Existing law authorizes the governing body of a political subdivision, as those terms are defined, to declare a shelter crisis if the governing body makes a specified finding. Upon declaration of a shelter crisis, existing law, among other things, suspends certain state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances to the extent that strict compliance would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis.

Existing law, upon a declaration of a shelter crisis by the City of Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, or San Diego, the County of Santa Clara, or the City and County of San Francisco, specifies additional provisions applicable to a shelter crisis declared by one of those jurisdictions. Among other things, existing law authorizes the city, county, or city and county that declares a shelter crisis pursuant to these provisions, in lieu of compliance with local building approval procedures or state housing, health, habitability, planning and zoning, or safety standards, procedures, and laws, to adopt by ordinance reasonable local standards and procedures for the design, site development, and operation of homeless shelters and the structures and facilities in the homeless shelters, to the extent that it is determined at the time of adoption that strict compliance with state and local standards or laws in existence at the time of that adoption would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and approve the city’s, county’s, or city and county’s draft ordinance to ensure it addresses minimum health and safety standards. Existing law requires the department to provide its findings to the Senate Committee on Housing and the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development within 30 calendar days of receiving the draft ordinance.

This bill would extend the time within which the department is required to provide its findings to those legislative committees to 90 calendar days of receiving the draft ordinance.

Existing law exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act specified actions by a state agency or a city, county, or city and county relating to land owned by a local government to be used for, or to provide financial assistance to, a homeless shelter constructed pursuant to the above-described provisions. Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county that declares a shelter crisis pursuant to these provisions to develop a plan to address the shelter crisis on or before July 1, 2019, and to annually report to specified committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2019, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2021. Existing law repeals these additional provisions as of January 1, 2021.

This bill would apply the above-described additional provisions to a shelter crisis declared by the County of Alameda, the County of Orange, any city located within the County of Alameda, any city located within the County of Orange, and the City of San Jose, and extend the above-described repeal date to January 1, 2023. By expanding the scope of these provisions to apply within the County of Alameda, the County of Orange, and the City of San Jose, the bill would expand the above-described exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill, with respect to a shelter crisis declared by the County of Alameda, the County of Orange, a city located within the County of Alameda, a city located within the County of Orange, or the City of San Jose, would require the county or city, as applicable, to develop the above-described shelter plan on or before July 1, 2020, to include in the shelter plan a plan to transition residents from homeless shelters to permanent housing, and to provide the first above-described annual report on or before January 1 of the year following the declaration of a shelter crisis.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Alameda, the County of Orange, and the City of San Jose.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.