Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area, as specified, that is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance, as specified, authorizing low-impact camping. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would require the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours, as specified. The bill would require that a county that has authorized low-impact camping to take specified actions, including, among others, to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas, as specified. The bill would require the provisions relating to low-impact camping areas to be in effect only until January 1, 2026, unless certain conditions are met.

This bill would modify the definition of small business to mean a business with less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual revenue from all sources, as specified. The bill would require the Director of the Office of Tourism to seek to enter into voluntary agreements with online hosting platforms, as defined, to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking for low-impact camping areas, as specified. The bill would require the Director of the Office of Tourism to provide certain related information to the Director of Finance. The bill would establish in the State Treasury, the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, which would be continuously appropriated, and would require that the revenues deposited in the fund consist only of Rural Impact Fees. If the booking of a low-impact camping area is arranged through an online hosting platform, the bill would require these fees to be collected and remitted by the platform to the Office of Tourism. The bill would authorize the office to prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of these provisions, as specified. assessments received by the Office of Tourism as described above. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area. area, as specified, that is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance, as specified, authorizing low-impact camping. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would require the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours, as specified. The bill would require that a county that has authorized low-impact camping to take specified actions, including, among others, to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas, as specified.

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would provide that its provisions do not authorize an individual to access private property without permission of the landowner. The bill would authorize require the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those specified requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours. hours, as specified.

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would provide that its provisions do not authorize an individual to access private property without permission of the landowner. The bill would authorize the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those specified requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours.

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks. Existing law defines special occupancy park to mean a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.

This bill would specify that, for purposes of that act, a special occupancy park does not include a low-impact camping area. The bill would define a low-impact camping area to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a shelter, recreational vehicle, or other temporary sleeping accommodation accommodation, as defined, for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets specified requirements. The bill would provide that its provisions do not authorize an individual to access private property without permission of the landowner. The bill would authorize the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce some of those specified requirements, relating to waste disposal and quiet hours.

Existing law, the Special Occupancy Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address the classification of certain types of special occupancy parks.

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire)

As Amended Ver:August 23, 2024

2/3 vote. Urgency.

SUMMARY

SB 620 establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, administered by the Office of Tourism, and funded through voluntary assessments of online hosting platforms for low-impact camping areas. The bill exempts "low-impact camping areas" from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas in a county that has adopted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping, and modifies the small business exemption in the California Tourism Marketing Act.

Major Provisions

1. Defines "low-impact camping area" to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility.
2. Defines "temporary sleeping accommodation" to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
3. Exempts a low-impact camping area from the definition of "special occupancy park" within SOPA if the low-impact camping area is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper;
   2. Has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations;
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy;
   4. Prohibits onstreet parking;
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements; state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes; requirements for disposal of human waste and trash; local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence of such requirements, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am; and local zoning, permit, lot size, and setback requirements;
   6. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
   7. Includes no more than one temporary sleeping accommodation per acre and is located on a parcel of two acres or more;
   8. Requires all temporary sleeping accommodations to be located no less than 200 feet from any offsite residence and no less than 30 feet from any adjoining property or road;
   9. Is not located on an urban infill site, as defined; and
   10. Has not been used as a special occupancy park for the last five years unless the area was a special occupancy park before January 1, 2024 and the area met the requirements of this bill on January 1, 2023.
4. Requires a county that has authorized low-impact camping to do the following:
   1. Establish a registry of low-impact camping areas with specified information;
   2. Establish a complaint program to support code enforcement related to low-impact camping areas; and
   3. Require all low-impact camping owners or operators to post contact information for the county for complaints or information related to low-impact camping areas.
5. Provides that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
6. Sunsets 1)-5) above on January 1, 2026, unless a voluntary tourism marketing agreement, as specified in 12) below, is in effect. As long as there is an agreement, 1)-5) shall remain in effect. When/if all agreements have come to an end, 1)-5) above will remain in effect for six months, and are then repealed.
7. Modifies existing exemptions to assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act by deleting "location" from the existing definition of "small business" in the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources.
8. Establishes the intent of the Legislature to promote rural tourism and the development of local tourist infrastructure by encouraging online hosting platforms that facilitate bookings of low-impact camping sites, who are currently not subject to an existing tourism assessment, to enter into voluntary agreements with the California Travel and Tourism Commission (the Commission) to collect tourism assessments with the goal of further promoting rural tourism and funding rural tourist infrastructure, including nonmotorized trails.
9. Establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund (the Fund) and continuously appropriates all moneys in the Fund to be available to the Office of Tourism. Establishes that revenues deposited into the Fund shall only consist of assessments received by the Office of Tourism under the bill.
10. Requires funds collected under the bill to be deposited into an account of the Commission, to be audited annually. Provides that this account shall not be an account of the state government, and requires the Commission to keep the assessments in the Fund separate from the revenue it receives from assessments under the Act.
11. Provides that the assessed funds shall be under the control of the Commission, which must spend the funds consistent with Commission policies and specified law. Establishes that the state has no interest in the fund except the general interest that the state has in nonprofit corporations.
12. Requires the Director of the Office of Tourism (the Director) to seek to enter into voluntary agreements, pursuant to existing provisions in the Act allowing the Commission to enter into voluntary assessment contracts with non-assessed businesses, with online hosting platforms to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking for low-impact camping areas facilitated through an online booking platform, added as a separately itemized charge on each booking.
13. Requires the Director, before July 1, 2025, to provide both a summary of agreements entered with online hosting platforms, if any, and the Director's estimate of the percentage of low-impact camping locations potentially covered by the agreements, to the Director of Finance.
14. Requires any assessments received as a result of agreements with online hosting platforms, entered under 12) above, to be deposited into the Fund.
15. Requires the startup costs of the bill to be part of the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms, and provides that nothing in the bill requires the Office of Tourism or the Commission to advance or to otherwise expend funds to implement or administer the requirements of the bill. Allows the Office of Tourism to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the requirements of the bill from assessments received.
16. Requires online hosting platforms to provide information to the Office of Tourism, upon request, necessary for facilitating collection of the fees.
17. Continuously appropriates and allocates the revenue in the Fund as follows:
    1. Fifty percent to the Commission to supplement its rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding provided by the Commission for these purposes at the time of the bill's enactment; and
    2. Fifty percent to the State Coastal Conservancy to provide funding to support the expansion of statewide nonmotorized trails.
18. Enacts this bill as an urgency statute to take immediate effect.

COMMENTS

Special Occupancy Parks Act: The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV or tent camping parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks, including requirements outlined in SOPA. These parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department must satisfy certain criteria, including:

• 1. Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
  2. Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department; and
  3. Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or be reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process for local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks returned enforcement authority to HCD in recent years, citing lack of capacity and other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA in counties that have adopted an ordinance authorizing this type of camping facility, this bill removes these sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially returning them to local oversight.

Low-Impact Camping Areas: This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or fewer sites), short-term (no more than 14 consecutive days and 28 days per year), recreational, private campgrounds – typically imagined as open areas on private, rural land that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities and imposes alternative locally-enforced health and safety standards to preserve a layer of oversight and enforcement. The author contends that this may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

According to the author's office, a number of large counties have already started working on ordinances to allow for low-impact camping, but are on hold due to concerns that these ordinances will be in conflict with SOPA if SB 620 does not go into effect. These counties include, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, El Dorado, Marin, and San Luis Obispo. Others have gone forward with ordinances already, including Nevada County, Calaveras, Modoc, Trinity, Santa Clara, Tehama, Placer, and Siskiyou.

California Tourism Marketing Act: The California Tourism Marketing Act (the Act) was enacted in 1995 to increase California's share of the national travel and tourism market (Government Code sections 13995 et. seq.). The legislation enabled the state's tourism industry to assess itself, authorizing the establishment of a nonprofit, public benefit corporation – Visit California – to oversee the promotion of California as a premier travel destination. The Act became operative upon industry-wide approval in 1997.

Some travel and tourism-related businesses are exempt from the assessments in the Act, including travel agencies and tour operators that derive less than 20% of gross annual revenue from travel and tourism occurring within the state of California; small businesses with a business location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources; and certain types of intra- and inter-state bus services. Any business exempted from the Act is allowed to enter into a contract for voluntary assessments with the California Travel and Tourism Commission, as specified.

This bill deletes "location" from the definition of "small business" in the exemptions to the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources. It is unclear how many travel and tourism-related businesses that primarily operate without a physical location will be impacted by this definition change and whether there will be impacts to the existing industry assessments or any voluntary assessments that might be entered into under the existing allowance for exempt businesses to seek voluntary contracts.

Visit California provided a statement that the change won't impact any business making less than $1 million. Given that SB 620 instructs the Office of Tourism to negotiate voluntary assessment agreements with online hosting platforms like Hipcamp, it is necessary to remove "location" because the parameters around voluntary agreements do not fit the existing definition within GOV Code 13995.49.

13995.49 allows for businesses or individuals to become subject to the assessment through a voluntary agreement. That section, however, requires that any such agreements function so as to treat the volunteering entity as if they were an assessed business. With regard to online hosting platforms who join through voluntary agreements, such agreements might cause a conflict with 13995.77.

If the word "location" is not removed from 13995.77(b), a small business operator (e.g. someone renting out their property as a campsite) who would otherwise be exempt from the assessment might bring a lawsuit against the Commission and the online hosting platform claiming that their specific "business location" should be exempt from the assessment. What also is concerning is that some of the end customers (the campers) might claim that they were improperly required to pay the assessment when the campsite they stayed at should have been exempt. So, without the suggested change to the statute, it's possible that a lawsuit could be brought as a class action by businesses and/or their end customers seeking to recover the allegedly improperly paid assessments. Removing the word "location" from 13995.77(b) would resolve this issue by making it clearer that it is the size of the business volunteering under 13995.49 which negates the exemption.

