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5 kII Legislative Bill Action ................................ ............................... a transit village redevelopment project area, encompassing all land within a half mile of the rail transit station, using an ahemative definition of blight set forth in the bill. For the transit village project area, the time limit on debt incurrence would be 30 years (current law is 20 years), the time limit for plan effectiveness would be 40 years (same as current law for a redevelopment plan), and the time limit for the repayment of indebted- ness would be 60 years (current law is 50 years). Cities and advocates of higher - density devel- opment patterns around transit stations have long argued that a better financing tool is needed to upgrade the necessary infrastructure, address parking issues, and attract developers to build next to rail stations. With a projected population growth of 660,000 people per year, and the ex- pected increases in traffic congestion, the state needs to develop funding mechanisms which assist local efforts to concentrate growth and expand transit use. This measure is similar to a previous League - sponsored bill, SB 600 (Torlakson) of 2001. Please have your redevelop- ment and planning staff review this measure. Staff: Dan Carrigg, Status: Not yet assigned to committee, Position: Support SB 744 (Dunn). HCD State Housing Ao- countability Committee (HAC). SB 744 estab- lishes the Housing Accountability Committee (HAC) at the Department of Housing and Commu- nity Development (HCD). The committee would be empowered with the responsibility for hearing appeals from housing development applicants denied or granted approval with conditions by a local agency. The HAC membership would consist of the Director of the Housing and Com- munity Development Department (or appointed staff member), the Director of the Office of Plan- ning and Research (or appointed staff member), and three members appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. One of these three would have to be a member of a city council or board of supervisors, and one would have to have experience in the development of affordable housing. Under the bill, a developer could file an appeal with the HAC if the proposed housing development will meet any of the following requirements: 1) 10% of the units of the development are affordable to very low income households, 2) 20% of the units of the development are affordable to low income households, 3) 50% of the units of the development are affordable to moderate income households, and either. (a) the local agency has an adopted housing element that HCD has determined to be in compli- ance and the project is consistent with the general plan and zoning ordinance. or (b) the local agency has not adopted a housing element that HCD has found to be in substantial compliance with the law and the development is consistent with the jurisdiction's general plan land use designation (appears to not include zoning ordinances). The initial burden of proof would be on the applicant to prove it has met these require- ments. If the HAC finds that the local agency decision was unreasonable and inconsistent with local housing needs (defined in the RHNA process), it shall direct the local agency to issue any neces- sary approval or permit to the applicant. If the HAC finds, in the case of an approval with condi- tions, that the local agency decision renders the provision of housing infeasible and is inconsistent with local housing needs, it shall order the local agency to modify or remove any such conditions and issue the permit. If the HAC finds that the local agency decision is consistent with local housing needs, the local agency decision shall not be vacated. The HAC decision would be judicially enforceable. SB 744 also provides that a city that has met at least 10 percent of its housing need for the very low, low- and moderate -income categories during the preceding year, or 30 percent in each category over the preceding three years, shall receive priority eligibility in the award of competitive state grants for planning, infrastructure, commercial or industrial development. Although incentives are Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 11