See List Of Support/Opposition To SB 35, Votes Of LB-Area Sac'to Lawmakers, Council's Stated Policy vs. City Hall's "Neutral" Position And Actions/Non-Actions By LB Mayor/Council '

' See List Of Support/Opposition To SB 35, Votes Of LB-Area Sac'to Lawmakers, Council's Stated Policy vs. City Hall's "Neutral" Position And Actions/Non-Actions By LB Mayor/Council '

LBReport.com

News / Follow-Up

See List Of Support/Opposition To SB 35, Votes Of LB-Area Sac'to Lawmakers, Council's Stated Policy vs. City Hall's "Neutral" Position And Actions/Non-Actions By LB Mayor/Council

LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. Support independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.

(Sept. 16, 2017, 11:20 a.m.) -- LBREPORT.com provides below a list of supporters/opponents of SB 35, as listed in the Sept. 15 state Senate legislative analysis for the bill on final passage.

As described in below, SB 35 (with few exceptions) provides developers with what supporters call "streamlined" approval that amounts to near automatic City Hall approval for multi-unit residential buildings along with incentives for "affordable"/low-rent subsidized units) without the type of public input currently required for large projects, erasing current requirements for public input, neighborhood impact (CEQA) review, local parking requirements. The net result enables such projects without city staff or City Council approval at nearly all locations [exceptions include in coastal zone, flood zones, etc.] where city zoning allows residences IF the city hasn't issued sufficient permits (not merely adopted "plans" or "goals") for new housing in numbers decided by a regional body (So Cal Ass'n of Gov'ts) (The City of LB's Director of Development Services, Amy Bodek, confirmed to LBREPORT.com that the City of Long Beach would be subject to SB 35's mandates at this time.) [LBREPORT.com coverage here.]

SB 35 also prevents the city from requiring locally required minimum parking for new housing built within half a mile of "public transit" and in other circumstances; for proposed residential projects in other areas, SB 35 prevents the city from requiring more than one parking space per residential unit [although many residential units might have two or more residents who drive.] [LBREPORT.com coverage of parking aspects of SB 35, click here.]

[Scroll down for further.]

SB 35's full text can be viewed is at this link. Numbered pages 11-23 show exactly how SB 35 would effectively end current public input and local parking requirements and City Hall discretionary decisions.

Multiple cities, plus the League of California Cities (advocacy group with over 450 member-cities, including City of LB) opposed SB 35. However the City of Long Beach itself DIDN'T officially oppose SB 35, despite the fact that the LB City Council's "State Legislation Committee" (Austin, Gonzalez, Mungo) and the full City Council voted to approve a "state legislative agenda that stated the following would be City of Long Beach policy:

[City of LB 2017 "state legislative agenda" text] ..."Oppose legislation that preempts the City's existing control over local matters"..."oppose policies and legislation that preempts the current authority possessed by the City and delegates that authority to the State or other government jurisdiction"..."oppose policies and legislation that diminishes the City's local control over land use, planning, zoning and development decisions, and oppose legislation in conflict with the City's adopted General Plan or other Council adopted land use policies."

Despite this, the City of LB's official position on SB 35 was "neutral" while "working with the author on amendments, consistent with the City's state legislative agenda as it relates to local control." [Source: City of LB Manager of Government Affairs, Diana Tang, Aug. 29 and Sept. 5]