Rural Tourism Marketing: This bill also attempts to set up a tourism assessment for low-impact campsite bookings under the provisions of the California Tourism Marketing Act. The bill requires the Director of the Office of Tourism, a department within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) that is responsible for promoting California as a global tourism destination and providing information services to visitors, to attempt to enter into voluntary tourism assessment agreements with online hosting platforms who provide consumers the ability to book low-impact campsites. The Director must attempt to enter into an agreement with the platforms for them to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment on each booking equal to at least 2% of the total cost of the booking, added as a separate itemized charge to each booking to be paid by the consumer. By July 1, 2025, the Director must report to the Director of Finance whether any agreements have been reached, and the Director's estimate of the percentage of campsites potentially covered by these agreements.

Assessments that might be received as a result of these agreements, if any, will be deposited into the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, which will be established as an account of the Commission and under the control of the Commission. In addition, if there is a voluntary agreement with the online booking platforms, the startup costs of the bill must be part of the agreement. Otherwise, the Office of Tourism is permitted to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the bill from assessments received, although the fund will be housed separately at the Commission and it is unclear how the Office might seek these reimbursements.

Any revenues in the Fund must be allocated as follows: 50% to the Commission to supplement rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding the Commission provides for these purposes at the time of the bill's enactment; and 50% to the State Coastal Conservancy for expanding statewide nonmotorized trails.

According to the Author

"California's outdoor recreation economy is one of the state's largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

"SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities."

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of supporters including Audubon California, "There are too few outdoor recreation accommodations for Californians and visitors, and this bottleneck could have negative impacts on outdoor access, conservation values, and recreation businesses in the absence of state action. We support SB 620 as amended because it will create more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities across California, while taking pressure off our public lands. Low-impact camping harnesses the financial power of outdoor recreation to create sustainable revenue for farmers, rural landowners, and small businesses while supporting the conservation of natural, undeveloped landscapes. This bill is a win-win for conservation and outdoor recreation."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

1. HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of up to $1.14 million annually for up to six staff positions to handle additional technical assistance, complaint, and inspection workload. Actual costs would depend on the number of participating counties and whether certain conditions regarding the rural tourism assessments created by this bill and imposed on each booking of a low-impact camping area are met prior to January 1, 2026.
2. The Office of Tourism (within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)) estimates one-time costs of up to $1 million to establish a process to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment for each booking of a low-impact camping area facilitated through an online hosting platform. The bill requires these costs be included in the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms.

The Office of Tourism also estimates ongoing General Fund administrative costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement the requirements of the program. The bill allows, but does not require, the office to offset reasonable administrative costs from the rural tourism assessments received. The bill does not limit the amount or percentage of the assessments received that may be used for administrative purposes.

This estimate assumes the Office of Tourism assesses an online hosting platform, as allowed under the bill. The Office of Tourism notes it is aware of only one online hosting platform, Hipcamp, Inc. If Hipcamp dissolves or is otherwise unavailable, the Office of Tourism previously indicated its one-time costs will increase to nearly $4.4 million and its ongoing costs to approximately $800,000. Actual costs may be lower, but absent an online platform, there would be General Fund cost pressures to fund the rural tourism assessment program infrastructure.

1. Potential decline in statewide tourism assessment revenue of an unknown amount due to exempting additional small businesses from existing assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act.
2. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown, but potentially significant amount to enforce the requirements relating to waste disposal and quiet hours within low-impact camping areas. These costs will vary by county depending on the absence of local requirements and the number of these camping areas within a given county. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.
3. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown amount to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas per the requirements of the bill, to establish a complaint program, and to enforce new requirements regarding low-impact camping. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

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

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

ASM ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, AND TOURISM: 6-0-1

YES: Gipson, Wallis, Mike Fong, Lackey, Santiago, Valencia

ABS, ABST OR NV: McKinnor

UPDATED

VERSION: August 23, 2024

CONSULTANT: Brian V. Anderson, Jr. / A.,E.,S., & T. / (916) 319-3450 FN: 0004951

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire)

As Amended Ver:August 23, 2024

2/3 vote. Urgency.

SUMMARY

SB 620 establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, administered by the Office of Tourism, and funded through voluntary assessments of online hosting platforms for low-impact camping areas. The bill exempts "low-impact camping areas" from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas in a county that has adopted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping, and modifies the small business exemption in the California Tourism Marketing Act.

Major Provisions

1. Defines "low-impact camping area" to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility.
2. Defines "temporary sleeping accommodation" to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
3. Exempts a low-impact camping area from the definition of "special occupancy park" within SOPA if the low-impact camping area is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper;
   2. Has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations;
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy;
   4. Prohibits onstreet parking;
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements; state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes; requirements for disposal of human waste and trash; local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence of such requirements, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am; and local zoning, permit, lot size, and setback requirements;
   6. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
   7. Includes no more than one temporary sleeping accommodation per acre and is located on a parcel of two acres or more;
   8. Requires all temporary sleeping accommodations to be located no less than 200 feet from any offsite residence and no less than 30 feet from any adjoining property or road;
   9. Is not located on an urban infill site, as defined; and
   10. Has not been used as a special occupancy park for the last five years unless the area was a special occupancy park before January 1, 2024 and the area met the requirements of this bill on January 1, 2023.
4. Requires a county that has authorized low-impact camping to do the following:
   1. Establish a registry of low-impact camping areas with specified information;
   2. Establish a complaint program to support code enforcement related to low-impact camping areas; and
   3. Require all low-impact camping owners or operators to post contact information for the county for complaints or information related to low-impact camping areas.
5. Provides that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
6. Sunsets 1)-5) above on January 1, 2026, unless a voluntary tourism marketing agreement, as specified in 12) below, is in effect. As long as there is an agreement, 1)-5) shall remain in effect. When/if all agreements have come to an end, 1)-5) above will remain in effect for six months, and are then repealed.
7. Modifies existing exemptions to assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act by deleting "location" from the existing definition of "small business" in the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources.
8. Establishes the intent of the Legislature to promote rural tourism and the development of local tourist infrastructure by encouraging online hosting platforms that facilitate bookings of low-impact camping sites, who are currently not subject to an existing tourism assessment, to enter into voluntary agreements with the California Travel and Tourism Commission (the Commission) to collect tourism assessments with the goal of further promoting rural tourism and funding rural tourist infrastructure, including nonmotorized trails.
9. Establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund (the Fund) and continuously appropriates all moneys in the Fund to be available to the Office of Tourism. Establishes that revenues deposited into the Fund shall only consist of assessments received by the Office of Tourism under the bill.
10. Requires funds collected under the bill to be deposited into an account of the Commission, to be audited annually. Provides that this account shall not be an account of the state government, and requires the Commission to keep the assessments in the Fund separate from the revenue it receives from assessments under the Act.
11. Provides that the assessed funds shall be under the control of the Commission, which must spend the funds consistent with Commission policies and specified law. Establishes that the state has no interest in the fund except the general interest that the state has in nonprofit corporations.
12. Requires the Director of the Office of Tourism (the Director) to seek to enter into voluntary agreements, pursuant to existing provisions in the Act allowing the Commission to enter into voluntary assessment contracts with non-assessed businesses, with online hosting platforms to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking for low-impact camping areas facilitated through an online booking platform, added as a separately itemized charge on each booking.
13. Requires the Director, before July 1, 2025, to provide both a summary of agreements entered with online hosting platforms, if any, and the Director's estimate of the percentage of low-impact camping locations potentially covered by the agreements, to the Director of Finance.
14. Requires any assessments received as a result of agreements with online hosting platforms, entered under 12) above, to be deposited into the Fund.
15. Requires the startup costs of the bill to be part of the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms, and provides that nothing in the bill requires the Office of Tourism or the Commission to advance or to otherwise expend funds to implement or administer the requirements of the bill. Allows the Office of Tourism to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the requirements of the bill from assessments received.
16. Requires online hosting platforms to provide information to the Office of Tourism, upon request, necessary for facilitating collection of the fees.
17. Continuously appropriates and allocates the revenue in the Fund as follows:
    1. Fifty percent to the Commission to supplement its rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding provided by the Commission for these purposes at the time of the bill's enactment; and
    2. Fifty percent to the State Coastal Conservancy to provide funding to support the expansion of statewide nonmotorized trails.
18. Enacts this bill as an urgency statute to take immediate effect.

COMMENTS

Special Occupancy Parks Act: The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV or tent camping parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks, including requirements outlined in SOPA. These parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department must satisfy certain criteria, including:

• 1. Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
  2. Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department; and
  3. Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or be reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process for local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks returned enforcement authority to HCD in recent years, citing lack of capacity and other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA in counties that have adopted an ordinance authorizing this type of camping facility, this bill removes these sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially returning them to local oversight.

Low-Impact Camping Areas: This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or fewer sites), short-term (no more than 14 consecutive days and 28 days per year), recreational, private campgrounds – typically imagined as open areas on private, rural land that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities and imposes alternative locally-enforced health and safety standards to preserve a layer of oversight and enforcement. The author contends that this may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

According to the author's office, a number of large counties have already started working on ordinances to allow for low-impact camping, but are on hold due to concerns that these ordinances will be in conflict with SOPA if SB 620 does not go into effect. These counties include, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, El Dorado, Marin, and San Luis Obispo. Others have gone forward with ordinances already, including Nevada County, Calaveras, Modoc, Trinity, Santa Clara, Tehama, Placer, and Siskiyou.

