Pnl Mr\ and cities that make up California. And you, not the State of California, truly
I_:1cuNA 13EnC1, know and understand how best to enhance the quality of life of the people you
L:1C;lJNA H^"i_S serve.
1_nGUw1 NrcuEL
I_AGUNr1 WOODS For decades, Mayors and City Councilmembers have been able to meet the
LAK{i HoREST
• challenges facing their community because they have had that ability, through
Los nLnMrT
~s local control, to do so. The Oran e Count Division of the Lea ue of Cities
g y g
(( 1'~ISS1oN vlF'ao
1, ~1;b1'PORT BEACH believes the vital need to control our destiny is being undermined, particularly
~oRn1vGE over the last 10 years or so, and if the trend continues local control will really no
PLACENTA longer exist.
RANCHO SANTA MARGAREI'n
SAN CLEMEN9'E One area we had been able to protect, by vigorously guarding it, was local land
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
"
' use control. Now, that vital area of local control is being further undermined by
s,1N
1
A nNn SB 375. The ro onentS of the bill have called it a "watershed moment"
p p
SEAL REACH
STANTON ° ,
"landmark legislation" and "the most important land use bill" in decades. You
TUSTIN will hear the State League say the bill is better than it was last fall and earlier
VILLA PARK this year. That may be true. But, it is still a bad bill that erodes your local land
WE5'1'h11NSTER use authority. And not by the Legislature, but by regional bodies and the
YORE{A I.INUA regulations and determinations of the California Air Resources Board (GARB),
a single purpose regulatory agency with no experience in land planning and no
experience in the myriad of issues that go into a community land use plan.
Clearly, GARB does not have the same depth of knowledge or understanding of
local land use issues and challenges as do the cities themselves.
Unfortunately, the first wave of attack on local control and local land use
decisions, with respect to global climate change, came with the passage of
Assembly Bill 32 (AB32), passed into law by the California Legislature in
August 2006. The next step in the further erosion of local control is SB 375,
currently awaiting the Governor's signature.
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In summary, here is how SB 375 works. AB 32 gave GARB the statewide
regulatory authority regarding compliance with greenhouse gas emissions. SB
375 would establish GARB as the lead agency for implementing AB 32. GARB
will decide how much green house gas reductions must be achieved in a given
ALlso vnao area. They will then advise the 17 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
ANAHeI"' of those goals, and then the MPO must come up with a transportation plan AND
`~Itl"~ land use plan, called a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS), to meet the
ucENA PARK
' reductions oals. The ob'ect of the SCS, accordin to the ro onents, is to have
g J g P P
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c
c'.YrltESS "growth in the right direction", not "in the wrong direction." Furthermore, once
1~ANA 1'<J1NT the MPO comes up with the "plan", they have to send it up to GARB. CARB
FOUN~'.AIN VALLEY has the absolute, unilateral authority to reject the SCS, even if all the local
FuL1.ER-1-')'~ agencies have agreed on it, and send it back to be redone.
hIUN"r1NG"rON BF.ACFI
1RV1NE While SB 375 does not technically require you to change your general plans to
LAf{ABRA
conform to the SCS developed by regional planners, it carries a stick. Future
LA PnINMn
LAGUNA BEACH transportation funding is linked to the SCS. State and Federal transportation
LAGUNA HILLS monies would be funneled to those cities and projects that change their general
LAGUNA NIGUEL plan to meet the SCS. It would also affect local self-help sales tax transportation
LACUNA ~VOUDS initiatives passed beginning in 201.0 that don't fit the SCS. The entire concept is
LAKh Fc)RES•f that transportation projects would only be funded in areas where these other
LOSALAMITOS agencies, not your city, decide growth should occur. By only improving
MISSION V1EJ(7
NF'wPUR~' BeAC}{
transportation in certain areas, mainly along transit corridors, the central
ORANGE planners would force the growth into those locations. So you may not be
PLACENTIA "required" to change your general plan, but don't count on getting money to
RANCh10 SANTA MARGARITA meet your transportation needs if you don't.
SAN CLEMENTE
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO Also, SB 375 will not be the end of this erosion of local land use control. There
SANTA ANA is already a great deal of discussion about additional legislation next year to
SEAL BEACH
S'I'AN"1'UN supposedly "implement" the provisions of SB 375. Some have said this is the
']'US1'lN "first step" towards regional land use planning, and ultimately regional, not
VILLA PAkK local, governance. This approach to centralize local land use control should not
WfSTMINSI'ER be supported or condoned.
l'ORBA LINllA
What concerns us the most is how SB 375 was put on the fast track. The version
of SB 375 discussed above was not put into print until August 13, 2008. It has
since been rushed through the Legislature to meet the August 31 deadline.
Eighteen (l8) days on a "landmark" piece of legislation with serious
consequences. This process prevented the vast majority of Californians, and
even most of the elected city officials, from even knowing the details and
consequences of SB 375, much less being able to contact their Legislators with
concerns. How tragic for California cities and the people of California.