[State Senate legislative analysis text]
SUPPORT: (Verified 9/15/17)
Abundant Housing LA
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Bridge Housing
California Apartment Association
California Asian Chamber of Commerce
California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
California Association of Realtors
California Building Industry Association
California Conference of Carpenters
California Council for Affordable Housing
California League of Conservation Voters
California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund
California School Employees Association
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Council of Laborers
California State Pipe Trades Council
Center for Sustainable Neighborhoods
Coalition of California Utility Employees
Council of Infill Builders
County of Napa
East Bay Forward
Facebook
Greenbelt Alliance
Grow the Richmond
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
LeadingAge California
League of California Community Foundations
League of Women Voters
Local Government Commission
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Business Council
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
Mayor Darrell Steinberg, City of Sacramento
Mayor Edwin Lee, City & County of San Francisco
Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
Mayor Libby Schaaf, City of Oakland
Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez, City of Santa Ana
Mayor Sam Liccardo, City of San Jose
Mercy Housing California
Mission Housing Development Corporation
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Natural Resources Defense Council
NextGen
Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California
Progress Noe Valley
Sacramento Bee
Salesforce
San Diego Housing Coalition
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Housing Action Coalition
San Francisco Planning & Urban Research
San Francisco Yes-In-My-Back-Yard Party
San Mateo County Economic Development Association
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce
Silicon Valley At Home
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, AFL-CIO
Supervisor Leticia Perez, Kern County
Supervisor Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
US Green Building Council, California Chapter
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
YIMBY Action

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/15/17)
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
City of Adelanto
City of Alameda
City of American Canyon
City of Anderson
City of Avalon
City of Berkeley
City of Beverly Hills
City of Brentwood
City of Buellton
City of Buena Park
City of Calipatria
City of Camarillo
City of Chula Vista
City of Citrus Heights
City of Claremont
City of Cloverdale
City of Clovis
City of Concord
City of Corte Madera
City of Daly City
City of Danville
City of Diamond Bar
City of Dublin
City of Eastvale
City of El Centro
City of Elk Grove
City of Encinitas
City of Escondido
City of Fountain Valley
City of Fremont
City of Fullerton
City of Glendale
City of Glendora
City of Goleta
City of Half Moon Bay
City of Hayward
City of Hesperia
City of Hillsborough
City of Hughson
City of Huntington Beach
City of Indian Wells
City of Indio
City of La Mirada
City of Lafayette
City of Laguna Beach
City of Lake Elsinore
City of Lakewood
City of Lodi
City of Mammoth Lakes
City of Monrovia
City of Monte Serano
City of Monterey
City of Moraga
City of Mount Shasta
City of Mountain View
City of National City
City of Norco
City of Oceanside
City of Ojai
City of Orinda
City of Oxnard
City of Palm Desert
City of Palos Verdes Estates
City of Paramount
City of Pasadena
City of Petaluma
City of Pinole
City of Pismo Beach
City of Pleasanton
City of Poway
City of Rancho Cordova
City of Rancho Cucamonga
City of Redlands
City of Ripon
City of Roseville
City of Salinas
City of San Buenaventura
City of San Luis Obispo
City of San Marcos
City of San Rafael
City of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Clarita
City of Santa Maria
City of Santa Rosa
City of Santee
City of Scotts Valley
City of Selma
City of Signal Hill
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Tulare
City of Tustin
City of Vallejo
City of Villa Park
City of Visalia
City of Vista
City of Walnut Creek
City of Watsonville
City of West Covina
City of Wheatland
City of Whittier
City of Yucaipa
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
League of California Cities
Marin County Council of Mayors and Council Members
Riverside County Division, League of California Cities
The Cities Association of Santa Clara County
Town of ColmaTown of Corte Madera
Town of Yucca Valley
Ventura Council of Governments

During the current legislative session, two key lawmakers happen to represent portions of Long Beach, one in each house: state Senator Ricardo Lara (D, LB-Huntington Park) who chairs the state Sen. Appropriations Committee, plus the highest ranking member of the Assembly, Speaker Anthony Rendon (D, NLB-Lakewood-Paramount.) Sen Lara voted for SB 35 five times. three of which were on policy votes. Lara voted "yes" on SB 35 in the state Senate Governance and Finance Committee (April 26), on the state Senate floor on initial passage (June 1) and on final passage (Sept. 15). In addition, as chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Lara had the ability to prevent SB 35 from reaching the Senate floor a June vote unless the author agreed to amendments that might have removed or reduced its harmful impacts on Long Beach, which Sen. Lara didn't do.

