AB 168 · Housing Laws Navigator
Bills · 2019-2020 Session

AB 168

Planning and zoning: annual report: housing development: streamlined approvals.Ch. 166, Stats. 2020 · chaptered 2020-09-25 · Later amended

Key provisions · Claude summary of the digest, not bill text

Added tribal consultation requirements to SB 35 streamlined approvals and required annual reports to track tribal consultation in general plan work; took effect immediately as an urgency statute.

  • Annual report. Required annual reports to include progress in adopting or amending the general plan or open-space element in compliance with obligations to consult with California Native American tribes and protect specified places, features, and objects.
  • Notice of intent. Required development proponents to submit a notice of intent, in the form of a preliminary application, before applying for streamlined approval, with objective standards fixed at the earlier of the notice or application submittal.
  • Tribal scoping consultation. Required the local government to notify traditionally and culturally affiliated tribes and conduct a scoping consultation on potential tribal cultural resource effects, exempt from CEQA.
  • Ineligibility. Made projects ineligible for streamlining, and subject to CEQA, if the site is a listed tribal cultural resource, the parties do not agree no resource would be affected, or no enforceable treatment agreement is documented.
  • Subsequent consultation. Required notice to tribes of substantial changes after consultation and a subsequent consultation on request; did not apply to projects approved before the effective date.
  • Preliminary applications. Provided that later listing of a tribal cultural resource on a historic register is not precluded by, and is not a change in standards under, a preliminary application.
  • Urgency. Took effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Paraphrased from the Legislative Counsel’s Digest. Check the bill text before relying on it.

ClaudeGreen text is a summary heading written by Claude to help navigate. It is not statute text; the statute text is in black.

Preamble

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) There was an oversight in Senate Bill 35 (Chapter 366 of the Statutes of 2017), in that it did not consider the potential destruction of tribal cultural resources, listed on registers or potential.

(b) The Legislature desires to correct that oversight without losing any of the protections of the Assembly Bill 52 (Chapter 532 of the Statutes of 2014) process, which is contained within the California Environmental Quality Act.

(c) Tribal cultural resources can be found in both rural and urban environments and are often located off tribal reservations due to forced removals of California Native American tribes from their traditional lands.

(d) California Native American tribes with Tribal Historic Preservation Officers are responsible for the administration of any and all of the functions of a State Historic Preservation Officer with respect to tribal land and may maintain historic registers of resources within their traditional lands.

(e) Some tribal cultural resources have already been placed on federal, state, tribal, and local register lists and these register lists, including the recognized cultural value of those historic properties, should be properly considered when reviewing a proposed housing development project.

(f) Many tribal cultural resources are not on historic registers or lists for a variety of reasons, including the need to keep the location and use of these places confidential to protect their spiritual integrity and to help protect them from damage and desecration and because previous nomination and listing efforts may not have considered tribal cultural values.

(g) California Native American tribes have special expertise to identify, evaluate, and interpret tribal cultural resources because of their traditional aboriginal ties to their tribal homelands and the traditional cultural, ecological, and tribal knowledge that comes from those ancestral ties.

(h) Tribal cultural resources are critical to tribal government sovereignty and self-determination, and are essential elements in tribal cultural traditions, heritages, and identities, and as such the full consideration of them in all development processes is entitled to elevated scrutiny and protection.

(i) Existing law provides protection for Native American sacred places and tribal cultural resources, including, but not limited to, places of worship, religious or ceremonial sites, and sacred shrines.

(j) Avoidance and preservation in place is the preferred method for addressing potential tribal cultural resources and can often be better achieved through early identification of tribal cultural resources, which can then be integrated into development planning, including prior to project designs being finalized.

(k) Mitigation of impacts to, and culturally appropriate treatment of, listed or potential tribal cultural resources shall be the product of informed, meaningful, collaborative, and timely consultation between local governments and California Native American tribes that reflects the tribes’ values and preferences for treatment.

(l) Existing legislation and state policy recognizes the government status of California Native American tribes and their expertise concerning tribal cultural resources, and encourages early consultation with tribes regarding identification of potential tribal cultural resources and the development of methods to avoid and protect them.

(m) Senate Bill 35 (Chapter 366 of the Statutes of 2017) was a reaction to the housing affordability crisis in California.

(n) California Native American tribes do not support a weakening of the California Environmental Quality Act relative to tribal cultural resources or the government status of California Native American tribes, but are not opposed to affordable housing solutions that retain the intention and legal protections of Assembly Bill 52 (Chapter 532 of the Statutes of 2014).

(o) To correct the oversight of not considering the potential destruction of tribal cultural resources, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to do both of the following:

(1) Require local governments, California Native American tribes, and development proponents to engage in a scoping consultation process before the development proponent may submit an application for streamlined, ministerial approval and reach an agreement on the methods, measures, and conditions to address the treatment of tribal cultural resources.

(2) As part of the objective planning standards provided under Senate Bill 35 (Chapter 366 of the Statutes of 2017), provide that a housing development project is not eligible for streamlined, ministerial approval if there is a tribal cultural resource presently listed on a federal, state, tribal, or local historic register list that will be affected by the proposed development project.

(p) Early coordination between a development proponent and the California Native American tribe regarding potential concerns about the project details and location of the proposed project prior to the submission of a preliminary application or an application for streamlined development may also occur, and is not precluded.

SEC. 2In the navigator:§ 65400changes

Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 2.3In the navigator:§ 65400changes

Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 2.5In the navigator:§ 65400changes

Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 2.7In the navigator:§ 65400changes

Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 3In the navigator:§ 65913.4changes

Section 65913.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 3.5In the navigator:§ 65913.4changes

Section 65913.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 4In the navigator:§ 65941.1changes

Section 65941.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 5

(a) Section 2.3 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 2345. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2021, (2) each bill amends Section 65400 of the Government Code, (3) Senate Bill 1085 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (4) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 2345, in which case Section 65400 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 2 of this bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of Assembly Bill 2345, and Sections 2.5 and 2.7 of this bill shall not become operative.

(b) Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 1085. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2021, (2) each bill amends Section 65400 of the Government Code, (3) Assembly Bill 2345 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (4) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 1085, in which case Section 65400 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 2 of this bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of Assembly Bill 2345, and Sections 2.3 and 2.7 of this bill shall not become operative.

(c) Section 2.7 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by this bill, Assembly Bill 2345, and Senate Bill 1085. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) all three bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2021, (2) all three bills amend Section 65400 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 2345 and Senate Bill 1085, in which case Section 65400 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 2 of this bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of Assembly Bill 2345 and Senate Bill 1085, and Sections 2.3 and 2.5 of this bill shall not become operative.

SEC. 6

Section 3.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65913.4 of the Government Code proposed by this bill and Assembly Bill 831. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2021, (2) each bill amends Section 65913.4 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 831, in which case Section 65913.4 of the Government Code, as amended by Assembly Bill 831, shall remain operative only until the operative date of this bill, at which time Section 3.5 of this bill shall become operative, and Section 3 of this bill shall not become operative.

SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

SEC. 8

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure adequate consultation with California Native American tribes and preservation of tribal cultural resources with respect to the streamlined, ministerial approval of housing development projects provided in Section 65913.4 of the Government Code, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

Source: LegiScan API, chaptered text of AB 168 (2019-2020 Session).

Bill text is the chaptered version from LegiScan (California Legislature); spacing is normalized. Code section text in a bill is the text that bill chaptered, not necessarily the law in effect today. Not legal advice.