YIYBYs ("Yes In Your Backyard"): State Legislature Passes (With Support From Sen. Lowenthal & Ass'ymembers Karnette & Oropeza) Bill Mandating Cities Find Areas & Zone For Share Of Region's Low Income Housing, Homeless Shelters, Transitional Housing

Makes City Hall Denial Harder, Includes Minimum Densities & Penalties/Lawsuit Exposure For Non-Compliance

This bill:

1.Adds emergency shelters to the list of types of housing for which a local government must identify adequate sites in its housing element.

2.Requires the housing element to include an inventory of sites suitable for the development within the planning period of emergency shelters and requires these sites to be zoned to permit shelters as a use by right.

3.Requires the city or county to identify and rezone sufficient sites to accommodate the need for emergency shelters if the inventory does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the community's need as identified in the analysis and requires rezoned sites to permit emergency shelters as a use by right.

4.Allows a local government to satisfy the requirement to identify sites for emergency shelters through a multijurisdictional agreement with adjacent communities.

5.Allows a city or county to comply with the requirements of this bill during the next regular update cycle of their housing element.

6.Defines emergency shelter as housing for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of six months or less, consistent with the existing law definition in the Health and Safety Code.

7.Requires the analysis of special housing needs within the housing element to address transitional housing.

8.Defines transitional housing as housing with supportive services for up to 24 months that is exclusively designated and targeted for recently homeless persons, consistent with the existing law definition in the Health and Safety Code.

9.Requires cities and counties to designate zones where special needs facilities and transitional housing are a permitted use, either by right or subject to a conditional use permit.

10.Prohibits a local agency from enacting or enforcing an ordinance, regulation, or resolution prohibiting special needs facilities and transitional housing.

11.Defines special needs facility as any of the following that serve seven or more persons, consistent with existing law definitions in the Health and Safety Code: a community care facility, residential facility, social rehabilitation facility, community treatment facility, transitional shelter care facility, transitional housing placement facility, residential care facility, or residential care facility for the elderly.

12.Amends the anti-NIMBY (for "not in my back yard") law to:

• A. Apply the law to emergency shelters and special needs facilities.
• B. Prohibit a community from using the "not-needed" defense to disapprove transitional housing unless the community has met the need for such facilities identified in its housing element analysis of special housing needs.

The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The element shall contain all of the following:

(a) An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:

(1) An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the locality's existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the locality's share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.

(2) An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.

(3) An inventory of land suitable for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having potential for redevelopment, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites.

(4) An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (6), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees and other exactions required of developers, and local processing and permit procedures. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities identified pursuant to paragraph (6).

(5) An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, and the cost of construction.

(6) An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly, persons with disabilities, large families, farmworkers, families with female heads of households, and families and persons in need of emergency shelter.

(7) An inventory of sites suitable for the development within the planning period of emergency shelters that are zoned to permit the development of these shelters as a use by right, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 65583.2. The sites shall be zoned with appropriate development and management standards and served with appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the community's need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (6).

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...[A] city or county shall determine whether each site in the inventory can accommodate some portion of its share of the regional housing need by income level during the planning period...The analysis shall determine whether the inventory can provide for a variety of types of housing, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, emergency shelters, and transitional housing. The city or county shall determine the number of housing units that can be accommodated on each site as follows:

For the number of units calculated to accommodate its share of the regional housing need for lower income households...a city or county shall do either of the following:

(A) Provide an analysis demonstrating how the adopted densities accommodate this need. The analysis shall include, but is not limited to, factors such as market demand, financial feasibility, or information based on development project experience within a zone or zones that provide housing for lower income households.

(B) The following densities shall be deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households:

(iii) For suburban jurisdictions: sites allowing at least 20 units per acre.

(iv) For jurisdictions in metropolitan counties: sites allowing at least 30 units per acre.

...(e) A jurisdiction is considered suburban if the jurisdiction does not meet the requirements of [citation] and is located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of less than 2,000,000 in population, unless that jurisdiction's population is greater than 100,000, in which case it is considered metropolitan...

