Amended  IN  Assembly  April 11, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 27, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 1648

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 22, 2019

An act to add Section 21168.6.11 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality. An act to amend Section 53572 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1648, as amended, Levine. California Environmental Quality Act: local educational agencies: affordable housing projects: administrative and judicial streamlining. Housing: school employees: affordable rental housing.
The Teacher Housing Act of 2016 authorizes a school district to establish and maintain programs, as provided, that address the housing needs of teachers and school district employees who face challenges in securing affordable rental housing. The act creates a state policy supporting housing for teachers and school employees, as provided, and permits school districts and developers in receipt of local or state funds or tax credits designated for affordable rental housing to restrict occupancy to teachers and school district employees on land owned by school districts. Existing law defines affordable rental housing for these purposes to mean a rental housing development, as defined, with a majority of its rents restricted to levels that are affordable to persons and families of low or moderate income.
This bill would additionally define affordable rental housing for the purposes of the Teacher Housing Act of 2016 to mean a rental housing development with a majority of its rents restricted to levels that are affordable to persons and families whose income does not exceed 200 percent of area median income, as specified, and located on real property owned by the school district.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA.

This bill would establish specified procedures for the administrative and judicial review of the environmental review and approvals granted for affordable housing projects for employees of a school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school located on properties owned by local educational agencies that are zoned for affordable housing. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2020, to adopt a rule of court that applies to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of environmental review documents for those projects pursuant to CEQA or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals therefrom, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court to an action or proceeding seeking judicial review of the lead agency’s action related to those projects.

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.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YESNO   Local Program: YESNO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 53572 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

53572.
 As used in this part:
(a) “Affordable rental housing” means a either of the following:
(1) A rental housing development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2, with a majority of its rents restricted to levels that are affordable to persons and families of low or moderate income, as defined in Section 50093, but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with five or more units.
(2) A rental housing development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2 but not restricted to only projects with five or more dwelling units, that meets both of the following requirements:
(A) A majority of the units have rents restricted to levels that are affordable to persons and families whose income does not exceed 200 percent of area median income, adjusted for family size by the department in accordance with adjustment factors adopted and amended from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
(B) The development is located on real property owned by the school district.
(b) “Teacher or school district employee” means any person employed by a unified school district maintaining prekindergarten, transitional kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, an elementary school district maintaining prekindergarten, transitional kindergarten, and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, or a high school district maintaining grades 9 to 12, inclusive, including, but not limited to, certificated and classified staff.

SECTION 1.Section 21168.6.11 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
21168.6.11.

(a)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Affordable housing project” or “project” means an affordable housing project for employees of a local educational agency, as defined in Section 26205.5, located on a property owned by the local educational agency that is zoned for affordable housing.

(2)“Environmental review document” means any of the following:

(A)A determination that a project is exempt from this division.

(B)A negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration.

(C)An environmental impact report.

(b)On or before September 1, 2020, the Judicial Council shall adopt a rule of court that applies to any action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification or adoption of an environmental review document for an affordable housing project or the granting of any approval for the project, that requires the action or proceeding, including any potential appeals therefrom, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court.

(c)(1)The draft environmental review document and final environmental review document for an affordable housing project shall include a notice in not less than 12-point type stating the following:


THIS ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO SECTION 21168.6.11 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE, WHICH PROVIDES, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE LEAD AGENCY NEED NOT CONSIDER CERTAIN COMMENTS FILED AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, IF ANY, FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DOCUMENT. ANY JUDICIAL ACTION CHALLENGING THE CERTIFICATION OR ADOPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DOCUMENT OR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROJECT DESCRIBED IN SECTION 21168.6.11 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS SUBJECT TO THE PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN THAT SECTION. A COPY OF SECTION 21168.6.11 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX TO THIS ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW DOCUMENT.


(2)The draft environmental review document and final environmental review document shall contain, as an appendix, the full text of this section.

(3)Within 10 days after the release of the draft environmental review document, if any, the lead agency shall conduct an informational workshop to inform the public of the key analyses and conclusions of that document.

(4)Within 10 days before the close of the public comment period, the lead agency shall hold a public hearing to receive testimony on the draft environmental review document. A transcript of the hearing shall be included as an appendix to the final environmental review document.

