M E M O R A N D U M
To: City of Fullerton
From: Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.
Date: October 11, 2022
Subject: AB 2097 Overview
The purpose of this memo is to provide a more detailed overview of the provisions contained in new legislation that restricts local agencies’ ability to impose parking minimums near transit-rich areas.
OVERVIEW
On September 22, the Governor signed AB 2097, authored by Assembly Member Friedman, into law. The bill prohibits local agencies from imposing or enforcing parking minimums on residential and commercial developments within one-half mile of a major transit stop unless certain conditions are met. The passage of AB 2097 marked the second consecutive attempt by Assembly Member Friedman to pass the measure into law. During the 2021 Legislative Session, the same measure – under the bill vehicle AB 1401 – failed in the second house Appropriations Committee. Since then, the Assembly Member and the measure’s supporters made its passage a top priority for 2022.
In a diversion from the typical bill signing process, Governor Newsom included a signing message with the bill. Messages from the Governor on legislative actions are typically reserved for vetoes, not signatures. The signing message included the following statement:
“While this bill will undoubtedly have a positive impact in reaching our state's climate and housing goals, we must be vigilant in guarding against earnestly unintended consequences. In the absence of this important state policy change, many local governments have rightly taken it upon themselves to craft transit- oriented housing incentive programs. It is not our intent in creating this new law to undermine the efficacy of these local initiatives.
Therefore, I am directing the Department of Housing and Community Development to closely monitor implementation of this bill and identify any unintended outcomes, including impacts to affordable housing development in downtown-oriented development areas.”
Prior to the signing of AB 2097, California, like much of the nation, mandated that a residential or commercial building come with a certain number of on-site parking spaces. The mandates were born out of the post-World War II era when development was booming and America began heavily investing in highways and other automobile infrastructure, which in turn meant investing in parking. AB 2097 will become effective January 1, 2023.
AB 2097 (FRIEDMAN) OVERVIEW
Objective
AB 2097 prohibits public agencies, including charter cities, from imposing or enforcing any minimum automobile parking requirement on a residential, commercial, or other development project if the project is located within one-half mile of public transit.
Location
A project is considered to be within one-half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor if all parcels within the project have no more than 25 percent of their area farther than one-half mile from the stop or corridor and if not more than 10 percent of the residential units or 100 units, whichever is less, in the project are farther than one-half mile from the stop or corridor.
Public transit as defined within the bill to include major transit stops or high-quality transit corridors included in a regional transportation plan. A major transit stop includes any of the following:
1. An existing rail or bus rapid transit station.
2. A ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service.
3. A fixed bus route or intersection of bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.
AB 2097 prohibits local agencies from imposing parking requirements on all housing developments that satisfy any of the following criteria. Exceptions may not be applied to these projects:
o Developments that dedicate a minimum of 20 percent of the total number of housing units to very low, low-, or moderate-income households, students, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
o Developments with fewer than 20 housing units.
o Developments not subject to parking r equirements based on the provisions of any other state law.
Enforcement
The provisions of this bill are added to the list of laws that may be enforced by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Attorney General.
Exceptions
Local governments may impose or enforce minimum parking requirements on projects located within one-half mile of public transit if the local agency makes written findings, within 30 days of the receipt of a completed application, that not imposing or enforcing minimum automobile parking requirements on the development would have a substantially negative impact, supported by a preponderance of the evidence in the record, on any of the following:
o The local government’s ability to meet its share of the regional housing need for low and very low-income households
o The local government’s ability to meet special housing needs for elderly people or individuals with disabilities.
The bill does not apply to commercial parking requirements if it conflicts with an existing contractual agreement of the public agency that was executed before January 1, 2023, provided that all of the required commercial parking is shared with the public.
AB 2097 will not be applied to existing residential or commercial parking within one- half mile of public transit.
Projects where any portion is designated for use as a hotel, motel, or other type of transient lodging are excluded from the bill and may have parking minimum requirements.
Event centers must provide parking as required by local ordinance for employees and other workers.
The bill does not impact the enforcement of any requirement imposed on a new multifamily residential or nonresidential development that is located within one-half mile of public transit to provide electric vehicle supply equipment installed parking spaces or parking spaces that are accessible to persons with disabilities.
A project may voluntarily build additional parking that is not shared with the public.
To best prepare for the implementation of AB 2097 provisions – effective January 2023 – local governments should begin taking inventory of existing parking needs and their proximity to public transit. Additionally, local governments should note the timing of development projects and contract execution to ensure that projects do not need to be modified to meet the January 1, 2023 timeline. Further, local governments should take into account the need associated with meeting their RHNA goals and/or the needs of disabled or elderly residents with regard to future developments near transit.