Housing bill passes Senate, city works for major changes
Under bill, state could penalize city of Saratoga
Cities seek more flexibility
By Oakley Brooks
Saratoga officials are lamenting the recent passage of California Senate Bill 910 that would penalize cities for not having state-approved plans to meet housing needs.
The legislation passed the Senate by a 21-11 vote on June 4, and it now heads to the Assembly where it could face a vote as early as August.
In its current form, the bill would authorize the state to withhold up to 60 percent of the state gas-tax money that flows to an individual city if the state does not approve that city's plan for housing opportunities--known as a "housing element." The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove), said recently he's considering changing the penalty, so the state could prevent transfer of up to 15 percent of vehicle license fees, instead of withholding gas tax funds.
Either way, the money due the city would be held in a state escrow account until the state approved the city's housing plan.
The penalties would substantially affect Saratoga, which does not have a state-approved housing element. The city received $590,840 in gas tax money last year and around $1.5 million in vehicle license fees.
Under Dunn's bill, cities of Saratoga's size would also be liable for up to $100,000 in damages, should an individual bring suit against the city and its unapproved housing element.
City officials, however, say the fundamental problem with the bill is that it assumes a city's housing element is not viable until a member of the state housing staff approves it. That puts cities at the mercy of state staffers, and effectively transfers control over housing issues from cities to the state.
"It's a terrible piece of legislation," said Community Development Director Tom Sullivan.
The city is drafting a letter to state officials, opposing the progress of the Dunn bill in its current form.
The bill looms over Saratoga as the city tries to revise its housing element this year. It will address both the recommendation from the Association of Bay Area Governments for affordable housing and the pressing housing needs of the city's service sector.
The association has recommended that Saratoga develop 539 affordable units, priced for people with low to moderate incomes. As part of getting the state's stamp of approval on its housing element, Saratoga must develop a plan for how these units will be made available or built over the next six years.
City council members support meeting the regional housing requirement and having the state approve Saratoga's housing element. But it remains a "tall order," said Vice Mayor Nick Streit.
Meanwhile, Community Development Director Sullivan is working with a delegation led by the League of California Cities to reform the Dunn Bill.
The group wishes to make the housing element approval process more cooperative and prevent the state from taking on the role of enforcer. In a staff report to city council on June 20, Sullivan wrote that state housing staff will no longer have an incentive to work with cities, to deal with the intricacies of their housing issues. Instead, the staff would be more concerned with handing out penalties.
To allow time to modify the Dunn bill, the League of Cities is urging state officials to make it a two-year bill and delay voting on it this year. According to Sullivan, Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee Chairman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) indicated he'd like the bill to be extended over two years.
Dunn, would like to send the bill to Gov. Gray Davis by the end of this year.
"We're intent on installing some enforcement mechanism in housing-element law," said Mark Stivers, a member of Dunn's staff.
Local Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, (D-Saratoga) who sits on the housing and community development committee, may have a say in the bill's future. Cohn's chief of staff, Cris Forsythe, says the assemblywoman hasn't had a chance to review the bill in detail yet. He adds that, while she supports affordable housing initiatives, she wouldn't support a bill that would be "counterproductive to housing in some of her cities."
The Dunn legislation will head to an Assembly committee before July 15, and it could reach the Assembly floor for a vote after the legislature returns from summer recess on August 20.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
