2009 California Health and Safety Code - Section 50000-50010 :: Chapter 1. Legislative Findings And Declarations

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 50000-50010

50000.  This division shall be known and may be cited as the
Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act.

50001.  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.

50002.  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.

50003.  (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.

50003.3.  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.

50003.5.  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.

50004.  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.

50005.  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.

50006.  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.

50007.  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.

50007.5.  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.

50008.  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.

50009.  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.

50010.  (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.


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