Land Use

AB 52 (Gatto) – Neutral
To Engrossing and Enrolling on August 28, 2014

AB 52, by Assembly Member Mike Gatto would create a new resource area under CEQA for tribal cultural resources and create a process for consultation between local governments and tribes on individual projects. CSAC initially opposed the bill and worked with a coalition of stakeholders over the past two years to successfully amend the measure to reduce our most significant concerns. 

As passed by the Legislature, AB 52 would now provide for a much clearer and definitive process for project-by-project consultation between lead agencies and tribes. The measure includes timelines for consultations, a requirement for tribes to dictates a single point of contact, a definition of tribal cultural resource that does not put the burden on a local agency to determine what may or may not be significant to tribe, and it allows for the confidential exchange of information between a tribe, project proponent and local government.

CSAC removed our opposition to the bill on August 25. We will monitor the implementation the measure, including revisions to the CEQA guidelines, and work to develop guidance for counties.

AB 1147 (Bonilla) – Request for Signature
To Engrossing and Enrolling on August 29, 2014

AB 1147, by Assembly Members Susan Bonilla, Jimmy Gomez, and Chris Holden, would recast the California Massage Therapy Council and restore the ability of local governments to regulate massage therapy businesses in local communities. Specifically, the measure would change the composition of the Council’s board to include, in addition to existing representatives from CSAC and the League of Cities, a representative of the California Police Chiefs Association, a representative of an “anti-human trafficking” organization, and a local or state public health official, among others. Importantly to counties, the bill would restore local land use authority to regulate massage businesses and provides that cities and counties can adopt and enforce local ordinances governing zoning, business licensing, or reasonable health and safety requirements for massage establishments.

CSAC will request the Governor’s signature on AB 1147.

Housing

AB 1537 (Levine) – Request for Signature
To Engrossing and Enrolling on August 22, 2014

AB 1537, by Assembly Member Marc Levine, would create a pilot project allowing Marin County and certain cities within the County, to move to a suburban default density to demonstrate that they have zoned an adequate amount of land to accommodate their respective shares of lower-income housing under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation Process. The pilot would last through 2023 require the jurisdictions to report to the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Legislature regarding the development of affordable housing under the suburban default density.

CSAC has requested the Governor’s signature on AB 1537.

AB 1690 (Gordon) – Support 
To Engrossing and Enrolling on August 22, 2014

AB 1690, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would allow local governments that are subject to a rezoning program under housing element law to accommodate their very low- and low-income housing needs on sites designated for mixed uses if those sites allow 100% residential use; and requires that residential use occupy 50% of the total floor area of a mixed-use project. CSAC supports the bill because it provides counties the opportunity to use the rezoning program process to complement other smart growth policies.

Transportation 

SB 785 (Wolk) – Request for Signature
To Engrossing and Enrolling on August 27, 2014

SB 785, by Senator Lois Wolk, would recast existing design-build statutes for purposes of eliminating inconsistencies and consolidating present statutory authority as well as extend the sunset date on existing design-build authority and reduce the project cost threshold to projects that exceed $1 million.

While counties had concerns about the bill’s requirement that in order to be prequalified or shortlisted, a design-build entity must provide an enforceable commitment to the local agency that the entity and its subcontractors will use skilled and trained workforce to perform work on the contract, CSAC found that the benefits of the continued use of design-build with a reduced project threshold outweigh our concerns regarding the skilled and trained workforce.

CSAC has requested the Governor’s signature on SB 785.

AB 1720 (Bloom) – Request for Signature
Chapter 263, Statutes of 2014

AB 1720, by Assembly Member Richard Bloom, would extend by one year the exemption in current law that allows transit buses to operate over state weight limits, until January 1, 2016. Further, transit agencies would be able to continue to procure overweight transit buses under specified circumstances until January 1, 2016. This bill was a negotiated solution with the California Transit Association, CSAC and other transportation stakeholders. The extension is necessary to allow the completion of a national study of issues surrounding overweight transit buses, the findings of which will be critical in the development of a permanent and cost-effective solution to this issue.

The Governor signed AB 1720 on August 22.