Bill Text: CA SB312 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 312

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

Bill Title: California Environmental Quality Act: university housing development projects: exemption.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 284, Statutes of 2024. [SB312 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB312-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly June 03, 2024

Amended IN Assembly May 24, 2024

Amended IN Senate January 11, 2024

Amended IN Senate January 03, 2024

Amended IN Senate September 13, 2023

Amended IN Senate March 14, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 312

Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Senator Allen)

February 06, 2023

An act to amend Section 21080.58 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 312, as amended, Wiener. California Environmental Quality Act: university housing development projects: exemption.

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.

Existing law, until January 1, 2030, exempts from CEQA a university housing development project carried out by a public university on real property owned by the public university if the project meets certain requirements, including that each building within the project is certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum or better by the United States Green Building Council. Existing law requires the lead agency, if the university housing development project is exempt from CEQA under the above provision, to file the LEED certificate for buildings within the project and a notice determining that the construction impacts of the project have been fully mitigated with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located. Existing law requires a university housing development project carried out by the University of California, in order to be exempt from CEQA under this law, to be consistent with the most recent long-range development plan EIR certified on or after January 1, 2018, as provided.

This bill would extend the application of the university housing development project exemption until January 1, 2032. The bill would instead require a university housing development project carried out by the University of California, in order to be exempt from CEQA under this law, to be consistent with the land use designation in the most recent long-range development plan that has an EIR prepared for that plan, or an EIR prepared for any subsequent amendment to that plan relating to housing, that was certified not more than 25 years before the approval of the project. The bill would remove the requirement to file the LEED certificate with the county clerk of the county in which the project is located.

Existing law requires a public university or a relevant public agency with authority to issue a certificate of occupancy for a building within the project to not issue the certificate of occupancy for the building unless the lead agency receives certification of LEED Platinum or better from the United States Green Building Council for the building and the lead agency determines that the construction impacts of the project have been fully mitigated.

This bill would instead require a public university to obtain LEED Platinum certification for each building within a university housing development project no later than 18 months from the issuance of the building’s certificate of occupancy or an equivalent certification, or its initial usage, and would authorize a public university to obtain extensions for this LEED certification compliance requirement in 6-month increments, as provided. The bill would prohibit a public university that has exempted a university housing development project from being eligible to exempt a subsequent university housing development project until the public university has obtained LEED Platinum certification for each building within the prior exempted university housing development project, except as specified. The bill would also make other related changes.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 21080.58 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21080.58.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Faculty and staff housing project” means one or more housing facilities to be occupied by faculty or staff of one or more campuses, and owned by a public university, including dining, academic, and faculty and staff support service spaces and other necessary and usual attendant and related facilities and equipment.

(2) “Public university” means the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges.

(3) “Skilled and trained workforce” has the same meaning as in Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(4) “Student housing project” means one or more housing facilities to be occupied by students of one or more campuses and owned by a public university, including dining, academic and student support service spaces, and other necessary and usual attendant and related facilities and equipment.

(5) “University housing development project” or “project” means a student housing project or a faculty and staff housing project that is not located, in whole or in part, on a site that is any of the following:

(A) Either prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, as defined pursuant to United States Department of Agriculture land inventory and monitoring criteria, as modified for California, and designated on the maps prepared by the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program of the Department of Conservation, or land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction.

(B) Wetlands, as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).

(C) Within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as determined by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51178 of the Government Code, or within a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as indicated on maps adopted by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 4202. This subparagraph does not apply to sites excluded from the specified fire hazard severity zones by a local agency, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51179 of the Government Code, or sites that have adopted fire hazard mitigation measures pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures applicable to the project.

(D) Either a hazardous waste site listed pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code or a hazardous substances release site designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 78760) of Chapter 4 of Part 2 of Division 45 of the Health and Safety Code, unless the State Department of Public Health, State Water Resources Control Board, or Department of Toxic Substances Control has cleared the site for residential use or residential mixed uses.

(E) Within a delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the State Geologist in any official maps published by the State Geologist, unless the project complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards adopted by the California Building Standards Commission under the California Building Standards Law (Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and by any local building department under Chapter 12.2 (commencing with Section 8875) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(F) Within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by a 1 percent annual chance flood (100-year flood) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If a public university is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to demonstrate that the site satisfies this subparagraph and is otherwise eligible to be exempt from this division pursuant to this section, a local government shall not deny an application on the basis that the public university did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by that local government that is applicable to that site. A project may be located on a site described in this subparagraph if either of the following are met:

(i) The site has been subject to a Letter of Map Revision prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and issued to the local government.

(ii) The site meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements necessary to meet minimum flood plain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program pursuant to Part 59 (commencing with Section 59.1) and Part 60 (commencing with Section 60.1) of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(G) Within a regulatory floodway as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, unless the project has received a no-rise certification in accordance with Section 60.3(d)(3) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If a public university is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to demonstrate that the site satisfies this subparagraph and is otherwise eligible to be exempt from this division pursuant to this section, a local government shall not deny an application on the basis that the public university did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by that local government that is applicable to that site.

