BY JENNIFER WADA, ESQ.
State Homes In On Housing CACM Lobbies to Minimize Impact of New Bills on CIDs
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he Legislature is now in full swing. Legislators are running between committee hearings to vote and present bills. Lobbyists are abuzz advocating for their positions. Legislative staff is trying to keep up with it all. The political machine is cranking. And this year, like every year, CID bills abound. But, unlike in the past, today there’s a particular focus on housing issues. Governor Gavin Newsom set the tone when he took office in January, “The California Dream is in peril if we don’t act to address this housing crisis. The cost of housing – both for homeowners and renters – is the defining qualityof-life concern for people across this state. That’s why I’m proposing a series of unprecedented actions to tackle this crisis head-on.” From this, numerous bills are making their way through the Legislature that focus on affordable housing, including transit-oriented and workforce housing.
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In the spirit of increasing housing supply, there are also various bills on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). CIDs don’t come out of this unscathed. AB 670 (Friedman) would prohibit associations of single-family residential developments from prohibiting the construction of an ADU or junior ADU. CACM has been in discussions with the author, sponsor and policy committee to ensure that associations are given great deference with respect to the ability to impose reasonable restrictions. In our discussions with the Legislature, we have cited concerns about lot sizes and the invasion of neighbor privacy, parking impacts, strains on common area and amenities, short-term rental impacts, among other things. We have been told that the intent is to increase permanent housing supply without negatively impacting associations or their governing documents. We are seeking amendments that would allow wide latitude with respect
Vision Spring/Summer 2019 | www.cacm.org
to reasonable restrictions. Ironically, while Governor Newsom and the Legislature are focused on affordability, SB 323 (Wieckowski) is making a repeat appearance and would impose unnecessary limitations on HOA elections that would increase costs for all homeowners. This bill is a redo of last year’s SB 1265, which would eliminate an association’s authority to impose candidate qualifications except under limited circumstances, such as a member being convicted of a financial crime within the last 20 years. The bill would allow an association to disqualify a candidate for delinquency in regular assessments but this could only be done through bylaws – at the increased expense of the homeowner. SB 1265 also has other problems including shifting the burden of proof to the association to prove it did not violate election rules when sued by a homeowner. CACM is fighting this bill yet again. Tom