California Tourism Marketing Act: The California Tourism Marketing Act (the Act) was enacted in 1995 to increase California's share of the national travel and tourism market (Government Code sections 13995 et. seq.). The legislation enabled the state's tourism industry to assess itself, authorizing the establishment of a nonprofit, public benefit corporation – Visit California – to oversee the promotion of California as a premier travel destination. The Act became operative upon industry-wide approval in 1997.

Some travel and tourism-related businesses are exempt from the assessments in the Act, including travel agencies and tour operators that derive less than 20% of gross annual revenue from travel and tourism occurring within the state of California; small businesses with a business location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources; and certain types of intra- and inter-state bus services. Any business exempted from the Act is allowed to enter into a contract for voluntary assessments with the California Travel and Tourism Commission, as specified.

This bill deletes "location" from the definition of "small business" in the exemptions to the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources. It is unclear how many travel and tourism-related businesses that primarily operate without a physical location will be impacted by this definition change and whether there will be impacts to the existing industry assessments or any voluntary assessments that might be entered into under the existing allowance for exempt businesses to seek voluntary contracts.

Visit California provided a statement that the change won't impact any business making less than $1 million. Given that SB 620 instructs the Office of Tourism to negotiate voluntary assessment agreements with online hosting platforms like Hipcamp, it is necessary to remove "location" because the parameters around voluntary agreements do not fit the existing definition within GOV Code 13995.49.

13995.49 allows for businesses or individuals to become subject to the assessment through a voluntary agreement. That section, however, requires that any such agreements function so as to treat the volunteering entity as if they were an assessed business. With regard to online hosting platforms who join through voluntary agreements, such agreements might cause a conflict with 13995.77.

If the word "location" is not removed from 13995.77(b), a small business operator (e.g. someone renting out their property as a campsite) who would otherwise be exempt from the assessment might bring a lawsuit against the Commission and the online hosting platform claiming that their specific "business location" should be exempt from the assessment. What also is concerning is that some of the end customers (the campers) might claim that they were improperly required to pay the assessment when the campsite they stayed at should have been exempt. So, without the suggested change to the statute, it's possible that a lawsuit could be brought as a class action by businesses and/or their end customers seeking to recover the allegedly improperly paid assessments. Removing the word "location" from 13995.77(b) would resolve this issue by making it clearer that it is the size of the business volunteering under 13995.49 which negates the exemption.

Rural Tourism Marketing: This bill also attempts to set up a tourism assessment for low-impact campsite bookings under the provisions of the California Tourism Marketing Act. The bill requires the Director of the Office of Tourism, a department within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) that is responsible for promoting California as a global tourism destination and providing information services to visitors, to attempt to enter into voluntary tourism assessment agreements with online hosting platforms who provide consumers the ability to book low-impact campsites. The Director must attempt to enter into an agreement with the platforms for them to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment on each booking equal to at least 2% of the total cost of the booking, added as a separate itemized charge to each booking to be paid by the consumer. By July 1, 2025, the Director must report to the Director of Finance whether any agreements have been reached, and the Director's estimate of the percentage of campsites potentially covered by these agreements.

Assessments that might be received as a result of these agreements, if any, will be deposited into the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, which will be established as an account of the Commission and under the control of the Commission. In addition, if there is a voluntary agreement with the online booking platforms, the startup costs of the bill must be part of the agreement. Otherwise, the Office of Tourism is permitted to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the bill from assessments received, although the fund will be housed separately at the Commission and it is unclear how the Office might seek these reimbursements.

Any revenues in the Fund must be allocated as follows: 50% to the Commission to supplement rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding the Commission provides for these purposes at the time of the bill's enactment; and 50% to the State Coastal Conservancy for expanding statewide nonmotorized trails.

According to the Author

"California's outdoor recreation economy is one of the state's largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

"SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities."

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of supporters including Audubon California, "There are too few outdoor recreation accommodations for Californians and visitors, and this bottleneck could have negative impacts on outdoor access, conservation values, and recreation businesses in the absence of state action. We support SB 620 as amended because it will create more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities across California, while taking pressure off our public lands. Low-impact camping harnesses the financial power of outdoor recreation to create sustainable revenue for farmers, rural landowners, and small businesses while supporting the conservation of natural, undeveloped landscapes. This bill is a win-win for conservation and outdoor recreation."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

1. HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of up to $1.14 million annually for up to six staff positions to handle additional technical assistance, complaint, and inspection workload. Actual costs would depend on the number of participating counties and whether certain conditions regarding the rural tourism assessments created by this bill and imposed on each booking of a low-impact camping area are met prior to January 1, 2026.
2. The Office of Tourism (within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)) estimates one-time costs of up to $1 million to establish a process to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment for each booking of a low-impact camping area facilitated through an online hosting platform. The bill requires these costs be included in the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms.

The Office of Tourism also estimates ongoing General Fund administrative costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement the requirements of the program. The bill allows, but does not require, the office to offset reasonable administrative costs from the rural tourism assessments received. The bill does not limit the amount or percentage of the assessments received that may be used for administrative purposes.

This estimate assumes the Office of Tourism assesses an online hosting platform, as allowed under the bill. The Office of Tourism notes it is aware of only one online hosting platform, Hipcamp, Inc. If Hipcamp dissolves or is otherwise unavailable, the Office of Tourism previously indicated its one-time costs will increase to nearly $4.4 million and its ongoing costs to approximately $800,000. Actual costs may be lower, but absent an online platform, there would be General Fund cost pressures to fund the rural tourism assessment program infrastructure.

1. Potential decline in statewide tourism assessment revenue of an unknown amount due to exempting additional small businesses from existing assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act.
2. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown, but potentially significant amount to enforce the requirements relating to waste disposal and quiet hours within low-impact camping areas. These costs will vary by county depending on the absence of local requirements and the number of these camping areas within a given county. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.
3. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown amount to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas per the requirements of the bill, to establish a complaint program, and to enforce new requirements regarding low-impact camping. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

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

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

ASM ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, AND TOURISM: 6-0-1

YES: Gipson, Wallis, Mike Fong, Lackey, Santiago, Valencia

ABS, ABST OR NV: McKinnor

UPDATED

VERSION: August 23, 2024

CONSULTANT: Brian V. Anderson, Jr. / A.,E.,S., & T. / (916) 319-3450 FN: 0004951

Date of Hearing:

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, AND TOURISM

Mike Gipson, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire) – As Amended Ver:August 23, 2024

