Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Letter of Opposition to SB 423
Date: March 28, 2023
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council receive a report about the Cal Cities Action Request and resulting mayoral letter sent in opposition to SB 423 (Wiener).
Background
Cal Cities, of which the City of Cotati is a member, actively tracks new legislation and ballot initiatives and often takes a position on the proposed legislation if they are believed to affect California cities. Periodically, Cal Cities will send out an “Action Alert” on pending legislation that, if signed into law, is believed to have a substantially negative or positive effect on communities throughout California. The Action Alert is a call to write letters of support or opposition and/or call our state legislators.
The City Council Rules allows the mayor to sign letters of support or opposition requested by Cal Cities if there is insufficient time to bring it to the full City Council. In this case, the proposed vote in the California State Assembly is slated for the week ending March 24th, so unfortunately there was not sufficient time to bring to the letter to the full City Council prior to the planned legislative action.
Analysis/Discussion
As currently written SB 423 performs the following functions:
1. Removes the 2026 sunset and makes SB 35 statutes permanent.
2. Applies SB 35 provisions to cities that have not been found in substantial compliance with housing element law by the department.
3. Expands SB 35 provisions to developments in the Coastal Zone.
4. Allows the state to approve housing developments on property they own or lease without being required to follow local zoning and development standards.
5. Prohibits a city from enforcing its inclusionary housing ordinance if the income limits are higher than those in SB 35.
City officials intimately understand the housing crisis playing out in our communities every day.
Cotati is working on a local and regional level to find creative solutions for homes of all income levels and strive to achieve Functional Zero homelessness in Sonoma County using a housing first model. Cotati is an active partner in the Continuum of Care which is a regional effort designed to promote a community‐wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness, provide funding for efforts to quickly re‐house individuals and families who are homeless, which minimizes the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness, promote access to and effective use of mainstream programs, and optimize self‐sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Provided attached is the email received from Cal Cities as well as the Cal Cities provided template letter of opposition which was slightly modified to include actions taken by the City to address homelessness. This letter was signed by the Mayor and distributed as requested by Cal Cities.
A summary of the requests made from the City and Cal Cities to the Legislature includes making a permanent funding of $3 billion annually for cities to help more Californians find homes by spurring needed housing production, providing support to those who are experiencing homelessness, and prevent others from losing existing housing. Additionally, the letter requests that the State paydown the existing unreimbursed claims to local governments of almost $1 billion.
It further emphasizes opposition of actions taken to mitigate the State budget deficit with reduced or eliminated funding to local governments. This short-term strategy, as it was implemented in the past, only creates additional financial challenges at a local level that jeopardize critical services to our residents.
Financial Considerations
Direct impacts are currently not quantifiable due to possible multiple impacts on future development within the City. Alternatively, if the State considers the requests made for paydown balances due to the City for State mandated programs, the City could see some minor inflow of resources primarily back to the General Fund.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
Attachments:
League of CA Cities - Cal Cities Request for Action (PDF) Cal Cities - SB423 (Wiener) Oppose Letter (PDF)
Cotati - SB 423 (Wiener) Letter in Opposition (PDF)