Draft (a service for
AEP Members)
AEP Year-End Legislative Summary Report
October 17, 2001
New
Laws Taking Effect January 1, 2002
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SB
221 Kuehl - Land use: water supplies
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SB
610 Costa - Water supply planning
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AB
1532 Pavley – CEQA, notification, scoping meetings
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AB
1553 Keeley - Environmental justice: general plan guidelines
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AB
436 Chan – CEQA, focused environmental impact reports
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SB
784 Torlakson - Balancing jobs and growth
SB
221 Kuehl - Land use: water supplies (Chapter 642,
Statutes of 2001). Under the Subdivision Map Act, a legislative body of a
city or county is required to deny approval of a tentative map, or a
parcel map for which a tentative map is not required, if it makes any of
a number of specified findings. Under the Planning and Zoning Law, a
city, county, or city and county may not approve a development agreement
unless the legislative body finds that the agreement is consistent with
the general plan and any applicable specific plan.
SB
221 amends various sections of the Business and Professions Code and the
Government Code to ensure new housing development has adequate water
supplies. More
specificially, SB 221 prohibits approval of a tentative map, or a parcel
map, or a development agreement for a subdivision of property of more
than 500 dwelling units, unless the legislative body of a city or county
or the designated advisory agency provides written verification from the
applicable public water system that a sufficient water supply is
available or, in addition, a finding is made by the local agency that
sufficient water supplies are, or will be, available prior to completion
of the project.
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SB
610 Costa - Water supply planning (Chapter 643,
Statutes of 2001). Existing law requires public water systems to prepare
water supply assessments for projects that require either an EIR or
amendments to general or specific plans (or both). Existing law
prohibits an urban water supplier that fails to prepare or submit its
urban water management plan to the Department of Water Resources from
receiving drought assistance from the state until the plan is submitted.
SB
610 requires additional information to be included as part of an urban
water management plan if groundwater is identified as a source of water
available to the supplier. The
bill requires an urban water management plan to include a description of
all water supply projects and programs that may be undertaken to meet
total projected water use. Finally, SB 610 prohibits an urban water
supplier that fails to prepare or submit the plan to the department from
receiving funding made available from specified bond acts until the plan
is submitted.
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AB
1532 Pavley – CEQA, notification, scoping meetings
(Chapter 867, Statutes of 2001). CEQA
requires that certain transportation information developed in response
to CEQA requirements be submitted to the transportation planning agency
in the region where the project is located and to the Department of
Transportation when the project has impacts that are of statewide,
regional, or areawide significance.
CEQA also requires a lead agency to call at least one scoping
meeting for a proposed project of statewide, regional or areawide
significance affecting highways if the meeting is requested by CalTrans.
AB
1532 amends CEQA to add additional scoping for transportation projects
and projects of statewide, regional, or areawide significance.
More specifically, AB 1532 amends sections 21081.7, 21083.9
and 21092.2 of the Public Resources Code to require transportation
planning agencies and Caltrans to adopt guidelines for the submittal of
transportation-related information required to be produced pursuant to
CEQA. AB 1532 also makes at
least one scoping meeting mandatory for projects that affect highways
when requested by Caltrans, as well as for all projects of statewide,
regional, and areawide significance. It also requires specified notification of such scoping
meetings.
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AB
1553 Keeley - Environmental justice: general plan
guidelines (Chapter 762, Statutes of 2001).
Existing law defines the term 'environmental justice,'
provides that the Office of Planning and Research shall be the
coordinating agency in state government for environmental justice
programs, and requires that the Director of Planning and Research take
actions with respect to the implementation, coordination, and review of
environmental justice programs in the state. Existing law requires the
office to adopt guidelines for the preparation and content of the
mandatory elements required in city and county general plans.
AB
1553 amends the Government Code to
require OPR to adopt general plan guidelines for addressing
environmental justice. By
July 1, 2003 OPR is directed to adopt E.J. guidelines for city and
county general plans, and to hold at least one public hearing prior to
the release of any draft guidelines, and at least one public hearing
after the release of the draft guidelines. The bill would authorize the
hearings to be held at the regular meetings of OPR’s Planning Advisory
and Assistance Council.
