California Assembly Bill 2097 (2022)
California Assembly Bill 2097 (AB 2097) is a 2022 California statute which prohibits California cities and other public agencies from mandating parking for most development projects within 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of a major transit stop. The law also establishes a "substantial hardship exception" which allows a public agency to impose a parking mandate within 0.5 miles of a major transit stop if the agency submits an application with evidence of a negative impact upon either the agency's ability to meet its RHNA obligations for low and very low income residents, disabled and elderly residents, or existing residential or commercial parking within 0.5 miles of a housing development project.
The law was drafted by Laura Friedman, and emanated from portions of California Senate Bill 50, an unsuccessful 2019 bill which would have both prohibited parking mandates within 0.5 miles of a major transit stop as well as mandated minimum four-plex residential zoning in the same locations. The bill was passed by both houses by August 30, 2022, and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 22, 2022.[1][2] Taking effect on January 1, 2023, California became the second state after Oregon to eliminate parking minimums near public transit.
Amendments
[edit]On September 19, 2024, Newsom signed into law AB 2553, which expanded both the definition of "major transit stop" under the California Environmental Quality Act to service frequency of 20 minutes or less, as well as eligibility for reduced traffic impact fees under the Mitigation Fee Act from "transit station" to "major transit stop".[3] Previously, CEQA defined “major transit stop” as the intersection of two or more major bus routes with service of 15 minutes or less during peak commute periods. By extension, AB 2553 expanded the number of locations prohibited from parking mandates under AB 2097.[4] The law also impacts the definition of "major transit stop" for several other laws, including the California Density Bonus Law, California HOME Act, CEQA, California Housing Accountability Act, the ADU law, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, and the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 (SB 4, sometimes referred to as the “Yes in God’s Backyard,” or “YIGBY” legislation).[5]
On September 22, 2024, Newsom signed AB 2712, also drafted by Friedman, into law, prohibiting the city of Los Angeles from issuing preferential parking permits to residents of new developments which are exempt from parking mandates under AB 2097 unless the city provides a written application for hardship.[6]
Subsequent compliance by cities
[edit]Several cities have since passed legislation to repeal parking mandates beyond the scope of AB 2097 and its amendments:
- Mountain View's City Council voted on November 12, 2024 to repeal parking mandates for housing developments in certain other areas slated for housing growth, as well as residential areas of mixed-use developments.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Weinberg, Abigail (23 September 2022). "California just struck a major blow to car culture". Mother Jones. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Bill Text - AB-2097 Residential, commercial, or other development types: parking requirements". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "Legislative Update: Ending Harmful Road Widening, and Redefining "Major Transit Stops" - Streetsblog California". cal.streetsblog.org. 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Falcone, Shannon (2024-09-16). "2024 Housing Legislation Overview: Major Pending Bills on the Governor's Desk". Coblentz Law. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "AB 2553: a Small Change with Big Consequences – How Five More Minutes Could Increase Transit-Oriented Development". www.coxcastle.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "Bill Status - AB-2712 Preferential parking privileges: transit-oriented development". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Margaretten, Emily (2024-11-13). "Mountain View eliminates parking requirements in areas slated for housing growth". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved 2024-11-21.