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Home My WebLink AboutOpposition Letter - AB 2345 (Gonzalez) - 08.11.2020 August 11, 2020 The Honorable Lorena Gonzalez Assemblymember, 80th District State Capitol, Room 2114 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: AB 2345 (Gonzalez) – OPPOSE Dear Assemblymember Gonzalez, On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I am writing to express our opposition to AB 2345, your measure that would increase the density bonus, waivers, and concessions to developers using Density Bonus Law without requiring a commensurate level of affordability in return. While your intent is to incentivize the construction of more developments containing moderate - income units, we believe this bill will in fact discourage the development of low-income housing. Given the choice, we believe that a developer will likely choose to develop the moderate-income units because those developments will yield greater financial returns for the developer, and still allow for the same maximum density bonus as would be received for the development of low- or very low-income units. Additionally, the bill reduces the amount of parking a local government can require of a developer requesting a density bonus by .5 spaces. The City feels that this reduction amounts to an additional concession, and therefore the additional concessions that are made available through AB 2345 are unnecessary. Lastly, imposing additional density ignores local planning efforts, such as general plans and zoning ordinances, which encourage public engagement and are more responsive to community needs than the state determining where and how housing growth should occur. Local planning efforts are also better at anticipating necessary government services such as water, sewer, utilities, schools, and traffic flow. Local governments incorporate those considerations into growth projections and housing planning. It is for these reasons that the City of Cupertino has taken an oppose position on AB 2345. Sincerely, Steven Scharf Mayor City of Cupertino cc: Senator Jim Beall Assemblymember Evan Low Assemblymember Marc Berman