The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. Existing law defines surplus land to generally mean land owned in fee simple by a local agency for which the local agencys governing body takes formal action in a public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and not necessary for the agencys use. Existing law defines agencys use to include land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agencys governing board, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations. Existing law excludes from agencys use commercial or industrial uses or activities, or property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue, unless the local agency is a district, except as specified, and the agencys governing body takes specified actions in a public meeting.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would require, if the district elects to use the above-described authority, the district to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034, containing specified information, including, among other things, the districts actions taken to assist unsheltered people. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes agencys use for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, and would make this provision operative only if SB 747 of the 202324 Regular Session is enacted as provided.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. Existing law defines surplus land to generally mean land owned in fee simple by a local agency for which the local agencys governing body takes formal action in a public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and not necessary for the agencys use. Existing law defines agencys use to include land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agencys governing board, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations. Existing law excludes from agencys use commercial or industrial uses or activities, or property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue, unless the local agency is a district, except as specified, and the agencys governing body takes specified actions in a public meeting.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would require, if the district elects to use the above-described authority, the district to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034, containing specified information, including, among other things, the districts actions taken to assist unsheltered people. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes agencys use for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, and would make this provision operative only if SB 747 of the 202324 Regular Session is enacted as provided.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. Existing law defines surplus land to generally mean land owned in fee simple by a local agency for which the local agencys governing body takes formal action in a public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and not necessary for the agencys use. Existing law defines agencys use to include land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agencys governing board, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations. Existing law excludes from agencys use commercial or industrial uses or activities, or property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue, unless the local agency is a district, except as specified, and the agencys governing body takes specified actions in a public meeting.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would require require, if the district elects to use the above-described authority, the district to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034, containing specified information, including, among other things, the districts actions taken to assist unsheltered people. By imposing new duties on the district, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes agencys use for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, and would make this provision operative only if SB 747 of the 202324 Regular Session is enacted as provided.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. Existing law defines surplus land to generally mean land owned in fee simple by a local agency for which the local agencys governing body takes formal action in a public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and not necessary for the agencys use. Existing law defines agencys use to include land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agencys governing board, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations. Existing law excludes from agencys use commercial or industrial uses or activities, or property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue, unless the local agency is a district, except as specified, and the agencys governing body takes specified actions in a public meeting.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would require the district to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034, containing specified information, including, among other things, the districts actions taken to assist unsheltered people. By imposing new duties on the district, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes agencys use for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. agency, and would make this provision operative only if SB 747 of the 202324 Regular Session is enacted as provided.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for County of Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes agencys use for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for County of Santa Clara.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the state, as appropriate, a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with cities and cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the state, as appropriate, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district.

This bill would additionally authorize the district to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the districts jurisdiction, in consultation with cities and the County of Santa Clara, as appropriate, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 1469

Author:(Kalra)

As Amended Ver:September 8, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District (the district) to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district's jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

Senate Amendments

Requires the district to report to the Legislature on specific outcomes from the authority to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors in the district's jurisdiction.

COMMENTS

Santa Clara Valley Water District: The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County's groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. The District is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection. Valley Water owns and manages 294 miles of streams and habitat, with a mission to protect more than 800 miles of streams throughout Santa Clara County. These areas include threatened and endangered species, sensitive habitats, and public infrastructure critical to water supply, groundwater recharge, and flood risk reduction activities.

According to Santa Clara Valley Water District, the sponsors of this bill, "In 2022, 77 percent of the unhoused population in Santa Clara County were unsheltered, with an estimated 2,300 taking refuge on Santa Clara Valley Water District property or land easements. Such circumstances have led to encampments along waterways, both a human and an environmental tragedy. The watersheds in Santa Clara County are prone to flash flooding, surprising unsheltered people and resulting in drownings or serious injury. These conditions also have increased community risks from fires and flooding due to blocked drainages, excavation of banks and levees, and the degradation of water quality from litter. Also degrading water quality is nutrient loading from human wastes that cause algal blooms that are harmful to natural and constructed aquatic habitat."

Due to the impacts of unsheltered people living on waterways and property managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the district is seeking to expand the purpose of its governing act to allow it to assist unsheltered people in consultation with cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the state. The Santa Clara Valley Water District have flexibility to access revenue from an existing one percent ad valorem property tax to help fund outreach, counseling, transitional housing, or other services for unsheltered people. Statutory and constitutional limits on how water rates and flood protection assessments may be spent are not impacted by this bill.

The District would be required to contract with the city, the County of Santa Clara, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people. This requirement will ensure that the District has appropriate partners with expertise in providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness before moving people out of the waterways.

Housing First: This bill would require any housing created by the Santa Clara Valley Water District as a result of this new authority to be Housing First. In 2018, the state required that all programs that serve people experiencing homelessness comply with Housing First. Decades of research demonstrate that evidence-based approaches like supportive housing – affordable housing coupled with wrap-around services – resolves homelessness for most individuals. Housing First is an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Over more than a decade, dozens of studies conducted across the country demonstrate that the costs of delivering supportive housing using a Housing First model are offset in large part by reductions in the use of crisis services, including shelters, jails, ambulances, and hospitals. Many state and local programs effectively utilize these evidence-based approaches to address homelessness; however, the number of people falling into homelessness continues to overwhelm the response system and surpasses the affordable housing stock in many communities. These factors lead to persistently high rates of homelessness despite recent state and local investments. Other strategies, such as rental assistance and help with identifying and securing housing (housing navigation) can also help with those individuals who need prevention tools to avoid homelessness.

Despite the overwhelming data and evidence that Housing First works to end homelessness, there is a growing national movement to roll back Housing First policies. This short-sighted and misleading push fails to recognize that Housing First is not the root cause of continued increases in homelessness; rather, it is the lack of affordable housing for lower income households. The federal government recently reasserted its commitment to Housing First in "All In: the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness" and emphasized the need to focus on data-driven solutions like permanent housing linked to wrap-around services that end homelessness.

According to the Author

"In Martin v. City of Boise, the [United States] Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored."

Arguments in Support

According to the sponsor, Santa Clara Valley Water District "has very limited authority to expend its revenue to assist unsheltered people and is left largely to collect the garbage while leaving the human health and safety risks unaddressed. AB 1469, by amending the purposes of our independent special district established in the District Act, will allow our agency more flexibility with some of its revenue and land resources. The intent is to construct transitional and supportive housing operated by a city, the County, or a non-profit to provide shelter that can improve outcomes for unsheltered people and assist Valley Water in fulfilling its mission of water supply and flood risk reduction in compliance with federal case law. This might require providing land or outreach services by contracting with the same non-profit entities working with area cities and the County. The goals are clear: humanely assist unsheltered people, improve outcomes, reduce flood and fire risk, and protect water quality for people and aquatic species."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

The Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Rule 28.8, determined that this bill does not possess significant fiscal impact and advanced this bill to the Senate Floor without a vote.

VOTES:

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

YES: Wicks, Joe Patterson, Wendy Carrillo, Gabriel, Kalra, Quirk-Silva, Sanchez, Ward

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 72-0-8

YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

ABS, ABST OR NV: Arambula, Juan Carrillo, Cervantes, Hart, Lee, McCarty, Ortega, Ward

UPDATED

VERSION: September 8, 2023

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0002331

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1469

Author: Kalra (D), et al.

