If enacted, SB 902 would effectively allow LB City Hall's planning staff, with the approval of a current or future City Council majority, to satisfy development interests and meet state and regional housing mandates by allowing multi-unit residential buildings in neighborhoods currently zoned for single family homes. These could include ELB's post WWII-developed housing tracts in Council districts 4 and 5.

In some respects (including its goal of increasing allowable housing density), SB 902 is similar to Sen. Wiener's former SB 50 that came within just a few votes of passing the state Senate in January 2020 (details below.) .

LBREPORT.com provides SB 902's current text below:

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SECTION 1. Section 65913.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65913.3. (a) (1) A local government may pass an ordinance, notwithstanding any local restrictions on adopting zoning ordinances enacted by the jurisdiction, including restrictions enacted by a local voter initiative, that limit the legislative body’s ability to adopt zoning ordinances, to zone any parcel for up to 10 units of residential density per parcel, at a height specified by the local government in the ordinance, if the parcel is located in one of the following:

(A) A transit-rich area.

(B) A jobs-rich area.

(C) An urban infill site.

(2) An ordinance adopted in accordance with this subdivision shall not constitute a "project" for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) "High-quality bus corridor" means a corridor with fixed route bus service that meets all of the following criteria:

(A) It has average service intervals of no more than 15 minutes during the three peak hours between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., inclusive, and the three peak hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., inclusive, on Monday through Friday.
(B) It has average service intervals of no more than 20 minutes during the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., inclusive, on Monday through Friday.
(C) It has average intervals of no more than 30 minutes during the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., inclusive, on Saturday and Sunday.

(2) (A) "Jobs-rich area" means an area identified by the Department of Housing and Community Development in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research that is high opportunity and either is jobs rich or would enable shorter commute distances based on whether, in a regional analysis, the tract meets both of the following:

(i) The tract is high opportunity, meaning its characteristics are associated with positive educational and economic outcomes for households of all income levels residing in the tract.

(ii) The tract meets either of the following criteria:

(iii) New housing sited in the tract would enable residents to live near more jobs than is typical for tracts in the region.

(iv) New housing sited in the tract would enable shorter commute distances for residents, relative to existing commute patterns and jobs-housing fit.

(B) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall, commencing on January 1, 2022, publish and update, every five years thereafter, a map of the state showing the areas identified by the department as "jobs-rich areas."

(3) "Transit-rich area" means a parcel within one-half mile of a major transit stop, as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code, or a parcel on a high-quality bus corridor.

(4) "Urban infill site" means a site that satisfies all of the following:

(A) A site that is a legal parcel or parcels located in a city if, and only if, the city boundaries include some portion of either an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, or, for unincorporated areas, a legal parcel or parcels wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau.

(B) A site in which at least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses. For the purposes of this section, parcels that are only separated by a street or highway shall be considered to be adjoined.

(C) A site that is zoned for residential use or residential mixed-use development, or has a general plan designation that allows residential use or a mix of residential and nonresidential uses, with at least two-thirds of the square footage of the development designated for residential use.

(c) The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring the adequate production of affordable housing is a matter of statewide concern and is not 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.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Senator Wiener introduced SB 902 on January 30, 2020, just days after the state Senate narrowly declined to advance SB 50, another housing density promoting measure. SB 50 was strongly opposed by Los Angeles area state Senators aided by a handful of others including SE LB area state Senator Tom Umberg who declined to cast a vote on SB 50 (which had the same effect as a "no" vote by denying SB 50 the votes needed to advance.)

Senator Umberg is a member of the state Senate Housing Committee that will hear SB 902 on Tuesday May 26. The Committee's chair is SB 902's author, Senator Wiener. (The Senate Housing Committee's members are: state Senators Scott Wiener (D), Mike Morrell (R), Pat Bates (R), Anna Caballero (D), Maria Elena Durazo (D), Mike McGuire (D), John Moorlach (E), Richard Roth (D), Nancy Skinner (D), Tom Umberg (R) and Bob Wieckowski (D)).