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: Low-impact camping areas

SUMMARY: SB 620 establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, administered by the Office of Tourism, and funded through voluntary assessments of online hosting platforms for low-impact camping areas. The bill exempts “low-impact camping areas” from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas in a county that has adopted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping, and modifies the small business exemption in the California Tourism Marketing Act.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Defines “low-impact camping area” to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility.
2. Defines “temporary sleeping accommodation” to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
3. Exempts a low-impact camping area from the definition of “special occupancy park” within SOPA if the low-impact camping area is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper;
   2. Has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations;
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy;
   4. Prohibits onstreet parking;
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements; state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes; requirements for disposal of human waste and trash; local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence of such requirements, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am; and local zoning, permit, lot size, and setback requirements;
   6. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
   7. Includes no more than one temporary sleeping accommodation per acre and is located on a parcel of two acres or more;
   8. Requires all temporary sleeping accommodations to be located no less than 200 feet from any offsite residence and no less than 30 feet from any adjoining property or road;
   9. Is not located on an urban infill site, as defined; and
   10. Has not been used as a special occupancy park for the last five years unless the area was a special occupancy park before January 1, 2024 and the area met the requirements of this bill on January 1, 2023.
4. Requires a county that has authorized low-impact camping to do the following:
   1. Establish a registry of low-impact camping areas with specified information;
   2. Establish a complaint program to support code enforcement related to low-impact camping areas; and
   3. Require all low-impact camping owners or operators to post contact information for the county for complaints or information related to low-impact camping areas.
5. Provides that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
6. Sunsets 1)-5) above on January 1, 2026, unless a voluntary tourism marketing agreement, as specified in 12) below, is in effect. As long as there is an agreement, 1)-5) shall remain in effect. When/if all agreements have come to an end, 1)-5) above will remain in effect for six months, and are then repealed.
7. Modifies existing exemptions to assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act by deleting “location” from the existing definition of “small business” in the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources.
8. Establishes the intent of the Legislature to promote rural tourism and the development of local tourist infrastructure by encouraging online hosting platforms that facilitate bookings of low-impact camping sites, who are currently not subject to an existing tourism assessment, to enter into voluntary agreements with the California Travel and Tourism Commission (the Commission) to collect tourism assessments with the goal of further promoting rural tourism and funding rural tourist infrastructure, including nonmotorized trails.
9. Establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund (the Fund) and continuously appropriates all moneys in the Fund to be available to the Office of Tourism. Establishes that revenues deposited into the Fund shall only consist of assessments received by the Office of Tourism under the bill.
10. Requires funds collected under the bill to be deposited into an account of the Commission, to be audited annually. Provides that this account shall not be an account of the state government, and requires the Commission to keep the assessments in the Fund separate from the revenue it receives from assessments under the Act.
11. Provides that the assessed funds shall be under the control of the Commission, which must spend the funds consistent with Commission policies and specified law. Establishes that the state has no interest in the fund except the general interest that the state has in nonprofit corporations.
12. Requires the Director of the Office of Tourism (the Director) to seek to enter into voluntary agreements, pursuant to existing provisions in the Act allowing the Commission to enter into voluntary assessment contracts with non-assessed businesses, with online hosting platforms to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking for low-impact camping areas facilitated through an online booking platform, added as a separately itemized charge on each booking.
13. Requires the Director, before July 1, 2025, to provide both a summary of agreements entered with online hosting platforms, if any, and the Director’s estimate of the percentage of low-impact camping locations potentially covered by the agreements, to the Director of Finance.
14. Requires any assessments received as a result of agreements with online hosting platforms, entered under 12) above, to be deposited into the Fund.
15. Requires the startup costs of the bill to be part of the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms, and provides that nothing in the bill requires the Office of Tourism or the Commission to advance or to otherwise expend funds to implement or administer the requirements of the bill. Allows the Office of Tourism to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the requirements of the bill from assessments received.
16. Requires online hosting platforms to provide information to the Office of Tourism, upon request, necessary for facilitating collection of the fees.
17. Continuously appropriates and allocates the revenue in the Fund as follows:
    1. Fifty percent to the Commission to supplement its rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding provided by the Commission for these purposes at the time of the bill’s enactment; and
    2. Fifty percent to the State Coastal Conservancy to provide funding to support the expansion of statewide nonmotorized trails.
18. Enacts this bill as an urgency statute to take immediate effect.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Enacts The California Tourism Marketing Act to increase California’s share of the national travel and tourism market. This enabled the state’s tourism industry to assess itself, authorizing the establishment of a nonprofit, public benefit corporation – Visit California – to oversee the promotion of California as a premier travel destination. (Government Code (GOV) Section 13995)
2. Allows the Commission, by written contract, to accept a voluntary assessment from any person in a travel and tourism related business who is not an assessed business. The contract shall apply solely to the person in question and not to any other person in a travel and tourism related business that is not an assessed business. The contract shall provide that the voluntary assessment be proportionately equivalent to the assessment that would be levied if the person were an assessed business under this chapter, shall permit that business to vote on any referendum conducted under this chapter as if that person were an assessed business, and shall have a term concurrent with the effective period of any referendum on which the person votes. Individual voluntary assessments under this section shall be enforceable only under the terms of the respective contracts to which they pertain. This section shall not be construed to preclude donations to, or cooperative marketing activities of any kind with, the Commission on the part of any person. (GOV 13995.49)
3. A business is exempt from the assessments provided for in this chapter if any of the following apply (GOV 13995.77):
   1. The business is a travel agency or tour operator that derives less than 20 percent of its gross revenue annually from travel and tourism occurring within the state. A travel agency or tour operator that qualifies for this exemption may participate as an assessed business by paying an assessment calculated on the same basis applicable to other travel agencies or tour operators, respectively, and by filing a written request with the director indicating its desire to be categorized as an assessed business.
   2. The business is a small business. For purposes of this section, “small business” means a business location with less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual revenue from all sources. This threshold amount may be lowered, but never to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by means of a referendum conducted pursuant to Section 13995.60; however, the director may elect to forgo assessing a business for which the expense incurred in collecting the assessment is not commensurate with the assessment that would be collected.
   3. The assessments provided for in this chapter shall not apply to the revenue of regular route intrastate and interstate bus service: provided, however, that this subdivision shall not be deemed to exclude any revenue derived from bus service that is of a type that requires authority, whether in the form of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, or a permit, to operate as a charter-party carrier of passengers pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.
   4. Any business exempted pursuant to this section may enter into a contract for voluntary assessments pursuant to Section 13995.49.
4. Defines “special occupancy park” as a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 18862.43)
5. Defines “recreational vehicle (RV) park” as any area or tract of land, or a separate designated section within a mobilehome park where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease, or were formerly held out for rent or lease and later converted to a subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or other form of resident ownership, to accommodate owners or users of recreational vehicles, camping cabins, or tents. (HSC 18862.39)
6. Defines “temporary recreational vehicle park” as any area or tract of land where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease to owners or users of recreational vehicles and that is established for one operation not to exceed 11 consecutive days, and is then removed. (HSC 18862.47)
7. Defines “incidental camping area” as any area or tract of land where camping is incidental to the primary use of the land for agriculture, timber management, or water or power development purposes, and where two or more campsites used for camping are rented or leased or held out for rent or lease. The density of usage shall not exceed 25 camping parties within a radius of 265 feet from any campsite within the incidental camping area. (HSC 18862.19)
8. Defines “tent” as any enclosed structure or shelter fabricated entirely or in major part of cloth, canvas, or similar material supported by a frame. (HSC 18862.49)
9. Establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks and creates the Special Occupancy Parks Revolving Fund through SOPA. (HSC 18860 et seq.)
10. Gives the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) authority over special occupancy and recreational vehicle parks. (HSC 18865)

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of up to $1.14 million annually for up to six staff positions to handle additional technical assistance, complaint, and inspection workload. Actual costs would depend on the number of participating counties and whether certain conditions regarding the rural tourism assessments created by this bill and imposed on each booking of a low-impact camping area are met prior to January 1, 2026.
2. The Office of Tourism (within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)) estimates one-time costs of up to $1 million to establish a process to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment for each booking of a low-impact camping area facilitated through an online hosting platform. The bill requires these costs be included in the agreement between the Office of Tourism and the online hosting platforms.

The Office of Tourism also estimates ongoing General Fund administrative costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement the requirements of the program. The bill allows, but does not require, the office to offset reasonable administrative costs from the rural tourism assessments received. The bill does not limit the amount or percentage of the assessments received that may be used for administrative purposes.

This estimate assumes the Office of Tourism assesses an online hosting platform, as allowed under the bill. The Office of Tourism notes it is aware of only one online hosting platform, Hipcamp, Inc. If Hipcamp dissolves or is otherwise unavailable, the Office of Tourism previously indicated its one-time costs will increase to nearly $4.4 million and its ongoing costs to approximately $800,000. Actual costs may be lower, but absent an online platform, there would be General Fund cost pressures to fund the rural tourism assessment program infrastructure.

1. Potential decline in statewide tourism assessment revenue of an unknown amount due to exempting additional small businesses from existing assessments under the California Tourism Marketing Act.
2. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown, but potentially significant amount to enforce the requirements relating to waste disposal and quiet hours within low-impact camping areas. These costs will vary by county depending on the absence of local requirements and the number of these camping areas within a given county. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.
3. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown amount to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas per the requirements of the bill, to establish a complaint program, and to enforce new requirements regarding low-impact camping. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s Statement. According to the author, “California’s outdoor recreation economy is one of the state’s largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

“SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities.”

1. Background. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV or tent camping parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks, including requirements outlined in Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA). These parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department must satisfy certain criteria, including:

• Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
• Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department; and
• Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or be reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process for local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks returned enforcement authority to HCD in recent years, citing lack of capacity and other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA in counties that have adopted an ordinance authorizing this type of camping facility, this bill removes these sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially returning them to local oversight.

1. Low-Impact Camping Areas. This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or fewer sites), short-term (no more than 14 consecutive days and 28 days per year), recreational, private campgrounds – typically imagined as open areas on private, rural land that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities and imposes alternative locally-enforced health and safety standards to preserve a layer of oversight and enforcement. The author contends that this may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

According to the author’s office, a number of large counties have already started working on ordinances to allow for low-impact camping, but are on hold due to concerns that these ordinances will be in conflict with SOPA if SB 620 does not go into effect. These counties include, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, El Dorado, Marin, and San Luis Obispo. Others have gone forward with ordinances already, including Nevada County, Calaveras, Modoc, Trinity, Santa Clara, Tehama, Placer, and Siskiyou.

1. California Tourism Marketing Act. The California Tourism Marketing Act (the Act) was enacted in 1995 to increase California’s share of the national travel and tourism market (Government Code sections 13995 et. seq.). The legislation enabled the state’s tourism industry to assess itself, authorizing the establishment of a nonprofit, public benefit corporation – Visit California – to oversee the promotion of California as a premier travel destination. The Act became operative upon industry-wide approval in 1997.

Some travel and tourism-related businesses are exempt from the assessments in the Act, including travel agencies and tour operators that derive less than 20% of gross annual revenue from travel and tourism occurring within the state of California; small businesses with a business location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources; and certain types of intra- and inter-state bus services. Any business exempted from the Act is allowed to enter into a contract for voluntary assessments with the California Travel and Tourism Commission, as specified.

This bill deletes “location” from the definition of “small business” in the exemptions to the Act, thereby expanding the small business assessment exemption to include businesses without a physical location with less than $1 million in total California gross annual revenue from all sources. It is unclear how many travel and tourism-related businesses that primarily operate without a physical location will be impacted by this definition change and whether there will be impacts to the existing industry assessments or any voluntary assessments that might be entered into under the existing allowance for exempt businesses to seek voluntary contracts.

Visit California provided a statement that the change won’t impact any business making less than $1 million. Given that SB 620 instructs the Office of Tourism to negotiate voluntary assessment agreements with online hosting platforms like Hipcamp, it is necessary to remove “location” because the parameters around voluntary agreements do not fit the existing definition within GOV Code 13995.49.

13995.49 allows for businesses or individuals to become subject to the assessment through a voluntary agreement. That section, however, requires that any such agreements function so as to treat the volunteering entity as if they were an assessed business. With regard to online hosting platforms who join through voluntary agreements, such agreements might cause a conflict with 13995.77.

If the word "location" is not removed from 13995.77(b), a small business operator (e.g. someone renting out their property as a campsite) who would otherwise be exempt from the assessment might bring a lawsuit against the Commission and the online hosting platform claiming that their specific "business location" should be exempt from the assessment. What also is concerning is that some of the end customers (the campers) might claim that they were improperly required to pay the assessment when the campsite they stayed at should have been exempt. So, without the suggested change to the statute, it's possible that a lawsuit could be brought as a class action by businesses and/or their end customers seeking to recover the allegedly improperly paid assessments. Removing the word "location" from 13995.77(b) would resolve this issue by making it clearer that it is the size of the business volunteering under 13995.49 which negates the exemption.