Amended: 9/8/23 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 8-0, 7/5/23

AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Blakespear, Dahle, Durazo, Glazer, Skinner, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 72-0, 5/8/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Santa Clara Valley Water District

SOURCE: Santa Clara Valley Water District

DIGEST:

This bill allows the Santa Clara Valley Water District to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara.

Senate Floor Amendments of 9/8/23 enumerate the types of housing that Santa Clara Valley Water District can provide, clarify that required reports are only necessary if it exercises its new authority to assist unsheltered people, and make other technical and clarifying changes.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).
2. Allows SCVWD to do the following:
   1. Protect Santa Clara County from floodwater and stormwater of the district;
   2. Protect from that floodwater or stormwater the public highways, life, property in the district, and the watercourses and watersheds of streams flowing within the district;
   3. Provide for the conservation and management of floodwater, stormwater, recycled water, or other water for beneficial and useful purposes;
   4. Protect, save, store, recycle, distribute, transfer, exchange, manage, and conserve in any manner any of the waters;
   5. Increase, and prevent the waste or reduction of the district’s water supply;
   6. Obtain, retain, protect, and recycle drainage, stormwater, floodwater, or treated wastewater, or other water for beneficial uses;
   7. Enhance, protect, and restore streams, riparian corridors, and natural resources; and,
   8. Preserve open space in Santa Clara County and support the county park systems.
3. Requires a local agency that wants to dispose of property to follow specified procedures under the Surplus Land Act (SLA).
4. Defines “surplus land” as land owned by any local agency that is determined to be no longer necessary for the agency’s use.
5. Provides that properties considered “for agency use” do not have to follow the procedures of the SLA.

This bill:

1. Allows SCVWD to take the following actions to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals, in consultation with a city or Santa Clara County:
   1. Collect waste or biowaste;
      
   2. Contract with a city, Santa Clara County, or the state, to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people;
      
   3. Provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, transitional housing, affordable housing, and emergency housing facilities, as specified;
      
   4. Contract with nongovernmental entities to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing for unsheltered people. Any contract between the district and a nongovernmental entity must be in coordination with a city, the Continuum of Care, and Santa Clara County; and
   5. Any housing developed must be consistent with Housing First core components.
2. Provides that SCVWD’s use of land for these for the above purposes constitutes “agency’s use” under the Surplus Land Act. This provision is only operative if SB 747 (Caballero, 2023) is enacted and amends Section 54221 of the Government Code.
3. Requires SCVWD, if it elects to use the authority the bill provides, to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034. This report must include:
   1. A narrative description of how the authorizations in this section have been used to assist unsheltered people;
   2. The number of people housed;
   3. The number of housing projects developed and a description of each project;
   4. A description of any services provided to unsheltered people;
   5. Any written or oral public comments received at a duly noticed public hearing convened by the district not more than six months prior to the submittal of each report.
4. Makes various technical changes.

Background

The Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is the primary water resource agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages 10 local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County’s groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. SCVWD is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection. SCVWD generates revenue from various sources, including water rates, property taxes, and parcel taxes.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “In Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored.”
2. Mission creep? SCVWD is charged with providing water service, providing flood protection, and operating water infrastructure, as opposed to being a homelessness service provider. While helping provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness may not be part of SCVWD’s core competency, it is often forced into handling homelessness issues whether it wants to or not. Through its solid waste removal efforts, Measure S encampment funding, and MOA with the City of San Jose, SCVWD has taken strides within its existing authority to help address the impacts of homelessness. This bill both clarifies the existing powers SCVWD has used to address homelessness, and gives it new ones. For example, SCVWD already has various powers to protect and preserve its water supply. This bill explicitly authorizes SCVWD to collect waste and biowaste. SCVWD and San Jose have an MOU to coordinate encampment cleanup efforts, but, without this bill, SCVWD does not have the explicit power to provide all types of homelessness services. Does this bill provide SCVWD with too much additional power? Or, does it allow for SCVWD to step in where cities and counties lack capacity to do so on their own?
3. A complication. If a local agency retains land “for agency use,” it does not have to declare it “surplus” land or “exempt surplus land” and follow the procedures of the SLA. Since the SLA’s definition of agency use does not explicitly include land that an agency like SCVWD uses to provide housing for unsheltered individuals, these leasing or selling land for these purposes may end up subject to the SLA. This bill attempts to clarify how the SLA should treat these projects by declaring SCVWD’s use of land for these purposes meets the definition of agency use. Should SCVWD be able to consider selling or leasing of land for homelessness purposes to be agency use when other local agencies do not have a similar exemption?

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 34 (Umberg, 2023) creates a process for the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to determine whether land disposals in Orange County violate the ­SLA. The bill is currently pending on the Assembly Floor.

SB 229 (Umberg, 2023) requires a local agency to hold an open and public meeting if HCD notifies the local agency that its disposal of a parcel violates the SLA. The bill is currently pending on the Assembly Floor.

SB 693 (Seyarto, 2023) exempts certain parcels in the City of Murrieta from the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

SB 747 (Caballero, 2023) makes numerous changes to the SLA, including expanding the definition of agency use, and exempt surplus land. The bill is currently pending on the Assembly Floor.

AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 40, Statutes of 2023) included, among its many provisions, an exemption from the SLA for land acquired by a local agency under an adopted sectional area plan.

AB 457 (Joe Patterson, 2023) creates an exemption from the SLA for parcels abutting a state highway right-of-way that a local agency identified in its circulation element or capital improvement plan for future roadway development. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.

AB 480 (Ting, 2023) changes the penalty provisions of the SLA and makes procedural changes to noticing provisions that apply to “surplus land” and “exempt surplus land” disposed of by local agencies subject to the SLA. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.

AB 837 (Alvarez, 2023) creates an exemption from the SLA for land acquired by a local agency under an adopted sectional area plan. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

AB 939 (Pellerin, Chapter 170, Statutes of 2023) makes various changes to the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act, including how its board members receive compensation, and how SCVWD finances its projects.

AB 983 (Cervantes, 2023) expands the definition of exempt surplus land to include land designated in an adopted downtown revitalization plan not to exceed 1.1 square miles and includes residential, commercial, office, civic, and hospitality uses. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.

AB 1734 (Jones-Sawyer, 2023) exempts certain housing and homelessness projects from the SLA in local agencies that have declared a local homelessness emergency and meet other requirements. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.

SB 519 (Beall, 2017) would have authorized SCVWD to engage in acts the Board of Directors deems appropriate and beneficial to reduce impacts from camping, construction, and the discharge or disposal of waste in and around waterways within its jurisdiction. The measure was later amended to cover a different topic.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/11/23)

Santa Clara Valley Water District (source)
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Association of California Water Agencies
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Special Districts Association
City of Cupertino
City of Palo Alto
City of San Jose
City of Santa Clara
Compassion Center
County of Santa Clara
Destination: Home

Gilroy City Council Member Zach Hilton
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley
Homefirst Services of Santa Clara County
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Pitstop Outreach
San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch of the NAACP
Sustainable Silicon Valley

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/11/23)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 72-0, 5/8/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Juan Carrillo, Cervantes, Hart, Lee, McCarty, Ortega, Ward

Prepared by: Jonathan Peterson / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119

9/11/23 12:47:43

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

Senator Anna M. Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Santa Clara Valley Water District

Allows the Santa Clara Valley Water District to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara.

