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AB-672 Publicly owned golf courses: conversion: affordable housing.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 09/09/2021 09:00 PM
AB672:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  September 09, 2021
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 06, 2021
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 18, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 672

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia

February 12, 2021

An act to add Section 65863.14 to the Government Code, relating to land use. Chapter 14.7 (commencing with Section 50870) to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 672, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Planning and zoning law: rezoning authorization: golf courses. Publicly owned golf courses: conversion: affordable housing.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to, among other things, administer various programs intended to fund the acquisition of property to develop or preserve affordable housing.
This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the department to administer a program to provide incentives in the form of grants to local governments that make publicly owned golf courses available for housing and publicly accessible open spaces, as specified.

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires that the legislative body of each county and each city adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county and city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of any county or city, pursuant to specified procedures, to adopt ordinances that, among other things, regulate the use of buildings, structures, and land as between industry, business, residences, open space, and other purposes.

Existing law, 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 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. That law 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.

This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to rezone, by the date the 6th regional housing needs assessment cycle applicable to the city, county, or city and county ends, certain sites used as a golf course to also allow for residential and open-space use in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would exempt any ordinance, resolution, general or specific plan amendment, or other action necessary of the city, county, or city and county to rezone a site pursuant to the bill’s provisions from CEQA. The bill would require a development on a site that is rezoned for residential and open-space use pursuant to the bill’s provisions to comply with specified requirements, including that 25 percent of all units developed on the site be available for persons and families of low income for a period of at least 45 years for owner-occupied units and at least 55 years for rental units, and that a certain unit per acre density be met. By expanding the crime of perjury and by imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

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 specified reasons.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 14.7 (commencing with Section 50870) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER  14.7. Conversion of Publicly Owned Golf Courses to Affordable Housing

50870.
 (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) from the General Fund, the Department of Housing and Community Development shall administer a program to provide grants to cities, counties, and cities and counties to incentivize making publicly owned golf courses in densely populated areas available for housing and publicly accessible open space.
(b) In order to be eligible for a grant, a city, county, or city and county shall enter into a disposition and development agreement with a developer that, at a minimum, meets the following requirements:
(1) The agreement ensures that at least 25 percent of all new dwelling units developed on the former golf course are affordable to, and occupied by, low-income households.
(A) Rental units shall be subject to a recorded regulatory agreement with the city, county, or city and county with a term of at least 55 years, that is monitored for compliance by the city, county, or city and county.
(B) Ownership units shall be subject to an equity sharing agreement consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 65915 of the Government Code, and the city, county, or city and county shall utilize any proceeds received from an equity sharing agreement for programs to facilitate low-income homeownership.
(2) At least 15 percent of the development is publicly accessible open space.
(3) No more than one-third of the square footage of the development, excluding the portion reserved for open space, is dedicated to nonresidential uses.
(c) To the extent that funds are available, the department shall issue a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) covering the 12-month period after the NOFA is issued, and, if there was no NOFA for the previous 12-month period, covering the 12-month period before the NOFA was issued. The department shall accept applications from applicants at the end of the 12-month period after the NOFA is issued.
(d) The department shall allocate a grant to each city, county, or city and county that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b) in an amount determined by the department and specified in the NOFA. If the amount of funds available to the department is insufficient to provide each eligible city, county, or city and county with the full grant amount specified in the NOFA, the department shall reduce the amount of grant funds awarded to each eligible city, county, or city and county proportionately.
(e) The department may review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines to implement uniform standards or criteria that supplement or clarify the terms, references, or standards set forth in this chapter. Any guidelines adopted pursuant to this chapter shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 65863.14 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65863.14.

(a)(1)A city, county, or city and county shall rezone sites used as a golf course to also allow for residential and open-space use, in accordance with subdivision (b), if any of the following apply:

(A)The golf course is in a park-poor area.

(B)The golf course is owned by the city, county, or city and county, and the golf course is funded by moneys from the city, county, or city and county.

(C)The golf course is in a high-density area.

(2)Any ordinance, resolution, general or specific plan amendment, or other action necessary of the city, county, or city and county to rezone a site pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be considered a “project” for purposes of Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, development on a site that is rezoned for residential and open-space use pursuant to subdivision (a) shall comply with at least all of the following requirements:

(1)Twenty-five percent of all units developed on the site shall be continuously available at affordable rent or housing cost to persons and families of low income for at least 45 years for owner-occupied units and 55 years for rental units. The city, county, or city and county shall ensure this requirement is satisfied with recorded deed restrictions.

(2)For-sale units that are subject to the requirements of paragraph (1) shall be subject to an equity sharing agreement.

(3)Fifteen percent of the site shall be designated and developed for continuous, open-space use.

(4)A minimum of 15 dwelling units shall be developed per acre designated for residential use, unless the city’s, county’s, or city and county’s existing maximum density for the land use designation is less than 15 units per acre, in which case the number of dwelling units per acre necessary to meet the maximum density allowable shall be developed.

(c)A city, county, or city and county shall comply with subdivision (a) by the date the sixth regional housing needs assessment cycle applicable to the city, county, or city and county ends.

(d)For purposes of this section, “persons and families of low income” shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act adding Section 65863.14 to the Government Code addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act applies to all cities, including charter cities.

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 or because costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.