1. Rural Tourism Marketing. This bill also attempts to set up a tourism assessment for low-impact campsite bookings under the provisions of the California Tourism Marketing Act. The bill requires the Director of the Office of Tourism, a department within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) that is responsible for promoting California as a global tourism destination and providing information services to visitors, to attempt to enter into voluntary tourism assessment agreements with online hosting platforms who provide consumers the ability to book low-impact campsites. The Director must attempt to enter into an agreement with the platforms for them to impose, collect, and remit a tourism assessment on each booking equal to at least 2% of the total cost of the booking, added as a separate itemized charge to each booking to be paid by the consumer. By July 1, 2025, the Director must report to the Director of Finance whether any agreements have been reached, and the Director’s estimate of the percentage of campsites potentially covered by these agreements.

Assessments that might be received as a result of these agreements, if any, will be deposited into the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund, which will be established as an account of the Commission and under the control of the Commission. In addition, if there is a voluntary agreement with the online booking platforms, the startup costs of the bill must be part of the agreement. Otherwise, the Office of Tourism is permitted to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the bill from assessments received, although the fund will be housed separately at the Commission and it is unclear how the Office might seek these reimbursements.

Any revenues in the Fund must be allocated as follows: 50% to the Commission to supplement rural marketing and grant programs, which shall not replace existing funding the Commission provides for these purposes at the time of the bill’s enactment; and 50% to the State Coastal Conservancy for expanding statewide nonmotorized trails.

1. Arguments in Support. According to a coalition of supporters including Audubon California, “There are too few outdoor recreation accommodations for Californians and visitors, and this bottleneck could have negative impacts on outdoor access, conservation values, and recreation businesses in the absence of state action. We support SB 620 as amended because it will create more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities across California, while taking pressure off our public lands. Low-impact camping harnesses the financial power of outdoor recreation to create sustainable revenue for farmers, rural landowners, and small businesses while supporting the conservation of natural, undeveloped landscapes. This bill is a win-win for conservation and outdoor recreation.”
2. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
3. Prior and related legislation:
   1. SB 1307 (Rubio), Chapter 669, Statutes of 2022: Required HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city, county, or city and county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to SOPA, and made other changes to permitting and enforcement timelines.
   2. SB 325 (O’Connell), Chapter 434, Statutes of 2001: Established SOPA under the jurisdiction and enforcement of HCD and local enforcement agencies.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Audubon California

California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED)

California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)

California Mountain Biking Coalition (CAMTB)

California Outdoor Recreation Partnership

City of Cloverdale

Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)

Forest Landowners of California

Great Redwood Trail Agency

Hipcamp, INC.

HydraPak

John Haschak - Mendocino County Supervisor

Latino Outdoors

Little Kamper, LP

Marmot

Mendocino County Board of Supervisors

Nemo Equipment

OutDoor Afro

Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)

Outdoor Outreach

Pathloom

REI

Save the Redwoods League

Sterling Rope Co.

Tahoe Mountain Sports

The Conservation Alliance

The Nature Conservancy

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Toad & Co.

Top Rope Media

Urban Surf 4 Kids

Vertical Supply Group (VSG)

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Brian V. Anderson, Jr. / A.,E.,S., & T. / (916) 319-3450

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire)

As Amended Ver:August 19, 2024

2/3 Vote. Urgency

SUMMARY

Exempts "low-impact camping areas," as defined, from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas in a county that has adopted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping, and requires collection of a 2% Rural Tourism Impact Fee (RTIF) on low-impact camping bookings to support rural tourism marketing and the expansion of nonmotorized trails.

Major Provisions

1. Defines "low-impact camping area" to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility.
2. Defines "temporary sleeping accommodation" to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
3. Exempts a low-impact camping area from the definition of "special occupancy park" within SOPA if the low-impact camping area is located in a county that has enacted an ordinance authorizing low-impact camping and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper;
   2. Has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations;
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy;
   4. Prohibits onstreet parking;
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements; state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes; requirements for disposal of human waste and trash; local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence of such requirements, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am; and local zoning, permit, lot size, and setback requirements;
   6. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
   7. Includes no more than one temporary sleeping accommodation per acre and is located on a parcel of two acres or more;
   8. Requires all temporary sleeping accommodations to be located no less than 200 feet from any offsite residence and no less than 30 feet from any adjoining property or road;
   9. Is not located on an urban infill site, as defined; and
   10. Has not been used as a special occupancy park for the last five years unless the area was a special occupancy park before January 1, 2024 and the area met the requirements of this bill on January 1, 2023.
4. Requires a county that has authorized low-impact camping to do the following:
   1. Establish a registry of low-impact camping areas with specified information;
   2. Provide the registry to the Office of Tourism, upon request, for purposes of facilitating the collection of fees;
   3. Establish a complaint program to support code enforcement related to low-impact camping areas; and
   4. Require all low-impact camping owners or operators to post contact information for the county for complaints or information related to low-impact camping areas.
5. Provides that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
6. Establishes the Rural Tourism Marketing Fund (the Fund) within the State Treasury and continuously appropriates all moneys in the Fund to be available to the Office of Tourism. Establishes that revenues deposited into the Fund shall only consist of Rural Tourism Impact Fees (RTIFs) received by the Office of Tourism under the bill.
7. Requires each booking for occupancy of a low-impact camping area, beginning January 1, 2026, to be subject to a RTIF equal to 2% of the total cost of the booking, collected from guests of the low-impact camping area.
8. Exempts bookings from the collection of a RTIF if the Director of the Office of Tourism certifies to the Department of Finance before January 1, 2026, that online hosting platforms responsible for at least 75% of all low-impact camping reservations, on average, by referendum, or by voluntary agreements as specified, agreed to the imposition of a tourism assessment equal to at least 2% of the total cost of each booking facilitated through the platform, added as a separate percentage charge on each booking.
9. Requires any assessments received by the Office of Tourism as a result of the referendum or agreements to be deposited in the Fund and allocated pursuant to this bill.
10. Requires RTIFs to be collected and remitted by an online hosting platform to the Office of Tourism if the booking of a low-impact camping area is arranged through an online hosting platform.
11. Allows the Office of Tourism to prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this bill, including, but not limited to, fee collections and reporting.
12. Establishes that any fee charged to a low-impact camping area operator under this bill is a personal debt of every person so charged and must be due and payable to the Office of Tourism. Allows the Office of Tourism, if any low-impact camping area operator fails to pay any fee, to file a complaint against the low-impact camping area operator in a state court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the assessment.
13. Allows the Office of Tourism, if any low-impact camping area operator fails to pay a duly charged fee by the due date, to add to the unpaid fee an amount not to exceed 10% of the unpaid fee to defray the cost of enforcing the collection of the unpaid fee. Additionally requires the low-impact camping area operator to pay to the Director of the Office of Tourism a penalty equivalent to the lesser of either the maximum amount authorized by Section 1 of Article XV of the California Constitution or 5% for each 30 days the fee is unpaid, prorated over the days unpaid, commencing 30 days after notice of failure to pay has been given, unless the Director determines that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause beyond the control of the operator.
14. Allows the Office of Tourism to offset reasonable costs incurred to implement the requirements of this bill from assessments received. Allows the Office of Tourism to use up to 2% of moneys to administer and oversee the Fund.
15. Continuously appropriates and allocates the revenue in the Fund as follows:
    1. Fifty percent to the county from which the fees were generated to support the following:
       1. Rural tourism marketing in the county; and
       2. The implementation and enforcement of the enabling ordinance to establish a low-impact camping area.
    2. Fifty percent to the State Coastal Conservancy to provide funding to support the expansion of nonmotorized trails.
16. Enacts this bill as an urgency statute to take immediate effect.

COMMENTS

Special Occupancy Parks Act: The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV or tent camping parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks, including requirements outlined in SOPA. These parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department must satisfy certain criteria, including:

1. Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
2. Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department; and
3. Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or be reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process for local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks returned enforcement authority to HCD in recent years, citing lack of capacity and other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA in counties that have adopted an ordinance authorizing this type of camping facility, this bill removes these sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially returning them to local oversight.

Low-Impact Camping Areas: This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or fewer sites), short-term (no more than 14 consecutive days and 28 days per year), recreational, private campgrounds – typically imagined as open areas on private, rural land that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities and imposes alternative locally-enforced health and safety standards to preserve a layer of oversight and enforcement. The author contends that this may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

Rural Tourism Marketing Fund: This bill also enacts a Rural Tourism Impact Fee imposed either by the bill or by voluntary referendum of online platforms responsible for at least 75% of all low-impact camping reservations. The fee must equal 2% of the total cost of each booking and must be levied on guests of the camping area, to be collected and remitted to the California Office of Tourism, a department within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) that is responsible for promoting California as a global tourism destination and providing information services to visitors. The fees may first be used by the Office of Tourism to implement the bill and recover initial startup costs, and will be continuously appropriated as follows: 50% to the county from which the fees were generated to support rural tourism marketing and the implementation of the enabling ordinance that authorizes low-impact camping, and 50% to the State Coastal Conservancy for expanding nonmotorized trails.

According to the Author

"California's outdoor recreation economy is one of the state's largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities."

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of supporters including Audubon California, "There are too few outdoor recreation accommodations for Californians and visitors, and this bottleneck could have negative impacts on outdoor access, conservation values, and recreation businesses in the absence of state action. We support SB 620 as amended because it will create more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities across California, while taking pressure off our public lands. Low-impact camping harnesses the financial power of outdoor recreation to create sustainable revenue for farmers, rural landowners, and small businesses while supporting the conservation of natural, undeveloped landscapes. This bill is a win-win for conservation and outdoor recreation."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1. HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of approximately $1.14 million annually for six staff positions to handle additional workload, including (a) an increase in requests for technical assistance from local jurisdictions to determine whether the estimated 1,530 existing sites and potential new sites are permitted by HCD or are exempt "low-impact camping areas," (b) an increase in Mobilehome Assistance Center complaints, (c) an increase in requests for health and safety inspections, and (d) notification to local jurisdictions of their responsibilities. Requests for technical assistance would likely decline over several years.
2. The Office of Tourism (within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) estimates one-time General Fund costs of approximately $1.2 million and ongoing costs of approximately $390,000 to establish, administer and enforce the rural tourism marketing fees, fund, and program established by this bill.