Background

Santa Clara Valley Water District. The Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is the primary water resource agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages 10 local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County’s groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. SCVWD is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection.

To carry about these duties, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act allows SCVWD to:

• Protect Santa Clara County from floodwater and stormwater of the district;
• Protect from that floodwater or stormwater the public highways, life, property in the district, and the watercourses and watersheds of streams flowing within the district;
• Provide for the conservation and management of floodwater, stormwater, recycled water, or other water for beneficial and useful purposes;
• Protect, save, store, recycle, distribute, transfer, exchange, manage, and conserve in any manner any of the waters;
• Increase, and prevent the waste or reduction of the district’s water supply;
• Obtain, retain, protect, and recycle drainage, stormwater, floodwater, or treated wastewater, or other water for beneficial uses;
• Enhance, protect, and restore streams, riparian corridors, and natural resources; and
• Preserve open space in Santa Clara County and support the county park systems.

SCVWD generates revenue from various sources, including water rates, property taxes, and parcel taxes.

To fulfill its obligation to prevent pollution in and around its waterways, SCVWD currently partners with local agencies and homelessness advocacy groups to reduce the impact of solid waste. The District assisted in the removal of 13,487 cubic yards of trash and debris from various waterways in Santa Clara County during the 2021-22 fiscal year. In 2020, SCVWD voters passed Measure S, which extended a $0.006 per square foot parcel tax, to fund various district programs and activities, including $500,000 annually for cost-share agreements to provide services related to homeless encampment cleanups. SCVWD’s Good Neighbor Program, a program the District funds with money from Measure S, targets specific waste hot spot locations for cleanup. SCVWD and the City of San José have entered into Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) to coordinate efforts to clean up encampments, provide outreach services, offer housing, remove trash rafts, and to manage other areas heavily impacted by trash and litter. While the District has MOAs with Gilroy and Sunnyvale, it has not successfully negotiated an MOA with Santa Clara County. According to SCVWD, these MOAs have had limited success because there is insufficient transitional or emergency interim housing available to unsheltered people, and it can only fund programs with a direct nexus to water supply or flood protection.

California’s homelessness crisis. According to the most recent point in time (PIT) count, 171,521 people were experiencing homelessness in California—representing 30% of the nation’s homeless population. Two-thirds of the homeless population in California is unsheltered. Over half (51%) of all unsheltered people in the U.S. were in California. Existing homelessness counts are imperfect for a variety of reasons. They likely underestimate the number of individuals experiencing homelessness because the federal PIT count only measures the homeless population on one day of the year. Moreover, the PIT count does not capture everyone experiencing homelessness, as some do not wish to be counted and others cannot be counted because their location is unknown to those counting. California has the largest concentration of severely unaffordable housing markets in the nation and the statewide average home value reached a new record in June 2022 at $793,300. Over three-quarters (78%) of extremely low-income households in California are paying more than half of their income on housing costs compared to just 6% of moderate-income households.

The Committee has held two homelessness informational hearings over the past two years. In the joint hearing held by this Committee and four others on February 24, 2021, titled “A Perfect Storm: Confronting California’s Homelessness Crisis during the Pandemic,” the Committees examined the impact of homelessness on the state, and found that the way the homelessness crisis has evolved because of the pandemic is relatively unknown because the available data predates the pandemic.

In 2018, the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Martin v. City of Boise that cities could not prohibit individuals experiencing homelessness from camping in public places (e.g. sidewalks, public parks) unless the city had adequate shelter available. As a result of this ruling, California cities can no longer arrest, charge fines, or punish people for camping out in public if adequate shelter space is unavailable.

Recent state expenditures to address homelessness. To help address the persistent crisis, the state has increased funding for various homelessness programs. From 2018-19 to 2021-22, the state has allocated $2.65 billion to California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) homelessness programs. The largest of these programs is the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAPP), which provides block grants to large cities, counties, continuums of care (CoCs), and tribal governments, to address homelessness using a variety of means. These include rapid rehousing, operating subsidies, street outreach, services coordination, delivery of permanent and innovative housing solutions, and homelessness prevention. The state has also invested billions more for other housing and homelessness programs in other state agencies. This includes Project Homekey, a program the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) administers to purchase and rehabilitate housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, and other types of housing to convert them into permanent, long-term housing for those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. The state allocated $2.25 billion to Project Homekey between 2018-19 and 2021-22.

Housing first. In 2016, the state’s efforts to address homelessness shifted to the Housing First model. Housing First is an evidence-based strategy that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed or voluntarily requested, and does not make housing contingent on participation in services. The federal government has shifted to a Housing First approach over the last decade, and HUD housing programs utilize core components of this strategy. Since the implementation of this model, chronic homelessness in the U.S. has decreased 27% between 2010 and 2016. Housing First was first embraced in California as a result of SB 1380 (Mitchell, 2016), which requires all state housing programs to adopt this model. SB 1380 established the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) to oversee implementation of Housing First regulations and to coordinate resources, benefits, and services aimed to prevent and end homelessness in California.

Surplus Lands Act (SLA). Public agencies are major landlords in some communities, owning significant pieces of real estate. When properties become surplus to their needs, public officials want to sell the land to recoup their investments. The SLA spells out the steps local agencies must follow when they want to dispose of land. It requires local governments to give a “first right of refusal” to other governments and nonprofit housing developers, and to negotiate in good faith with them to try to come to agreement.

Before local officials can dispose of property, they must declare in a public meeting the land is no longer needed for the agency’s use and declare the land either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land.” Agency use includes land being used, or planned to be used pursuant to a written plan that the local agency’s governing board adopts, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations.

The SLA designates certain types of land as “exempt surplus land,” which does not have to meet the requirements of the SLA. All other surplus land must follow the procedures laid out in the SLA before a local agency can sell it.

Before an agency can enter into negotiations to sell surplus land, it must send a written notice of availability to various public agencies and nonprofit groups, referred to as “housing sponsors,” notifying them that land is available.

SCVWD wants to take actions to assist unsheltered people living within its jurisdiction.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 1469 allows SCVWD to take the following actions to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals, in consultation with a city or Santa Clara County:

• Collect waste or biowaste;
• Contract with a city, Santa Clara County, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people;
• Provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people;
• Contract with nongovernmental entities to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing for unsheltered people. Any contract between the district and a nongovernmental entity must be in coordination with a city or Santa Clara County; and
• Any housing developed must be consistent with Housing First core components.

AB 1469 provides that SCVWD’s use of land for these for these purposes constitutes “agency’s use” under the SLA.

The bill also makes technical changes.

State Revenue Impact

No estimate.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “In Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored.”

2. Mission creep? The SCVWD is charged with preventing pollution and commencing, maintaining, and defending actions that prevent any interference with its waterways. As evidenced by the efforts of many different types of groups such as law enforcement and social services agencies that are involved in the effort to clean up homeless encampments in Santa Clara County, homelessness can be an exceedingly complex issue. SCVWD is charged with providing water service, providing flood protection, and operating water infrastructure, as opposed to being a homelessness service provider. While helping provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness may not be part of SCVWD’s core competency, it is often forced into handling homelessness issues whether it wants to or not. According to Santa Clara Valley Water District:

In 2022, 77 percent of the unhoused population in Santa Clara County were unsheltered, with an estimated 2,300 taking refuge on Santa Clara Valley Water District property or land easements. Such circumstances have led to encampments along waterways, both a human and an environmental tragedy. The watersheds in Santa Clara County are prone to flash flooding, surprising unsheltered people and resulting in drownings or serious injury. These conditions also have increased community risks from fires and flooding due to blocked drainages, excavation of banks and levees, and the degradation of water quality from litter. Also degrading water quality is nutrient loading from human wastes that cause algal blooms that are harmful to natural and constructed aquatic habitat.

