Bill Text: CA AB2592 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Local planning: housing elements: water and sewer services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-17 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2592 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2592-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 19, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2592
| Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson |
February 14, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 65589.8 65589.7 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 10631.1 of the Water Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2592, as amended, Grayson.
Local planning: housing elements: affordable housing. water and sewer services.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, or city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law requires a housing element to include an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs.
That law also requires that the housing element adopted by the legislative body of the city, county, or city and county and any amendments made to that element be delivered to all public agencies or private entities that provide water or sewer services, as described, within the territory of the legislative body. Existing law requires each public agency or
private entity providing water or sewer services to grant a priority for the provision of these services to proposed developments that include housing units affordable to lower income households. Existing law also requires a public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services to adopt written policies and procedures not later than July 1, 2006, and at least once every 5 years thereafter, with specific objective standards for provision of services, as described.
This bill would instead require each public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services to grant a priority for the provision of these services to proposed housing developments, which the bill would define for these purposes to include both housing developments that include units sold or rented to lower income households, as provided in existing law as described above, and housing developments constructed pursuant to specified laws providing for ministerial
approval of certain housing developments or subdivision maps. The bill would also update the compliance date to adopt written policies and procedures to July 1, 2025, and continue to require the adoption of those written policies and procedures at least once every 5 years thereafter.
(2) The Urban Water Management Planning Act requires urban water suppliers to prepare and adopt urban water management plans that, among other things, identify and quantify the existing and planned sources of water available to the water supplier’s service area based on specified factors. That act requires the water use projections required by these provisions to include the projected water use for single‑family and multifamily residential housing for lower income households as identified in the housing element of any city, county, or city and county in the service area of the supplier.
This bill would
instead require the water use projections to include projected water use for single-family and multifamily residential housing for proposed housing developments, defined as described above, as identified in the housing element of any city, county, or city and county in the service area of the supplier.
(3) This bill would make conforming changes.
(4) By imposing additional duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is
required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a local government that adopts a requirement in its housing element for a housing development to contain a fixed percentage of affordable housing units to permit a developer to satisfy that requirement by constructing rental housing at affordable monthly rents.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 65589.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:65589.7.
(a) The housing element adopted by the legislative body and any amendments made to that element shall be immediately delivered to all public agencies or private entities that provide water or sewer services for municipal and industrial uses, including residential, within the territory of the legislative body. Each public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services shall grant a priority for the provision of these services to proposed(b) A public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services shall adopt written policies and procedures, not later than July 1, 2006, 2025, and at least once every five years thereafter, with specific objective standards for provision of services in conformance with this section. For private water and sewer companies regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, the commission shall adopt written policies and procedures for use by those companies in a manner consistent with this section. The policies and procedures shall take into account all of the following:
(1) Regulations and restrictions adopted pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 350) of Division 1 of the Water Code,
relating to water shortage emergencies.
(2) The availability of water supplies as determined by the public agency or private entity pursuant to an urban water management plan adopted pursuant to Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 10610) of Division 6 of the Water Code.
(3) Plans, documents, and information relied upon by the public agency or private entity that is not an “urban water supplier,” as defined in Section 10617 of the Water Code, or that provides sewer service, that provide a reasonable basis for making service determinations.
(c) A public agency or private entity that provides water or sewer services shall not deny or condition the approval of an application for services to, or reduce the amount of services applied for by, a proposed
housing development that includes housing units affordable to lower income households unless the public agency or private entity makes specific written findings that the denial, condition, or reduction is necessary due to the existence of one or more of the following:
(1) The public agency or private entity providing water service does not have “sufficient water supply,” as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 66473.7, or is operating under a water shortage emergency as defined in Section 350 of the Water Code, or does not have sufficient water treatment or distribution capacity, to serve the needs of the proposed housing development, as demonstrated by a written engineering analysis and
report.
(2) The public agency or private entity providing water service is subject to a compliance order issued by the State Department of Health Care Services that prohibits new water connections.
(3) The public agency or private entity providing sewer service does not have sufficient treatment or collection capacity, as demonstrated by a written engineering analysis and report on the condition of the treatment or collection works, to serve the needs of the proposed housing development.
(4) The public agency or private entity providing sewer service is under an order issued by a regional water quality
control board that prohibits new sewer connections.
(5) The applicant has failed to agree to reasonable terms and conditions relating to the provision of service generally applicable to development projects seeking service from the public agency or private entity, including, but not limited to, the requirements of local, state, or federal laws and regulations or payment of a fee or charge imposed pursuant to Section 66013.
(d) The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:
(1) “Proposed developments
that include housing units affordable to lower income households” housing developments” means that dwelling any of the following:
(A) A housing development including units shall be
sold or rented to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) A housing development constructed pursuant to the Starter Home Revitalization Act of 2021 (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 66499.40) of Division 2).
(C) A housing development constructed pursuant to Sections 65852.28, 65913.4.5, and 66499.41.
(2) “Water or sewer services” means supplying service through a
pipe or other constructed conveyance for a residential purpose, and does not include the sale of water for human consumption by a water supplier to another water supplier for resale. As used in this section, “water service” provided by a public agency or private entity applies only to water supplied from public water systems subject to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 116275) of Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) This section is intended to neither enlarge nor diminish the existing authority of a city, county, or city and county in adopting a housing element. Failure to deliver a housing element adopted by the legislative body or amendments made to that element, to a public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services shall neither invalidate any action or approval of a development project nor exempt a public agency or private entity from the obligations under this section. The special districts which
that
provide water or sewer services related to development, as defined in former subdivision (e) of Section 56426, are included within this section.
(f) The Legislature finds and declares that this section shall be applicable to all cities and counties, including charter cities, because the Legislature finds that the lack of affordable rental and entry-level owner-occupied housing is a matter of vital statewide importance.
SEC. 2.
Section 10631.1 of the Water Code is amended to read:10631.1.
(a) The water use projections required by Section 10631 shall include projected water use for single-family and multifamily residential housing needed for(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the identification of projected water use for
single-family and multifamily residential housing for lower income households and entry-level home ownership opportunities will assist a supplier in complying with the requirement under Section 65589.7 of the Government Code to grant a priority for the provision of service to housing units affordable to lower income households. households and housing intended to bridge the state’s wealth gap through home ownership.
SEC. 3.
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.However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(a)A local government, which adopts a requirement in its housing element that a housing development contain a fixed percentage of affordable housing units, shall permit a developer to satisfy all or a portion of that requirement by constructing rental housing at affordable monthly rents, as determined by that local government.
(b)This section does not expand or reduce the authority of a local government to adopt an ordinance, charter amendment, or policy requiring that any housing development contain a fixed percentage of affordable housing units.
