Members of the California State Senate convened a housing working
group earlier this the year to develop a bill package to address
the housing shortage in California. Earlier this week, the Senate
housing working group released the Senate Housing Production
Package—a six-plank package aimed at increasing housing
production across the state.
Earlier this week, CSAC filed and served comments in response to
the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) staff
proposal for revisions to the Rule 20 utility undergrounding
tariff program. The CPUC’s staff proposal is
available here.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently
revised the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) CEQA Significance
Determinations for State Highway System Projects Implementation
Timeline Memorandum (Implementation Timing Memo). Caltrans
is also soliciting feedback on the draft Transportation Analysis
Framework (TAF) and Transportation Analysis under CEQA (TAC).
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) will be holding a
workshop on Thursday, April 9 from 1-2:30pm to
solicit feedback on potential changes to the schedule for
submission of SB 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account
(RMRA) project lists and resolutions.
CTC staff is aware that some agencies have postponed their public
meetings through April, leading to a delay in their process for
adopting Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 RMRA Funding Eligibility
Project List Resolutions, given the COVID-19 emergency.
Caltrans recently released its Draft Vehicle Miles Traveled
(VMT)-Focused Transportation Impact Study Guide (Draft TISG). It
is guidance to Caltrans Districts, lead agencies, developers, and
consultants regarding Caltrans review of a land use project or
plan’s transportation analysis using a VMT metric.
In response to COVID-19, the California Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) is changing the
Notice of Funding Availability workshop schedule for the
Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA) entitlement and
non-entitlement Local Government Formula Component. Instead of
hosting the remaining workshops in person, HCD will now only be
hosting them online.
Counties are required to submit a Board-approved resolution
including a proposed project list to the California
Transportation Commission (CTC) each fiscal year prior to
receiving SB 1 local street and roads funding. On March
20, counties may begin online submittal of FY 2020-21
Proposed Project List-Adopted Resolutions to the CTC via the
CalSMART
system. Final submittals are due by Friday, May 1,
2020.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) has released the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA)
Program entitlement and non-entitlement Local Government Formula
Component
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately
$195 million and the
PLHA Formula Allocation Application.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) will be hosting two webinars for Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) applicants and grantees on completing a budget
and developing and describing project tasks and deliverables in
its new CDBG Grants Management System.
The new system, eCivis, allows CDBG and CDBG-DR applicants and
grantees to submit applications and financial reports and to
manage awards all in one place.
Residential development impact fees were the topic of a joint
hearing of the Assembly Local Government and Housing and
Community Development Committees, as well as the Senate Housing
and Governance and Finance Committees in the State Capitol this
week. The hearing came on the heels of the announcement of
several bills seeking to limit the authority of local agencies to
impose fees and requiring increased transparency and state
oversight.
Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa testified on behalf of
CSAC this week at a Senate Transportation Committee oversight
hearing on implementation of SB 1, the Road Repair and
Accountability Act of 2017.
Since February 2018, when the first SB 1 funds began flowing to
counties and cities, more than 2,500 local projects have been
proposed, representing more than $3.5 billion in planned
investments in local streets and roads. Over 1,800 SB 1-funded
local projects have been completed through June 2019.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) recently released the Local Early Action Planning (LEAP)
Grants
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $119
million. These planning grants are authorized pursuant to AB 101
(Committee on Budget, 2019).
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has updated
technical advisories on disaster response and housing to include
references to recently enacted legislation. These technical
advisories are intended to provide guidance on California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions that may streamline
disaster recovery response and housing construction.
UCLA Extension’s annual one-day
Land Use Law and Planning Conference on Friday,
January 24, 2020 will include a discussion of land use
legislation, case law, and the emerging issues that frame land
use and development practices in California.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
has released the January 2020 Multifamily Housing Program (MHP)
Notice of Funding Availability for approximately $297
million, which is funded from Proposition 1—the Veterans and
Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018, which California voters
approved on November 6, 2018.