(H) Lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), habitat conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), or other adopted natural resource protection plan.

(I) Habitat for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by a state or federal agency, fully protected species, or 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).

(J) Lands under conservation easement.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (d), this division does not apply to a university housing development project carried out by a public university on real property owned by the public university that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) (A) If the university housing development project is carried out by the University of California, the university housing development project is consistent with the land use designation in the most recent long-range development plan, so long as the environmental impact report prepared for the most recent long-range development plan, or the environmental impact report prepared for any subsequent amendment to the most recent long-range development plan relating to housing, was certified not more than 25 years before the approval of the university housing development project.

(B) If the university housing development project is carried out by the California State University or the California Community Colleges, the university housing development project is consistent with the most recent master plan environmental impact report prepared pursuant to Section 21080.09 and certified no more than 10 years before the determination that the exemption under this section applies and with any applicable tiered environmental analysis, so long as none of the events specified in Section 21166 have occurred.

(2) Each building within the university housing development project meets the minimum requirements to qualify for certification as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum or better by the United States Green Building Council.

(3) (A) No more than one-third of the project square footage shall be used for dining, academic, parking, or student support service spaces, or other necessary and usual attendant and related facilities and equipment.

(B) For faculty and staff housing projects, and student housing projects occupied by more than two-thirds graduate students, no more than 12 percent of total project square footage shall be used for parking facilities.

(C) For student housing projects occupied by more than two-thirds undergraduate students, no more than 5 percent of total project square footage shall be used for parking.

(4) The project is within one-half mile of a major transit stop or one-half mile of the campus boundary, as defined by the public university’s long-range development plan or master plan, as appropriate, or would not exceed the vehicle miles traveled screening threshold of 110 trips per day as stated in the Office of Planning and Research April 2018 publication entitled “Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA,” or has 15 percent lower per capita vehicle miles traveled as compared to that for the jurisdiction in which the university housing development project is located.

(5) The project has a transportation demand management program.

(6) The project’s construction impacts are fully mitigated consistent with applicable local, state, or federal law, except that for purposes of this paragraph, applicable law shall not include this division.

(7) (A) The project, when completed, would not result in any net additional emission of greenhouse gases, as supported by substantial evidence.

(B) To maximize public health and environmental benefits, the public university shall ensure that the measures will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in the project area and in the neighboring communities.

(C) Not less than 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions necessary to achieve the requirement of this paragraph shall be from local, direct greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(i) Project design features or onsite reduction measures, or both design features and onsite reduction measures, that include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(I) Implementing project design features that enable the project to exceed the building energy efficiency standards set forth in Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, not including 50 percent of emissions reductions attributable to design features necessary to qualify for LEED Platinum certification.

(II) Requiring a transportation demand management program to reduce single-occupancy vehicular travel and vehicle miles traveled.

(III) Providing onsite renewable energy generation, including a solar roof on the project with a minimum peak generation capacity of 500 kilowatts.

(IV) Providing solar-ready roofs.

(V) Providing cool roofs and cool parking promoting cool surface treatment for new parking facilities.

(ii) Offsite reduction measures in neighboring communities, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(I) Providing funding to an offsite mitigation project consisting of replacing buses, trolleys, or other transit vehicles with zero-emission vehicles.

(II) Providing offsite safety or other improvements for bicycles, pedestrians, and transit connections.

(III) Undertaking or funding building retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings.

(D) (i) The public university may obtain offset credits for up to 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions necessary to achieve the requirement of this subdivision that produce emissions reductions within the jurisdiction that the university housing development project is located. Any offset credits shall be verified by a third party accredited by the State Air Resources Board, and shall be undertaken in a manner consistent with Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the offset be real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable, and shall be undertaken from sources in the same community in which the project is located or adjacent communities.

(ii) If 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions reductions necessary to achieve no additional emissions of greenhouse gases cannot be feasibly and fully mitigated by offset credits as described in clause (i), the mitigation of the remaining emissions of greenhouse gases shall be achieved pursuant to the following priority:

(I) Offset credits that would also reduce the emissions of criteria air pollutants or toxic air contaminants. The offsets shall be undertaken in a manner consistent with Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the offsets be real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable, and shall be undertaken from sources in the community within which the project is located or in adjacent communities.

(II) If the remaining emissions of greenhouse gases cannot be feasibly or fully mitigated by the offsets credits described in subclause (I), the remaining unmitigated greenhouse gas emissions shall be mitigated through the use of offsets that would also reduce emissions of criteria air pollutants or toxic air contaminants and shall be undertaken in a manner consistent with subclause (I) and shall be undertaken from sources that provide a specific, quantifiable, and direct environmental and public health benefit to the community in which the project is located.

(E) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this paragraph, to maximize the environmental and public health benefits from measures to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases of a university housing development project to those people that are impacted most by the project.

(8) All contractors and subcontractors at every tier on the project will be required to pay prevailing wages in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.