...For sites described in [citation] the city or county shall specify the additional development potential for each site within the planning period and shall provide an explanation of the methodology used to determine the development potential. The methodology shall consider factors including the extent to which existing uses may constitute an impediment to additional residential development, development trends, market conditions, and regulatory or other incentives or standards to encourage additional residential development on these sites.

...The program required by [citation] shall accommodate 100 percent of the need for housing for very low and low-income households allocated pursuant to [citation] for which site capacity has not been identified in the inventory of sites pursuant to [citation] on sites that shall be zoned to permit owner-occupied and rental multifamily residential use by right during the planning period. These sites shall be zoned with minimum density and development standards that permit at least 16 units per site at a density of at least 16 units per acre in jurisdictions described in [citation] and at least 20 units per acre in jurisdictions described in [citation].

(c). At least 50 percent of the very low and low-income housing need shall be accommodated on sites designated for residential use and for which nonresidential uses or mixed-uses are not permitted.

(i) ...[T]he phrase "use by right" shall mean that the local government's review of the use for an emergency shelter or an owner-occupied or rental multifamily residential development may not require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary local government review or approval that would constitute a "project" for purposes of [citation]...

A local government may satisfy the requirements to identify sites suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) and to include a program to identify sufficient sites for these shelters pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement with adjacent communities that commits the participating jurisdictions to identify sufficient sites suitable for development within the planning period of emergency shelters that are zoned to permit the development of these shelters as a use by right, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 65583.2. The sites shall be zoned with appropriate development and management standards and served with appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the combined need for emergency shelters of all the participating jurisdictions, as identified by each jurisdiction pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a).

(d) A local agency shall not disapprove a housing development project...for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, a special needs facility, or an emergency shelter, or condition approval, including through the use of design review standards, in a manner that renders the project infeasible for development for the use of very low, low-, or moderate-income households, a special needs facility, or an emergency shelter unless it makes written findings, based upon substantial evidence in the record, as to one of the following:

(1) The jurisdiction has adopted a housing element pursuant to this article that has been revised in accordance with Section 65588, is in substantial compliance with this article, and the jurisdiction has met or exceeded its share of the regional housing need allocation pursuant to Section 65584 for the planning period for the income category proposed for the housing development project...

(2) The development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter as proposed would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the special needs facility or emergency shelter financially infeasible. As used in this paragraph, a "specific, adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete. Inconsistency with the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation shall not constitute a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety.

(3) The denial of the project or imposition of conditions is required in order to comply with specific state or federal law, and there is no feasible method to comply without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the special needs facility or emergency shelter financially infeasible. ,,,

...(5) The development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter is inconsistent with both the jurisdiction's zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation as specified in any element of the general plan as it existed on the date the application was deemed complete, and the jurisdiction has adopted a revised housing element in accordance with Section 65588 that is in substantial compliance with this article.

(A) This paragraph cannot be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve a housing development project if the development project is proposed on a site that is identified as suitable or available for very low, low-, or moderate-income households in the jurisdiction's housing element, and consistent with the density specified in the housing element, even though it is inconsistent with both the jurisdiction's zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation. This paragraph cannot be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve an emergency shelter if the shelter is proposed on a site that is identified as suitable for emergency shelters in the housing element, even though it is inconsistent with both the jurisdiction's zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation.

(B) If the local agency has failed, in accordance with Section 65583.2, to identify in the inventory of land in its housing element sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period and that are sufficient to provide for the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need for all income levels pursuant to Section 65584, then this paragraph shall not be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve a housing development project proposed for a site designated in any element of the general plan for residential uses or designated in any element of the general plan for commercial uses if residential uses are permitted or conditionally permitted within commercial designations. In any action in court, the burden of proof shall be on the local agency to show that its housing element does identify adequate sites with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate the local agency's share of the regional housing need for the very low and low-income categories.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring the housing development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584. A local agency may also require special needs facilities and emergency shelters to comply with objective, quantifiable, written management standards. However, the development and management standards, conditions, and policies shall be applied to facilitate and accommodate development at the density permitted on the site and proposed by housing development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from imposing fees and other exactions otherwise authorized by law that are essential to provide necessary public services and facilities to housing development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter.

