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AB-1935 California Environmental Quality Act: redevelopment: Concord Naval Weapons Station.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 04/19/2022 09:00 PM
AB1935:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 10, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1935

Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson

February 10, 2022

An act to add Section 21168.6.15 to the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1935, as amended, Grayson. California Environmental Quality Act: redevelopment: Concord Naval Weapons Station.
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 (EIR) 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 administrative procedures for the review and certification of the EIR for a project and judicial review procedures for any action or proceeding brought to challenge the lead agency’s decision to certify the EIR or to grant project approvals. project.
This bill would authorize the Governor to certify the Concord Base Reuse Project, which the bill would define as any activity related to the approval and adoption of a specific plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the City of Concord, for certain streamlining benefits that would be provided by the bill if the project meets certain requirements. The bill would require the lead agency to conduct the environmental review of the certified project, as specified, including prepare and certify the EIR for the Concord Base Reuse Project, which the bill would define as any activity related to the approval and adoption of a specific plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the City of Concord, in a specified manner that includes the concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings. By increasing the duties of the lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures for actions or proceedings challenging the certification of the EIR for the certified project or the granting of project approvals that require the actions or proceedings, including any potential appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Concord.
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: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) requires that the environmental impacts of development projects be identified and mitigated. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) also guarantees the public an opportunity to review and comment on the environmental impacts of a project and to participate meaningfully in the development of mitigation measures for potentially significant environmental impacts.
(b) The City of Concord has embarked on a multiphase redevelopment project at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station (base), consistent with the Concord Reuse Project (CRP) Area Plan adopted in 2012 as an amendment to the city’s 2030 general plan, that will implement, refine, and augment the community vision expressed in the CRP Area Plan. The specific plan area would be developed according to the specific parameters for development established in the specific plan as the CRP areas become available for transfer from the United States Navy to the city as a local reuse authority, and as service from the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) becomes available for development. The 2,268-acre specific plan area is located within the incorporated limits of the City of Concord.
(c) The redevelopment project would promote an affordable housing commitment, consistent with Concord City Council Resolution 12-4823.3, adopted on January 24, 2012, for the project, in which the city council made the following findings:
(1) The CRP Area Plan can accommodate an additional 900 units of affordable housing. The total commitment for the CRP Area Plan is 3,020 units, which will be approximately 25 percent of the total number of housing units that would be constructed through buildout. The total number of affordable units will be designed to accommodate a range of lower income levels as defined in the city’s housing element.
(2) The additional 900 units of affordable housing is prioritized for lower income seniors, veterans, and teachers.
(3) The original 2,120 affordable housing units, including affordable, homeless family, and self-help housing, committed to in the CRP Area Plan should accommodate a diverse range of lower income levels and demographics defined in the city’s housing element.
(4) Some of the 3,020 units can be built in conjunction with other market-rate housing to satisfy inclusionary housing requirements. However, a more efficient and effective method to achieve the levels of housing required is to have most of the affordable housing built as standalone projects where the affordable housing providers stay involved as owners or managers of the property, ensuring facility upkeep and screening of residents. Affordable housing builders will require gap funding to develop the desired affordable projects, and fees from market-rate developers in lieu of unit construction that might otherwise be required, could be a source of funding. Market-rate developers may also be allowed to provide utility services to affordable housing project sites in lieu of fees as another alternative to satisfy the inclusionary requirement.
(5) To replace or augment more traditional redevelopment funding support, the city’s local reuse authority (LRA) should pursue disposition methods that would allow parcels to be transferred at no cost or significantly reduced cost to the LRA that could in turn be transferred at no cost or significantly reduced cost to affordable housing developers to accommodate the committed 3,020 units of affordable housing. The LRA reserves the right to augment the use of discounted land if other funding sources arise in part, or in whole, to replace the use of redevelopment tax increment.
