Bill Text: CA AB667 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Land use: development project review: superstores.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-07-03 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB667 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB667-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 667 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hernández
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to add Sections 65928.3, 65928.4, 65928.7, 65935, and
65957.3 to the Government Code, relating to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 667, as amended, Roger Hernández. Land use: development project
review: superstores.
The Permit Streamlining Act within the Planning and Zoning Law
requires the lead agency that has the principal responsibility for
approving a development project, as defined, to approve or disapprove
the project within a specified number of days from the date of
certification of an environmental impact report, the date of the
adoption of a negative declaration, or the determination by the lead
agency that the project is exempt from the California Environmental
Quality Act.
This bill would, in addition, would
require a city, county, or city and county, including a charter city,
prior to approving or disapproving a proposed development project
that would permit the construction of a superstore retailer,
as defined, or where a superstore would be the
recipient of over $100,000 in financial assistance, to cause an
economic impact report to be prepared, as specified, to be paid for
by the project applicant, and that includes specified assessments and
projections, including, among other things, an assessment of the
effect that the proposed superstore will have on specified
designated economic assistance areas, as defined,
and an assessment of the effect that the proposed
superstore will have on retail operations and employment in the same
market area. The bill would also require the governing body to
provide an opportunity for public comment on the economic impact
report. The bill would define certain terms for these purposes.
By increasing the duties of local public officials, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would
additionally find and declare that these provisions are an issue of
statewide concern and not a municipal affair.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to promote economic
development in all communities of the state and in particular in
identified Economic Assistance Areas,
economic assistance areas, with the goal of creating good jobs,
economically self-sustaining communities, and promoting a vibrant
small business sector. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure
that the superstore retail model meets these goals and does not
undermine efforts toward those ends. Therefore, the Legislature finds
and declares all of the following:
(a) The state has identified geographically targeted economic
development areas. Each of these areas has related tax incentive
benefits as well as a variety of locally provided incentives and
benefits. The purpose of these benefits is to stimulate business
investment and job creation for qualified disadvantaged individuals
in state-designated economically distressed areas. Similarly, other
redevelopment plan areas have been developed by former redevelopment
agencies and their successor agencies pursuant to the Community
Redevelopment Law (Part 1 (commencing with Section 33300) of Division
24 of the Health and Safety Code), with the purpose of revitalizing
the economy of local jurisdictions.
(b) The state and local governments have provided financial
assistance to certain businesses to stimulate business development
and job creation.
(c) It is in the interest of local governments to promote economic
development in their jurisdictions.
(d) Land use decisions are frequently linked to fiscal policy
because local governments receive a share of sales tax revenues
generated within their borders. California cities thus often seek
large sales tax revenue sources, such as superstores, without taking
into account all of the external economic effects that superstores
bring to communities.
(e) Transformations in the big box retail industry have altered
retail business nationwide. The engine of this change is the retail
format known as the superstore, a big box retail store that also
contains the equivalent of a full-service grocery store, with the
total floor space often three to four times as large as that of a
conventional supermarket.
(f) As a result of the restructuring of retail business,
particularly the grocery sector in California, the following effects
may be seen: local grocers, who yield a greater community return on
investment, are driven out of business; anchor stores to other local
businesses are closed down impacting many small businesses, and
resulting in less community access to viable superstore alternatives;
lower wages and benefits paid to grocery workers by superstore
retailers; and a host of complex land use, traffic, and fiscal
impacts.
(g) Superstores typically combine a large variety of discount
general merchandise with full-service grocery sales to the general
public under one roof, thereby generating more intense land use and
environmental impacts than other large-scale retailers and wholesale
membership clubs.
(h) Industry and academic studies indicate superstores rarely add
any retail services not currently provided within a community, and
the majority of sales growth at a superstore comes from a direct
shift of dollars from existing retailers within a community,
primarily from grocery stores.
(i) Land use decisions regarding superstores fall to city and
county governments, even if the impacts will be regional as well as
local and may impact the efforts by the state and regions in economic
development areas.