Through its solid waste removal efforts, Measure S encampment funding, and MOA with the City of San Jose, SCVWD has taken strides within its existing authority to help address the impacts of homelessness. AB 1469 both clarifies the existing powers SCVWD has used to address homelessness, and gives it new ones. For example, SCVWD already has various powers to protect and preserve its water supply. AB 1469 makes explicitly authorizes SCVWD to collect waste and biowaste. SCVWD and San Jose have an MOU to coordinate encampment cleanup efforts, but, without AB 1469, SCVWD does not have the explicit power to provide all types of homelessness services. On the one hand, AB 1469 expands SCVWDs authority to include powers where it may have limited expertise, such as the provision of services to individuals experiencing homelessness, which cities and counties typically provide. On the other hand, SCVWD argues that:

Cities and the County are overwhelmed and have their own public lands that are severely impacted by encampments. With an extreme shortage of very low- and low-income affordable housing, there simply isn’t enough transitional or emergency interim housing to offer. That leaves Valley Water with a growing human and environmental tragedy unfolding on Valley Water-managed public lands. All that Valley Water can do is collect the trash and waste, provide warnings of flood danger, and accept that millions of dollars of restored habitat to support threatened and endangered species will be lost.

Does AB 1469 provide SCVWD with too much additional power? Or, does it allow for SCVWD to step in where cities and counties lack capacity to do so on their own? The Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to require SCVWD to report on how it used these expanded powers on a regular basis to allow the Legislature to assess whether these new responsibilities are necessary duties of water districts.

3. Who’s going to pay? SCVWD has a lot of work on its hands. SCVWD anticipates its rates will increase between 8%-14.5% annually to maintain current service levels and complete infrastructure projects like Anderson Dam. Does the District have the financial capacity to expand its powers without placing additional burdens on ratepayers or taxpayers? According to SCVWD, to the extent additional financial resources prove necessary, those funds would come from the District’s existing share of property tax revenue. Statutory and constitutional limits on how water rates and flood protection assessments may be spent are not impacted by this bill. According to SCVWD, “The concept isn’t to expend large sums of money or increase rates; it is to gain the flexibility to fund some necessary services. Primarily the goal of this bill is to leverage land, which Valley Water already owns, to help solve a seemingly intractable problem created by the confluence of rapidly escalating numbers of unsheltered people, skyrocketed land values, and the 2019 Martin v. City of Boise decision.” Can the SCVWD find resources to carry out these new responsibilities without taking resources away from their other responsibilities?

4. Jumping into the arena. AB 1469 allows SCVWD to provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people. While the District does not currently use land for this purpose, it does see an opportunity to use the property it already has to work with other local agencies to provide services for individuals experiencing homelessness, rather than require those agencies, or nonprofit organizations, to acquire additional land in the relatively expensive Santa Clara real estate market. While managing land for these specific purposes is new, SCVWD does have a real estate division that manages its various properties, some of which are residential properties the District purchased for future construction of flood control infrastructure. Its real estate unit manages these properties until project construction necessitates their vacancy, demolition, or other use. The District does not plan to provide direct services at these properties, but instead it intends to contract with cities, the County, or nonprofits (in coordination with a city or the County), for services the District cannot provide.

5. A complication. If a local agency retains land “for agency use,” it does not have to declare it “surplus” land or “exempt surplus land” and follow the procedures of the SLA. Since the SLA’s definition of agency use does not explicitly include land that an agency like SCVWD uses to provide housing for unsheltered individuals, these arrangements may end up subject to the SLA. AB 1469 attempts to clarify how the SLA should treat these projects by declaring SCVWD’s use of land for these purposes meets the definition of agency use. Since AB 1486 (Ting, 2019) expanded the scope of the SLA, local agencies have sought relief from these provisions so they can use land without offering it first for affordable housing and negotiating with any providers that state their interest. The Legislature is considering numerous other proposals that provide specific provisions or exemptions regarding surplus land:

• SB 34 (Umberg, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 6-2 vote at its April 19^th hearing, creates a process for HCD to determine whether land disposals in Orange County violate the ­SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• SB 229 (Umberg, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 6-1 vote at its April 19^th hearing, requires a local agency to hold an open and public meeting if HCD notifies the local agency that its disposal of a parcel violates the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• SB 693 (Seyarto, 2023) exempts certain parcels in the City of Murrieta from the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
• SB 747 (Caballero, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 8-0 vote at its April 12^th hearing, makes numerous changes to the Surplus Land Act, including expanding the definition of agency use, and exempt surplus land. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
• AB 129 (Committee on Budget, 2023) includes, among its many provisions, an exemption from the SLA for land acquired by a local agency under an adopted sectional area plan. The bill is currently on the Governor’s desk.
• AB 457 (Joe Patterson, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 8-0 vote at its June 28^th hearing, creates an exemption from the Surplus Land Act (SLA) for parcels abutting a state highway right-of-way that a local agency identified in its circulation element or capital improvement plan for future roadway development. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.
• AB 480 (Ting, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 6-1 vote at its June 28^th hearing, changes the penalty provisions of the SLA and makes procedural changes to noticing provisions that apply to “surplus land” and “exempt surplus land” disposed of by local agencies subject to the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Housing Committee.
• AB 837 (Alvarez, 2023) creates an exemption from the SLA for land acquired by a local agency under an adopted sectional area plan. The bill is pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
• AB 983 (Cervantes, 2023) expands the definition of exempt surplus land to include land designated in an adopted downtown revitalization plan not to exceed 1.1 square miles and includes residential, commercial, office, civic, and hospitality uses. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• AB 1734 (Jones-Sawyer, 2023) Exempts certain housing and homelessness projects from the SLA in local agencies that have declared a local homelessness emergency and meet other requirements. The bill is also scheduled for this Committee’s July 5^th meeting.

SB 747 seeks to address broader concerns over the SLA compared to many of these bills that provide more tailored flexibility to particular agencies, or types of projects. If enacted, SB 747 could reduce the need to pursue one-off legislation. To help address broader SLA concerns without the need for piecemeal legislation, the Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to make its SLA provision’s enactment contingent on SB 747’s enactment.

6. Previous legislation. SB 519 (Beall, 2017) would have authorized SCVWD to engage in acts the Board of Directors deems appropriate and beneficial to reduce impacts from camping, construction, and the discharge or disposal of waste in and around waterways within its jurisdiction. The measure was later amended to cover a different topic.

7. Related legislation. AB 939 (Pellerin, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 7-0 vote at its June 7^th hearing, makes various changes to the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act, including how its board members receive compensation, and how SCVWD finances its projects. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.

8. Special legislation. Section 16 of Article Four of the California Constitution prohibits special legislation when a general law can apply. AB 1469 contains findings and declarations explaining the need for legislation that applies only to the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Housing and Community Development: 8-0
Assembly Floor: 72-0

Support and Opposition

(6/30/23)

Support: Santa Clara Valley Water District (Sponsor)
City of Gilroy Council Member Zach Hilton
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
California Municipal Utilities Association
City of Cupertino
City of Palo Alto
City of San Jose
City of Santa Clara
Compassion Center
County of Santa Clara
Destination: Home
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley
Homefirst Services of Santa Clara County
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Pitstop Outreach
Sustainable Silicon Valley

Opposition: None received.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

Senator Anna M. Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Santa Clara Valley Water District

Allows the Santa Clara Valley Water District to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara.