(6) The sites would be selected solely by the LRA and street improvements and utilities to the sites would be provided by the LRA or the master developer, and their transfer would represent the city’s in-kind match for the affordable housing developers in leveraging external financing. The sites would not be clustered, but spread out in smaller two- to four-acre increments and generally be located in areas with minimum densities of 25 units to the acre. To the degree feasible, at least one affordable housing parcel should be contiguous to each homeless accommodation parcel so that the homeless units can be integrated with larger affordable projects and more readily access services. This is a vision of mixed-income housing that the city council and community has been supportive of through the community planning process.
(7) Specific affordable housing parcels should be identified and analyzed for environmental impacts under CEQA as part of the development of future specific plans for the base. With certified CEQA documents in place, land uses consistent with adopted specific plans should be exempt from further CEQA review, creating an incentive for development.
(8) The LRA will not be required to issue building permits for affordable housing development until the 200th market rate market-rate unit is constructed and utilities can be made available to the affordable housing sites. As the balance of the CRP Area Plan develops, creation of affordable units should track as a percentage against built market rate market-rate units as part of the phasing plan that is intended to be crafted for the disposition strategy.
(9) The city council reaffirms its commitment to self-help housing by directing staff to negotiate a public benefit conveyance of two- or three-acre parcels to Habitat for Humanity.
(d) The redevelopment project would implement the legally binding agreement the city has executed to create up to 260 units of affordable housing, as a part of the 3,020 affordable units, for formerly homeless individuals, as well as the creation of a food bank and employment training center at the site.
(e) The redevelopment project would generate up to 6,100,000 gross square feet space for commercial, campus, or institutional uses to be constructed, along with extensive open spaces and bicycle and pedestrian networks and streets.
(f) The redevelopment project will generate up to 26,000 permanent jobs and thousands of jobs will be created during construction of the projects. This employment estimate does not include the substantial job generation that will occur within the surrounding development, which will generate additional hospitality, office, restaurant, and retail jobs in the City of Concord’s downtown area. Workplaces will be designed to encourage walking, bicycling, and transit access, and the community itself will include a mix of jobs and housing to minimize commute lengths and driving times.
(g) The redevelopment project also presents an unprecedented opportunity to implement innovative measures that will significantly reduce traffic and air quality impacts and mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the project. The project site is located adjacent to the North Concord/Martinez BART stations and within one mile of the Concord BART Station and thus is situated to maximize opportunities to encourage nonautomobile modes of travel to the mixed-use development project, consistent with the policies and regional vision included in Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008.
(h) The redevelopment project would implement the CRP Area Plan’s Climate Action Plan, including standards to promote vehicle trip reduction, energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, waste reduction and diversion, and water efficiency.
(i) The Mount Diablo Creek Corridor, which is 178 acres within the development project area, would be restored and enhanced for habitat value and flood control and approximately 698 acres of open space will be created and made accessible to the public, with pedestrian and vehicular connections provided over the creek to the more expansive 2,500-acre Thurgood Marshall Regional Park–Home of the Port Chicago 50.
(j) The city will evaluate both a 75-acre tournament sports complex facility and a broader 175-acre facility to study in-depth quantification of potential economic impacts to the city and explore the potential public-private partnerships or other strategies to develop and finance the project.
(k) The city will implement a campus district, consistent with the city’s Campus District Vision Framework adopted on June 14, 2019, to strategically support regional economic and higher education through a new campus model, a model that combines multiple academic institutions at various grade levels, research and development, and manufacturing opportunities.
(l) Planning and implementation of community facilities to serve the redevelopment project, including police and fire stations, new schools, community centers, a library, a veteran’s hall, parks and recreation facilities, and open-space amenities and trails providing connectivity throughout the site and into surrounding neighborhoods.
(m) It is in the interest of the state to expedite judicial administrative review of the redevelopment project, as appropriate, while protecting the environment and the rights of the public to review, comment on, and, if necessary, seek judicial review of, the adequacy of an environmental impact report for the projects.

