At first glance, the Legislature's change under AB 2553 from a 15-minute to 20-minute bus route service interval in the definition of "major transit stop" might seem like a minor adjustment. After all, how much of a difference can 300 seconds really make?
Yet, this seemingly modest change has the potential to send ripples through California's development landscape. Previously, the definition of "major transit stop" (in Public Resources Code § 21064.31) included the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods. By increasing the service interval, and in turn broadening the definition of which intersections may qualify as a "major transit stop," this adjustment redefines where transit-oriented development can be located, opening up new opportunities in areas near bus stops that were previously just outside the threshold.
Adjusting the definition of "major transit stop" is directly relevant to an array of housing related laws that provide projects with significant development incentives and streamlining benefits predicated on proximity to such a stop. Some of the state laws that rely on the "major transit stop" definition include:
- Density Bonus Law, which provides unlimited density (for 100-percent affordable projects), additional height, and parking benefits for projects located in proximity to a major transit stop.
- CEQA, which offers various streamlining and other benefits for "transit priority projects" and projects within a "transit priority area," which are both, in part, predicated on proximity to a major transit stop.
- Housing Accountability Act, which allows proximity to a major transit stop to satisfy one of the threshold requirements for utilizing AB 1633, which enables (under certain circumstances) a developer to challenge a local government's CEQA processing.
- AB 2097, which generally prohibits local agencies from imposing a minimum parking requirement on most projects in proximity to a major transit stop.
- SB 9, which prohibits a minimum parking requirement on an urban lot split and on a development of two residential units on a single-family residential zoned property for those projects in proximity to a major transit stop.
- Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 (sometimes referred to as the "Yes in God's Backyard," or "YIGBY" legislation), which prohibits a minimum parking requirement on YIGBY projects in proximity to a major transit stop.
- Accessory Dwelling Unit Law, which provides increased height for detached ADUs that are in proximity to a major transit stop.
- AB 2011, which provides increased density and height limitation (if other conditions are satisfied) for mixed-income housing developments along commercial corridors in proximity to a major transit stop.
The adjustment could also potentially expand the implementation of local programs that rely on the definition of a major transit stop—for example, the City of Los Angeles's Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program, which incentivizes the development of affordable housing near transit.
All told, this expanded definition of major transit stop is poised to unlock access to various state law benefits on properties where those benefits might not have otherwise been available. Who knew an extra five minutes could make such a difference?
In addition to changing the definition of major transit stop, AB 2553 also amends the Mitigation Fee Act by clarifying that certain housing developments may get relief from traffic impact fees if, among other things, the housing development is located within a transit priority area and in proximity to an existing or planned major transit stop (as newly defined). If planned, the major transit stop must be programmed to be completed before or within one year after the scheduled completion and occupancy of the housing development.
If you have questions concerning AB 2553 or any of the numerous housing bills recently passed by the state feel free to contact the authors of this client alert or any member of the firm's land use team.
Footnotes
1 In addition to the intersection of major bus routes condition, a "major transit stop" means "a site containing [an] existing rail or bus rapid transit station [or a] ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service." (Public Resources Code § 21064.3.)
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