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AB
436 Chan –
CEQA, focused environmental impact reports (Chapter 701, Statutes of
2001). CEQA authorizes the utilization of a focused EIR on any
project identified in a master EIR, if the lead agency finds that the
analysis in the MEIR of cumulative impacts, growth inducing impacts, and
irreversible significant effects on the environment is adequate for the
subsequent project.
AB
436 amends CEQA enabling the City of Oakland to use a focused EIR for
projects not identified in an MEIR.
More specifically, AB 436 adds Section 21158.6 to the Public
Resources Code to authorize, until January 1, 2005, preparation of a
focused environmental impact report for a project in the City of Oakland
that consists of multiple-family residential development, or a
residential and commercial or retail mixed-use development with not more
than 25% of the total floor area of the project utilized as retail
space, notwithstanding the fact that the project was not identified in a
MEIR, if certain additional conditions are met. Conditions to be met, include requirements that the project:
(a) is located in Oakland’s central business district housing target
areas, and (b) is consistent with a general plan, applicable specific
and community plans, zoning ordinances and variances, and that the
Oakland City Council vote to authorize the implementation of the bill.
§21158.6 also permits the exclusion of that vote and a related
determination by the council from the definition of 'project' for the
purposes of CEQA. Finally,
§21158.6 treats the Oakland exception as a pilot project rather than a
precedent by requiring the City of Oakland to report to OPR by July 1,
2004 on implementation of AB 436 and sunseting the operation of the bill
on January 1 2005.
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SB
244 Speier - Environmental quality: SFO airport
expansion (Chapter 534, Statutes of 2001).
In response to the unique circumstances of San Francisco
International Airport (owned and operated by the City and County of San
Francisco but located in San Mateo County on and adjacent to state
tidelands) and the significant environmental impacts of a proposed
expansion project at SFO, last year SB 1562 (Ch. 925, Statutes of 2000)
amended CEQA to add unique specificity to an EIR for the proposed
project. SB 1562 also added
conforming sections of law
to the State Aeronautics Act governing airports.
SB
244 makes minor changes to the SFO-specific provisions of CEQA and the
State Aeronautics Act relating to the same project. The purpose of
the amendments are to ensure adequate review time for this unique
project and to clarify the jurisdiction of responsible agencies
regarding the project. Specifically,
SB 244 amends CEQA to (a) clarify that a responsible agency includes an
agency that may be responsible for approving a plan for the property on
which the airport expansion will take place 9i.e., San Mateo County) and
(b) increase the public review period of the SFO Expansion Project DEIR
from 30 days to 120 days. The
State Aeronautics Act is amended to include a definition of “land”
to (a) included tide and submerged and public trust lands and (b)
clarify that current law requiring a detailed plan for lands to be
acquired for the SFO airport expansion includes tide and submerged and
public trust lands.
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SB
784 Torlakson - Balancing jobs and growth (Chapter
608, Statutes of 2001). The existing Jobs-Housing Balance Improvement Program
requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to make
grants to eligible local agencies for assistance in attracting new
business and jobs in 'housing rich' communities that lack an adequate
employment base to match the amount and cost of housing in those
communities, for the creation of economic development strike teams to
target and coordinate outreach to employees who may choose to locate
within the community, and for specified capital outlay projects designed
to encourage the construction of housing in urbanized areas.
SB 784 clarifies and
expands the use of State Jobs-Housing grant funds.
Funds appropriated pursuant to the Budget Act of 2000 and the
Budget Act of 2001, as well as funds appropriated thereafter for
purposes of the Jobs-Housing Balance Improvement Program are to be used
to award incentive grants to cities, counties, and city and counties to
be used for any project, service, or other local need determined by the
city, county, or city and county to be in the community's best interest.
The bill would authorize the department to operate the program through
at least one annual allocation. The bill would require a final report to
be issued within 12 months following the final allocation of funds.
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