,:
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~ LEAGUEwO1 F ORANGE COUNTY DIVISION
CALIFO~RNZ~ rOn wES"I" S,W TA AN:\ ROULF I'ARD. SUI"1'E '_N. SANTA ANA, CAL.)FfJkN1A o'?nl
~/ ~..ll ir"~ TELEPIii)NG: t~t1) 4;' OtiT? FA\: 17131 472.1X16 email urcibt.. a:~u. cif ies.~: rF~
%/ Sl~npiu,4~ our Future Tnretfter
,i
There are two courses of immediate action that are important. First, letters
requesting a veto of SB 375 should be sent to the Governor. Secondly, at the
upcoming League Annual Conference, the importance and protection of local
control in all areas, not just land use control, needs to be seriously discussed and
nuso v1EJO reasserted. In fact, the membership may want to consider creating a platform for
:,Nnf(EIM the future of the League, which clearly and succinctly states:
BREA
BuENn PARK "The ri ht of cities to locall control the destinies of their communities,
c(>srn Mlsn g y
CYPRESS such as in land use, is the most critical element to maintaining the cities' ability
DANA I'(11N"r to provide a high quality of life to the people of California. The right of local
FOIIN"PAIN VAI_L.'-.Y control is increasingly under attack, especially at the State level, and must be
FULLERTOM vigorously protected. The protection and enhancement of local control is the
HUNTINC~I'UN BF.ACI1 primary objective of the League of Cities. Therefore, the actions of the League
IRVINE and any decisions to support or oppose any legislation, will be guided by
LA HABRA
1_A PALM1IA whether that legislation promotes or destroys local control."
LACUNA BEACI-I
LACUNA tI1LLS
LACUNA NIUUEL
LAC;IINA W(.X)DS
LAK(: F'ORES'1'
LUS r\Lr\Ml'I'US
41SSlON VIEJO
`_,~EWPC)R'I' BL'AC'K
UKANGB
PLACGNTIA
RANCI IU SAN"fA MARGARIT"A
SAN CLEMEN"fE
SAN 1UAN CAPISTRANO
SANTA ANA
SEAL BEACH
STA NT'UN
TUSTIN
VILLA PARK
W ESTM I NS"f ER
YORBA LINDA
Under the guise of preventing global warming and greenhouse gas emissions,
central authorities' actions will mean that cities will ttecome increasingly
irrelevant in local land use planning and control. Can we afford to silently step
aside? As mentioned, the legislative assault on local control will not be over this
year. The League of California Cities' states that its mission is, "To RESTORE
and PROTECT LOCAL CONTROL for cities through education and
advocacy in order to enhance the quality of life for all Californians." Consistent
with this mission, the League of California Cities states that its first Core Belief
is that, "Local self-governance is the cornerstone of democracy." We believe in
these principles and would like to see the League of California Cities stand up
for the same on our behalf. Therefore, we look forward to working with you in
the future to support your ability to enhance your unique cities, and meet the
varied challenges you face without the assistance of or interference from central
control by CARB or other state authorized agencies.
Sincerely,
/ /~ .~
G~~
John Beauman
Orange County Division, LCC
President
~~~
Peter Herzog
Orange County Division, LCC
Advocacy Chair
Cc: League of California Cities
,,
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ATTACHMENT C
SCAG - SB 375 Point Summary
SB 375 POINT SUMMARY
SCAG discussion draft
September 2008
WHAT SB 375 DOES
Issues that affect SCAG directly
-Directs ARB to develop regional GHG targets, and prescribes a process for doing
so.
-Mandates inclusion of a "Sustainable Communities Strategy" (a regional growth
distribution that reduces emissions, if feasible) in the RTP
-Mandates that, if the SCS does not meet the GHG target, an Alternative Planning
Strategy will be prepared. The APS is separate from the RTP, but maybe adopted
concurrently.
-Allows sub-regions (SCAG region only) to prepaze the SCS and APS for their
area.
-Directs SCAG to develop a planning framework and guidelines for the
development of the sub-regional SCS and APS.
-Establishes (or re-emphasizes) a requirement for internal consistency within the
RTP.
-Exempts transportation projects included in sales tax measures prior to the end
2010 from having to be consistent with the SCS. Also exempts projects
programmed in the 2007 or 2009 State Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP).
-Requires that the MPO develop a regional housing needs allocation consistent
with SCS.
-Adjusts the timeline for Housing Element updates such that the RHNA is
performed with every-other RTP. The intent is for the next SCAG RHNA to
occur in 2016, but a technical amendment is needed.
Issues that affect SCAG indirectly, and/or affect member agencies
-Create new requirements for the development of State transportation modeling
guidelines.
-Streamlines the CEQA review for transit oriented development projects that aze
consistent with SCS.
-Requires new content for the local Housing Element.
DRAFT for discussion
September 2008
-Provides new enforcement mechanisms for Housing Element non-compliance.
ISSUES FOR SLAG DISCUSSION
-Development of Framework and Guidelines for sub-regional SCS and APS.