(5)(A)Within five days following the close of the public comment period, a commenter on the draft environmental review document may submit to the lead agency a written request for nonbinding mediation. The lead agency and applicant shall participate in nonbinding mediation with all commenters who submitted timely comments on the draft environmental review document and who requested the mediation. Mediation conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall end no later than 35 days after the close of the public comment period.

(B)A request for mediation shall identify all areas of dispute raised in the comment submitted by the commenter that are to be mediated.

(C)The lead agency shall select one or more mediators who shall be retired judges or recognized experts with at least five years’ experience in land use and environmental law or science, or mediation. The applicant shall bear the costs of mediation.

(D)A mediation session shall be conducted on each area of dispute with the parties requesting mediation on that area of dispute.

(E)The lead agency shall adopt, as a condition of approval, any measures agreed upon by the lead agency, the applicant, and any commenter who requested mediation. A commenter who agrees to a measure pursuant to this subparagraph shall not raise the issue addressed by that measure as a basis for an action or proceeding challenging the lead agency’s decision to certify or to adopt the environmental review document or to grant project approval.

(6)The lead agency need not consider written comments submitted after the close of the public comment period, unless those comments address any of the following:

(A)New issues raised in the response to comments by the lead agency.

(B)New information released by the public agency subsequent to the release of the draft environmental review document, such as new information set forth or embodied in a staff report, proposed permit, proposed resolution, ordinance, or similar documents.

(C)Changes made to the project after the close of the public comment period.

(D)Proposed conditions for approval, mitigation measures, or proposed findings required by Section 21081 or a proposed reporting and monitoring program required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 21081.6, if the lead agency releases those documents subsequent to the release of the draft environmental review document.

(E)New information that was not reasonably known and could not have been reasonably known during the public comment period.

(7)The lead agency shall file the notice required by subdivision (a) of Section 21152 within five days after the last initial project approval.

(d)(1)The lead agency shall prepare and certify the record of the proceedings in accordance with this subdivision and in accordance with Rule 3.2205 of the California Rules of Court. The applicant shall pay the lead agency for all costs of preparing and certifying the record of proceedings.

(2)No later than three business days following the date of the release of the draft environmental review document, the lead agency shall make available to the public in a readily accessible electronic format the draft environmental review document and all other documents submitted to or relied on by the lead agency in the preparation of the draft environmental review document. A document prepared by the lead agency or submitted by the applicant after the date of the release of the draft environmental review document that is a part of the record of the proceedings shall be made available to the public in a readily accessible electronic format within five business days after the document is prepared or received by the lead agency.

(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (2), documents submitted to or relied on by the lead agency that were not prepared specifically for the project and are copyright protected are not required to be made readily accessible in an electronic format. For those copyright protected documents, the lead agency shall make an index of the documents available in an electronic format no later than the date of the release of the draft environmental review document, or within five business days if the document is received or relied on by the lead agency after the release of the draft environmental review document. The index shall specify the libraries or lead agency offices in which hardcopies of the copyrighted materials are available for public review.

(4)The lead agency shall encourage written comments on the project to be submitted in a readily accessible electronic format, and shall make any such comments available to the public in a readily accessible electronic format within five days of their receipt.

(5)Within seven business days after the receipt of any comment that is not in an electronic format, the lead agency shall convert that comment into a readily accessible electronic format and make it available to the public in that format.

(6)The lead agency shall indicate in the record of the proceedings comments received that were not considered by the lead agency pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) and need not include the content of the comments as a part of the record.

(7)Within five days after the filing of the notice required by subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 21108 or subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 21152, the lead agency shall certify the record of the proceedings for the approval or determination and shall provide an electronic copy of the record to a party that has submitted a written request for a copy. The lead agency may charge and collect a reasonable fee from a party requesting a copy of the record for the electronic copy, which shall not exceed the reasonable cost of reproducing that copy.

(8)Within 10 days after being served with a complaint or a petition for a writ of mandate, the lead agency shall lodge a copy of the certified record of proceedings with the superior court.

(9)Any dispute over the content of the record of the proceedings shall be resolved by the superior court. Unless the superior court directs otherwise, a party disputing the content of the record shall file a motion to augment the record at the time it files its initial brief.

(10)The contents of the record of proceedings shall be as set forth in subdivision (e) of Section 21167.6.

(e)Subdivision (c) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (d) do not apply to a determination that the project is exempt from this division.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.