California Assembly Bill AB2616 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2616AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Burke (Coauthor: Assembly Member Mark Stone) FEBRUARY 19, 2016 An act to amend Sections  30213 and 30301 of, and to add Section 30006.6 to,   30213, 30301, and 30604 of, and to repeal Section 30500.1 of,  the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2616, as amended, Burke. California Coastal Commission:  membership:  environmental justice. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, establishes the California Coastal Commission and prescribes the membership and functions and duties of the commission. Existing law provides that the commission consists of 15 members. This bill would increase the membership of the commission to 18 and would require 3 additional members to be appointed, one each by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly, who represent and work directly with communities in the state that are most burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution and issue of environmental justice, as defined. Existing law requires maximum access and recreational opportunities to be provided to the public in the state's coastal areas and, in that regard, requires lower cost visitor and recreational facilities to be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided. This bill would additionally require housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income to be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided in coastal areas.  The bill would also specify that the act does not preclude or otherwise restrict the consideration of environmental justice or the equitable distribution of environmental benefits in communities throughout the state.   Existing law provides that no local coastal program is required to include housing policies and programs.   This bill would repeal that provision.   Existing law requires any person, as defined, wishing to perform or undertake any development, as defined, in the coastal zone to obtain a permit, except as provided. Existing law prescribes a process for the certification of local coastal programs in the state and requires that, after certification of the coastal program, a coastal development permit be issued if the issuing agency, or the commission on appeal, finds that the proposed development is in conformity with the certified local coastal program.   This bill would authorize the issuing agency, or the commission on appeal, to consider environmental justice, as defined, or the equitable distribution of environmental benefits in communities throughout the state, when acting on a coastal development permit.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 30006.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 30006.6. This division shall not preclude or otherwise restrict the consideration of environmental justice, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 65040.12 of the Government Code, or the equitable distribution of environmental benefits in communities throughout the state.   SEC. 2.   SECTION 1.  Section 30213 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 30213. Lower cost visitor and recreational facilities and housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income shall be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided. Developments providing public recreational opportunities are preferred. The commission shall not do either of the following: (a) Require that overnight room rentals be fixed at an amount certain for any privately owned and operated hotel, motel, or other similar visitor-serving facility located on either public or private lands. (b) Establish or approve any method for the identification of low or moderate income persons for the purpose of determining eligibility for overnight room rentals in any of those facilities.  SEC. 3.   SEC. 2.  Section 30301 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 30301. The commission shall consist of the following 18 members: (a) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. (b) The Secretary of Transportation. (c) The Chairperson of the State Lands Commission. (d) Six representatives of the public from the state at large. The Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint two of these members. (e) Six representatives selected from six coastal regions. The Governor shall select one member from the north coast region and one member from the south central coast region. The Speaker of the Assembly shall select one member from the central coast region and one member from the San Diego coast region. The Senate Committee on Rules shall select one member from the north central coast region and one member from the south coast region. For purposes of this division, these regions are defined as follows: (1) The north coast region consists of the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino. (2) The north central coast region consists of the Counties of Sonoma and Marin and the City and County of San Francisco. (3) The central coast region consists of the Counties of San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. (4) The south central coast region consists of the Counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. (5) The south coast region consists of the Counties of Los Angeles and Orange. (6) The San Diego coast region consists of the County of San Diego. (f) Three representatives of, and who work directly with, communities in the state that are most burdened by, and vulnerable to, high levels of pollution and issues of environmental justice, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 65040.12 of the Government Code, including, but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and ethnic populations and communities with low-income populations. The Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one of these members.  SEC. 3.   Section 30500.1 of the   Public Resources Code   is repealed.   30500.1. No local coastal program shall be required to include housing policies and programs.   SEC. 4.   Section 30604 of the   Public Resources Code   is amended to read:  30604. (a) Prior to certification of the local coastal program, a coastal development permit shall be issued if the issuing agency, or the commission on appeal, finds that the proposed development is in conformity with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200) and that the permitted development will not prejudice the ability of the local government to prepare a local coastal program that is in conformity with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200). A denial of a coastal development permit on grounds it would prejudice the ability of the local government to prepare a local coastal program that is in conformity with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200) shall be accompanied by a specific finding that sets forth the basis for that conclusion. (b) After certification of the local coastal program, a coastal development permit shall be issued if the issuing  agency   agency,  or the commission on  appeal   appeal,  finds that the proposed development is in conformity with the certified local coastal program. (c) Every coastal development permit issued for any development between the nearest public road and the sea or the shoreline of any body of water located within the coastal zone shall include a specific finding that the development is in conformity with the public access and public recreation policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200). (d) No development or any portion thereof that is outside the coastal zone shall be subject to the coastal development permit requirements of this division, nor shall anything in this division authorize the denial of a coastal development permit by the commission on the grounds the proposed development within the coastal zone will have an adverse environmental effect outside the coastal zone. (e) No coastal development permit may be denied under this division on the grounds that a public agency is planning or contemplating to acquire the  property on,   property,  or property adjacent to the  property on,   property, on  which the proposed development is to be located, unless the public agency has been specifically authorized to acquire the property and there are funds available, or funds that could reasonably be expected to be made available within one year, for the acquisition. If a permit has been denied for that reason and the property has not been acquired by a public agency within a reasonable period of time, a permit may not be denied for the development on grounds that the property, or adjacent property, is to be acquired by a public agency when the application for such a development is resubmitted. (f) The commission shall encourage housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income. In reviewing residential development applications for low- and moderate-income housing, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (h) of Section 65589.5 of the Government Code, the issuing  agency   agency,  or the  commission,   commission  on appeal, may not require measures that reduce residential densities below the density sought by an applicant if the density sought is within the permitted density or range of density established by local zoning plus the additional density permitted under Section 65915 of the Government Code, unless the issuing agency or the commission on appeal makes a finding, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the density sought by the applicant cannot feasibly be accommodated on the site in a manner that is in conformity with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200) or the certified local coastal program. (g) The Legislature finds and declares that it is important for the commission to encourage the protection of existing and the provision of new affordable housing opportunities for persons of low and moderate income in the coastal zone.  (h) When acting on a coastal development permit, the issuing agency, or the commission on appeal, may consider environmental justice, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 65040.12 of the Government Code, or the equitable distribution of environmental benefits throughout the state.