This estimate assumes the Office of Tourism assesses an online hosting platform, as allowed under the bill. The Office of Tourism notes they are aware of only one online hosting platform, Hipcamp, Inc. (sponsor of the bill). If Hipcamp dissolves or is otherwise unavailable, the Office of Tourism's indicates its costs will increase to one-time costs of nearly $4.4 million and ongoing costs of approximately $800,000.

1. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown, but potentially significant amount to enforce the requirements relating to waste disposal and quiet hours within low-impact camping areas. These costs will vary depending on the absence of local requirements and the number of these camping areas within the county. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.
2. Local costs to each county authorizing low-impact camping of an unknown, but likely significant amount to establish a registry of low-impact camping areas per the requirements of the bill and provide the registry to the Office of Tourism, upon request, to establish a complaint program, and to enforce new requirements regarding low-impact camping. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because counties are not required to authorize low-impact camping.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

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

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

UPDATED

VERSION: August 19, 2024

CONSULTANT: Nicole Restmeyer / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0003923

Date of Hearing: August 7, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire) – As Amended Ver:July 13, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill excludes “low-impact camping areas,” as defined, from the definition of a special occupancy park (SOP), licensed and regulated by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

Specifically, this bill:

1. Excludes a “low-impact camping area” from the definition of a SOP, thereby exempting this designation of transit occupancy rental site from the requirements of the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA).
2. Defines “low-impact camping area” to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets all of the following requirements:
3. Provides rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper, has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations, does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy, and prohibits onstreet parking.
4. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements and state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes.
5. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of human waste, or in the absence, requires all solid waste to be removed from the premises after each occupancy and onsite trash receptacles to abide by applicable animal-protection trash best practices or requirements.
6. Complies with applicable local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am.
7. Complies with applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping, including, but not limited to, local zoning, permit, lot size, and setback requirements.
8. Is not located in an urbanized area or cluster, as defined, and meets other specified criteria.
9. Defines “temporary sleeping accommodation” to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
10. Specifies the bill’s provisions do not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
11. Requires the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce the minimum requirements specified above regarding the disposal of human waste and trash, and the enforcement of quiet hours, in the absence of applicable local requirements.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of approximately $1.14 million annually for six staff positions to handle additional workload, including (a) an increase in requests for technical assistance from local jurisdictions to determine whether the estimated 1,530 existing sites and potential new sites are permitted by HCD or are exempt “low-impact camping areas,” (b) an increase in Mobilehome Assistance Center complaints, (c) an increase in requests for health and safety inspections, and (d) notification to local jurisdictions of their responsibilities. Requests for technical assistance would likely decline over several years.
2. Local costs to each county of an unknown, but potentially significant, amount to enforce the requirements relating to waste disposal and quiet hours within low-impact camping areas. These costs will vary depending on the absence of local requirements and the number of these camping areas within the county. These costs are likely not reimbursable by the state because local agencies have general authority to levy fees or service charges sufficient to cover the costs of the services mandated by this bill.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

California’s outdoor recreation economy is one of the state’s largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians. [This bill] will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities.

1. Background. Existing law, the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA) and SOPA, specify requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of mobilehome parks and SOPs, such as RV parks. An SOP is any area of land or property that has at least two recreational vehicles, tents, camping cabins, or lots that are held out for rent or lease. HCD is responsible for developing regulations and enforcing statutory requirements to ensure the health and safety of residents of these occupancies. Enforcement actions include necessary inspections, permit issuance, and complaint response activities.

With HCD’s approval, a city or county can assume enforcement responsibilities of the MPA and SOPA, as well as related regulations, within its jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes a local enforcement authority to relinquish the responsibility for parks in its jurisdiction, and also specifies a process for HCD to cancel a local entity’s enforcement responsibilities if it is not effectively conducting its responsibilities. The processes for assuming, relinquishing, and cancelling local enforcement authority are specified in regulations.

By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA, this bill removes low-impact camping sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially relinquishing these sites to local oversight.

1. Prior Legislation. SB 1307 (Rubio), Chapter 669, Statutes of 2022, included provisions requiring HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city or county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to the MPA and SOPA, among other changes.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: July 12, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 620

Author:(McGuire) – As Amended Ver:April 20, 2023

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: Low-impact camping areas

SUMMARY: Exempts “low-impact camping areas,” as defined, from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA) and establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas. Specifically, this bill:

1. Exempts a low-impact camping area from the definition of “special occupancy park” within SOPA.
2. Defines “low-impact camping area” to mean any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and that meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and 28 nights per calendar year per camper;
   2. Has no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations;
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy;
   4. Prohibits onstreet parking;
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements;
   6. Complies with applicable state and local tax requirements, including the payment of local transient occupancy taxes;
   7. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of human waste, or in the absence of applicable local requirements, requires all solid waste to be removed from the premises after each occupancy and onsite trash receptacles to abide by applicable animal-protection trash best practices or requirements;
   8. Complies with applicable local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence of such requirements, enforces quiet hours from 10pm to 6am;
   9. Complies with applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping;
   10. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
   11. Is not located within a single-family residential zone;
   12. Is not located on an urban infill site, as defined; and
   13. Has not been used as a special occupancy park for the last five years unless the area was a special occupancy park before January 1, 2023 and the area met the requirements of this definition on January 1, 2023.
3. Defines “commercial lodging facility” to have the same meaning as the term “hotel,” as specified.
4. Defines “temporary sleeping accommodation” to include, but not be limited to, a tent, yurt, or recreational vehicle.
5. Provides that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
6. Authorizes the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce the minimum requirements in 1)g) – 1)h) in the absence of applicable local requirements.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Defines “special occupancy park” as a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 18862.43)
2. Defines “recreational vehicle (RV) park” as any area or tract of land, or a separate designated section within a mobilehome park where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease, or were formerly held out for rent or lease and later converted to a subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or other form of resident ownership, to accommodate owners or users of recreational vehicles, camping cabins, or tents. (HSC 18862.39)
3. Defines “temporary recreational vehicle park” as any area or tract of land where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease to owners or users of recreational vehicles and that is established for one operation not to exceed 11 consecutive days, and is then removed. (HSC 18862.47)
4. Defines “incidental camping area” as any area or tract of land where camping is incidental to the primary use of the land for agriculture, timber management, or water or power development purposes, and where two or more campsites used for camping are rented or leased or held out for rent or lease. The density of usage shall not exceed 25 camping parties within a radius of 265 feet from any campsite within the incidental camping area. (HSC 18862.19)
5. Defines “tent” as any enclosed structure or shelter fabricated entirely or in major part of cloth, canvas, or similar material supported by a frame. (HSC 18862.49)
6. Establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks and creates the Special Occupancy Parks Revolving Fund through SOPA. (HSC 18860 et seq.)
7. Gives the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) authority over special occupancy and recreational vehicle parks. (HSC 18865)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “California’s outdoor recreation economy is one of the state’s largest economic drivers – worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities.”

Special Occupancy Parks Act: HCD has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks, including requirements outlined in SOPA. RV parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department must satisfy certain criteria, including:

• • Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
  • Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department; and
  • Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or get reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks gave back enforcement authority to HCD in recent years, citing lack of capacity and/or other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA, this bill removes low-impact camping sites from HCD jurisdiction, essentially returning these sites to local oversight.

Low-Impact Camping Areas: This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or fewer sites), short-term (no more than 14 consecutive days and 28 days per year), recreational, private campgrounds – typically imagined as open areas on private, rural farmland that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities. This may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

Arguments in Support: According to a coalition of supporters, including Hipcamp, Save the Redwoods League, the Outdoor Industry Association, the California State Association of Counties, and the California Farm Bureau, “This bill would increase affordable access to California’s outdoor destinations, from the redwoods to the low desert and from the Sierra to the coastline. Low-impact camping requires little or no infrastructure and is offered at every price point. This means more Californians can benefit from time outdoors. Because these camping sites are not suitable as long-term housing, low-impact camping increases outdoor access without impacting long-term housing availability.”

Arguments in Opposition: None on file.

Committee Amendments: The bill is currently silent on where low-impact camping sites can be located except for a general prohibition on their location in single-family residential zone areas, a prohibition on urban infill sites, and general language requiring compliance with “applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping.”

Because the bill intends to defer much of the oversight and regulation of these sites away from HCD and back to local governments, the committee may wish to consider making explicit that these campsites must comply with local rules regarding zoning, land use permitting, lot sizes, and setback rules. Requiring the sites to comply with local zoning and other land use requirements will provide local governments the ability to weigh the suitability of specific zones or locations more closely than a standard set of statewide criteria would otherwise. In addition, some rural single-family residences with large lots may actually be ideal for these type of campsites, so the committee may wish to consider striking the exemption on single-family zoned areas.

The bill also contains a provision prohibiting trespassing on private property, which raises questions why this is necessary, as existing trespassing penalties and rules around private property will still apply regardless. Thus, the committee may wish to consider deleting (c) of the new proposed HSC 18890.

Lastly, the bill provides that in the absence of certain local requirements around waste and sewage disposal and quiet hours, a county may elect to oversee compliance with those rules. This raises a question of what enforcement would exist if HCD is removed from its oversight role and a county chooses not to enforce those rules. The committee may therefore wish to consider requiring, rather than authorizing, a county to enforce those specified rules in the bill.