Background

Santa Clara Valley Water District. The Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) is the primary water resource agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages 10 local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County’s groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. SCVWD is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection.

To carry about these duties, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act allows SCVWD to:

• Protect Santa Clara County from floodwater and stormwater of the district;
• Protect from that floodwater or stormwater the public highways, life, property in the district, and the watercourses and watersheds of streams flowing within the district;
• Provide for the conservation and management of floodwater, stormwater, recycled water, or other water for beneficial and useful purposes;
• Protect, save, store, recycle, distribute, transfer, exchange, manage, and conserve in any manner any of the waters;
• Increase, and prevent the waste or reduction of the district’s water supply;
• Obtain, retain, protect, and recycle drainage, stormwater, floodwater, or treated wastewater, or other water for beneficial uses;
• Enhance, protect, and restore streams, riparian corridors, and natural resources; and
• Preserve open space in Santa Clara County and support the county park systems.

SCVWD generates revenue from various sources, including water rates, property taxes, and parcel taxes.

To fulfill its obligation to prevent pollution in and around its waterways, SCVWD currently partners with local agencies and homelessness advocacy groups to reduce the impact of solid waste. The District assisted in the removal of 13,487 cubic yards of trash and debris from various waterways in Santa Clara County during the 2021-22 fiscal year. In 2020, SCVWD voters passed Measure S, which extended a $0.006 per square foot parcel tax, to fund various district programs and activities, including $500,000 annually for cost-share agreements to provide services related to homeless encampment cleanups. SCVWD’s Good Neighbor Program, a program the District funds with money from Measure S, targets specific waste hot spot locations for cleanup. SCVWD and the City of San José have entered into Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) to coordinate efforts to clean up encampments, provide outreach services, offer housing, remove trash rafts, and to manage other areas heavily impacted by trash and litter. While the District has MOAs with Gilroy and Sunnyvale, it has not successfully negotiated an MOA with Santa Clara County. According to SCVWD, these MOAs have had limited success because there is insufficient transitional or emergency interim housing available to unsheltered people, and it can only fund programs with a direct nexus to water supply or flood protection.

California’s homelessness crisis. According to the most recent point in time (PIT) count, 171,521 people were experiencing homelessness in California—representing 30% of the nation’s homeless population. Two-thirds of the homeless population in California is unsheltered. Over half (51%) of all unsheltered people in the U.S. were in California. Existing homelessness counts are imperfect for a variety of reasons. They likely underestimate the number of individuals experiencing homelessness because the federal PIT count only measures the homeless population on one day of the year. Moreover, the PIT count does not capture everyone experiencing homelessness, as some do not wish to be counted and others cannot be counted because their location is unknown to those counting. California has the largest concentration of severely unaffordable housing markets in the nation and the statewide average home value reached a new record in June 2022 at $793,300. Over three-quarters (78%) of extremely low-income households in California are paying more than half of their income on housing costs compared to just 6% of moderate-income households.

The Committee has held two homelessness informational hearings over the past two years. In the joint hearing held by this Committee and four others on February 24, 2021, titled “A Perfect Storm: Confronting California’s Homelessness Crisis during the Pandemic,” the Committees examined the impact of homelessness on the state, and found that the way the homelessness crisis has evolved because of the pandemic is relatively unknown because the available data predates the pandemic.

In 2018, the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Martin v. City of Boise that cities could not prohibit individuals experiencing homelessness from camping in public places (e.g. sidewalks, public parks) unless the city had adequate shelter available. As a result of this ruling, California cities can no longer arrest, charge fines, or punish people for camping out in public if adequate shelter space is unavailable.

Recent state expenditures to address homelessness. To help address the persistent crisis, the state has increased funding for various homelessness programs. From 2018-19 to 2021-22, the state has allocated $2.65 billion to California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) homelessness programs. The largest of these programs is the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAPP), which provides block grants to large cities, counties, continuums of care (CoCs), and tribal governments, to address homelessness using a variety of means. These include rapid rehousing, operating subsidies, street outreach, services coordination, delivery of permanent and innovative housing solutions, and homelessness prevention. The state has also invested billions more for other housing and homelessness programs in other state agencies. This includes Project Homekey, a program the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) administers to purchase and rehabilitate housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, and other types of housing to convert them into permanent, long-term housing for those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. The state allocated $2.25 billion to Project Homekey between 2018-19 and 2021-22.

Housing first. In 2016, the state’s efforts to address homelessness shifted to the Housing First model. Housing First is an evidence-based strategy that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed or voluntarily requested, and does not make housing contingent on participation in services. The federal government has shifted to a Housing First approach over the last decade, and HUD housing programs utilize core components of this strategy. Since the implementation of this model, chronic homelessness in the U.S. has decreased 27% between 2010 and 2016. Housing First was first embraced in California as a result of SB 1380 (Mitchell, 2016), which requires all state housing programs to adopt this model. SB 1380 established the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) to oversee implementation of Housing First regulations and to coordinate resources, benefits, and services aimed to prevent and end homelessness in California.

Surplus Lands Act (SLA). Public agencies are major landlords in some communities, owning significant pieces of real estate. When properties become surplus to their needs, public officials want to sell the land to recoup their investments. The SLA spells out the steps local agencies must follow when they want to dispose of land. It requires local governments to give a “first right of refusal” to other governments and nonprofit housing developers, and to negotiate in good faith with them to try to come to agreement.

Before local officials can dispose of property, they must declare in a public meeting the land is no longer needed for the agency’s use and declare the land either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land.” Agency use includes land being used, or planned to be used pursuant to a written plan that the local agency’s governing board adopts, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations.

The SLA designates certain types of land as “exempt surplus land,” which does not have to meet the requirements of the SLA. All other surplus land must follow the procedures laid out in the SLA before a local agency can sell it.

Before an agency can enter into negotiations to sell surplus land, it must send a written notice of availability to various public agencies and nonprofit groups, referred to as “housing sponsors,” notifying them that land is available.

SCVWD wants to take actions to assist unsheltered people living within its jurisdiction.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 1469 allows SCVWD to take the following actions to assist unsheltered people living along streams, riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals, in consultation with a city or Santa Clara County:

• Collect waste or biowaste;
• Contract with a city, Santa Clara County, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people;
• Provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people;
• Contract with nongovernmental entities to provide outreach, counseling, transitional or long-term housing for unsheltered people. Any contract between the district and a nongovernmental entity must be in coordination with a city or Santa Clara County; and
• Any housing developed must be consistent with Housing First core components.

AB 1469 provides that SCVWD’s use of land for these for these purposes constitutes “agency’s use” under the SLA.

The bill also makes technical changes.

State Revenue Impact

No estimate.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, “In Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored.”

