Agenda Item: 6
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: July 11, 2023
SUBJECT: LEGISLATION: AB 474, AB 701, AB 1308, ACR 92, SB 450, H.R. 2887, H.R. 3681, S. 1466, and S. 1776
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Support AB 474 (Rodriguez), AB 701 (Villapudua), ACR 92 (Schiavo), H.R. 2887 (Garcia), H.R. 3681 (Chu), S. 1466 (Feinstein), and S. 1776 (Padilla).
2. Oppose AB 1308 (Quirk-Silva) and SB 450 (Atkins).
3. Transmit position statements to the authors of the bills, Santa Clarita’s state and federal legislative delegation, appropriate legislative committees, Governor Newsom, President Biden, the League of California Cities, and other stakeholder organizations.
BACKGROUND
The following legislative items were presented to the City Council Legislative Committee on June 27, 2023. Included as part of this report is a brief summary of each piece of legislation and its current status in the legislative process.
Assembly Bill 474 and Assembly Bill 701
The opioid epidemic has become a nationwide issue, affecting communities across the country, including the City of Santa Clarita (City). In 2021, more than 71,000 people died from a synthetic opioid-related drug overdose, including fentanyl, in the United States, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, making it a major contributor to drug overdose deaths. Based on preliminary
2021 data from the CDC, there were 6,843 opioid-related overdose deaths in California; 5,722 of these deaths were related to fentanyl. Moreover, in 2021, there were 224 fentanyl-related overdose deaths among teens, ages 15-19 years old, in California.
In 2022, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported 32 overdoses in the Santa Clarita Valley as a result of fentanyl.
Assembly Bill 474 and Assembly Bill 701 are in response to the fentanyl epidemic and propose policies to combat the organized trafficking of opioids.
Authored by Assembly Member Freddie Rodriguez (D-52-Pomona), Assembly Bill 474 requires the State Threat Assessment Center and the California Office of Emergency Services to prioritize cooperation with state and local efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks trafficking opioid drugs.
Authored by Assembly Member Carlos Villapudua (D-13-Stockton), Assembly Bill 701 would add fentanyl to the list of substances subject to weight enhancements that increase the penalty and fine for trafficking, ensuring that possession of large amounts of fentanyl is punishable to the same extent as substances containing heroin and cocaine.
Both bills passed the Assembly (78-0-2) on May 25, 2023, and are pending a hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee. Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo voted in support of both bills on the Assembly Floor.
Assembly Bill 1308
Authored by Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-65-Fullerton), Assembly Bill 1308 prohibits local governments from increasing the minimum parking required as a condition of approval for a project that remodels, renovates, or adds to a single-family residence.
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 City of Santa Clarita’s Municipal Code, includes the following parking standards:
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
In addition to the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) minimum parking standards on new developments, the City reserves the authority to require additional parking as a condition of approval on renovations, remodels, or additions to an existing single-family residence. A case in which the City were to require additional parking as a condition of approval for a renovation,
remodel, or addition to an existing single-family residence is if the proposed project converts the garage into a bedroom or other use. This bill would preempt the City from imposing the aforementioned action.
The City imposes minimum on-site parking requirements to ensure that residents and customers have adequate and reasonable access to homes and businesses. Additionally, the standards serve as a safeguard to prevent congestion of on-street 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.
Assembly Bill 1308 passed the Assembly (71-3-6) on May 25, 2023, and passed the Senate Governance and Finance Committee (6-2) on June 21, 2023. Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo voted in support of the bill on the Assembly Floor. Assembly Bill 1308 is pending a committee hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 92
Authored by Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo (D-40-Santa Clarita), Assembly Concurrent Resolution 92 dedicates a portion of Interstate 5, between the Pico-Lyons Overcrossing and the McBean Parkway Overcrossing, as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian Memorial Highway.
Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian was a 17-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and served as a motorcycle deputy for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. On August 31, 2001, Deputy Kuredjian was killed in the line of duty, responding to a call for service involving a firearm, in the Santa Clarita Valley.
On the day of his funeral, which was attended by an estimated 4,000 mourners, including Governor Gray Davis, Deputy Kuredjian was remembered as a hero who had an unwavering and selfless dedication to protecting the public. In 1989, Deputy Kuredjian was presented with the Gold Meritorious Conduct Medal for rescuing a woman from a cliff in Malibu, California.
Additionally, this bill would request the California Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from non-state sources sufficient to cover the cost, erect those signs.
A memorial garden and plaque honoring Deputy Kuredjian is located on the corner of Stevenson Ranch Parkway and Poe Parkway in Stevenson Ranch and an annual memorial is held at the site by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 92 was introduced on June 5, 2023, and unanimously passed and placed on the Consent Calendar by the Assembly Committee on Transportation (15-0) on July 5, 2023.
Senate Bill 450
Authored by Senator Toni Atkins (D-39-San Diego), Senate Bill 450 preempts local land use
authority, including prohibiting a local agency to deny a proposed housing development or lot split if a building official determines that the proposed project or lot split would have an adverse impact upon the physical environment.
