SB628 Bypass Voters on Transit

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Senate BillNo. 628

Introduced by Senator Beall  February 22, 2013

An act to add Section 53395.7.5 to the Government Code, relating to local planning.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 628, as amended, Beall. Infrastructure financing: transit priority projects.

Existing law establishes the Transit Priority Project Program, and authorizes a city or county to participate in the program by adopting an ordinance indicating its intent to participate in the program and by forming an infrastructure financing district.

 

Existing law requires a city or county that elects to participate in the program to amend, if necessary, its general plan, and any related specific plan, to authorize participating developers to build at an increased height of a minimum of 3 stories within the newly created infrastructure financing district.

 

Existing law exempts from these provisions a city or county that has adopted specified language in its charter, or by ordinance or resolution.

 

 Under existing law, a transit priority project that meets specified criteria is designated as a sustainable communities project, and is thus exempt from certain environmental review requirements.

 

This bill would eliminate the requirement of voter approval for the creation of an infrastructure financing district, the issuance of bonds, and the establishment or change of the appropriations limit with respect to a transit priority project. The bill would require a city or county that uses infrastructure financing district bonds to finance its transit priority project to use at least 25% of the associated property tax increment revenues for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of lower and moderate-income housing available in the district and occupied by persons and families of moderate-, low-, very low, and extremely low income.

 

The bill would require the district to implement these affordable housing provisions in accordance with specified provisions of the Community Redevelopment Law, to the extent not inconsistent with thebegin delete billend deletebegin insert provisions governing infrastructure financing districtsend insert.begin delete Thisend deletebegin insert Theend insert bill would require the adoption of an ordinance that would require the replacement of designated low-income dwelling units, upon their removal from the district, within 2 years of their displacement.begin delete The bill would require the metropolitan planning organization to certify that the project proposed by the district is consistent with the region’s sustainable communities strategy, prior to the implementation of the project.end delete

 

The bill would set forth the findings and declarations of the Legislature, and the intent of the Legislature that the development of transit priority projects be environmentally conscious and sustainable, and that related construction meet or exceed the requirements of the California Green Building Standards Code.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(1) The transportation sector contributes over 40 percent of the
4greenhouse gas emissions in the State of California.

5(2) Greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks
6can be substantially reduced by new vehicle technology and by
7the increased use of low-carbon fuel. However, even taking these
8measures into account, it will be necessary to achieve significant
9additional greenhouse gas reductions from changed land use
10patterns and improved transportation.

11(3) California local governments need sustainable funding
12sources to accommodate transportation and land use planning and
P3    1to develop projects that are consistent with the state’s climate, air
2quality, and energy conservation goals.

3(4) Existing law authorizes cities and counties to create
4infrastructure financing districts (IFDs) and utilize related
5tax-increment financing for infrastructure improvements in local
6jurisdictions.

7(5) Tax-increment financing of transit priority projects, through
8the use of IFDs, will provide a new tool for green development to
9help achieve the sustainable communities strategy and regional
10transportation plan goals of Senate Bill 375 of the 2007-08 Regular 11Session of the Legislature (Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008), 12as well as the greenhouse gas reduction goals of Assembly Bill 32 13of the 2005-06 Regular Session of the Legislature (Chapter 488
14of the Statutes of 2006).

15(6) Recent studies of transit ridership in California indicate that
16people who live within a one-half mile radius of transit stations
17utilize the transit system in far greater numbers than does the
18general public living elsewhere.

19(7) Greater use of public transportation, facilitated by the
20development of transit priority projects, will increase the
21development of walkable, mixed-use communities; increase the
22use of public transit, intercity rail, and future high-speed rail 23services; improve local street, road, and highway congestion;
24provide viable alternatives to automobile use; and decrease
25transportation-related emissions.

26(8) Investment in local transit priority project development can
27improve local and regional economies by providing appropriate
28commercial and residential development opportunities, including
29job creation through the construction of related facilities, and job
30creation through employment opportunities associated with related
31entertainment, retail, residential, and other mixed-use development.

32(9) Expediting the process for local governments to create IFDs
33to implement transit priority projects will provide significant
34environmental and economic benefits to local jurisdictions and
35help meet the state’s climate, air quality, and energy conservation
36goals.

37(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the development of
38transit priority projects throughout the state be environmentally
39conscious and sustainable, and that related construction meet or
40exceed the requirements of the California Green Building Standards
P4    1Code (Part 11 (commencing with Section 101.1) of Title 24 of the
2California Code of Regulations, or its successor code).

3

SEC. 2.  

Section 53395.7.5 is added to the Government Code,
4to read:

5

53395.7.5.  

(a) The district may finance any project that
6implements a transit priority project pursuant to Section 21155 of
7the Public Resources Code begin delete, regional transportation plan, or other
8project that is consistent with the general use, designation, density,
9building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project
10area in either a sustainable communities strategy, or an alternative
11planning strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board,
12pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 65080) of
13Division 1 of Title 7, has accepted a metropolitan planning
14organization’s determination that the sustainable communities
15strategy or the alternative planning strategy, if implemented, would
16achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targetsend delete .

17(b) With respect to an infrastructure financing district proposed 18to implement a transit priority project pursuant to Section 21155 19of the Public Resources Code, an election is not required to form 20an infrastructure financing district, issue bonds, or establish or 21change the appropriations limit pursuant to this chapter.

22(c) 

(1) At least 25 percent of all revenues derived from the
23property tax increment under this section shall be used for the
24purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the supply of
25lower and moderate-income housing available in the district at an
26affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health
27and Safety Code, and occupied by persons and families of low or
28moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and
29Safety Code, lower income households, as defined in Section
3050079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, very low income
31households, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety
32Code, and extremely low income households, as defined in Section
3350106 of the Health and Safety Code.

34(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the district shall implement
35this subdivision in accordance with Section 33334.2 and all other
36applicable affordable housing provisions of the Community
37Redevelopment Law (Part 1 (commencing with Section 33000)
38of Division 24 of the Health and Safety Code), to the extent not
39inconsistent with this chapter.

P5    1(d) The district may provide for the receipt of tax increment
2funds pursuant tobegin delete Section 33670 of the Health and Safety Code,end delete
3begin insert this chapter, end insert for purposes of a project subject to this section,
4provided that the local government with land use jurisdiction has
5adopted an ordinance that requires the replacement of dwelling
6units that house extremely low, very low, or low-income
7households, upon their removal from the district, pursuant to
8subdivision (a) of Section 33413, within two years of their
9displacement.

begin delete

10(e) Prior to the district’s implementation of a project pursuant
11to this section, the metropolitan planning organization shall certify
12that the project proposed by the district is consistent with the
13region’s sustainable communities strategy.

end delete


Amended in Assembly June 17, 2013

Amended in Senate May 14, 2013

Amended in Senate April 10, 2013

Amended in Senate April 2, 2013

• Your Opinion CA Transportation Plan? • Legal Risks of SB375 GHG Targets • Double Transit Funding SB 1 8 • Finance Transit - a Property Levy SB142 • SB628 Bypass Voters on Transit • Legally Challenge the GHG Act ? • SB1 Bill $1million for BLIGHTED areas •    
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