City Enabled "11 Room House" Near CSULB (And Similar Land Uses Beyond) By Failing To Oppose This Sac'to Bill That Enables It

+ City Enabled "11 Room House" Near CSULB (And Similar Land Uses Beyond) By Failing To Oppose This Sac'to Bill That Enables It

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City shrugged its "State Legislative Agenda" reciting opposition to bills undermining local control

Pattern parallels Mayor/Council silence on other Sac'to Dem leadership-desired locally preemptive density bills

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(Sept. 22, 2020, 9:45 p.m.) -- Contrary to the City's publicly stated policy in its "State Legislative Agenda." the City of Long Beach failed to oppose AB 68, the 2019 Sacramento bill that has now enabled a property owner (and potentially others beyond) to turn a large La Marina area single family home into a residential facility with 11 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and two kitchens (includes ADUs/accessory dwelling units.).

Unlike a number of other cities, the City of Long Beach (LA County's second largest city) failed to oppose AB 68, despite its preemption of local control, and allowed it to advance without City opposition as it advanced from its December 2018 introduction to passage in Sept. 2019 and Governor Newsom's signature in Oct. 2019.

An Assembly floor analysis noted that AB 68:

1) Increases the number of ADUs allowed to be constructed per lot by potentially allowing two ADUs on lots with single-family homes, and multiple ADUs on lots with multi-family dwellings;

2) Enables ADUs and JADUs to be approved ministerially [City Clerk approval] if there is an existing or proposed primary residence;

3) Prohibits a local ADU ordinance from:

a) Imposing requirements on minimum lot size to allow ADUs;
b) Setting a maximum ADU dimensions that do not permit an ADU of 850 square feet for an ADU or one or fewer bedrooms and 1,000 square feet for two or more bedrooms, 16 feet in height, with four-foot side and rear yard setbacks;
c) Requiring replacement parking when parking is demolished in the creation of an ADU;
d) Requiring a setback for an ADU that is built within an existing structure or in the same footprint as an existing structure, and require more than a four-foot setback for all other ADUs;

4) Allows no more than 60 days to ministerially consider a completed ADU permit application; and

5) Increases enforcement, including enabling HCD to notify the Attorney General when a local agency is in violation of this law.

Although attention has initially focused on a large La Marina corner lot (6481 E. El Roble St. at Iroquois Ave.), AB 68 applies to properties beyond and could spawn similarly reasoned developments beyond.

[Scroll down for further.]

State Senators Tom Umberg (D, SE LB-west OC) and Lena Gonzalez (D, LB-SE LA County) voted "yes" on AB 68 (Umberg twice, once in committee). Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell (D, LB-SP) voted "no" on AB 68 (twice), each time outvoted by his colleagues. Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D, NLB/Carson) and Speaker Anthony Rendon (D, NLB-Paramount) voted "yes.")

Sponsor

Sponsor

In December 2018, the City Council voted to approve a 2019 "State Legislative Agenda" (statement of City legislative policies) which declared in pertinent part that the City of Long Beach would "Oppose legislation that preempts the City’s existing control over local matters" and "Oppose legislation that preempts the City’s existing control over local matters." Specifically, the City's 2019 adopted State Legislative Agenda stated the City would:

1. Oppose legislation that preempts the City’s existing control over local matters
a) Support policies and legislation that protect and/or expands the City’s authority and rights over its affairs.
b) Oppose policies and legislation that preempt the current authority pssessed by the City and delegates that authority to the State or other governmental jurisdiction.
..f) Oppose policies and legislation that diminish 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...

Long Beach city staff (which answers to the city manager who answers to the City Council) failed to apply the City-declared policy to oppose the locally preemptive provisions of AB 68.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The City Council's "State Legislation Committee" (chair Austin, vice chair Gonzalez, member Richardson) which can make recommendations to the full Council) failed meet during the entire 2019 state legislative session. The Committee met Oct. 23, 2018 (recommend edCouncil approval of 2019 "state legislative agenda" including "local control" text above) and didn't meet again until Dec. 17, 2019 AFTER the Sacramento legislative session had ended (including enacting AB 68.) (In mid 2020 Mayor Garcia tweaked the Committee membership, adding Uranga to replace now-state Senator Gonzalez (elected June 2019), named Richardson chair and retained Austin.)

Any Councilmember(s) (including Councilwoman Price) could have agendized AB 68 for Council discussion and to take a City postion on AB 68. None did.

Sponsor

Multiple cities, as well as the League of CA Cities (private advocacy group to which the City of LB pays annual dues) opposed AB 68 (see supporters/opponents listed below.)

Long Beach City Hall's silence on AB 68 parallels its record on SB 1120 (sought to enable four residences on single family parcels) supported by Sacramento Democrat leadership. LB's Mayor/Council allowed SB 1120 (co-authored by state Senator (former LB Councilwoman) Gonzalez) to advance to the verge of enactment despite its provisions undermining local control. Absent City of LB opposition, SB 1120 passed the state Senate ("yes" votes by Gonzalez and Umberg) and passed the Assembly (despite O'Donnell casting "no" votes.) SB 1120 narrowly failed passage when the Assembly delayed a final vote that caused the state Senate to miss a midnight deadline Sept. 1 final vote.

A state Senate legislative analysis listed AB 68's supporters and opponents as follows:

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/10/19)
California YIMBY (source)
AARP California
ADU Task Force East Bay
Association of Bay Area Governments
Bay Area Council
Bay Area Housing Advocacy Coalition
Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
Bridge Housing Corporation
Building Industry Association of the Bay Area
California Apartment Association
California Association of Realtors
California Community Builders
California Forward Action Fund
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Center on Policy Initiatives
Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
CityLab – University of California, Los Angeles
Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
EAH Housing
East Bay Housing Organizations
Eden Housing
Emerald Fund
Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Facebook, Inc.
Greenbelt Alliance
Habitat for Humanity California
Hamilton Families
Hello Housing
Inspired Independence
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
MidPen Housing Corporation
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
North Bay Leadership Council
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development
Partnership for Working Families
Pico California
Related California
San Francisco Housing Action Coalition
Silicon Valley at Home
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Southern California Rental Housing Association
Spur
TechEquity Collaborative
Tent Makers
Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley
The Casita Coalition
The Two Hundred
TMG Partners
United Dwelling
Urban Displacement Project, University of California, Berkeley
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
Warehouse Worker Resource Center
Working Partnerships USA
13 Individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/10/19)
Board of Supervisors for the City and County of San Francisco
Cities of Beverly Hills, Burbank, Camarillo, Chino Hills, Fullerton, Los Alamitos,
Los Altos, Manhattan Beach, Monterey Park, Morgan Hill, Novato, Pleasanton,
Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, San Marcos, San Mateo, Santa Clarita, and
Torrance
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
League of California Cities
Livable California
Marin County Council of Mayors and Council Members
South Bay Cities Council of Governments

Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really 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.

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