Bill Text: CA AB1487 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1487 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: San Francisco Bay area: housing development: financing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 598, Statutes of 2019. [AB1487 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1487-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1487

Introduced by Assembly Member Chiu

February 22, 2019

An act to amend Section 65584 of the Government Code, relating to land use.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1487, as introduced, Chiu. Land use: housing element.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various mandatory elements, including a housing element. That law requires the housing element to contain, among other things, an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs. That law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that law.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 65584 of the Government Code, as amended by Chapter 989 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

65584.

(a) (1) For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.

(3) The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the state’s environmental quality and runs counter to the state’s environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants is released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the state’s climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.

(b) The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least two years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588. The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.

(c) Notwithstanding any other ~~provision of~~ law, the due dates for the determinations of the ~~department~~ department, or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 ~~days~~ days, if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.

(d) The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:

(1) Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.

(2) Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the region’s greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.

(3) Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.

(4) Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.

(5) Affirmatively furthering fair housing.

(e) For purposes of this section, “affirmatively furthering fair housing” means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.

(f) For purposes of this section, “household income levels” are as determined by the department as of the most recent American Community Survey pursuant to the following code sections:

(1) Very low incomes as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(4) Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) Notwithstanding any other ~~provision of~~ law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, ~~65584.07, or 65584.08~~ or 65584.07 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).