CALIFORNIA SB 948
Chapter 968
BILL NUMBER: SB 948 CHAPTERED 10/10/99 CHAPTER 968 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 1999 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 1999 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 16, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Senator Alarcon (Principal coauthor: Senator Burton) (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Dutra) FEBRUARY 25, 1999 An act to amend Sections 7060, 7060.2, 7060.4, 7060.7, 65009, 65589.5, 65915, and 65950 of the Government Code, relating to housingLEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 948, Alarcon. Affordable housing developments.
(1) Under the Ellis Act, public entities generally are prohibited from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations in the property for rent or lease. The act also authorizes any public entity that has in effect any system of rent control, notwithstanding any provision of the Ellis Act, to subject to specified provisions, accommodations that had been withdrawn from rent or lease and are again offered for rent or lease for residential purposes within one year of the date that the accommodations were withdrawn pursuant to a 60-day notice.
This bill would revise the act's statement of legislative intent.
It would also extend the period from one year to 2 years that accommodations that are offered again for rent or lease for residential purposes are subject to specified regulatory provisions and it would revise those provisions. The bill would also require that a specified notice and conditions apply to a tenant or lessee who is at least 62 years of age or disabled, as defined, and has lived in his or her accommodations for at least one year, as specified, when the owner of the residential property delivers to the public entity a notice of intent to withdraw the accommodations from rent or lease under the act.
The bill would also change the notice of intent to withdraw to the public entity from 60 days to 120 days and would require that these provisions shall only apply to accommodations where the date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw is on or after January 1, 2000.
(2) Under existing law, the Planning Zoning Law requires an action or proceeding against local zoning and planning decisions of a legislative body to be commenced and the legislative body to be served within a year after accrual of the cause of action if it meets certain requirements, including that it is brought in support of the development of housing that meets the requirements for housing persons and families with low or moderate incomes. Where the action or proceeding challenges the adequacy of a housing element, the action or proceeding may be initiated up to 60 days following the date the Department of Housing and Community Development reports its findings concerning the housing element pursuant to specified provisions.
This bill would revise these provisions to include actions or proceedings to encourage or facilitate the development of housing and would include persons and families of very low and middle incomes.
The bill would also provide that any action or proceeding challenging the adequacy of a housing element pursuant to these provisions may be brought as specified above.
(3) Existing law requires local agencies to make specified findings before disapproving or conditionally approving certain housing development projects. Existing law also requires local agencies to provide developer incentives for the production of lower income housing units within a housing development if the developer meets specified requirements. Developer incentives include, among other things, a density bonus, as defined.
This bill would make specified changes in these findings relating to very low income, low-income, lower to moderate-income housing, middle-income households and the housing element of a general plan, respectively. The bill would revise the definition of "affordable to low- and moderate-income households" to include very low income households or middle-income households, as defined, and would add a definition for "disapprove the development project" to these provisions. The bill would also require the court in any action brought to enforce these provisions to order a local agency, within 60 days, to comply with these provisions and take action on the development projects that were disapproved on the basis of findings that were inadequate or lacked substantial evidence and to retain jurisdiction for this purpose. The bill would also revise the definitions of "density bonus" and "area median income" to mean very low or low- income households for purposes of these provisions.
Because these changes would impose new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) Under the Permit Streamlining Act, a public agency that is the lead agency for a development project is required to approve or disapprove the project within 180 days from the date of certification by the lead agency of an environmental impact report if the report is prepared pursuant to specified provisions.
This bill, in addition, would reduce that period to 90 days if the development project is affordable to very low or low-income households and the project applicant has provided written notice to the lead agency that an application has been or will be made to a public or federal agency for an allocation or commitment of financing, tax credits, bond authority, or other financial assistance and there is confirmation that the application was made prior to certification of the environmental impact report.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
7060. (a) No public entity, as defined in Section 811.2, shall, by statute, ordinance, or regulation, or by administrative action implementing any statute, ordinance or regulation, compel the owner of any residential real property to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Accommodations" means either of the following:
(A) The residential rental units in any detached physical structure containing four or more residential rental units.
(B) With respect to a detached physical structure containing three or fewer residential rental units, the residential rental units in that structure and in any other structure located on the same parcel of land, including any detached physical structure specified in subparagraph (A).
(2) "Disabled" means a person with a disability, as defined in Section 12955.3 of the Government Code.
7060.2. If a public entity, by valid exercise of its police power, has in effect any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations may be offered for rent or lease, that entity may, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, provide by statute or ordinance, or by regulation as specified in Section 7060.5, that any accommodations which have been offered for rent or lease and which were subject to that control or system of control at the time the accommodations were withdrawn from rent or lease, shall be subject to the following:
(a) If the accommodations are offered again for rent or lease for residential purposes within two years of the date the accommodations were withdrawn from rent or lease, the following provisions shall govern:
(1) The accommodations shall be subject to any control on the price at which they may be offered in the manner and to the same extent as if the accommodations had not been withdrawn from rent or lease. This paragraph shall prevail over any conflicting provision of law authorizing the landlord to establish the rental rate upon the initial hiring of the accommodations.
(2) The owner of the accommodations shall be liable to any tenant or lessee who was displaced from the property by that action for actual and exemplary damages. Any action by a tenant or lessee pursuant to this paragraph shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the accommodations from rent or lease. However, nothing in this paragraph precludes a tenant from pursuing any alternative remedy available under the law.
(3) A public entity which has acted pursuant to this section may institute a civil proceeding against any owner who has again offered accommodations for rent or lease subject to this subdivision, for exemplary damages for displacement of tenants or lessees. Any action by a public entity pursuant to this paragraph shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the accommodations from rent or lease.
(4) Any owner who offers accommodations again for rent or lease shall first offer the unit for rent or lease to the tenant or lessee displaced from that unit by the withdrawal pursuant to this chapter, if the tenant has advised the owner in writing within 30 days of the displacement of his or her desire to consider an offer to renew...