[Compare: As separately reported by LBREPORT.com, Sen. Lara as Appropriations Committee chair effectively required amendments (deletions) that gutted a key portion of AB 1479 that would have added teeth to the CA Public Records Act by enabling courts to fine gov't entities between $1,000-$5,000 if/when they unreasonably withhold releasing public records.]

State Senator Janet Nguyen (R, SE LB-West OC), a member of the Repub Sac'to minority, voted for SB 35 twice -- on both occasions times that it came to the state Senate floor.

In the Assembly, Speaker Rendon (D, NLB-Lakewood-Paramount) publicly supported a package of housing related bills that included SB 35. On Sept. 7, Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell (D, Long Beach-San Pedro) announced that he opposed SB 35 and reiterated this at a Sept. 9 public meeting alongside Councilwoman Suzie Price who also announced that she opposed the bill for taking away local control.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Portions of Long Beach are represented by key lawmakers in the CA legislature's Democrat Party majority leadership, one in each house: state Senator Ricardo Lara (D, LB-Huntington Park) who chairs the state Sen. Appropriations Committee, plus the highest ranking member of the Assembly, Speaker Anthony Rendon (D, NLB-Lakewood-Paramount.) Sen Lara voted for SB 35 five times. three of which were on policy votes. Lara voted "yes" on SB 35 in the state Senate Governance and Finance Committee (April 26), on the state Senate floor on initial passage (June 1) and on final passage (Sept. 15). In addition, as chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Lara had the ability to prevent SB 35 from reaching the Senate floor a June vote unless the author agreed to amendments that might have removed or reduced its harmful impacts on Long Beach, which Sen. Lara didn't do.

State Senator Janet Nguyen (R, SE LB-West OC), a member of the Repub Sac'to minority, voted for SB 35 twice -- on both occasions times that it came to the state Senate floor.

Sponsor

Any City Councilmember, or the Mayor, could have agendized an item that -- in addition to the Council-adopted "state legislative agenda -- explicitly stated the City of LB's opposition to SB 35. None did.

Sponsor

Sponsor

At a Sept. 11 meeting organized by her office (on another topic), Councilwoman Mungo responded to audience questions about SB 35 by saying it was a Sacramento matter but she is a Long Beach elected. When some audience members noted that she's part of the Council's State Legislation Committee, Councilwoman Mungo said she supported local control but declined to answer when asked why the City of LB's position was "neutral" on SB 35. At one point, Councilwoman Mungo tried to reassure residents by saying Mayor Garcia doesn't support the type of density proposed in the August maps, and said whatever maps are ultimately adopted will still require proposed projects to undergo public input, city and Council approval...without mentioning that SB 35 (then days away from passage) could effectively erase much of that process.

LB Mayor Robert Garcia took no publicly stated position on SB 35 of which we are aware. On Aug 31 during an "Ask Me Anything" hour on Twitter, Garcia failed to respond when a resident asked him for his position on SB 35. (Garcia hid the question by configuring his Twitter event so the only questions visible on his Twitter feed would be those he chose to answer.) The Mayor's office hasn't responded to our inquiries (Sept. 3 and Sept. 5) asking it to cite any examples over the past seven months (while SB 35 has been pending) showing when Mayor Garcia publicly opposed the measure as written or unless amended. On Sept. 7 (the same day Assemblyman O'Donnell voiced his opposition to SB 35 in a press release), Mayor Garcia sent a privately directed Tweet to a resident indicating he opposes SB 35 on grounds it takes away local control.

In the days immediately prior to the final vote, Mayor Garcia didn't travel to Sacramento to opposed SB 35; instead, he traveled to Lima, Peru to watch (since his presence wasn't legally required) as the Int'l Olympic Committee gave the 2028 games to Los Angeles (whose organizers have allocated some game venues to LB.)

Sponsor