(j) Currently, local governments that desire to perform due
diligence for their constituents by performing an economic analysis
are placed at a disadvantage because a neighboring city or county may
not perform an economic analysis. This situation may result in the
shifting of sales tax and destruction of the business community in a
city or county that simply wants to study the impacts of the
development project before making a final approval that the
permitting of the superstore does not have a material adverse impact
on the impact area.
SEC. 2. Section 65928.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65928.3. "Economic assistance areas" means existing economic
development areas, that may be amended from time to time by the
Legislature, including an enterprise zone established pursuant to
Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070) of Division 7 of Title 1,
a local agency military base recovery area established pursuant to
Chapter 12.97 (commencing with Section 7105) of Division 7 of Title
1, a manufacturing incentive area designated pursuant to Section
7073.8, a targeted tax area designated pursuant to Section 7097, or
any redevelopment area identified by any successor or
agency to a former redevelopment agency, or
recipients of over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of
financial assistance as defined in this chapter.
agency.
SEC. 3. Section 65928.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65928.4. "Financial assistance" includes, but is not limited to,
any of the following in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) or greater:
(a) Any appropriation of public funds, including, but not limited
to, loans, grants, or subsidies or the payment for or construction of
parking improvements.
(b) Any tax incentive, including, but not limited to, tax
exemptions, rebates, reductions, or moratoria of a tax, including any
rebate or payment based upon the amount of sales tax generated from
the superstore.
(c) The sale or lease of real property at a cost that is less than
fair market value.
(d) Payment for, forgiveness of, or reduction of fees.
SEC. 4. Section 65928.7 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65928.7. "Impact area" means a five-mile radius surrounding the
proposed location of a superstore.
SEC. 5. Section 65935 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65935. "Superstore" means a business establishment that exceeds
90,000 square feet of gross floor area, sells a wide range of
consumer goods, and devotes 10,000 square feet or more of the sales
floor area to the sale of items that are exempted from the Sales and
Use Tax Law (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code), pursuant to Section 6359 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code. "Superstore" shall include a retail
establishment with multiple tenants, and the cumulative sum of
related or successive permits that may be part of a larger project,
including piecemeal additions to a building, where consumer goods and
nontaxable items are sold under the same roof with shared checkout
stands, entrances, and exits. "Superstore" does not include a
discount warehouse or retail store where more than one-half of the
items carried by the discount warehouse or retail store are sold in
large quantities or in bulk, and the discount warehouse or retail
store requires shoppers to pay a membership or assessment fee.
SEC. 6. Section 65957.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65957.3. (a) Prior to the permitting of the construction of, the
addition to, or the alteration of, any buildings or structures
which that would create a superstore in
an economic assistance area, or where a superstore would be the
recipient of over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in
financial assistance, in addition to the findings otherwise
required by any ordinance or regulation of the city, county, or city
and county, the legislative body of the city, county, or city and
county shall make a finding that, based on consideration of all
economic benefits and costs, the superstore will not materially
adversely affect the economic welfare of the impact area. This
finding shall be based upon information contained in an economic
impact report, any other information received or obtained by the
designated agency of the city, county, or city and county, and any
other information received before or at a public hearing conducted as
required by this section.
(b) The city, county, or city and county may prepare the economic
impact report or contract with a private entity, other than the
permit applicant, or with another public agency for the preparation
of the report. Any private entity or other public agency contracted
to prepare the economic impact report shall be qualified by
education, training, and experience to conduct economic and fiscal
impact analyses.
(c) The applicant for the proposed superstore shall pay the city,
county, or city and county for the costs of preparing the economic
impact report.
(d) The economic impact report shall include, but is not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) An assessment of whether the proposed superstore will meet the
purposes of any designated economic assistance areas,
including an enterprise zone, a local agency military base recovery
area, a manufacturing enhancement area, a targeted tax area, or any
plan area administered by a successor agency to a former
redevelopment agency, area in which the
superstore is proposed to be located.
(2) An assessment of whether the proposed superstore will
negatively impact any retailer that is the beneficiary of any
benefits from any program adopted in connection with any
designated economic development area, including an enterprise zone, a
local agency military base recovery area, a manufacturing
enhancement area, a targeted tax area, or any program adopted by a
successor agency to a former redevelopment agency,
economic assistance area in which the superstore is proposed to
be located.
