Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Letter of Opposition to Proposed Senate Bill 423 Date: April 11, 2023
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a motion authorizing the Mayor to send a letter on behalf of the City opposing proposed Senate Bill 423.
Background
In 2017, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed SB 35. This law makes the approval of multifamily developments allowed through “ministerial” actions without any City Council or public input. SB 35 can be combined with other housing laws, such as density bonus law, to also grant waivers of locally adopted objective design standards. As a result, the approval of these developments pre-empts City discretionary land use authority, in certain circumstances can also waive one or more locally adopted objective design standards, bypasses environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and eliminates public input.
Analysis/Discussion
What does SB 423 specifically do?
• Removes the 2026 sunset and makes SB 35 statutes permanent. • Applies SB 35 provisions to cities that have not been found in substantial compliance with housing element law by Housing and Community Development. • Expands SB 35 provisions to developments in the Coastal Zone. • Allows the state to approve housing developments on property they own or lease without being required to follow local zoning and development standards. • Prohibits a city from enforcing its inclusionary housing ordinance if the income limits are higher than those in SB 35.
SB 423 is currently scheduled to be heard in Senate Governance and Finance on April 26th after passing out of Senate Housing on March 21.
Financial Considerations
None.
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:
SB 423 (Wiener) Draft Opposition Letter (DOCX) SB
423 Bill Text (PDF)