(9) (A) An entity shall not be prequalified or shortlisted or awarded a contract to perform work on the project unless the entity provides an enforceable commitment to the public university that the entity and its contractors and subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all work on the project that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades, in accordance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(B) This paragraph does not apply if any of the following requirements are met:

(i) The public university has entered into a project labor agreement that will bind all contractors and subcontractors at every tier performing work on the project to use a skilled and trained workforce, and the entity agrees to be bound by that project labor agreement.

(ii) The project is being performed under the extension or renewal of a project labor agreement that was entered into by the public university before January 1, 2023.

(iii) The entity has entered into a project labor agreement that will bind the entity and all of its contractors and subcontractors at every tier performing the project to use a skilled and trained workforce.

(10) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for a project carried out by the University of California, all cleaning, maintenance, groundskeeping, food service, or other work traditionally performed by persons with University of California Service Unit (SX) job classifications shall be performed only by employees of the University of California at any facility, building, property, or space that is part of the project.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to, and shall not restrict the performance of, work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds when the work is either of the following:

(i) Construction, alteration, demolition, installation, cleanup work at the construction jobsite, or repair work, including work performed during the design and all phases of construction, including preconstruction and postconstruction phases.

(ii) Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, glazing, painting, and other craftwork designed to preserve, protect, or keep a publicly owned facility in a safe and continuously usable condition, including repairs, cleaning, and other operations on machinery and other equipment permanently attached to the building or real property as fixtures.

(11) (A) The public university holds at least one noticed public hearing in the project area to receive all public comment before determining that a university housing development project is exempt pursuant to this section.

(B) The public university shall give public notice of the meeting to the last known name and address of all the organizations and individuals that have previously requested notice and shall also give the general public notice using at least one of the following procedures:

(i) Publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the project. If more than one area will be affected, the notice shall be published in the newspaper of largest circulation from among the newspapers of general circulation in those areas.

(ii) Posting of the notice onsite and offsite in the area where the project is located.

(iii) Posting of the notice on the public university’s internet website and social media accounts.

(12) The public university files a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research pursuant to subdivisions (b) to (d), inclusive, of Section 21108.

(c) (1) (A) A public university shall obtain LEED Platinum certification for each building within a university housing development project built pursuant to subdivision (b) no later than 18 months from the issuance of the building’s certificate of occupancy or an equivalent certification, or its initial usage.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a public university that has completed all actions the public university believes are necessary to obtain LEED Platinum certification for each building within a university housing development project within the 18-month timeframe described in subparagraph (A), but that has not obtained LEED Platinum certification for each building within that university housing development project within that 18-month timeframe due to circumstances outside of the control of the public university, may, after making a public notice and a disclosure to the Office of Planning and Research of the reasons that LEED Platinum certification has not been obtained, obtain LEED Platinum certification as required by subparagraph (A) within an additional six months. A public university may obtain additional extensions for compliance in six-month increments by making a public notice and a disclosure to the Office of Planning and Research of the reasons that LEED Platinum certification has not been obtained, as long as the circumstances outside of the control of the public university ~~persist, as certified by ____.~~ persist.

(C) For purposes of subparagraph (B), circumstances outside of the control of the public university include, but are not limited to, an unreasonable delay in obtaining LEED certification that is the fault of the certifying organization and any force majeure event that includes, but is not limited to, any strike, factory closure, explosion, maritime peril, natural disaster, pandemic, act of a public enemy, fire, flood, accident, war, riot, insurgence, or other similar event.

(2) (A) A public university that has exempted a university housing development project pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not be eligible to exempt a subsequent university housing development project until the public university has obtained LEED Platinum certification for each building within the prior university housing development project exempted pursuant to subdivision (b).

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a public university that has authorized funding for preliminary plans or a schematic design, or both, for a subsequent public university housing project prior to the date that a prior public university housing project is noncompliant with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) may exempt the subsequent public university housing project pursuant to subdivision (b).

(3) The lead agency shall file the LEED certification described in paragraph (1) along with a determination that the construction impacts of the project have been fully mitigated as required pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) with the Office of Planning and ~~Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located.~~ Research.

(d) The exemption from this division provided by subdivision (b) does not apply to a university housing development project that meets any of the following criteria:

(1) The project would require the demolition of any of the following:

(A) Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of moderate, low, or very low income.

(B) Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power.

(C) Housing that has been occupied by tenants within the past 10 years, except an existing university student housing project.

(D) A historic structure that is listed on a national, state, or local historic register.

(2) The project is located on a site that was previously used for housing that was occupied by tenants and was demolished within 10 years before the public university files a notice of exemption or submits an application under this section, whichever occurs sooner.

(3) The project is located on a site that contains housing units that are occupied by tenants and the housing units are offered for sale, or were subsequently offered for sale, to the general public by a subdivider or subsequent owner of the site.

(4) The project consists of more than 2,000 units or 4,000 beds.

(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2032, and as of that date is repealed.