2. Mission creep? The SCVWD is charged with preventing pollution and commencing, maintaining, and defending actions that prevent any interference with its waterways. As evidenced by the efforts of many different types of groups such as law enforcement and social services agencies that are involved in the effort to clean up homeless encampments in Santa Clara County, homelessness can be an exceedingly complex issue. SCVWD is charged with providing water service, providing flood protection, and operating water infrastructure, as opposed to being a homelessness service provider. While helping provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness may not be part of SCVWD’s core competency, it is often forced into handling homelessness issues whether it wants to or not. According to Santa Clara Valley Water District:

In 2022, 77 percent of the unhoused population in Santa Clara County were unsheltered, with an estimated 2,300 taking refuge on Santa Clara Valley Water District property or land easements. Such circumstances have led to encampments along waterways, both a human and an environmental tragedy. The watersheds in Santa Clara County are prone to flash flooding, surprising unsheltered people and resulting in drownings or serious injury. These conditions also have increased community risks from fires and flooding due to blocked drainages, excavation of banks and levees, and the degradation of water quality from litter. Also degrading water quality is nutrient loading from human wastes that cause algal blooms that are harmful to natural and constructed aquatic habitat.

Through its solid waste removal efforts, Measure S encampment funding, and MOA with the City of San Jose, SCVWD has taken strides within its existing authority to help address the impacts of homelessness. AB 1469 both clarifies the existing powers SCVWD has used to address homelessness, and gives it new ones. For example, SCVWD already has various powers to protect and preserve its water supply. AB 1469 makes explicitly authorizes SCVWD to collect waste and biowaste. SCVWD and San Jose have an MOU to coordinate encampment cleanup efforts, but, without AB 1469, SCVWD does not have the explicit power to provide all types of homelessness services. On the one hand, AB 1469 expands SCVWDs authority to include powers where it may have limited expertise, such as the provision of services to individuals experiencing homelessness, which cities and counties typically provide. On the other hand, SCVWD argues that:

Cities and the County are overwhelmed and have their own public lands that are severely impacted by encampments. With an extreme shortage of very low- and low-income affordable housing, there simply isn’t enough transitional or emergency interim housing to offer. That leaves Valley Water with a growing human and environmental tragedy unfolding on Valley Water-managed public lands. All that Valley Water can do is collect the trash and waste, provide warnings of flood danger, and accept that millions of dollars of restored habitat to support threatened and endangered species will be lost.

Does AB 1469 provide SCVWD with too much additional power? Or, does it allow for SCVWD to step in where cities and counties lack capacity to do so on their own? The Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to require SCVWD to report on how it used these expanded powers on a regular basis to allow the Legislature to assess whether these new responsibilities are necessary duties of water districts.

3. Who’s going to pay? SCVWD has a lot of work on its hands. SCVWD anticipates its rates will increase between 8%-14.5% annually to maintain current service levels and complete infrastructure projects like Anderson Dam. Does the District have the financial capacity to expand its powers without placing additional burdens on ratepayers or taxpayers? According to SCVWD, to the extent additional financial resources prove necessary, those funds would come from the District’s existing share of property tax revenue. Statutory and constitutional limits on how water rates and flood protection assessments may be spent are not impacted by this bill. According to SCVWD, “The concept isn’t to expend large sums of money or increase rates; it is to gain the flexibility to fund some necessary services. Primarily the goal of this bill is to leverage land, which Valley Water already owns, to help solve a seemingly intractable problem created by the confluence of rapidly escalating numbers of unsheltered people, skyrocketed land values, and the 2019 Martin v. City of Boise decision.” Can the SCVWD find resources to carry out these new responsibilities without taking resources away from their other responsibilities?

4. Jumping into the arena. AB 1469 allows SCVWD to provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people. While the District does not currently use land for this purpose, it does see an opportunity to use the property it already has to work with other local agencies to provide services for individuals experiencing homelessness, rather than require those agencies, or nonprofit organizations, to acquire additional land in the relatively expensive Santa Clara real estate market. While managing land for these specific purposes is new, SCVWD does have a real estate division that manages its various properties, some of which are residential properties the District purchased for future construction of flood control infrastructure. Its real estate unit manages these properties until project construction necessitates their vacancy, demolition, or other use. The District does not plan to provide direct services at these properties, but instead it intends to contract with cities, the County, or nonprofits (in coordination with a city or the County), for services the District cannot provide.

5. A complication. If a local agency retains land “for agency use,” it does not have to declare it “surplus” land or “exempt surplus land” and follow the procedures of the SLA. Since the SLA’s definition of agency use does not explicitly include land that an agency like SCVWD uses to provide housing for unsheltered individuals, these arrangements may end up subject to the SLA. AB 1469 attempts to clarify how the SLA should treat these projects by declaring SCVWD’s use of land for these purposes meets the definition of agency use. Since AB 1486 (Ting, 2019) expanded the scope of the SLA, local agencies have sought relief from these provisions so they can use land without offering it first for affordable housing and negotiating with any providers that state their interest. The Legislature is considering numerous other proposals that provide specific provisions or exemptions regarding surplus land:

• SB 34 (Umberg, 2023) creates a process for HCD to determine whether land disposals in Orange County violate the ­SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• SB 229 (Umberg, 2023) requires a local agency to hold an open and public meeting if HCD notifies the local agency that its disposal of a parcel violates the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• SB 693 (Seyarto, 2023) exempts certain parcels in the City of Murrieta from the SLA. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
• SB 747 (Caballero, 2023) makes numerous changes to the Surplus Land Act, including expanding the definition of agency use, and exempt surplus land. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• AB 457 (Joe Patterson, 2023) creates an exemption from the Surplus Land Act (SLA) for parcels abutting a state highway right-of-way that a local agency identified in its circulation element or capital improvement plan for future roadway development.
• AB 480 (Ting, 2023) changes the penalty provisions of the SLA and makes procedural changes to noticing provisions that apply to “surplus land” and “exempt surplus land” disposed of by local agencies subject to the SLA. The bill is also scheduled for this Committee’s June 28^th meeting.
• AB 837 (Alvarez, 2023) creates an exemption from the SLA for land acquired by a local agency for the development of a university and innovation district. The bill is also scheduled for this Committee’s June 28^th meeting.
• AB 983 (Cervantes, 2023) expands the definition of exempt surplus land to include land designated in an adopted downtown revitalization plan not to exceed 1.1 square miles and includes residential, commercial, office, civic, and hospitality uses. The bill is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
• AB 1734 (Jones-Sawyer, 2023) Exempts certain housing and homelessness projects from the SLA in local agencies that have declared a local homelessness emergency and meet other requirements. The bill is also scheduled for this Committee’s June 28^th meeting.

SB 747 seeks to address broader concerns over the SLA compared to many of these bills that provide more tailored flexibility to particular agencies, or types of projects. If enacted, SB 747 could reduce the need to pursue one-off legislation. To help address broader SLA concerns without the need for piecemeal legislation, the Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to make its SLA provision’s enactment contingent on SB 747’s enactment.

6. Previous legislation. SB 519 (Beall, 2017) would have authorized SCVWD to engage in acts the Board of Directors deems appropriate and beneficial to reduce impacts from camping, construction, and the discharge or disposal of waste in and around waterways within its jurisdiction. The measure was later amended to cover a different topic.

7. Related legislation. AB 939 (Pellerin, 2023), which the Committee approved on a 7-0 vote at its June 7^th hearing, makes various changes to the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act, including how its board members receive compensation, and how SCVWD finances its projects. The bill is currently pending on the Senate Floor.

