Agenda Item: 5
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: March 22, 2022
SUBJECT: STATE LEGISLATION: ASSEMBLY BILL 2097, SENATE BILL 897, AND SENATE BILL 1067
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council oppose Assembly Bill 2097 (Friedman), Senate Bill 897 (Wieckowski), and Senate Bill 1067 (Portantino) and transmit position statements to the authors of the bills, Santa Clarita’s state legislative delegation, appropriate legislative committees, Governor Newsom, the League of California Cities, and other stakeholder organizations.
BACKGROUND
Under current law, local governments have the authority to adopt minimum parking standards and impose those standards on developments built within their jurisdiction, as long as they are consistent with state law standards. Chapter 17.42, Residential Use Types, of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code, includes the following parking standards as it relates to residential developments:
a. Single family unit - two enclosed parking spaces
b. Two family units - two enclosed parking spaces per unit
c. Studio units - one enclosed parking space per unit
d. One-bedroom units - two enclosed parking spaces per unit
e. Two-bedroom units - two enclosed parking spaces per unit
f. Guest parking - one parking space per each two units
g. Mobile home park - two spaces per unit, plus one guest per two units
Furthermore, Chapter 17.43, Commercial Use Types, of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code, generally requires a minimum parking standard of 4 to 5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet.
The specific parking standard depends on the specific use of the commercial type, as outlined in the Santa Clarita Municipal Code.
Assembly Bill 2097, authored by Assembly Member Laura Friedman (D-43-Glendale), would preempt the aforementioned parking standards for any development that is located within a one- half mile walking distance of public transit.
Senate Bill 1067, authored by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-25-La Canada Flintridge), would preempt cities with a population greater than 200,000 from imposing a minimum parking requirement on a residential development that is located within a one-half mile of public transit and that either 1) dedicates 75% of the total units to low-income and very low-income households, the elderly, or persons with disabilities, or 2) the developer demonstrates that the development would not have a negative impact on traffic circulation or existing nearby parking and the local agency’s ability to meet housing needs.
As prescribed in Assembly Bill 2097 and Senate Bill 1067, public transit includes high-quality transit corridors and major transit stops, as defined by state law.
State law defines a “high-quality transit corridor” as a corridor with fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours.
State law defines a “major transit stop” as an existing rail or bus rapid transit station or the intersection of two or more bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during peak commute hours.
The City of Santa Clarita’s (City) three existing Metrolink stations (Via Princessa, Santa Clarita, and Newhall) and one future station (Vista Canyon) are all “major transit stops,” as defined by state law. The City would be restricted from imposing minimum parking requirements to developments, as described in Assembly Bill 2097 and Senate Bill 1067, that are located within one-half mile of the four Metrolink stations and the following three corridors:
1. Soledad Canyon Road/Valencia Boulevard (beginning at the Santa Clarita Metrolink station and ending at McBean Parkway)
2. Lyons Avenue (beginning at Railroad Avenue and ending at Wiley Canyon Road)
3. Newhall Avenue (beginning at Lyons Avenue and ending at Sierra Highway)
The City imposes minimum on-site parking requirements to ensure that residents and visitors have adequate and reasonable access to homes and businesses. Additionally, the standards serve as a safeguard to prevent congestion of vehicle parking that may cause unsafe conditions for surrounding residents and businesses and access challenges for emergency personnel, especially in the event of an emergency evacuation.
Similar to state law related to minimum parking standards, the Santa Clarita Municipal Code includes standards that apply to the development of accessory dwelling units (ADU) in an attempt to ensure consistency and adherence to local needs, services, and unique community characteristics.
Senate Bill 897, authored by Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-10-Fremont), increases the maximum height of an ADU that a local government must approve, from 16 feet to 25 feet, if the project is located on a parcel that has an existing residential property.
The City recognizes the importance of land use planning and development of housing to meet the growth and needs of the community. Since the state ADU law took effect, the City has issued approximately 236 ADU permits (21 in 2017, 38 in 2018, 42 in 2019, 70 in 2020, and 65 in 2021).
Senate Bill 897 weakens local land use authority related to ADUs and further hinders the City’s ability to properly plan and develop residential zoning of single family and multi-family homes.
Additionally, this bill would adversely impact the City’s ability to impose reasonable ADU requirements to ensure public utility services, including power, water, and sewage, and meet anticipated population, dwelling unit densities, and service requirements.
The recommendation to oppose Assembly Bill 2097, Senate Bill 897, and Senate Bill 1067 is consistent with the City of Santa Clarita 2022 Executive and Legislative Platform. Specifically, Component 1 under the “State” section advises that the City Council, “Oppose legislation that would interfere with, limit or eliminate the decision-making authority of municipalities in the area of local land use.”
Assembly Bill 2097 was double referred to the Assembly Committee on Local Government and Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development on February 24, 2022. A hearing date has not been scheduled at the time this report was developed.
Senate Bill 897 has a hearing scheduled in the Senate Housing Committee on March 24, 2022.
Senate Bill 1067 had a hearing in the Senate Housing Committee on March 17, 2022. However, the outcome of the hearing was not available at the time this report was published.
The City Council Legislative Committee met on March 8, 2022, and recommends that the City Council adopt an “oppose” position on Assembly Bill 2097, Senate Bill 897, and Senate Bill 1067.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other direction, as provided by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The resources required to implement the recommended action are contained within the City of Santa Clarita's adopted FY 2021-22 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Assembly Bill 2097 - Bill Text
Senate Bill 897 - Bill Text
Senate Bill 1067 - Bill Text