Bill Text: CA SB1410 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 1410 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: COVID-19 emergency: tenancies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-08-20 - August 20 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1410 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1410-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1410

Introduced by Senator Lena Gonzalez

February 21, 2020

An act to add Section 65585.4 to the Government Code, relating to planning and land use.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1410, as introduced, Lena Gonzalez. Housing: local development decisions: appeals.

Existing law requires a city or county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law prescribes requirements for the housing element, including adequate sites for various types of housing based on the existing and projected need of all economic segments of the community. Existing law requires a city or county to consider guidelines adopted by the Department of Housing and Community Development in preparing its housing element and prescribes a process for submitting the element for review by the department. Existing law authorizes the department to take certain actions if it determines that the housing element does not comply with prescribed requirements.

This bill would establish a Housing Accountability Committee within the Housing and Community Development Department, would prescribe its membership. The bill would set forth the committee’s powers and duties, including the review of appeals regarding multifamily housing projects that cities and counties have denied or subjected to unreasonable conditions that make the project financially infeasible.

This bill would require that the committee be supported by the department and hear appeals at least quarterly or more often as the committee deems necessary. The bill would prescribe the qualifications of proposed housing developments that would be eligible for appeals and time lines within which applicants, the committee, and local agencies would be required to act.

This bill would require the committee to vacate a local decision if it finds that the decision of the local agency was not reasonable or consistent with meeting local housing needs, and would require the committee to direct the local agency to issue any necessary approval or permit for the development, as specified.

This bill would require a local agency to carry out a committee order within 30 days of entry, and if the local agency fails to do so, the bill would authorize an applicant to enforce the committee orders in court and would entitle the applicant to attorney’s fees and costs, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to charge applicants a fee for an appeal, as specified, and if the committee orders approval of the proposed development or modifies or removes any conditions or requirements imposed upon the applicant, the bill would require a city or county to reimburse the applicant for the fee. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

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 Local Program: YES

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:

(a) California is experiencing a housing supply crisis, with housing demand far outstripping supply. In 2018, California ranked 49th out of the 50 states in housing units per capita.

(b) California needs an estimated 180,000 additional homes annually to keep up with population growth, and the Governor has called for 3.5 million new homes to be built over the next seven years.

(c) Housing element law requires local governments to zone enough land at appropriate densities to meet their housing needs for all income groups and to remove arbitrary development standards and other constraints that prevent those sites from being developed.

(d) Even when builders propose new housing developments that conform to local zoning densities and standards, community opposition to higher density and affordable housing often results in the projects being denied, significantly reduced in size, or subjected to unreasonable conditions that can make the project financially infeasible.

(e) Statutes in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island allow developers of affordable housing to appeal exclusionary local land use decisions in certain circumstances.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that local governments are proactive in approving the high-quality projects that are proposed.

SEC. 2.

Section 65585.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65585.4.

(a) There shall be within the department a Housing Accountability Committee consisting of five members to review multifamily housing projects that have been denied or subjected to unreasonable conditions that make the project financially infeasible.

(1) The director of the department and the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research shall be ex officio members, provided that they may designate an employee of their respective department or office to serve on the committee in their place.

(2) The remaining three members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member shall be a member of a city council or board of supervisors and one other member shall have extensive experience in the development of affordable housing. The appointed members shall serve for terms of two years each, at the pleasure of the Governor. The director of the department shall designate the chairperson.

(3) Members of the committee shall not receive compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed by the department for all reasonable expenses actually or necessarily incurred in the performance of their official duties. The department shall provide the space and clerical and other assistance that the committee may require.

(4) The committee shall hear appeals pursuant to this section at least quarterly or more often as it deems necessary. The committee shall conduct the hearings in accordance with rules and regulations established by the department.

(b) An applicant who proposes to construct a housing development that meets the criteria of subdivision (c) or (d) and whose application is either denied, or approved with conditions that in the person’s judgment render the provision of housing economically infeasible, may appeal the decision of the city, county, or city and county to the committee.

(1) The proposed housing development will meet or exceed any of the following affordability requirements:

(A) Five percent of the total of the housing development is available at affordable housing cost to extremely low income households whose household income is less than or equal to 30 percent of the area median income.