SEC. 2.

 Section 21168.6.15 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

21168.6.15.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Applicant” means a master developer that is developing the specific plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the City of Concord.
(2) “Concord Base Reuse Project” or “project” means any activity related to the approval and adoption of a specific plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the City of Concord.

(3)“Transportation efficiency” means the number of vehicle trips by employees, visitors, or customers of the project divided by the total number of employees, visitors, and customers.

(b)The Governor may certify the Concord Base Reuse Project for streamlining pursuant to this section if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)The project consists of residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational development, or a combination of those developments, and is consistent with the Concord Reuse Project Area Plan adopted by the City of Concord in 2012.

(2)The project, upon completion of project implementation, will qualify for the equivalent of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) v4 certification by the United States Green Building Council for phases 1 and 2 of the implementation of the project.

(3)The project will achieve at least 15 percent greater transportation efficiency than comparable projects.

(4)The project is a specific plan for infill sites located in an urbanized area.

(5)A sustainable communities strategy has been adopted by the applicable metropolitan planning organization for the specific plan area pursuant to Section 65080 of the Government Code and the State Air Resources Board has determined that the strategy meets the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets adopted pursuant to that section for the region.

(6)The Concord Reuse Area Plan adopted by the City of Concord includes a climate action plan that has been reviewed and approved by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and will function as a greenhouse gas reduction plan for purposes of environmental review, allowing environmental clearance with respect to greenhouse gas emissions to be documented by indicating how the plan or project is consistent with applicable requirements of the climate action plan.

(7)The implementation of the project entails a minimum investment of ____ dollars ($____) in California through the time of completion of implementation.

(8)All contractors and subcontractors performing work to implement the project will be subject to a project labor agreement with the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, requiring the payment of prevailing wages to all construction workers employed in the implementation of the project and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure. The applicant shall be required to comply with all applicable Concord First policy commitments, including all of the following:

(A)Forty percent local hire.

(B)Payment of prevailing wages on all construction.

(C)Utilization of apprentices from State of California-certified joint labor management programs.

(D)Implementation of a program to recruit, train, and employ military veterans through the Helmets to Hardhats program or equivalent program.

(9)The specific plan will require commercial organic waste recycling as provided in Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 42649) or 12.9 (commencing with Section 42649.8) of Part 3 of Division 30, as applicable.

(10)The applicant has entered into a binding and enforceable agreement that all mitigation measures required under this division to certify the project under this section shall be conditions of approval of the project, and those conditions will be fully enforceable by the lead agency or another agency designated by the lead agency. In the case of environmental mitigation measures, the applicant agrees, as an ongoing obligation, that those measures will be monitored and enforced by the lead agency for the life of the obligation.

(11)The applicant agrees to pay the costs of the trial court and the court of appeal in hearing and deciding any case challenging a lead agency’s action on a certified project under this division, including payment of the costs for the appointment of a special master if deemed appropriate by the court, in a form and manner specified by the Judicial Council, as provided in the California Rules of Court adopted by the Judicial Council under subdivision (d).

(c)(1)Before certifying the project, the Governor shall make a determination that each of the conditions specified in subdivision (b) has been met.

(2)The guidelines issued pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 21178) apply to the implementation of this section, to the extent those guidelines are applicable and do not conflict with specific requirements of this section.

(d)The Judicial Council shall adopt a rule of court to establish procedures for actions or proceedings brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification of an environmental impact report for the Concord Base Reuse Project certified by the Governor under this section or the granting of any project approvals that require the actions or proceedings, including any potential appeals to the court of appeal or the Supreme Court, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court.

(e)

(b) (1) The draft and final environmental impact report for the Concord Base Reuse Project shall include a notice in not less than 12-point type stating the following:

THIS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT IS SUBJECT TO SECTION 21168.6.15 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 IMPACT REPORT. ANY JUDICIAL ACTION CHALLENGING THE CERTIFICATION OR ADOPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT OR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROJECT DESCRIBED IN SECTION 21168.6.15 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS SUBJECT TO THE PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN THAT SECTION. A COPY OF SECTION 21168.6.15 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX TO THIS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT.

(2) The draft environmental impact report and final environmental impact report shall contain, as an appendix, the full text of this section.
(3) Within 10 days after the release of the draft environmental impact report, 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 impact report. A transcript of the hearing shall be included as an appendix to the final environmental impact report.
(5) (A)   Within five days following the close of the public comment period, a commenter on the draft environmental impact report 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 impact report 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 impact report 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 impact report, 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 or 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 impact report.
(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.

(f)

(c) (1) The lead agency shall concurrently prepare and certify the record of proceedings for the project 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 impact report, report for the project, the lead agency shall make available to the public in a readily accessible electronic format the draft environmental impact report and all other documents submitted to or relied on by the lead agency in the preparation of the draft environmental impact report. A document prepared by the lead agency or submitted by the applicant after the date of the release of the draft environmental impact report that is a part of the record of 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 impact report, or within five business days if the document is received or relied on by the lead agency after the release of the draft environmental impact report. 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 proceedings comments received that were not considered by the lead agency pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (e) (b) and need not include the content of the comments as a part of the record of proceedings.
(7) Within five days after the filing of the notice required by subdivision (a) of Section 21152, the lead agency shall certify the record of 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 of proceedings 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 proceedings shall be resolved by the superior court. Unless the superior court directs otherwise, a party disputing the content of the record of proceedings 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.

SEC. 3.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances set forth in Section 1 of this act regarding the approval and adoption of a specific plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station in the City of Concord.

SEC. 4.

 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.