(3) An assessment of the extent to which the proposed superstore
will capture a share of retail sales in the impact area.
(4) An assessment of the extent to which the construction and
operation of the proposed superstore will affect the supply and
demand for retail space in the impact area.
(5)
(3) An assessment of the extent to which the
construction and operation of the proposed superstore will affect
employment in the impact area, including all of the following:
(A) The number of persons employed in existing retail stores in
the impact area.
(B) An estimate of the number of people who will likely be
employed by the proposed superstore.
(C) An analysis of whether the proposed superstore will result in
a net increase or decrease in employment in the impact area.
(D) The effect on wages and benefits of employees of other retail
businesses, and community income levels in the impact area.
(6)
(4) A projection of the costs of public services and
public facilities resulting from the construction and operation of
the proposed superstore and the incidence of those costs, including
the cost to the state, city, or county of any public assistance that
employees of the proposed superstore will be eligible for based on
the wages and benefits to be paid by the proposed superstore.
(7)
(5) A projection of the public revenues resulting from
the construction and operation of the proposed superstore retailer
and the incidence of those revenues.
(8)
(6) An assessment of the effect that the construction
and operation of the proposed superstore will have on retail
operations, including grocery stores or retail shopping centers, in
the impact area, including the potential for blight resulting from
retail business closures and the nature of any businesses displaced.
(9) An assessment of the effect that the construction and
operation of the proposed superstore will have on the ability of the
city, county, or city and county to implement the goals contained in
its general plan, including, but not limited to, local policies and
standards that apply to land use patterns, traffic circulation,
affordable housing, and natural resources, including water supplies,
open-space lands, noise problems, and safety risks.
(10) An assessment of the effect that the construction and
operation of the proposed superstore will have on average total
vehicle miles traveled by retail customers in the same impact area.
(11)
(7) An assessment of the potential for long-term
vacancy of the property on which the superstore is proposed
in the event that if the business vacates the
premises, including any restrictions that exist on the
subsequent use of the property on which the superstore is proposed to
be located, including the provisions of any lease that, in the event
the owner or operator of the proposed superstore vacates the
premises, would require the premises to remain vacant for a
significant amount of time. premises.
(12)
(8) An assessment of whether the superstore would
require the demolition of housing or any other action or change that
would result in a decrease or negative impact on the creation of
extremely low, very low, low-, or moderate-income housing.
(13) An assessment of whether the superstore would result in the
destruction or demolition of park or other green space, playgrounds,
child care facilities, or community centers.
(14)
(9) An assessment of whether the superstore would
result in any other adverse or positive economic impacts or blight in
the impact area.
(15)
(10) An assessment of whether any measures identified
by the superstore are available that may mitigate any materially
adverse economic impacts of the superstore.
(e) At any regularly scheduled meeting or meetings of the
legislative body of a city, county, or city and county, following the
completion and approval of the economic impact report required by
this section, and 30 days prior to the issuance of any entitlement,
including, but not limited to, a building permit, a city, county, or
city and county shall provide the opportunity for public comment on
the economic impact report and its findings.
(f) This section shall not preclude a city, county, or city and
county from conducting additional studies of the effects of the
construction and operation of a proposed superstore.
(g) (1) The Legislature finds that the construction and operation
of a superstore has land use, environmental, economic, fiscal, and
social equity effects that extend beyond the boundaries of the city,
county, or city and county in which it is located and may impact the
goals and objectives of economic development areas, including
enterprise zones, local agency military base recovery areas,
manufacturing enhancement areas, targeted tax areas, and any plan
area administered by a successor agency to a former redevelopment
agency, and beyond the borders of the city, county, or city and
county, where financial assistance is provided to a superstore.
(2) The Legislature finds that it is essential for the statewide
public health, safety, and welfare to require cities, counties, and
cities and counties to understand the potential spillover effects of
approving the construction and operation of superstores.
(3) The Legislature further finds and declares that the review and
regulation of superstores is a matter of statewide concern and not
merely a municipal affair, as that term is used in Section 5 of
Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section
shall apply to charter cities and to charter cities and counties.
SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.