Related Legislation:

SB 1307 (Rubio), Chapter 669, Statutes of 2022: Required HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city, county, or city and county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to SOPA, and made other changes to permitting and enforcement timelines.

SB 325 (O’Connell), Chapter 434, Statutes of 2001: Established SOPA under the jurisdiction and enforcement of HCD and local enforcement agencies.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Certified Organic Farmers

California Farm Bureau Federation

California Mountain Biking Coalition

California Outdoor Recreation Partnership

California State Association of Counties

Community Alliance with Family Farmers

CSAC

El Dorado County Farm Bureau

El Dorado County Farm Trails

Forest Landowners of California

Glamping Hub

Hipcamp

Latino Outdoors

Little Kamper LP

Marmot

Outdoor Afro

Outdoor Industry Association

REI

Rural County Representatives of California

Salmon Creek Ranch

Save the Redwoods League

The Nature Conservancy

Toad & Co.

Top Rope Media

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Individual (1)

Opposition

None on file.

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

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 620

Author: McGuire (D), et al.

Amended: 4/20/23

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 4/18/23

AYES: Wiener, Ochoa Bogh, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, McGuire, Seyarto, Skinner, Umberg, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SUBJECT: Low-impact camping areas

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill defines low-impact camping, exempts low-impact camping from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), and establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “special occupancy park” as a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.
2. Defines “recreational vehicle (RV) park” as any area or tract of land, or a separate designated section within a mobilehome park where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease, or were formerly held out for rent or lease and later converted to a subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or other form of resident ownership, to accommodate owners or users of recreational vehicles, camping cabins, or tents.
3. Defines “temporary recreational vehicle park” as any area or tract of land where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease to owners or users of recreational vehicles and that is established for one operation not to exceed 11 consecutive days, and is then removed.
4. Defines “incidental camping area” as any area or tract of land where camping is incidental to the primary use of the land for agriculture, timber management, or water or power development purposes, and where two or more campsites used for camping are rented or leased or held out for rent or lease. The density of usage shall not exceed 25 camping parties within a radius of 265 feet from any campsite within the incidental camping area.
5. Defines “tent” as any enclosed structure or shelter fabricated entirely or in major part of cloth, canvas, or similar material supported by a frame.
6. Establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks and creates the Special Occupancy Parks Revolving Fund through SOPA.
7. Gives the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) authority over mobilehome, special occupancy, and recreational vehicle parks.

This bill:

1. Defines “commercial lodging facility” as any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other similar transient lodging establishment, but it shall not include any residential hotel.
2. Defines “recreational vehicle” as a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy that meets specific criteria.
3. Defines “low-impact camping area” as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and not exceeding 28 nights per calendar year per camper.
   2. Includes no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations.
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodations.
   4. Does not allow for onstreet parking.
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements and tax requirements, including, but not limited to, the payment of local transient occupancy taxes.
   6. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of human waste, or in the absence of applicable local requirements, maintains sanitation facilities that are fully self-contained or connected to a permitted sewage disposal system serving the property.
   7. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of trash, or in the absence, requires all solid waste to be removed from the premises after each occupancy and onsite trash receptacles to abide by applicable animal-protection trash best practices or requirements.
   8. Complies with applicable local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence, enforces quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
   9. Complies with applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping.
   10. Not located within a single-family residential zone.
   11. Not located on a site in an urbanized area or urban cluster in which at least 75 percent of the perimeter adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses.
   12. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
   13. Has not been used as a special occupancy park within the past five years.
4. Clarifies that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
5. Authorizes counties to enforce minimum health and safety requirements in the absence of applicable local requirements.

Background

Special Occupancy Parks Act. HCD has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks including requirements outlined in SOPA. RV parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include: toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions; domestic animal limitations; lighting installations; and lot line registrations.

Comments

1. Author’s statement. “California’s outdoor recreation economy is one of the state’s largest economic drivers - worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

“SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities.”

1. Low-impact camping areas. This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (nine or less sites), short-term (29 days or less), recreational, private campgrounds—typically imagined as open areas on private, rural farmland that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities. This may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

1. Who’s the boss? Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department, must satisfy certain criteria, pursuant to existing law, including:
   1. Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
   2. Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department;
   3. Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or get reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks gave back enforcement authority to HCD citing lack of capacity and/or other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA, this bill removes low-impact camping sites from HCD jurisdiction. Considering the existing limited capacity of local agencies, moving forward, the author may wish to consider adding provisions to increase enforcement capacity of local agencies or returning authority to HCD.

1. Location, location, location. According to the 2017 Manufactured Housing Opportunity Profile: Data Snapshot, there are nearly 520,000 mobilehomes and manufactured homes in California, which accounts for nearly 4% of the total housing stock in the state.^[1] Nearly half of mobilehomes and manufactured homes are affordable to very-low income households, compared to just 18% of the state’s overall housing stock. Mobilehomes and manufactured homes are a significant source of affordable housing in a state with a desperate need for housing affordable in this affordability range.

To discourage conversion of these mobilehome parks into short-term rentals that would remove naturally-occurring affordable housing stock from the market, this bill limits low-impact camping areas to sites not used as a special occupancy park for the previous five years. To prevent discouraging development of new long-term housing units essential to the state’s housing crisis response, this bill requires low-impact camping areas not be located in single-family residential zones and infill sites, as specified. Depending on local zoning ordinances, the exclusion of single-family residential zones may make ideal low-impact camping sites ineligible. Moving forward, the author may wish to consider removing the single-family residential zone limitation while further limiting to eligible locations to parcels that are greater than a certain size.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 1307 (Rubio, Chapter 669, Statutes of 2022) required HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city, county, or city and county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to the Special Occupancy Parks Act. It also made other changes to permitting and enforcement timelines.

SB 325 (O’Connell, Chapter 434, Statutes of 2001) established the Special Occupancy Parks Act under the jurisdiction and enforcement of HCD and local enforcement agencies.

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

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $1.14 million annually for 6.0 PY in staff time to handle an anticipated increase in requests for technical assistance from local jurisdictions regarding interpretation of the law to determine whether the estimated 1,530 existing sites and potential new sites are permitted by HCD or are exempt “low-impact camping areas.” HCD also anticipates workload for an increase in Mobilehome Assistance Center complaints, and an increase in requests for health and safety inspections. Staff assumes that requests for technical assistance would likely decline over several years. (General Fund)

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/18/23)

California Association of Environmental Health Administrators

California Certified Organic Farmers

California Mountain Biking Coalition

California Outdoor Recreation Partnership

California State Association of Counties

Community Alliance with Family Farmers

El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce

El Dorado County Farm Bureau

El Dorado County Farm Trails

Glamping Hub

HipCamp

Latino Outdoors

Little Kamper, LP

Marmot

Outdoor Afro

Outdoor Industry Association

REI

Rural County Representatives of California

Save the Redwoods League

Toad & Co.

Top Rope Media

Xerces Society for Invertebrate

Eight individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/18/23)

None received

Prepared by: Aiyana Cortez / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

5/20/23 13:00:36

**** END ****

1. Prosperity Now. California Manufactured Housing Data Snapshot. 2017. https://prosperitynow.org/sites/default/files/resources/California_Metro%20Opportunity%20Data%20Snapshot_December2017_0.pdf ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 620 (McGuire) - Low-impact camping areas

Bill Summary:

SB 620 would explicitly exclude a “low-impact camping area,” as defined, from the definition of a special occupancy park (SOP) that is licensed and regulated by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

Fiscal Impact:

• HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $1.14 million annually for 6.0 PY in staff time to handle an anticipated increase in requests for technical assistance from local jurisdictions regarding interpretation of the law to determine whether the estimated 1,530 existing sites and potential new sites are permitted by HCD or are exempt “low-impact camping areas.” HCD also anticipates workload for an increase in Mobilehome Assistance Center complaints, and an increase in requests for health and safety inspections. Staff assumes that requests for technical assistance would likely decline over several years. (General Fund)

Background:

Existing law, the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA) and Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), specify requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of mobilehome parks and special occupancy parks (SOPs, such as RV parks). An SOP is any area of land or property that has at least two recreational vehicles, tents, camping cabins, and/or lots that are held out for rent or lease. HCD is responsible for developing regulations and enforcing statutory requirements to ensure the health and safety of residents of these occupancies. Minimum health and safety standards inside SOPs include regulations for construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of SOPs, and are required to guarantee the safety of park occupants and ensure a decent environment for recreation or temporary occupancy. Enforcement actions include necessary inspections, permit issuance, and complaint response activities.

With HCD’s approval, a city or county can assume enforcement responsibilities of the MPA and SOPA, as well as related regulations, within its jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes a local enforcement authority to relinquish the responsibility for parks in its jurisdiction, and also specifies a process for HCD to cancel a local entity’s enforcement responsibilities if it is not effectively conducting its responsibilities, as specified. The processes for assuming, relinquishing, and cancelling local enforcement authority are specified in regulations.

Proposed Law:

SB 620 would explicitly exclude “low-impact camping area” from the definition of a special occupancy park, thereby exempting this designation of private property for specified transit occupancy rental uses from the requirements of the SOPA. Specifically, this bill would define a “low-impact camping area” as any are of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets all of the following requirements:

• Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 14 consecutive nights per camper and not exceeding 28 nights per calendar year per camper.
• Includes no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations.
• Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodation that is rented out for permanent human occupancy.
• Does not allow for onstreet parking.
• Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements.
• Complies with applicable state and local tax requirements, including, but not limited to, the payment of local transient occupancy taxes.
• Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of human waste, or in the absence of applicable local requirements, maintains sanitation facilities that are fully self-contained or connected to a permitted sewage disposal system serving the property.
• Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of trash, or in the absence, requires all solid waste to be removed from the premises after each occupancy and onsite trash receptacles to abide by applicable animal-protection trash best practices or requirements.
• Complies with applicable local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence, enforces quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Complies with applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping.
• Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Is not located within a single-family residential zone.
• Is not located on a site that meets specified characteristics in an urbanized area or cluster, or that are adjoined to parcels developed for urban uses, as specified.
• Has not been used as an SOP for the previous five years, unless the area was an SOP before January 1, 2024 and it met the requirements to be designated as a “low-impact camping area on January 1, 2023.