Senate Bill 450 amends a bill that was signed into law during the 2021-22 State Legislative Session that makes the approval of a proposed duplex or lot split on a single-family residential lot a streamlined ministerial process. Projects under a streamlined ministerial review are not subject to an appeals process, public hearing, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. The City Council opposed the legislation, Senate Bill 9 (Atkins), citing concerns with regard to the bill’s preemption of local zoning, design standards, parking, and overall application standards related to specific residential developments.
Specifically, Senate Bill 450:
• Removes the ability for a local agency to deny a proposed duplex or lot split because the local agency has found that it would have a specific, adverse impact on the physical environment;
• Provides that an application for a duplex or a lot split must be considered and approved or denied by the local agency within 60 days from the date the local agency receives a completed application. Further provides that:
o If a local agency denies an application for a duplex or lot split, the permitting agency must provide, in writing, a full set of comments to the application, with a list of items that are defective or deficient, and a description of how the application can be remedied by the applicant; and
o If the local agency has not approved or denied the application within 60 days, the application is deemed approved; and
• Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to notify a local government if it has taken an action in violation of Senate Bill 9 (2022), and authorizes HCD to notify the Attorney General if the local government is in violation of Senate Bill 9 (2022).
Senate Bill 450 passed the Senate (30-7-3) on May 24, 2023, and passed the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development (7-1) on June 21, 2023. Senator Scott Wilk voted in opposition to the bill on the Senate Floor. Senate Bill 450 is pending a committee hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
House Resolution 2887 and S. 1466
In 2008, Congress passed the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act. This bill directed the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of the Rim of the Valley Corridor, which includes the mountains encircling the Santa Clarita, San Fernando, La Crescenta, Simi, and Conejo Valleys. The study sought to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating all or a portion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a unit of the existing Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), and how these areas could be better managed and preserved.
The National Park Service began the study in 2010 and transmitted its final report to Congress
and the public in February 2016. In the study, the National Park Service recommended to Congress to more than double the size of SMMNRA to include a very significant portion of the Rim of the Valley study area. The current size of SMMNRA is approximately 154,000 acres.
House Resolution 2887 and S. 1466 are companion bills that propose to add approximately 119,000 acres of the proposed Rim of the Valley Unit to the SMMNRA, including lands within the Upper Santa Clara River area. In broad terms, the Santa Clarita Valley lands included within the bills are those areas located between State Route 14 and the Angeles National Forest (southern unit) in the Newhall, Canyon Country, Soledad Canyon and Agua Dulce areas.
House Resolution 2887 is authored by Representative Mike Garcia (R-CA-27) and S. 1466 is authored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
These bills will enable the National Park Service to better protect natural resources and habitats, and provide members of the community with improved access to nature for recreational and educational purposes.
House Resolution 2887 is pending its first hearing in the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.
S. 1466 passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (11-8) on May 17, 2023, and is pending inclusion in a larger legislation package to be considered by the U.S.
Senate.
House Resolution 3681 and S. 1776
House Resolution 3681, authored by Representative Judy Chu (D-CA-28), and S. 1776, authored by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), are companion bills that propose to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by adding approximately 109,000 acres of the western Angeles National Forest, including federally owned open space areas directly east of the City.
Additionally, the bills designate 31,000 acres of national forest land as newly protected wilderness areas and adds 46 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
The national monument boundary adjustment would supplement the 364,177 acres of land contained within the Angeles National Forest and San Bernardino National Forest that was designated by President Obama on October 10, 2014, as the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Beginning in 2004 and completed in 2013, the National Park Service conducted the "San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study" to assess the feasibility of creating a national recreation area within the San Gabriel Mountains. The study determined that the San Gabriel Mountains possess nationally significant ecological and cultural resources, are suitable to be included within the national park system, and would be feasible due to the opportunities for collaborative management with various federal, state, regional, and local stakeholders in the area.
House Resolution 3681 and S. 1776 are an implementation vehicle for key findings of the "San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study."
Specific to the City, the "San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study" recognizes the importance of the Upper Santa Clara River area. This recognition is critical to the City as a proposed 56-million-ton sand and gravel mine is located within the Upper Santa Clara River area referenced in the study. The study highlights the Santa Clara River as "the last unchannelized riparian and wildlife corridor in the region, providing primary east-west biological connection between the mountains and the ocean. Protecting this corridor is a high priority for local and state agencies as well as conservation groups."
While the proposed mining area and surface estate owned by the City are not within the proposed boundaries of the expansion of the national monument, the property is directly adjacent to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Furthermore, the United States Forest Service has expressed interest in the City owned property for a potential visitor’s center site and northern gateway entry into the national monument.
House Resolution 3681 and S. 1776 would have no effect on state and local jurisdictional authority of the proposed area. The legislation seeks to ensure that local property rights and land use are respected and not negatively impacted.
House Resolution 3681 and S. 1776 are pending their first hearing. S. 1776 is attached as Reading File material due to its voluminous text.
The recommended positions in this report are consistent with the City of Santa Clarita 2023 Executive and Legislative Platform.
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 2023-24 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Assembly Bill 474 - Bill Text
Assembly Bill 701 - Bill Text
Assembly Bill 1308 - Bill Text
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 92 - Bill Text
Senate Bill 450 - Bill Text
H.R. 2887 - Bill Text
H.R. 3681 - Bill Text
S. 1466 - Bill Text
S. 1776 - Bill Text (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)