SECTIONS 65460-65460.11 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 65460-65460.11

65460. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Transit
Village Development Planning Act of 1994.

65460.1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Federal, state, and local governments in California are
investing in new and expanded transit systems in areas throughout the
state, including Los Angeles County, the San Francisco Bay area, San
Diego County, Santa Clara County, and Sacramento County.
(2) This public investment in transit is unrivaled in the state's
history and represents well over ten billion dollars
($10,000,000,000) in planned investment alone.
(3) Recent studies of transit ridership in California indicate
that persons who live within a one-half-mile radius of transit
stations utilize the transit system in far greater numbers than does
the general public living elsewhere.
(4) The greater use of public transit facilitated by the
development of transit villages improves local street, road, and
highway congestion by providing viable alternatives to automobile
use.
(5) The development of transit village development districts can
improve environmental conditions by increasing the use of public
transit, facilitating the creation of and improvement to walkable,
mixed-use communities, and decreasing automobile use.
(6) The development of transit village development districts
throughout the state should be environmentally conscious and
sustainable, and related construction should meet or exceed the
requirements of the California Green Building Standards Code, Part 11
of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, or its successor
code.
(7) Only a few transit stations in California have any
concentration of housing proximate to the station.
(8) Interest in clustering housing and commercial development
around transit stations, called transit villages, has gained momentum
in recent years.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) "Bus hub" means an intersection of three or more bus routes,
with a minimum route headway of 10 minutes during peak hours.
(2) "Bus transfer station" means an arrival, departure, or
transfer point for the area's intercity, intraregional, or
interregional bus service having permanent investment in multiple bus
docking facilities, ticketing services, and passenger shelters.
(3) "District" means a transit village development district as
defined in Section 65460.4.
(4) "Peak hours" means the time between 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.,
inclusive, and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., inclusive, Monday through Friday.
(5) "Transit station" means a rail or light-rail station, ferry
terminal, bus hub, or bus transfer station.

65460.2. A city or county may prepare a transit village plan for a
transit village development district that addresses the following
characteristics:
(a) A neighborhood centered around a transit station that is
planned and designed so that residents, workers, shoppers, and others
find it convenient and attractive to patronize transit.
(b) A mix of housing types, including apartments, within not more
than one-half mile of the main entrance of the transit station.
(c) Other land uses, including a retail district oriented to the
transit station and civic uses, including day care centers and
libraries.
(d) Pedestrian and bicycle access to the transit station, with
attractively designed and landscaped pathways.
(e) A transit system that should encourage and facilitate
intermodal service, and access by modes other than single occupant
vehicles.
(f) Demonstrable public benefits beyond the increase in transit
usage, including any five of the following:
(1) Relief of traffic congestion.
(2) Improved air quality.
(3) Increased transit revenue yields.
(4) Increased stock of affordable housing.
(5) Redevelopment of depressed and marginal inner-city
neighborhoods.
(6) Live-travel options for transit-needy groups.
(7) Promotion of infill development and preservation of natural
resources.
(8) Promotion of a safe, attractive, pedestrian-friendly
environment around transit stations.
(9) Reduction of the need for additional travel by providing for
the sale of goods and services at transit stations.
(10) Promotion of job opportunities.
(11) Improved cost-effectiveness through the use of the existing
infrastructure.
(12) Increased sales and property tax revenue.
(13) Reduction in energy consumption.
(g) Sites where a density bonus of at least 25 percent may be
granted pursuant to specified performance standards.
(h) Other provisions that may be necessary, based on the report
prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) of former Section 14045, as
enacted by Section 3 of Chapter 1304 of the Statutes of 1990.

65460.3. To increase transit ridership and to reduce vehicle
traffic on the highways, local, regional, and state plans should
direct new development close to the transit stations. These entities
should provide financial incentives to implement these plans.

65460.4. A transit village development district shall include all
land within not more than one-half mile of the main entrance of a
transit station designated by the legislative body of a city, county,
or city and county that has jurisdiction over the station area.

65460.5. A city or county establishing a district and preparing a
plan pursuant to this article shall:
(a) Be eligible for available transportation funding.
(b) Receive assistance from the Office of Permit Assistance,
pursuant to Section 15399.53, in establishing an expedited permit
process pursuant to Section 15399.50, at the request of the city or
county.

65460.6. An agency responsible for the preparation and adoption of
the congestion management program may exclude district impacts from
the determination of conformance with level of service standards
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65089.3.

65460.7. (a) A transit village plan shall be prepared, adopted, and
amended in the same manner as a general plan, except for plans
qualified as transit village plans pursuant to Section 65460.11.
(b) A transit village plan may be repealed in the same manner as
it is required to be amended.

65460.8. No transit village plan may be adopted or amended unless
the proposed plan or amendment is consistent with the general plan.

65460.9. No local public works project may be approved, no
tentative map or parcel map for which a tentative map was not
required may be approved, and no zoning ordinance may be adopted or
amended within an area covered by a transit village plan unless it is
consistent with the adopted transit village plan.

65460.10. A city, county, or city and county may require a
developer to enter into a development agreement pursuant to Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 65864) of Chapter 4 to implement a
density bonus specified in the transit village plan pursuant to
subdivision (g) of Section 65460.2.

65460.11. Any portion of a specific plan or redevelopment plan
adopted prior to January 1, 2006, that conforms to the requirements
set forth in Section 65460.2, as amended by Chapter 42 of the
Statutes of 2004, may be declared a transit village plan by a city,
county, or city and county if that entity does both of the following:
(a) After publishing a notice pursuant to Section 6061, in at
least one newspaper of general circulation within the entity's
jurisdiction at least 10 days prior to the public meeting, makes
findings and declarations demonstrating the conformity of the
existing plan to Section 65460.2, as amended by Chapter 42 of the
Statutes of 2004. The notice shall state the entity's intent to
declare a portion of the existing plan as a transit village plan,
describe the general location of the proposed transit village plan,
and state the date, time, and place of the public meeting.
(b) Takes action prior to December 31, 2006, to declare that the
conforming plan constitutes its transit village plan.