(g) This section shall be applicable to charter cities because the Legislature finds that the lack of housing is a critical statewide problem.

(h) The following definitions apply for the purposes of this section:

(1) "Feasible" means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social, and technological factors.

(2) "Housing development project" means a use consisting of either of the following:

(A) Residential units only.

(B) Mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses in which nonresidential uses are limited to neighborhood commercial uses and to the first floor of buildings that are two or more stories. As used in this paragraph, "neighborhood commercial" means small-scale general or specialty stores that furnish goods and services primarily to residents of the neighborhood.

(3) "Housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households" means that either (A) at least 20 percent of the total units shall be sold or rented to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or (B) 100 percent of the units shall be sold or rented to moderate-income households as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, or middle-income households, as defined in Section 65008 of this code. Housing units targeted for lower income households shall be made available at a monthly housing cost that does not exceed 30 percent of 60 percent of area median income with adjustments for household size made in accordance with the adjustment factors on which the lower income eligibility limits are based. Housing units targeted for persons and families of moderate income shall be made available at a monthly housing cost that does not exceed 30 percent of 100 percent of area median income with adjustments for household size made in accordance with the adjustment factors on which the moderate income eligibility limits are based.

(4) "Special needs facility" includes all of the following if the facility is licensed and serves seven or more persons:

(A) A "community care facility," "residential facility," "social rehabilitation facility," "community treatment facility," "transitional shelter care facility," and "transitional housing placement facility," as those terms are defined in Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code.

(B) A "residential care facility," as defined in Section 1568.01 of the Health and Safety Code.

(C) A "residential care facility for the elderly," as defined in Section 1569.2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(5) "Area median income" means area median income as periodically established by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code. The developer shall provide sufficient legal commitments to ensure continued availability of units for very low or low-income households in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision for 30 years.

(6) "Neighborhood" means a planning area commonly identified in a community's planning documents, and identified as a neighborhood by the individuals residing and working within the neighborhood. Documentation demonstrating that the area meets the definition of neighborhood may include a map prepared for planning purposes which lists the name and boundaries of the neighborhood.

(7) "Disapprove the development project" includes any instance in which a local agency does either of the following:

(A) Votes on a proposed housing development project application and the application is disapproved.

(B) Fails to comply with the time periods specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 65950. An extension of time pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 65950) shall be deemed to be an extension of time pursuant to this paragraph.

(i) If any city, county, or city and county denies approval or imposes restrictions, including design changes, a reduction of allowable densities or the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a building or structure under the applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the application is deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943, that have a substantial adverse effect on the viability or affordability of a housing development for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, and the denial of the development or the imposition of restrictions on the development is the subject of a court action which challenges the denial, then the burden of proof shall be on the local legislative body to show that its decision is consistent with the findings as described in subdivision (d) and that the findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record.

(j) When a proposed housing development project complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, in effect at the time that the housing development project's application is determined to be complete, but the local agency proposes to disapprove the project or to approve it upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density, the local agency shall base its decision regarding the proposed housing development project upon written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:

(1) The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a "specific, adverse impact" means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.

(2) There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.

(k) The applicant or any person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the development, special needs facility, or emergency shelter may bring an action to enforce this section. If in any action brought to enforce the provisions of this section, a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in a manner rendering it infeasible for the development of a special needs facility, emergency shelter, or housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, including farmworker housing, without making the findings required by this section or without making sufficient findings supported by substantial evidence, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance with this section within 60 days, including, but not limited to, an order that the local agency take action on the development project, special needs facility, or emergency shelter. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out and shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs of suit to the plaintiff or petitioner who proposed the housing development, special needs facility, or emergency shelter, except under extraordinary circumstances in which the court finds that awarding fees would not further the purposes of this section. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders as provided by law to ensure that the purposes and policies of this section are fulfilled, including, but not limited to, an order to vacate the decision of the local agency, in which case the application for the project, as constituted at the time the local agency took the initial action determined to be in violation of this section, along with any standard conditions determined by the court to be generally imposed by the local agency on similar projects, shall be deemed approved unless the applicant consents to a different decision or action by the local agency.