(B) Ten percent of the total housing of the development is available at affordable housing cost to very low income and low-income households, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.

(C) Ten percent of the total housing of the development is available at affordable housing cost to moderate-income households, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) The city, county, or city and county has adopted a housing element that the department has determined pursuant to Section 65585 to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of this article.

(3) The proposed housing development, exclusive of any density bonus granted pursuant to Section 65915, is consistent with both the density allowed by the jurisdiction’s zoning ordinance and the general plan land use designation as specified in any element of the general plan as of the date the application was deemed complete.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), if the city, county, or city and county has not adopted a housing element that the department has determined pursuant to Section 65585 to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, and the proposed housing development is located on a site that is designated for residential or commercial uses in any element of the general plan, the application is appropriate for appeal.

(e) (1) An applicant may file an appeal with the committee within 45 days after the date of the decision by the local agency to deny the application or approve the application with conditions that render the provision of housing economically infeasible. The committee shall notify the local agency of the filing of an appeal within 10 days, and the local agency shall, within 10 days of the receipt of that notice, transmit a copy of its decision and the reasons therefor to the committee. If the local agency does not meet the deadline, the committee shall vacate the decision of the local agency and direct the local agency to issue any necessary approval or permit for the development to the applicant within 30 days of the committee’s decision. In this instance, the case shall be considered closed. If the local agency responds within the deadline, the appeal shall be heard within 30 days after receipt of the request for an appeal by the applicant.

(2) The appeal hearing may be conducted by the committee, a subcommittee of two or more members of the committee, or a hearing officer appointed by the chairperson of the committee. A record of the proceedings shall be kept. The hearing shall be limited to the issue of whether, in the case of the denial of an application, the decision of the local agency was reasonable and consistent with meeting local housing needs as determined pursuant to Section 65584 and, in the case of an approval of an application with conditions and requirements imposed, whether those conditions and requirements render the provision of housing economically infeasible and whether they are reasonable and consistent with meeting local housing needs as determined pursuant to Section 65584.

(3) At its next full meeting following the hearing, the committee shall render a written decision, based upon a majority vote, stating its findings of fact, its conclusions, and the support for them. If the committee finds, in the case of a denial, that the decision of the local agency was not reasonable or consistent with meeting local housing needs, it shall vacate the decision and shall direct the local agency to issue any necessary approval or permit for the development to the applicant within 30 days of the committee’s decision. Decisions or conditions and requirements imposed by a local agency that are reasonable and consistent with meeting local housing needs shall not be vacated, modified, or removed by the committee notwithstanding that those decisions or conditions and requirements have the effect of rendering the provision of housing economically infeasible.

(f) In any appeal before the committee, the applicant shall have the initial burden of proof to show that it has met the requirements of subdivision (c) or (d). In a case of approval with conditions or requirements imposed, the applicant shall also have the burden of proof to show that the conditions and requirements render the provision of housing economically infeasible. If the applicant meets the initial burden of proof, then the local agency shall have the burden of proof to show that its action was reasonable in that denial of the project, or the failure to implement the conditions and requirements, as proposed, would have a specific, adverse impact, as defined in Section 65589.5, upon the public health or safety, the physical environment, or on any real property that is listed in the California Register of Historical Resources, that there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact without rendering the project economically infeasible, and that the mitigation or avoidance of such impacts outweigh local housing needs.

(g) The city or county shall carry out the order of the committee within 30 days of its entry. Upon failure to do so, the applicant may enforce the orders of the committee in court. The applicant shall be entitled to attorney’s fees and costs if the applicant prevails in an enforcement action.

(h) The department may charge a fee to the applicant that shall not exceed the reasonable cost to the committee of providing the hearing or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), whichever is less. If the committee orders approval of the proposed development or modifies or removes any conditions or requirements imposed upon the applicant, the city or county shall reimburse the applicant for the fee paid pursuant to this subdivision.

(i) For the purposes of this section the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Area median income” means area median income as periodically established by the department pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) “Committee” means the Housing Accountability committee.

(3) “Housing development” means a development project consisting of 10 or more residential dwelling units or an emergency shelter facility.

(j) The remedies provided in this section are in addition to any other remedy provided by law.

(k) The Legislature finds and declares that this section addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section applies to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 3.

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.