A comparison of the previous versions of housing and land use related bills that have been re-introduced and the current versions of these bills prepared by CSAC staff is Attachment A.
CSAC is soliciting feedback on each of these bills—including whether positions on similar bills from last year remain appropriate for this year. While several of the recently introduced bills include substantive language that clearly indicates what the contents of the bills will be moving forward, the direction of dozens of others remains unclear, as they simply include intent language or make nonsubstantive changes to existing law.
CSAC is seeking initial feedback on bills in Attachment A, as well as the five bills listed below.
1. SB 32 (Cortese) – General Plan: Building Decarbonization Requirements
- Would require counties to adopt amendments to “appropriate elements” of their General Plan by January 2023 to include goals, policies, objectives, targets and feasible implementation strategies to “decarbonize” newly constructed commercial and residential buildings.
- Specific requirements include:
- A report describing greenhouse gas emissions data for existing commercial and residential buildings, including significant sources of the emissions.
- A summary of local, state, and federal policies, programs, and regulations that may assist in the decarbonization of existing and newly constructed commercial and residential buildings.
- A comprehensive set of goals, policies, and objectives that may assist in decarbonizing newly constructed commercial and residential buildings in the city or county.
- The bill requires the local goals, policies and objectives to consider the assessment from the AB 3232 (Friedman, 2018) building decarbonization report, although a draft of that report is still forthcoming.
Questions
- Is the General Plan the appropriate place for the required analysis? If not, are there other more appropriate linkages for the required analysis (upon building code update/local code amendments, etc)?
- Is the timeframe for the update reasonable?
- Would this requirement combined with other upcoming General Plan amendment requirements necessitate a full update of your county’s General Plan (i.e. SB 1000 environmental justice elements/amendments, housing element updates, safety element updates)?
- Has your county completed a similar building decarbonization analysis already? If so, what were the costs?
2. SB 478 (Wiener) – Minimum Standards on Floor Area Ratios and Lot Sizes
- Would prohibit a local agency from imposing specified standards, including a minimum lot size that exceeds an unspecified number of square feet on parcels zoned for at least 2, but not more than 4, units or a minimum lot size that exceeds an unspecified number of square feet on parcels zoned for at least 5, but not more than 10, units.
- Would also require HCD to identify violations by a local government of these provisions.
Questions
- What sort of issues can we expect to arise as a result of imposing minimum standards on floor area ratios and lot sizes?
- Are many sites zoned to allow two to ten residential units in your jurisdiction?
- Do you interpret the bill as applying to agriculturally-zoned sites that allow for at least two residential units?
3. AB 1401 (Friedman) – Prohibiting Minimum Parking Requirements
- Would prohibit a local government from imposing a minimum parking requirement, or enforcing a minimum parking requirement, on residential, commercial, or other development if the development is located on a parcel that is within one-half mile walking distance of public transit or located within a low-vehicle miles traveled area.
Questions
- What are some concerns with prohibiting local governments from imposing minimum parking requirements in areas within walking distance to transit or located within VMT travel areas?
- Has your county waived or reduced parking requirements? Either on a project-by-project basis, at the neighborhood-level, or through some other changes in your zoning code?
Housing Element Annual Report Bills:
4. SB 477 (Wiener) would, commencing January 1, 2023, require local agencies to include specified information on costs, standards, and applications for proposed housing projects and specified information on housing projects within the jurisdiction.
5. SB 581 (Atkins) would require planning agencies to include information in their annual reports on whether the city or county is a party to a court action related to a violation of state housing law, as specified, and the disposition of that action.
Questions
- What challenges, if any, do you anticipate reporting on any of the data required under these bills?
- Is housing-related litigation status a reasonable requirement to add to the annual report?
|