Chapter 1. Legislative Findings And Declarations of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 31. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 1.

This division shall be known and may be cited as the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act.

The Legislature finds and declares that the subject of housing is of vital statewide importance to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of this state, for the following reasons:
  (a) Decent housing is an essential motivating force in helping people achieve self-fulfillment in a free and democratic society.
  (b) Unsanitary, unsafe, overcrowded, or congested dwelling accommodations or lack of decent housing constitute conditions which cause an increase in, and spread of, disease and crime.
  (c) A healthy housing market is one in which residents of this state have a choice of housing opportunities and one in which the housing consumer may effectively choose within the free marketplace.
  (d) A healthy housing market is necessary both to achieve a healthy state economy and to avoid an unacceptable level of unemployment.

The Congress of the United States has established, as a national goal, the provision of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family and the Legislature finds and declares that the attainment of this goal is a priority of the highest order. The national housing goal, as it applies to California, is deserving of adoption by the Legislature, with the accompanying commitment to guide, encourage, and direct where possible, the efforts of the private and public sectors of the economy to cooperate and participate in the early attainment of a decent home and a satisfying environment for every Californian.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that, as a result of public actions involving highways, public facilities, and urban renewal projects, and as a result of poverty and the spread of slum conditions and blight to formerly sound neighborhoods, there exists within the urban and rural areas of the state a serious shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing which persons and families of low or moderate income, including the elderly and handicapped, can afford. This situation creates an absolute present and future shortage of supply in relation to demand, as expressed in terms of housing needs and aspirations, and also creates inflation in the cost of housing, by reason of its scarcity, which tends to decrease the relative affordability of the state's housing supply for all its residents.
  (b) To provide a decent home and suitable living environment for every California family is the basic housing goal of state government. The Legislature recognizes that the California Statewide Housing Plan shows the magnitude of this goal by documenting a substantial need for rehabilitation of existing housing, demolition and replacement of severely dilapidated housing, construction of new apartments, houses, and mobilehomes, construction or rehabilitation of housing for year-round hired and seasonal farmworkers as well as housing for migrant farmworkers, and the provision of financial assistance to a substantial number of lower income households in order to meet standards for affordable rent or housing cost. Private enterprise and investment, without governmental assistance, cannot economically achieve the needed construction of decent, safe, and sanitary housing at rents or purchase prices which persons and families of low or moderate income can afford, nor can it provide the urgently needed rehabilitation of existing housing. The Legislature also recognizes the need to provide assistance to persons and families of low and moderate income and very low income households to purchase manufactured housing and to cooperatively own the mobilehome parks in which they reside and the need to increase the supply of manufactured housing affordable to persons and families of low and moderate income and very low income households.
  (c) The shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing is inimical to the safety, health, and welfare of the residents of the state and sound growth of its communities.
  (d) In order to remedy such shortages, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this division to provide a comprehensive and balanced approach to the solution of housing problems of the people of this state.
  (e) This section shall not be interpreted as requiring state actions to meet housing goals without legislative authorization, or as requiring such legislative action.

The Legislature finds and declares that there exists within the urban and rural areas of the state a significant number of persons without decent, safe, and sanitary housing. This shortage is inimical to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of this state and the sound growth of its communities. Without the assistance contemplated in this division, it is not financially feasible for private enterprise and private investors to provide decent, safe, and sanitary emergency housing for persons who are homeless. The Legislature also finds and declares that in order to remedy the emergency shelter shortages, it is necessary to implement a public program incorporating all of the following elements and goals:
  (a) An increase in the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary emergency shelters available to the homeless.
  (b) Maximum utilization of state, local, and federal subsidies available to meet the emergency shelter needs of the homeless.
  (c) Maximum utilization of tax increment moneys generated by city and county redevelopment programs for the construction and maintenance of decent, safe, and sanitary emergency shelters.
  (d) Encourage the utilization of unused or underutilized public facilities which could be converted to decent, safe, and sanitary emergency shelters for the homeless.
  (e) Preservation of existing housing opportunities for very low income households, including, but not limited to, residential hotels.
  (f) Prevention of the displacement of very low income households from existing housing.

The Legislature finds and declares that the shortage of adequate student housing is detrimental to those communities in which college and university campuses are located, causing in particular substantial upward pressure on rents, housing shortages, conversion of family housing to student use, deterioration of housing stock, and generally unfavorable housing conditions under which students must pursue their education. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section, to encourage the growth and formation of student-run and owned nonprofit housing cooperatives. Such student cooperatives shall be eligible for the applicable policies and programs provided pursuant to this division.

The Legislature finds and declares that it is to the economic benefit of the state and a public purpose to encourage the availability of adequate housing and home finance for persons and families of low or moderate income, and to develop viable urban and rural communities by providing decent housing, enhanced living environment, and increased economic opportunities for persons and families of low or moderate income.

The Legislature finds and declares that full cooperation and coordination with the cities and counties of the state in meeting the housing needs of the state on a level of government which is as close as possible to the people it serves is essential if workable housing programs are to be developed and implemented. The provision to local governments of financial resources, statistical data, and technical assistance is necessary to implementation of public programs to meet housing needs with adequate consideration of the relationship between housing and the community in which the housing is located.