8. Special legislation. Section 16 of Article Four of the California Constitution prohibits special legislation when a general law can apply. AB 1469 contains findings and declarations explaining the need for legislation that applies only to the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Housing and Community Development: 8-0
Assembly Floor: 72-0

Support and Opposition

(6/23/23)

Support: Santa Clara Valley Water District (Sponsor)
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
California Municipal Utilities Association
City of Cupertino
City of Gilroy Council Member Zach Hilton
City of Palo Alto
City of San Jose
City of Santa Clara
Compassion Center
County of Santa Clara
Destination: Home
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley
Homefirst Services of Santa Clara County
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Pitstop Outreach
Sustainable Silicon Valley

Opposition: None received.

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1469

Author:(Kalra)

As Amended Ver:April 18, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district's jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

Major Provisions

1. Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District to take the following actions to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district's jurisdiction:
2. Collect waste or biowaste;
3. Contract with a city, the County of Santa Clara, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people;
4. Provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people; and
5. Contract with nongovernmental entities, in coordination with the city or the County of Santa Clara, to provide outreach, counseling, or transitional housing for unsheltered people.
6. Requires any housing developed pursuant to this authority to be consistent with Housing First core components as defined in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8255.
7. Finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of California Constitution Article IV, Section 16, because of the unique need of the Santa Clara Valley Water District to address the needs of the unhoused population within the district's jurisdiction in order to fulfill the district's mission of comprehensive water supply, flood risk reduction, and environmental stewardship of streams.

COMMENTS

Santa Clara Valley Water District: The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County's groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. The District is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection. Valley Water owns and manages 294 miles of streams and habitat, with a mission to protect more than 800 miles of streams throughout Santa Clara County. These areas include threatened and endangered species, sensitive habitats, and public infrastructure critical to water supply, groundwater recharge, and flood risk reduction activities.

According to Santa Clara Valley Water District, the sponsors of this bill, "In 2022, 77 percent of the unhoused population in Santa Clara County were unsheltered, with an estimated 2,300 taking refuge on Santa Clara Valley Water District property or land easements. Such circumstances have led to encampments along waterways, both a human and an environmental tragedy. The watersheds in Santa Clara County are prone to flash flooding, surprising unsheltered people and resulting in drownings or serious injury. These conditions also have increased community risks from fires and flooding due to blocked drainages, excavation of banks and levees, and the degradation of water quality from litter. Also degrading water quality is nutrient loading from human wastes that cause algal blooms that are harmful to natural and constructed aquatic habitat."

Due to the impacts of unsheltered people living on waterways and property managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the district is seeking to expand the purpose of its governing act to allow it to assist unsheltered people in consultation with cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the state. The Santa Clara Valley Water District have flexibility to access revenue from an existing one percent ad valorem property tax to help fund outreach, counseling, transitional housing, or other services for unsheltered people. Statutory and constitutional limits on how water rates and flood protection assessments may be spent are not impacted by this bill.

The District would be required to contract with the city, the County of Santa Clara, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people. This requirement will ensure that the District has appropriate partners with expertise in providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness before moving people out of the waterways.

Housing First: This bill would require any housing created by the Santa Clara Valley Water District as a result of this new authority to be Housing First. In 2018, the state required that all programs that serve people experiencing homelessness comply with Housing First. Decades of research demonstrate that evidence-based approaches like supportive housing – affordable housing coupled with wrap-around services – resolves homelessness for most individuals. Housing First is an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Over more than a decade, dozens of studies conducted across the country demonstrate that the costs of delivering supportive housing using a Housing First model are offset in large part by reductions in the use of crisis services, including shelters, jails, ambulances, and hospitals. Many state and local programs effectively utilize these evidence-based approaches to address homelessness; however, the number of people falling into homelessness continues to overwhelm the response system and surpasses the affordable housing stock in many communities. These factors lead to persistently high rates of homelessness despite recent state and local investments. Other strategies, such as rental assistance and help with identifying and securing housing (housing navigation) can also help with those individuals who need prevention tools to avoid homelessness.

Despite the overwhelming data and evidence that Housing First works to end homelessness, there is a growing national movement to roll back Housing First policies. This short-sighted and misleading push fails to recognize that Housing First is not the root cause of continued increases in homelessness; rather, it is the lack of affordable housing for lower income households. The federal government recently reasserted its commitment to Housing First in "All In: the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness" and emphasized the need to focus on data-driven solutions like permanent housing linked to wrap-around services that end homelessness.

According to the Author

"In Martin v. City of Boise, the [United States] Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored."

Arguments in Support

According to the sponsor, Santa Clara Valley Water District "has very limited authority to expend its revenue to assist unsheltered people and is left largely to collect the garbage while leaving the human health and safety risks unaddressed. AB 1469, by amending the purposes of our independent special district established in the District Act, will allow our agency more flexibility with some of its revenue and land resources. The intent is to construct transitional and supportive housing operated by a city, the County, or a non-profit to provide shelter that can improve outcomes for unsheltered people and assist Valley Water in fulfilling its mission of water supply and flood risk reduction in compliance with federal case law. This might require providing land or outreach services by contracting with the same non-profit entities working with area cities and the County. The goals are clear: humanely assist unsheltered people, improve outcomes, reduce flood and fire risk, and protect water quality for people and aquatic species."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

None.

VOTES

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

YES: Wicks, Joe Patterson, Wendy Carrillo, Gabriel, Kalra, Quirk-Silva, Sanchez, Ward

UPDATED

VERSION: April 18, 2023

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0000268

Date of Hearing: April 26, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1469 (

Author:Kalra) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2023

SUBJECT: Santa Clara Valley Water District

SUMMARY: Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District to take the following actions to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district’s jurisdiction:
2. Collect waste or biowaste;
3. Contract with a city, the County of Santa Clara, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people;
4. Provide, develop, sell, or lease land for the purposes of constructing temporary or permanent structures for transitional or long-term housing or other services for unsheltered people; and
5. Contract with nongovernmental entities, in coordination with the city or the County of Santa Clara, to provide outreach, counseling, or transitional housing for unsheltered people.
6. Requires any housing developed pursuant to this authority to be consistent with Housing First core components as defined in Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

Finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique need of the Santa Clara Valley Water District to address the needs of the unhoused population within the district’s jurisdiction in order to fulfill the district’s mission of comprehensive water supply, flood risk reduction, and environmental stewardship of streams.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act to authorize the district to provide comprehensive water management for all beneficial uses and protection from flooding in the Santa Clara County.
2. States the intent of the Legislature that the district work collaboratively with other appropriate entities in Santa Clara County in carrying out the purposes of the act.
3. Authorizes the Santa Clara Water District to take action to do all of the following:
   1. Protect Santa Clara County from floodwater and stormwater of the district, including tidal flood water and the floodwater and stormwater of streams that have their sources outside the district, but flow into the district;
   2. Protect from that floodwater or stormwater the public highways, life and property in the district, and the watercourses and watersheds of streams flowing within the district;
   3. Provide for the conservation and management of floodwater, stormwater, or recycled water, or other water from any sources within or outside the watershed in which the district is located for beneficial and useful purposes, including spreading, storing, retaining, and causing the water to percolate into the soil within the district;
   4. Protect, save, store, recycle, distribute, transfer, exchange, manage, and conserve in any manner any of the waters;
   5. Increase and prevent the waste or diminution of the water supply in the district;
   6. Obtain, retain, protect, and recycle drainage, stormwater, floodwater, or treated wastewater, or other water from any sources, within or outside the watershed in which the district is located for any beneficial uses within the district;
   7. Enhance, protect, and restore streams, riparian corridors, and natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes set forth in this section; and
   8. Preserve open space in Santa Clara County and support the county park system in a manner that is consistent with carrying out the powers granted by this section.(Santa Clara Valley Water District Act (Chapter 1405 of the Statutes of 1951), as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 279 of the Statutes of 2006)
4. Defines “Core Components of Housing First” to mean all of the following:
   1. Tenant screening and selection practices that promote accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of substances, completion of treatment, or participation in services;
   2. Applicants are not rejected on the basis of poor credit or financial history, poor or lack of rental history, criminal convictions unrelated to tenancy, or behaviors that indicate a lack of “housing readiness;”
   3. Acceptance of referrals directly from shelters, street outreach, drop-in centers, and other parts of crisis response systems frequented by vulnerable people experiencing homelessness;
   4. Supportive services that emphasize engagement and problem-solving over therapeutic goals and service plans that are highly tenant-driven without predetermined goals;
   5. Participation in services or program compliance is not a condition of permanent housing tenancy;
   6. Tenants have a lease and all the rights and responsibilities of tenancy, as outlined in the Civil Code, Health and Safety Code, and Government Code;
   7. The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without other lease violations, is not grounds for eviction;
   8. In communities with coordinated assessment with entry systems, incentives for funding promote tenant selection plans for supportive housing that prioritize eligible tenants based on criteria other than “first-come-first-serve,” including, but not limited to, the duration or frequency of homelessness, vulnerability to early mortality, or high utilization of crisis services. Prioritization may include triage tools, developed through local data, to identify high-cost, high-need homeless residents;
   9. Case managers and service coordinators who are trained in and actively employ evidence-based practices;
   10. Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as part of tenants’ lives, where tenants are engaged in non-judgmental communication regarding drug and alcohol use, and where tenants are offered education regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer practices, as well as participating in evidence-based treatment if the tenant so chooses; and
   11. The project and specific apartment may include special features that accommodate disabilities, reduce harm, and promote health and community and independence among tenants. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8255)

FISCAL EFFECT: None.

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “In Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that governments cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no real option for sleeping indoors. Amid an unprecedented need for transitional and long-term housing in Santa Clara County, cities and the County often do not have shelter space to offer. Valley Water has very limited authority to expend its revenue or use other resources outside of purposes listed in the District Act, leaving some human health and safety risks on their lands unaddressed. AB 1469 will provide Valley Water with the flexibility needed to direct resources to assist unsheltered people on their lands and humanely address a crisis that can no longer be ignored.”

Santa Clara Valley Water District: The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County. First formed as the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District in 1929, it now acts as the County's water wholesaler and the steward for its streams, creeks, underground aquifers, and district-built reservoirs. The District owns and manages local surface reservoirs and associated creeks and recharge facilities, manages the County’s groundwater basins and three water treatment plants, imports water from the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, and delivers recycled water to parts of the County. The District is also responsible for flood protection within the County. Its stewardship responsibilities include creek restoration and wildlife habitat projects, pollution prevention efforts, and a commitment to natural flood protection. Valley Water owns and manages 294 miles of streams and habitat, with a mission to protect more than 800 miles of streams throughout Santa Clara County. These areas include threatened and endangered species, sensitive habitats, and public infrastructure critical to water supply, groundwater recharge, and flood risk reduction activities.

According to Santa Clara Valley Water District, the sponsors of this bill, “In 2022, 77 percent of the unhoused population in Santa Clara County were unsheltered, with an estimated 2,300 taking refuge on Santa Clara Valley Water District property or land easements. Such circumstances have led to encampments along waterways, both a human and an environmental tragedy. The watersheds in Santa Clara County are prone to flash flooding, surprising unsheltered people and resulting in drownings or serious injury. These conditions also have increased community risks from fires and flooding due to blocked drainages, excavation of banks and levees, and the degradation of water quality from litter. Also degrading water quality is nutrient loading from human wastes that cause algal blooms that are harmful to natural and constructed aquatic habitat.”

Due to the impacts of unsheltered people living on waterways and property managed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the district is seeking to expand the purpose of its governing act to allow it to assist unsheltered people in consultation with cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the state. The Santa Clara Valley Water District have flexibility to access revenue from an existing one percent ad valorem property tax to help fund outreach, counseling, transitional housing, or other services for unsheltered people. Statutory and constitutional limits on how water rates and flood protection assessments may be spent are not impacted by this bill.

The District would be required to contract with the city, the County of Santa Clara, or the state to provide outreach, counseling, transitional housing, public safety, or other services for unsheltered people. This requirement will ensure that the District has appropriate partners with expertise in providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness before moving people out of the waterways.

Housing First: This bill would require any housing created by the Santa Clara Valley Water District as a result of this new authority to be Housing First. In 2018, the state required that all programs that serve people experiencing homelessness comply with Housing First. Decades of research demonstrate that evidence-based approaches like supportive housing – affordable housing coupled with wrap-around services – resolves homelessness for most individuals. Housing First is an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Over more than a decade, dozens of studies conducted across the country demonstrate that the costs of delivering supportive housing using a Housing First model are offset in large part by reductions in the use of crisis services, including shelters, jails, ambulances, and hospitals. Many state and local programs effectively utilize these evidence-based approaches to address homelessness; however, the number of people falling into homelessness continues to overwhelm the response system and surpasses the affordable housing stock in many communities. These factors lead to persistently high rates of homelessness despite recent state and local investments. Other strategies, such as rental assistance and help with identifying and securing housing (housing navigation) can also help with those individuals who need prevention tools to avoid homelessness.

Despite the overwhelming data and evidence that Housing First works to end homelessness, there is a growing national movement to roll back Housing First policies. This short-sighted and misleading push fails to recognize that Housing First is not the root cause of continued increases in homelessness; rather, it is the lack of affordable housing for lower income households. The federal government recently reasserted its commitment to Housing First in “All In: the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness” and emphasized the need to focus on data-driven solutions like permanent housing linked to wrap-around services that end homelessness.

Arguments in Support: According to the sponsor, Santa Clara Valley Water District “has very limited authority to expend its revenue to assist unsheltered people and is left largely to collect the garbage while leaving the human health and safety risks unaddressed. AB 1469, by amending the purposes of our independent special district established in the District Act, will allow our agency more flexibility with some of its revenue and land resources. The intent is to construct transitional and supportive housing operated by a city, the County, or a non-profit to provide shelter that can improve outcomes for unsheltered people and assist Valley Water in fulfilling its mission of water supply and flood risk reduction in compliance with federal case law. This might require providing land or outreach services by contracting with the same non-profit entities working with area cities and the County. The goals are clear: humanely assist unsheltered people, improve outcomes, reduce flood and fire risk, and protect water quality for people and aquatic species.”

Arguments in Opposition: None on file.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Santa Clara Valley Water District (Sponsor)

Asian Americans for Community Involvement

Association of California Water Agencies

California Municipal Utilities Association

California Special Districts Association

City of Cupertino

City of Gilroy Council Member Zach Hilton

City of San Jose

City of Santa Clara

County of Santa Clara

Destination: Home

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley

HomeFirst Services of Santa Clara County

PitStop Outreach

San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch of the NAACP

Sustainable Silicon Valley

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085