UCLA Extension’s annual one-day Land Use Law and Planning
Conference will include a discussion of land use legislation,
case law, and the emerging issues that frame land use and
development practices in California.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) released the SB 2 Planning Grants Program
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $123
million in non-competitive grants last spring.
Caltrans has released its SB 1 Annual Efficiencies Report for
fiscal year 2018-2019, which notes that its efficiency measures
saved nearly $233 million – more than double the statutory goal
of $100 million per year. These funds will be reinvested to
maintain and rehabilitate the State Highway System.
Governor Newsom signed 870 bills into law this year. To keep
counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will be
publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in each
policy area. This week, the Housing, Land Use and Transportation
policy area provides information on new laws affecting housing,
land use, transportation, public works, building standards, and
more.
The new laws listed below become effective January 1, 2020.
The California Transportation Commission will hold two workshops
on competitive programs, including the Local Partnership Program
and the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program later this
month. Information on these workshops is
available here.
Governor Newsom signed an executive order on September 20
directing the Department of Finance, the Department of
Transportation and the Department of General Services to take
action to advance emissions reduction goals and incorporate
climate resiliency strategies in several state programs,
including pension investments, transportation programs, and
state-owned facilities. The full text of the executive order is
available online.
CSAC is awaiting the Governor’s action on a number of bills that
fall under the housing, land use, and transportation policy area
and will keep counties updated on the outcome of these measures.
CSAC is requesting the Governor’s signature on several of these
measures and is requesting his veto on one bill. The full list is
provided below.
The Legislature adjourned on Friday the 13th after one of the
strangest end-of-sessions in recent history. It included
accusations of flame-throwing and a lack of decorum
among legislators and was briefly halted after a protester
threw blood onto the Senate Floor.
Last week, Governor Newsom signed the first tribal-state gaming
compact (Compact) negotiated under his Administration. AB 753 (E. Garcia) would ratify the gaming
compact between the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and the State
of California. The Compact includes a two-tiered provision for
environmental mitigation, which is included in some of the recent
compacts and depends on the number of slot machines the Tribe
operates.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) released the Residential Impact Fees in California report earlier
this week, which evaluates local fees charged to new housing
developments.
Today, the CSAC Executive Committee voted to approve draft policy
priorities for federal surface transportation reauthorization
legislation. Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface
Transportation (“FAST”) Act in 2015. While the FAST Act doesn’t
expire until September 2020, Congress has already started its
work on reauthorization.
Prior to adjourning session for summer recess, the Legislature
approved
AB 101 (Committee on Budget) — the housing and homelessness
budget trailer bill, which reflects the final agreement between
the Governor and Legislature on housing and homelessness budget
items for fiscal year 2019-20.
CSAC’s top budget priority, a direct allocation of funding for
counties to tackle the homelessness crisis, is included in the
bill. The measure also includes $650 million to address the
homelessness crisis, $500 million for infrastructure grants to
support housing production, $500 million to support low-income
housing tax credits, $500 million for mixed-income housing
development, and $250 million to support local and regional
housing plans.
Caltrans will be hosting an informational webinar to provide an
overview of guidance that an inter-agency working group is
developing to implement recent updates to CEQA Statute and
Guidelines related to
SB 743, signed in 2013.
These guidance documents will address transportation impacts for
projects on the State Highway System, Caltrans review of local
land development, and traffic analysis methodologies.
CSAC’s top budget priority, a direct allocation of funding for
counties to tackle the homelessness crisis, is included in a
budget trailer bill awaiting final action by the Assembly today.
AB 101 reflects the final agreement between the Governor and
Legislature on housing and homelessness budget items for fiscal
year 2019-20. The measure includes $650 million to address the
homelessness crisis, $500 million for infrastructure grants to
support housing production, $500 million to support low-income
housing tax credits, $500 million for mixed-income housing
development, and $250 million to support local and regional
housing plans.
