HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpposition Letter - SB 592 (Weiner) - 06.25.2019CITY OF
CUPERTINO
June 25, 2019
MAYOR STEVEN SCHARF
sscharf@cupertino.org
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3191 • FAX. (408) 777-3366
CUPERTINO.ORG
The Honorable Scott Weiner
California State Senate
State Capitol, Room 5100
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Oppose Senate Bill 592 (Weiner) - Housing Accountability Act
Dear Senator Weiner:
On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I am writing to express our opposition for your bill,
Senate Bill 592, which would make changes to the Housing Accountability Act (HAA).
Specifically, SB 592 would expand the definition of housing to add new single-family
homes, ADUs, and room additions; expand the HAA to apply to all ministerial, by -right,
or discretionary approvals; limits cities' ability to add conditions of approval or deny a
project based on discretionary standards that are not clearly objective; and authorizes a
plaintiff who is the project applicant to seek compensatory damages for a violation of
the Act.
The City believes that the current version of the HAA is sufficient to ensure that
developments comply with local standards and would not impact public health or safety.
The Legislature has made numerous modifications to the HAA, including significant
changes that went into effect in 2018. These new provisions of the HAA have been in
effect for only 18 months, hardly enough time to determine that the provisions are not
working and need to be expanded.
SB 592 would limit the City's ability to review housing developments to ensure that local
requirements are met. The bill would limit the ability of the City to add conditions of
approval based on established standards that have been put into place by the City and its
residents. Ultimately, this measure limits the City's ability to work with project
developers to determine the appropriate location, scale, and character of residential
development that will work best in communities. Also, the definition of "economic
viability" and the intent behind the bill language could lead to unintended consequences
and potential lawsuits. Additionally, the bill allows for developers to revise plans
submitted to municipalities in response to comments, but does not require any revisions
to include documentation stating what revisions were made and/or why. For the
purposes of responding to revisions in a timely manner, additional documentation
should be required upon making revisions. For these reasons, we would like to seek
further clarity in the bill.
For these reasons, the City of Cupertino must oppose SB 592.
Sincerely,
Steven Scharf
Mayor, City of Cupertino
cc: Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee members