General Plans
SB 1000 (Leyva) – Support if Amended
As Amended on April 12, 2016
SB 1000 will require the development of an Environmental Justice
Element when a General Plan Housing Element is adopted or revised
on or after January 1, 2018. Specifically, the new element would
identify objectives and policies to reduce health risks and
promote civil engagement in disadvantaged communities.
Disadvantaged communities are currently defined in the bill as
communities identified by CalEnviroScreen or which have median
household incomes less than eighty percent of the statewide
median. Given the internal consistency requirements of General
Plan law, SB 1000 would essentially require a costly
comprehensive General Plan update upon a county’s next housing
element update. CSAC opposes the requirements for a standalone
element. We have a support if amended position and are pursuing
amendments to require that environmental justice concepts be
incorporated throughout the General Plan as appropriate upon its
next update, rather than linking the requirement with the housing
element cycle.
SB 1000 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations committee on
May 9. While the requirement to update a General Plan to include
an Environmental Justice Element will result in significant new
costs, the bill will not create a reimbursable mandate, as it
assumes that local governments will pass on the costs of revising
their General Plans in the form of fees levied on development
projects.
Second Units
SB 1069 (Wieckowski) – Oppose
As Amended on April 26, 2016
SB 1069 would further restrict a local agency’s ability to impose
requirements on second units, which would be renamed “accessory
dwelling units.” Among other requirements, the measure would
preclude a local agency from imposing public utility connection
fees, including fees for water and sewer service, for the new
residential developments constructed pursuant to this bill.
Moreover, SB 1069 would impose a shot clock requirement for local
agencies to act on an accessory dwelling unit permit application
within 90-days after the submittal of a complete building permit.
CSAC opposes these unwarranted restrictions on local planning
authority, which would create costs that could either not be
recouped, or which would be passed on to the community at large.
SB 1069 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations committee on
May 9. Despite the unfunded costs its provisions would impose on
sewer and water providers and city and county planning
departments, the bill’s analysis is unlikely to include an
identified state costs. Despite the prohibition on charging sewer
and water connection fees, the bill assumes that local
governments will impose fees to recover their costs.
