Land Use, Sustainability, and Resilience Committee
TO: LAND USE, SUSTAINABILITY, AND DATE: JUNE 12, 2023
RESILIENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: 2023 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
ISSUE:
Receive and file a summary of the California Legislature’s 2023 Housing Bills with an update on the potential impacts for the City of Riverside.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Land Use, Sustainability, and Resilience Committee receive and file the staff report on the California Legislature’s 2023 Housing Bills.
LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND:
The State of California has been facing an increased housing shortage for many years now. Population growth and barriers to housing development, such as high land costs, restrictive local regulatory requirements, environmental regulations, and neighborhood opposition to housing development, have resulted in a housing crisis. It’s estimated that 1.8 million homes will need to be built by 2025, yet on average, only 80,000 new homes are built annually. Governor Gavin Newsom has identified the housing shortage as a legislative priority.
In September 2022, Governor Newsom signed forty housing bills to promote housing production across the State by streamlining the approval process, establishing more local accountability, encouraging greater flexibility for housing development, and allowing for more density. Twenty-five were identified as potentially impacting the City (Attachment 1). The bills generally fall into three categories: Housing and Permit Streamlining, Density Bonus, and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations.
DISCUSSION:
Attachment 1 summarizes the key bills with a brief description, City departments impacted, action needed, and identifies the bill’s impact from low to high. Of the twenty-five bills, four were determined to be high impact, seven were determined to be medium impact and thirteen were determined to be low impact. This report focuses on the four high impact housing bills.
Bills with High Impact
The four bills which will likely have a high impact include:
AB 2097 (Friedman) – Housing and Permit Streamlining: Minimum Parking Requirements Prohibits the City from imposing minimum parking requirements for residential, commercial, or other development project if the project is located within one-half mile from a major transit stop as defined by Cal. Pub. Resources Code § 21064.3. There are exceptions however:
Uses such as hotels, transient lodging, and motels still need to provide minimum parking.
Property owners may still voluntarily provide parking.
If the City wishes to impose minimum parking requirements, specific findings must be made demonstrating that not enforcing parking requirements would be detrimental.
Uses which were previously limited by minimum parking requirements now have more flexibility. The Planning Division will work with applicants to identify if a development project qualifies. Areas which may be affected are predominantly along the Magnolia and University corridors (Attachment 2).
AB 2011 (Wicks) – Housing and Permit Streamlining: Ministerial Affordable Housing in Office/Commercial Zones Creates a CEQA-exempt, ministerial approval process for multifamily housing development projects on sites where office, retail or parking is the principally permitted use. There are two types of projects which qualify: 1) 100% affordable projects, and 2) mixed-income projects within commercial corridors. Additionally, development projects must pay prevailing wages to construction workers, among other labor standards and meet site location standards.
The Planning Division will coordinate with applicants who submit under AB 2011 to ensure they are meeting eligibility criteria and provide feedback within specified timeframes. Potentially affected areas in the City can be seen in Attachment 3.
SB 6 (Caballero) – Housing and Permit Streamlining: Housing in Commercial Zones Allows residential and mixed-use development on parcels zoned for retail, commercial, office and parking without needing to rezone the property. Unlike AB 2011, SB 6 projects aren’t CEQA-exempt and there are no affordability requirements. Development projects will need to meet labor requirements such as using a skilled and trained workforce.
City Council may choose to adopt an CEQA-exempt implementing ordinance; otherwise, no action is needed. Potentially affected areas in the City can be seen in Attachment 4.
AB 2234 (Rivas): Housing and Permit Streamlining – Post Entitlement Applications Requires that the City determine whether a post entitlement application is complete and provide written notice within a specific timeframe based on project type otherwise application is deemed complete.
Post entitlement applications related to housing projects include grading permits, building permits, and permits for off-site improvements. The City must also publish complete, approved examples of different approved housing post entitlement permits online by 2024.
AB 2234 would expedite the review process for projects post entitlement; affected City departments will need to review process deadlines and coordinate to publish checklists and complete approved examples of post entitlement applications.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being: Ensure safe and inclusive neighborhoods where everyone can thrive, and Goals 2.1 and 2.2.
This report aligns with the following Cross-Cutting Threads:
Community Trust – The Update aligns with the Community Trust Cross-Cutting Thread as the update provides needed information for both the Committee members and the public on changes to housing-related legislation recently signed into law by the State.
Equity – The Update aligns with the Equity Cross-Cutting Thread in that it provides information on State Legislation that relates to further housing opportunities for all residents in the City.
Fiscal Responsibility – The Update aligns with the Fiscal Responsibility Cross-Cutting Thread as changes to regulations to housing projects will help to streamline housing projects and provide additional housing options for all residents.
Innovation - The proposed project aligns with the Innovation Cross-Cutting Thread as it will result in updated processes and regulations that promote innovation and creativity in future housing developments.
Sustainability and Resiliency – The proposed project aligns with the Sustainability and Resiliency Cross-Cutting Thread as it considers existing and future housing needs for residents.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Jennifer A. Lilley, Community & Economic Development Director Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
2023 California Legislative Bills
AB 2097 Map
AB 2011 Map
SB 6 Map
Presentation
2023 California Housing Bill Update · Page 8