The Legislature finds and declares that a number of federal housing programs have failed to reach the fundamental goals and purposes for which they were established, especially in urban areas. In California, this failure has often been related to inadequate consideration of the relationship between housing and the community in which the housing is located. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this division to seek to avoid such failures by providing a comprehensive and balanced approach to the solution of housing problems of very low income households and persons and families of low or moderate income in the state. It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide a program which gives consideration, not only to the production and financing of housing, but also to the social and aesthetic impact of such housing. A California housing program must consider the distribution throughout the state of such housing as may be assisted pursuant to this division, the avoidance of imposed economic, ethnic, and racial isolation or concentration, an emphasis on superior design, including the scale and location of such housing, the preparation of communities and persons to avail themselves of the program, and other factors which contribute to a decent living environment. Such program shall be designed to overcome racial isolation and concentration through revitalization of deteriorating and deteriorated urban areas by attracting a full range of income groups to central-city areas to provide economic integration with persons and families of low or moderate income in such areas.

The Legislature finds and declares that the large equities that the majority of California residents in most economic strata have now accumulated in single-family homes must be protected and conserved.

The Legislature finds and declares that manufactured housing, by virtue of its production costs and sales prices can provide a source of decent, safe, and affordable shelter for persons and families of low and moderate income. The Legislature finds and declares that the availability of manufactured housing has been limited by inadequate sites for such manufactured housing and by the costs of financing the purchase of such housing. The Legislature finds and declares that, if California is to effectively meet the housing needs of persons and families of low and moderate income, it must encourage increased manufactured housing production, new manufactured housing developments, and the purchase of new manufactured housing by persons and families of low and moderate income. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Housing Finance Agency, in implementing the programs established by this division, as amended by the Manufactured Housing Assistance Act of 1980, shall encourage increased availability and affordability of manufactured housing for persons and families of low and moderate income.

The Legislature finds and declares that a significantly growing percentage of newly formed households are unable to achieve homeownership under existing conditions, and that preservation and enhancement of opportunities for homeownership are beneficial to the well-being and prosperity of the people of the state and contribute materially to social and economic balance and to the stability of California's communities and of the state as a whole. The Legislature also finds and declares that the problem of housing affordability facing the first-time home buyer presents serious implications for housing market activity and for economic growth in California since the first-time home buyer is critical to a healthy market for all Californians, as all Californians are materially inhibited in seeking needed adjustments to their housing needs if potential first-time home buyers cannot enter the market; and that the ability of California to generate activity to produce new jobs is limited by the lack of affordable housing with affordable financing for the persons who would fill such jobs. It is, therefore, necessary to implement a program incorporating the elements of this division, added by the chapter of the Statutes of 1982 which enacted this section, and the provisions enacted by that chapter shall be liberally construed to effect their purposes.

The Legislature finds and declares that the utilization of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds can, and should, encourage the production of housing units affordable to low- and moderate-income persons and families. The Legislature further finds and declares that as a result of recent bond interest rates at historically high levels, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond programs may not be able to provide housing affordable to low- and moderate-income persons and families, without an additional subsidy. The Legislature further finds and declares that the effectiveness of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds in reducing the housing costs of low- and moderate-income persons and families should be carefully monitored by the Legislature to permit an assessment of the costs and benefits of this financing mechanism.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
  (1) The high cost of housing in this state makes it impossible for most households to become homeowners and impedes the ability of California employers to compete in the national marketplace for employees.
  (2) Approximately 1,100,000 lower income renters pay more than 35 percent of their income for housing and over 1,600,000 lower income renters pay more than 25 percent of their income for housing.
  (3) Approximately 875,000 housing units need to be rehabilitated and over 385,000 units need to be replaced in the state.
  (4) Sufficient safe, sanitary, and affordable housing is not available for households with special needs, particularly elderly and disabled households.
  (5) The Department of Housing and Community Development estimates that there are between 50,000 and 75,000 homeless individuals in California and other data discloses that the fastest growing segment of the homeless population are families with children.
  (6) There are nearly 2,000 rental projects built in this state prior to 1980 under the Section 236, Section 221(d)(3)B.M.I.R., and Section 8 programs of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Section 515 Program of the federal Farmers Home Administration, containing approximately 123,000 units subject to potential conversion to higher rent housing or condominium units.
  (7) The federal budget for assisted housing has declined sharply leaving state and local government the burden of developing affordable housing.
  (8) The annual budget of the Department of Housing and Community Development, which includes forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) in General Fund and special fund revenues, comprises less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the proposed 1988-89 state budget of forty-two billion three hundred million dollars ($42,300,000,000).
  (9) The basic housing goal for state government pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 50003 of the Health and Safety Code is to provide a decent home and suitable living environment for every California family.
  (b) The Legislature further finds and declares the following:
  (1) There is an urgent and continuing need to provide affordable housing to meet the increasingly unfulfilled housing needs of this state.
  (2) There is an immediate need to reaffirm commitment to the official housing policy of the state and provide sufficient financial resources to meet this commitment over a reasonable period of time.
  (3) There is a need to maximize the amount of federal, state, local, and private resources available for affordable housing and to minimize the administrative costs and simplify the financing systems for producing affordable housing.
  (4) There is a critical need to provide financial assistance to (A) purchase, construct, and rehabilitate emergency shelters and transitional housing for homeless families and individuals, (B) construct rental housing for families and individuals, including the special housing needs of the elderly, disabled, and farmworkers, (C) preserve and rehabilitate homes and rental housing, and (D) provide home purchase assistance for first-time homebuyers.