The State Senate Housing Committee's Legislative Analysis of SB 902 can be viewed here. It shows that like SB 50, SB 902 has drawn support and opposition (listed to date) from groups sharply split over how to deal with CA's "housing crisis."

SUPPORT:
California YIMBY (Sponsor)
Habitat for Humanity California (Co-Sponsor)
350 Sacramento
All Home
Bay Area Council
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Community Builders
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
East Bay for Everyone
Facebook, Inc.
Hollywood YIMBY
House Sacramento
League of Women Voters of California
Livable Sunnyvale
Monterey Peninsula Renters United
New Pointe Communities
Non-profit Housing Association of Northern California
North County YIMBY
Peninsula for Everyone
San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association
San Francisco Housing Action Coalition
Santa Cruz YIMBY
Silicon Valley At Home
SLO County YIMBY
South Bay YIMBY
TechEquity Collaborative
The Greenlining Institute
TMG Partners
Ventura County YIMBY
Westside Young Democrats
YIMBY Action
YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County
YIMBY Voice
1 Individual

OPPOSITION

A Better Way Forward to House California
City of Dublin
City of Livermore
City of Newport Beach
City of Pleasanton
City of San Ramon
Los Angeles County Division, League of California Cities
New Livable California Dba Livable California
Orange County Council of Governments
San Francisco Tenants Union
Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association
South Bay Cities Council of Governments
Town of Danville
4 Individuals

Sponsor

Sponsor

Although the City of Long Beach routinely takes positions on bills, it hasn't done so on SB 902 (which has been pending since Jan. 30, 2020.) The City Council's "State Legislation Committee" (chair Rex Richardson, vice chair Roberto Uranga, member Al Austin) hasn't discussed SB 902 or any bills pending in the 2020 state legislative session. The Council's State Legislation Committee hasn't met since Dec. 17, 2019. At that meeting, it approved and forwarded for Council approval a 2020 "state legislative agenda," a list of general policies (nopt specific bills) that city management is supposed to apply in supporting or opposing pending state legislation.

The full City Council can also separately vote to take positions on specific bills without a recommendation from its "State Legislation Committee" and has done so on multiple bills in the past. For the past nearly four months, any Council member(s) or the Mayor could have agendized an item to take a position on SB 902 (and can still do so now.)

To LBREPORT.com's knowledge, no LB City Council incumbents -- including ELB Councilmembers Stacy Mungo and Daryl Supernaw whose neighborhoods could be impacted -- have alerted their constituents to SB 902 via the Councilmembers' mass emailed "newsletters" or voiced a public position on SB 902 or taken any actions to make their position (if any) the City's position (which would require agendizing an item and receiving voted support from a Council majority (subject to a Mayoral veto that six Councilmembers can override.)

On May 26, the state Senate Housing Committee can vote to advance SB 902 (with or without amendments) or kill it (if it fails to get support from a majority of the Committee.) If a majority of the state Housing Committee votes to advance SB 902, it will likely go to state Senate Appropriations Committee, putting it one step away from a vote on the state Senate floor. In 2019, the state Senate Appropriation Committee chair, state Senator Anthony Portantino (D, Glendale) blocked SB 50's advance to the state Semaye floor by simply declining to bring it to a Committee vote. But in January 2020, after Senator Wiener amended SB 50 to allow City Halls some flexibility in where to allocate Sac'to demanded housing density increases, the state Senate's Dem party leadership pulled SB 50 from the Appropriations Committee and brought it to a state Senate floor vote.

When SB 50 narrowly failed passage in the state Senate, state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D, San Diego) voiced dismay and declared that some form of "housing production" legislation would pass in 2020. Senator Atkins is now the co-author of SB 902.

If SB 902 passes the full state Senate, it goes to the Assembly where the Committee and amendment process repeats before a full Assembly vote. If it passes the Assembly, it returns to the state Senate for voted concurrence in any Assembly amendments. If it passes the state Senate on concurrence, it goes to Governor Newsom, who voiced disappointment earlier this year when SB 50 failed passage.

LBREPORT.com will continue to bring our readers detailed coverage of developments on SB 902. Further to follow.

Sponsor

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