The bill would specify that its provisions do not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner. SB 620 would also authorize the county in which the low-impact camping area is located to enforce the minimum requirements specified above regarding the disposal of human waste and trash, as well as the enforcement of quiet hours, in the absence of applicable local requirements.

Related Legislation:

SB 1307 (Rubio), Chap. 669/2022, included provisions requiring HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city, county, or city and county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to the MPA and SOPA, as specified.

SB 325 (O’Connell), Chap 434/2001, established the Special Occupancy Parks Act, separate from the MPA, under the jurisdiction and enforcement of HCD and local enforcement agencies, as specified.

Staff Comments:

This bill would exempt “low-impact camping areas,” as defined, from the requirements of the SOPA, thereby exempting these transient occupancy sites from HCD’s direct regulatory and enforcement authority over the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of these areas, including provisions ensuring the health and safety of occupants. Staff assumes that oversight and enforcement of these sites would primarily shift to local code enforcement officers and law enforcement.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Scott Wiener, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 620 Hearing Date: 4/18/2023

SUBJECT: Low-impact camping areas

DIGEST: This bill defines low-impact camping, exempts low-impact camping from the Special Occupancy Parks Act (SOPA), and establishes minimum health and safety requirements for low-impact camping areas.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “special occupancy park” as a recreational vehicle park, temporary recreational vehicle park, incidental camping area, or tent camp.
2. Defines “recreational vehicle (RV) park” as any area or tract of land, or a separate designated section within a mobilehome park where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease, or were formerly held out for rent or lease and later converted to a subdivision, cooperative, condominium, or other form of resident ownership, to accommodate owners or users of recreational vehicles, camping cabins, or tents.
3. Defines “temporary recreational vehicle park” as any area or tract of land where two or more lots are rented, leased, or held out for rent or lease to owners or users of recreational vehicles and that is established for one operation not to exceed 11 consecutive days, and is then removed.
4. Defines “incidental camping area” as any area or tract of land where camping is incidental to the primary use of the land for agriculture, timber management, or water or power development purposes, and where two or more campsites used for camping are rented or leased or held out for rent or lease. The density of usage shall not exceed 25 camping parties within a radius of 265 feet from any campsite within the incidental camping area.
5. Defines “tent” as any enclosed structure or shelter fabricated entirely or in major part of cloth, canvas, or similar material supported by a frame.
6. Establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of special occupancy parks and creates the Special Occupancy Parks Revolving Fund through SOPA.
7. Gives the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) authority over mobilehome, special occupancy, and recreational vehicle parks.

This bill:

1. Defines “commercial lodging facility” as any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other similar transient lodging establishment, but it shall not include any residential hotel.
2. Defines “recreational vehicle” as a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy that meets specific criteria.
3. Defines “low-impact camping area” as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that is not a commercial lodging facility and meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation, not exceeding 29 consecutive nights per camper and not exceeding 29 nights per calendar year per camper.
   2. Includes no more than nine temporary sleeping accommodations.
   3. Does not include a temporary sleeping accommodations.
   4. Does not allow for on-street parking.
   5. Complies with applicable state and local fire safety requirements.
   6. Complies with applicable state and local tax requirements, including, but not limited to, the payment of local transient occupancy taxes.
   7. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of human waste, or in the absence of applicable local requirements, maintains sanitation facilities that are fully self-contained or connected to a permitted sewage disposal system serving the property.
   8. Complies with applicable local requirements for disposal of trash, or in the absence, requires all solid waste to be removed from the premises after each occupancy and onsite trash receptacles to abide by applicable animal-protection trash best practices or requirements.
   9. Complies with applicable local requirements for quiet hours, or in the absence, enforces quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
   10. Complies with applicable local requirements relating to low-impact campsites, low-incident camping, or incidental camping.
   11. Not located within a single-family residential zone.
   12. Designates an operator or property manager who is available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
   13. Has not been used as a special occupancy park within the past five years.
4. Clarifies that this bill does not authorize an individual to access private property without the permission of the landowner.
5. Authorizes counties to enforce minimum health and safety requirements in the absence of applicable local requirements.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement. “California’s outdoor recreation economy is one of the state’s largest economic drivers - worth an estimated $54 billion. Camping and hiking are top tiers within that economy and in too many cases, the expense associated with camping is out of reach financially for everyday Californians.

SB 620 will usher in greater and more affordable access to the outdoors and expanded camping opportunities. The bill will also establish a needed framework, guardrails and regulations for new low impact camping including important health and safety regulations. The bill will also empower local governments to manage and oversee new low impact camping sites, and it will open up new economic opportunities for some of the most economically disadvantaged rural communities.”

1. Special Occupancy Parks Act. HCD has authority over mobilehome and special occupancy parks. Both mobilehome parks and RV parks must meet minimum health and safety standards and are subject to regular inspections. California has a number of state laws covering recreational vehicle parks including requirements outlined in SOPA. RV parks are required to comply with legally distinct requirements related to permitting, operator responsibilities, and fees. Some of these requirements include:
   1. Toilet, shower, and lavatory provisions;
   2. Domestic animal limitations;
   3. Lighting installations; and
   4. Lot line registrations.
2. Low-impact camping areas. This bill defines low-impact camping areas as any area of private property that provides for the transient occupancy rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation for recreational purposes that meets specified criteria. Low-impact camping areas are small-scale (9 or less sites), short-term (29 days or less), recreational, private campgrounds—typically imagined as open areas on private, rural farmland that can support a handful of tents, RVs, or other recreational camping setups.

These small, private camping areas would currently be regulated as special occupancy parks under existing law. For these small-scale recreational campsite operators, some of the minimum requirements under SOPA may be cost-prohibitive and unnecessary. By exempting low-impact camping areas from SOPA, this bill removes these minimum requirements for these smaller camping facilities. This may provide an opportunity to increase affordable access to the outdoors, help develop rural economies, and diversify and supplement incomes for rural landowners.

1. Who’s the boss? Local agencies may assume special occupancy park authority in place of HCD. In order to do that, local enforcement agencies or a local building or health department, must satisfy certain criteria, pursuant to existing law, including:
   1. Providing prompt and effective recovery assistance or services during or immediately following a disaster;
   2. Authorization from a local governing body that has jurisdiction over the local building or health department;
   3. Possessing the knowledge and expertise to administer the inspection responsibilities.

HCD can limit local enforcement authority to specific areas or parks, and the local enforcement agency can charge fees or get reimbursed by HCD. HCD must also post a description and send annual electronic notices that explain the process local agencies assuming enforcement authority. A significant number of local agencies representing districts with special occupancy parks gave back enforcement authority to HCD citing lack of capacity and/or other limitations after receiving these notices. By exempting low-impact camping sites from SOPA, this bill removes low-impact camping sites from HCD jurisdiction. Considering the existing limited capacity of local agencies, moving forward, the author may wish to consider adding provisions to increase enforcement capacity of local agencies or returning authority to HCD.

1. Location, location, location. According to the 2017 Manufactured Housing Opportunity Profile: Data Snapshot, there are nearly 520,000 mobilehomes and manufactured homes in California, which accounts for nearly 4% of the total housing stock in the state.^[1] Nearly half of mobilehomes and manufactured homes are affordable to very-low income households, compared to just 18% of the state’s overall housing stock. Mobilehomes and manufactured homes are a significant source of affordable housing in a state with a desperate need for housing affordable in this affordability range.

To discourage conversion of these mobilehome parks into short-term rentals that would remove naturally-occurring affordable housing stock from the market, this bill limits low-impact camping areas to sites not used as a special occupancy park for the previous five years. However, by merely requiring low-impact camping areas not be located in single-family residential zones, certain infill sites may still be disincentivized from developing new long-term housing units essential to the state’s housing crisis response and, depending on local zoning ordinances, certain single-family parcels in rural areas might be excluded that would have benefit from this bill. The author has expressed their intent to focus low-impact camping in more rural areas. The committee may wish to consider revising the single-family residential zoning provision to instead restrict low-impact camping to rural areas.

Related Legislation:

SB 1307 (Rubio, Chapter 669, Statutes of 2022) – required HCD to post an explanation of the process for a city, county, or city and county to assume the enforcement responsibilities pursuant to the Special Occupancy Parks Act. It also made other changes to permitting and enforcement timelines.

SB 325 (O’Connell, Chapter 434, Statutes of 2001) – established the Special Occupancy Parks Act under the jurisdiction and enforcement of HCD and local enforcement agencies.

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

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

April 12, 2023.)

SUPPORT:

California Certified Organic Farmers

California Mountain Biking Coalition

California Outdoor Recreation Partnership

California State Association of Counties (CSAC)

Community Aliance With Family Farmers

El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce

El Dorado County Farm Bureau

El Dorado County Farm Trails

Glamping Hub

HipCamp

Latino Outdoors

Little Kamper, LP

Marmot

Outdoor Afro

Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)

REI

Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC)

Save the Redwoods League

Toad & Co.

Top Rope Media

Xerces Society for Invertebrate

8 Individuals

OPPOSITION:

None received.

-- END --

1. Prosperity Now. California Manufactured Housing Data Snapshot. 2017. https://prosperitynow.org/sites/default/files/resources/California_Metro%20Opportunity%20Data%20Snapshot_December2017_0.pdf ↑