-What will be the GHG target? How will SCAG be involved in the target development
process?
-What is level of effort to achieve GHG reductions through land use for the region? How
can equity around the region be measured.
-Follow-up legislation: CEQA streamlining for transportation projects, RHNA timeline
DRAFT for discussion
September 2008
ATTACHMENT D
Office of the Governor Press Release
Office of the Governor of the State of California Page 1 of 2
l~,o .~~;;.>ti
' ~'' '4`t ([ [f'^'}; (~'yj ~(1'~~ (may ]~y~ (/'R
~~ ~t e~r* '~fi X.~ p i L( THE PEGPLE'~ GOVEtPNGR F
k~f
''•~ At ~ ~ s+~',~
PRESS RELEASE
09/30/2008 GAAS:694:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Sweeping Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse Gas
Emissions through Land-Use
Continuing California's environmental leadership in fighting global warming, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
announced that he has signed SB 375 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), which builds on AB 32,
California's first-in-the-nation law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by adding the nation's first law to control
greenhouse gas emissions by curbing sprawl.
"This landmark bill takes California's fight against global warming to a whole new level, and it creates a model that
the rest of the country and world will use," Governor Schwarzenegger said. "When it comes to reducing greenhouse
gases, California is first in tackling car emissions, first to tackle low-carbon fuels, and now with this landmark
legislation, we are the first in the nation to tackle land-use planning. What this will mean is more environmentally-
friendly communities, more sustainable developments, less time people spend in their cars, more alternative
transportation options and neighborhoods we can safely and proudly pass on to future generations."
In order to reach the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
Californians need to rethink how we design our communities. SB 375 does this by providing emissions-reduction
goals around which regions can plan-integrating disjointed planning activities and providing incentives for local
governments and developers to follow new conscientiously-planned growth patterns.
SB 375 enhances the Air Resources Board's (ARB) ability to reach our AB 32 goals by directing ARB to develop
regional greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to be achieved from the automobile and light truck sectors for
2020 and 2035. ARB will also work with California's 18 metropolitan planning organizations to align their regional
transportation, housing and land-use plans and prepare a "sustainable communities strategy" to reduce the amount of
vehicle miles traveled in their respective regions and demonstrate the region's ability to attain its greenhouse gas
reduction targets. Spending less time on the road is the single-most powerful way for California to reduce its carbon
footprint.
Additionally, SB 375 provides incentives for creating attractive, walkable and sustainable communities and
revitalizing existing communities. The bill also allows home builders to get relief from certain environmental
reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act if they build projects consistent with the new sustainable
community strategies. It will also encourage the development of more alternative transportation options, which will
promote healthy lifestyles and reduce traffic congestion.
The Governor also signed SB 732 by Steinberg which will provide a comprehensive statutory framework to
implement new programs under Proposition 84, the $5.4 billion initiative voters passed in 2006 for safe drinking
water, water quality and supply, flood control, natural resource protection and park improvements. The bill also
establishes the Strategic Growth Council and will appropriate $500,000 from Prop 84 to the Resources Agency to
support the Council and its activities.
The bill requires the Council to take certain actions with regard to coordinating programs of various state agencies to
do the following:
• improve air and water quality,
• improve natural resource protection,
• increase the availability of affordable housing,
• improve transportation,
http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/print-version/press-release/ 10697/ 10/01 /2008
Office of the Governor of the State of California
• meet the goals of AB 32,
encourage sustainable land use planning and
revitalize urban community centers in a sustainable manner.
The Council will also manage and award grants and loans to support the planning and development of sustainable
communities.
California is leading the fight against climate change with the following strong policies, laws and innovations:
• Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 3~: AB 32 established afirst-in-the-world comprehensive
program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020.
• Low Carbon Fuel Standard LCFS :California's LCFS requires fuel providers to reduce the carbon intensity
of transportation fuels sold in the state, dramatically expanding the market for alternative fuels. To start, the
LCFS will reduce carbon content in all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California by at least 10 percent by
2020 and more thereafter.
• Million Solar_Roofs Initiative: The Governor's $2.9 billion incentive plan for home and building owners who
install solar electric systems will lead to one million solar roofs in California by the year 2018, provide 3,000
megawatts of clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million tons.
• Renewable Portfolio Standard RPS :California's RPS calls for more energy to come from clean, renewable
sources. In 2003, the Governor called for an acceleration of the RPS, pushing for 20 percent of California's
energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2010 rather than 2017, seven years earlier than statute.
This accelerated standard became law in 2006 when the Governor signed SB 107.
• California's automobile emissions standards: The Governor has been pursuing every avenue possible to
enforce California's 2002 law, AB 1493 by Assemblymember Fran Pavley, which allows California to enact
and enforce emissions standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, including a lawsuit
against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to overturn its decision denying California's waiver
request to enforce our standards.
Page 2 of 2
http://gov.ca. gov/index.php?/print-version/press-release/ 10697/ 10/01 /2008