Amended in Assembly January 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1500


Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Mullin and Steinorth)

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 21080.40 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1500, as amended, Maienschein. California Environmental Quality Act: priority housing 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 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. CEQA exempts specified projects from its requirements.

This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA priority housing projects, as defined, if specified conditions are met. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 21080.40 is added to the Public Resources
2Code
, to read:

3

21080.40.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
4mean the following:

begin delete

5(1) “Affordable housing cost” has the same meaning as set forth
6in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

end delete
begin delete

7(2) “Affordable rent” has the same meaning as set forth in
8Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.

end delete
begin delete

9(3)

end delete

10begin insert(1)end insert “Emergency shelter” has the same meaning as set forth in
11Section 50801 of the Health and Safety Code.

begin delete

12(4) “Low-income housing” means housing with at least 20
13percent of the units affordable to lower income households subject
14to all of the following:

end delete
begin delete

15(A) The project developer shall provide sufficient legal
16commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the
17continued availability and use of the housing units for extremely
18low income households, very low income households, or lower
19income households at monthly housing costs with an affordable
20housing cost or affordable rent for the period required by the
21applicable financing method.

end delete
begin delete

22(B) Rental units shall be affordable for at least 55 years.

end delete
begin delete

23(C) Ownership units shall be subject to resale restrictions or
24equity sharing requirements for at least 30 years.

end delete
begin delete

25(5) “Lower income household” has the same meaning as set
26forth in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

end delete
begin delete

27(6)

end delete

28begin insert(2)end insert  “Priority housing project” means an activity or approval
29necessary for, or incidental to, the development, planning,begin delete designend delete
30begin insert design,end insert site acquisition, subdivision, financing, leasing,
P3    1construction, operation, or maintenance of an emergency shelter,
2transitional housing,begin delete supportive housing, low-income housing, or
3associated development, including any accessory roadway, utility,
4or other improvement to that shelter, housing, or associated
5development.end delete
begin insert or supportive housing.end insert

begin delete

6(7)

end delete

7begin insert(3)end insert “Supportive housing” has the same meaning as set forth in
8paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health
9and Safety Code.

begin delete

10(8)

end delete

11begin insert(4)end insert “Transitional housing” has the same meaning as set forth in
12Section 50801 of the Health and Safety Code.

13(b) This division does not apply to a priority housing project if
14all of the following conditions are met:

begin delete

15(1) The project does not result in a net loss in the number of
16housing units with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent
17to lower income households within the project area.

end delete
begin delete

18(2)

end delete

19begin insert(1)end insert The lead agency has filed a notice of determination with the
20Office of Planning and Research consistent with Section 21152.1.

begin delete

21(3)

end delete

22begin insert(2)end insert The city or county in which the project is located has adopted
23a housing element that the Department of Housing and Community
24 Development has determined to be in compliance with applicable
25statutes and regulations at the time the lead agency files the notice
26of determination with the Office of Planning and Research.

begin delete

27(4)

end delete

28begin insert(3)end insert The city or county in which the project is located is
29compliant with the housing element portion of its annual report,
30required pursuant to Section 65400 of the Government Code, at
31the time the local agency files the notice of determination with the
32Office of Planning and Research.

33(c) This section does not alter, affect, expand, or diminish a
34public agency’s obligation to comply with statutory or regulatory
35requirements imposed pursuant to other laws.

36

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
37Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
38a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
39charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
P4    1level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
217556 of the Government Code.



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