from Small Property Owners of San Francisco
State legislators are sponsoring a record setting 130 housing-related bills during this legislative session. Below are the most important.
Abolishing the Costa-Hawkins Act
AB 1506 (Bloom, D-Santa Monica, Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Bonta (D-Alameda), would repeal the state Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, giving all cities and counties the power to impose rent control ordinances, including vacancy control without limits. The bill’s authors decided not to move forward with the bill in 2017, but will take it up again in 2018. Position: Oppose
Weakening the Ellis Act
AB 982 (Bloom, D-Santa Monica), would expand the number of tenants entitled to receive a year’s notice from a landlord before that owner closes a building as allowed under the Ellis Act. Under current law, tenants who have lived in the unit for at least one year and are at least 62 years of age or are disabled are entitled to a year’s notice. Other tenants are entitled to a 120-day
notice. AB 982 would extend the one-year notice requirement to all tenants, regardless of age or disability. Position: Oppose
Undercut the Bonus Density Law
AB 915 (Ting, D-San Francisco) would allow San Francisco to count added density bonus units when calculating the total number of affordable units required for a development. The state’s density-bonus law incentivizes developers to include affordable housing in their projects. In exchange, developers get to build more market-rate units, helping their projects “pencil out.” AB 915, however, would force developers to price a portion of their density-bonus units at below market rate, thereby removing the very incentive that these bonuses are intended to create. The bill would undercut the state’s density-bonus law and make housing in San Francisco even more expensive. Position: Oppose
Labor-Related Bill Onerous to Rental Industry
AB 1008 (McCarthy, D-Sacramento) would make it unlawful for an employer to include on an employment application any question that seeks disclosure of an applicant’s criminal history, and bars employers from asking about any convictions until the employer makes a conditional job offer. The ability to screen for past criminal activity is particularly important in the rental housing industry, as employees work around children at rental properties and are granted access to tenants’ units and personal possessions. Position: Oppose
Curbing Ballot-Box No-Growth Measures
AB 943 (Santiago, D-Los Angeles) would require a ballot measure proposed by the voters to curb, delay, or deter growth or development to be approved by 55% of the voters instead of a simple majority. Position: Support
Fast-Tracking Housing Construction
SB 35 (Wiener, D-San Francisco) would move housing more quickly through the building permit process when developers meet certain standards. Position: Support
SB 540 (Roth, D-Riverside) would streamline the approval process to spur housing construction by having cities identify where housing needs to be built and adopting specific, upfront plans and conducting all necessary environmental reviews and public engagement. Position: Support
Boosting Housing Near Public Transit
AB 73 (Chiu, D-San Francisco) would incentivize local governments to complete upfront zoning and environmental reviews, and rewards them when they permit housing on infill sites around public transportation. Position: Support
Encouraging Affordable Housing
SB 2 (Atkins, D-San Diego) would establish a permanent funding source for affordable housing through a $75 fee on recorded documents; it exempts owner-occupied residential real-estate sales. Position: Support
SB 3 (Beall, D-San Jose) seeks to provide $3 billion through a statewide housing bond to fund affordable housing programs in California. Position: Support
SB 62 (Jackson, D-Santa Barbara) would create the Affordable Senior Housing Program under the Department of Housing and Community Development to guide the development of affordable senior housing dwelling units. Position: Support
Reprinted with permission of the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute (SPOSFI) News. For more information on becoming a member of SPOSFI or to send a tax-deductible donation, please visit their website at www.smallprop.org or call (415) 647-2419.