(l) If the court finds that the local agency (1) acted in bad faith when it disapproved or conditionally approved the housing development, special needs facility, or emergency shelter in violation of this section and (2) failed to carry out the court's order or judgment within 60 days as described in paragraph (k), the court in addition to any other remedies provided by this section, may impose fines upon the local agency that the local agency shall be required to deposit into a housing trust fund. Fines shall not be paid from funds that are already dedicated for affordable housing, including, but not limited to, redevelopment or low- and moderate-income housing funds and federal HOME and CDBG funds. The local agency shall commit the money in the trust fund within five years for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households. For purposes of this section, "bad faith" shall mean an action that is frivolous or otherwise entirely without merit.

(m) Any action brought to enforce the provisions of this section shall be brought pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the local agency shall prepare and certify the record of proceedings in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure no later than 30 days after the petition is served, provided that the cost of preparation of the record shall be borne by the local agency. Upon entry of the trial court's order, a party shall, in order to obtain appellate review of the order, file a petition within 20 days after service upon it of a written notice of the entry of the order, or within such further time not exceeding an additional 20 days as the trial court may for good cause allow. If the local agency appeals the judgment of the trial court, the local agency shall post a bond, in an amount to be determined by the court, to the benefit of the plaintiff if the plaintiff is the project applicant.

(n) In any action, the record of the proceedings before the local agency shall be filed as expeditiously as possible and, notwithstanding Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure or subdivision (m) of this section, all or part of the record may be prepared (1) by the petitioner with the petition or petitioner's points and authorities, (2) by the respondent with respondent's points and authorities, (3) after payment of costs by the petitioner, or (4) as otherwise directed by the court. If the expense of preparing the record has been borne by the petitioner and the petitioner is the prevailing party, the expense shall be taxable as costs.

MEASURE: SB 1322
AUTHOR:	Cedillo
TOPIC:	Housing.
DATE:	08/31/2006
LOCATION:	ASM. FLOOR
MOTION:	SB 1322 Cedillo  Senate Third Reading  By Lieber
			 	(AYES  41. NOES  34.)  (PASS)

AYES
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Arambula	Baca	Bass	Berg
Bermudez	Calderon	Canciamilla	Chan
Chavez	Cohn	Coto	De La Torre
Dymally	Frommer	Goldberg	Hancock
Jerome Horton	Jones	Karnette	Klehs
Koretz	Laird	Leno	Levine
Lieber	Liu	Matthews	Montanez
Mullin	Negrete McLeod	Oropeza	Parra
Ridley-Thomas	Ruskin	Saldana	Salinas
Torrico	Umberg	Vargas	Yee
Nunez


NOES
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Aghazarian	Benoit	Blakeslee	Bogh
Cogdill	Daucher	DeVore	Emmerson
Evans	Garcia	Haynes	Shirley Horton
Houston	Huff	Keene	La Malfa
La Suer	Leslie	Lieu	Maze
McCarthy	Mountjoy	Nakanishi	Niello
Plescia	Richman	Sharon Runner	Spitzer
Strickland	Tran	Villines	Walters
Wolk	Wyland


ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING
*********************************

Chu	Nation	Nava	Pavley

MEASURE:SB 1322
AUTHOR:	Cedillo
TOPIC:	Housing.
DATE:	08/31/2006
LOCATION: SEN. FLOOR
MOTION:	Unfinished Supp 2 SB1322 Cedillo
(AYES  24. NOES  14.)  (PASS)

AYES
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Alarcon	Alquist	Bowen	Cedillo
Chesbro	Ducheny	Dunn	Escutia
Figueroa	Florez	Kehoe	Kuehl
Lowenthal	Machado	Migden	Murray
Ortiz	Perata	Romero	Scott
Simitian	Speier	Torlakson	Vincent


NOES
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Aanestad	Ackerman	Ashburn	Battin
Cox	Denham	Dutton	Harman
Hollingsworth	Maldonado	Margett	McClintock
Morrow	Poochigian


ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING
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Runner	Soto