SECTIONS 50000-50010

50000.  This division shall be known and may be cited as theZenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act.50001.  The Legislature finds and declares that the subject ofhousing is of vital statewide importance to the health, safety, andwelfare of the residents of this state, for the following reasons: (a) Decent housing is an essential motivating force in helpingpeople achieve self-fulfillment in a free and democratic society. (b) Unsanitary, unsafe, overcrowded, or congested dwellingaccommodations or lack of decent housing constitute conditions whichcause an increase in, and spread of, disease and crime. (c) A healthy housing market is one in which residents of thisstate have a choice of housing opportunities and one in which thehousing consumer may effectively choose within the free marketplace. (d) A healthy housing market is necessary both to achieve ahealthy state economy and to avoid an unacceptable level ofunemployment.50002.  The Congress of the United States has established, as anational goal, the provision of a decent home and a suitable livingenvironment for every American family and the Legislature finds anddeclares that the attainment of this goal is a priority of thehighest order. The national housing goal, as it applies toCalifornia, is deserving of adoption by the Legislature, with theaccompanying commitment to guide, encourage, and direct wherepossible, the efforts of the private and public sectors of theeconomy to cooperate and participate in the early attainment of adecent home and a satisfying environment for every Californian.50003.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that, as a result ofpublic actions involving highways, public facilities, and urbanrenewal projects, and as a result of poverty and the spread of slumconditions and blight to formerly sound neighborhoods, there existswithin the urban and rural areas of the state a serious shortage ofdecent, safe, and sanitary housing which persons and families of lowor moderate income, including the elderly and handicapped, canafford. This situation creates an absolute present and futureshortage of supply in relation to demand, as expressed in terms ofhousing needs and aspirations, and also creates inflation in the costof housing, by reason of its scarcity, which tends to decrease therelative affordability of the state's housing supply for all itsresidents. (b) To provide a decent home and suitable living environment forevery California family is the basic housing goal of stategovernment. The Legislature recognizes that the California StatewideHousing Plan shows the magnitude of this goal by documenting asubstantial need for rehabilitation of existing housing, demolitionand replacement of severely dilapidated housing, construction of newapartments, houses, and mobilehomes, construction or rehabilitationof housing for year-round hired and seasonal farmworkers as well ashousing for migrant farmworkers, and the provision of financialassistance to a substantial number of lower income households inorder to meet standards for affordable rent or housing cost. Privateenterprise and investment, without governmental assistance, cannoteconomically achieve the needed construction of decent, safe, andsanitary housing at rents or purchase prices which persons andfamilies of low or moderate income can afford, nor can it provide theurgently needed rehabilitation of existing housing. The Legislaturealso recognizes the need to provide assistance to persons andfamilies of low and moderate income and very low income households topurchase manufactured housing and to cooperatively own themobilehome parks in which they reside and the need to increase thesupply of manufactured housing affordable to persons and families oflow and moderate income and very low income households. (c) The shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary housing is inimicalto the safety, health, and welfare of the residents of the state andsound growth of its communities. (d) In order to remedy such shortages, it is the intent of theLegislature in enacting this division to provide a comprehensive andbalanced approach to the solution of housing problems of the peopleof this state. (e) This section shall not be interpreted as requiring stateactions to meet housing goals without legislative authorization, oras requiring such legislative action.50003.3.  The Legislature finds and declares that there existswithin the urban and rural areas of the state a significant number ofpersons without decent, safe, and sanitary housing. This shortage isinimical to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of thisstate and the sound growth of its communities. Without theassistance contemplated in this division, it is not financiallyfeasible for private enterprise and private investors to providedecent, safe, and sanitary emergency housing for persons who arehomeless. The Legislature also finds and declares that in order to remedythe emergency shelter shortages, it is necessary to implement apublic program incorporating all of the following elements and goals: (a) An increase in the supply of decent, safe, and sanitaryemergency shelters available to the homeless. (b) Maximum utilization of state, local, and federal subsidiesavailable to meet the emergency shelter needs of the homeless. (c) Maximum utilization of tax increment moneys generated by cityand county redevelopment programs for the construction andmaintenance of decent, safe, and sanitary emergency shelters. (d) Encourage the utilization of unused or underutilized publicfacilities which could be converted to decent, safe, and sanitaryemergency shelters for the homeless. (e) Preservation of existing housing opportunities for very lowincome households, including, but not limited to, residential hotels. (f) Prevention of the displacement of very low income householdsfrom existing housing.50003.5.  The Legislature finds and declares that the shortage ofadequate student housing is detrimental to those communities in whichcollege and university campuses are located, causing in particularsubstantial upward pressure on rents, housing shortages, conversionof family housing to student use, deterioration of housing stock, andgenerally unfavorable housing conditions under which students mustpursue their education. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section, toencourage the growth and formation of student-run and owned nonprofithousing cooperatives. Such student cooperatives shall be eligiblefor the applicable policies and programs provided pursuant to thisdivision.50004.  The Legislature finds and declares that it is to theeconomic benefit of the state and a public purpose to encourage theavailability of adequate housing and home finance for persons andfamilies of low or moderate income, and to develop viable urban andrural communities by providing decent housing, enhanced livingenvironment, and increased economic opportunities for persons andfamilies of low or moderate income.50005.  The Legislature finds and declares that full cooperation andcoordination with the cities and counties of the state in meetingthe housing needs of the state on a level of government which is asclose as possible to the people it serves is essential if workablehousing programs are to be developed and implemented. The provision to local governments of financial resources,statistical data, and technical assistance is necessary toimplementation of public programs to meet housing needs with adequateconsideration of the relationship between housing and the communityin which the housing is located.50006.  The Legislature finds and declares that a number of federalhousing programs have failed to reach the fundamental goals andpurposes for which they were established, especially in urban areas.In California, this failure has often been related to inadequateconsideration of the relationship between housing and the communityin which the housing is located. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this division toseek to avoid such failures by providing a comprehensive and balancedapproach to the solution of housing problems of very low incomehouseholds and persons and families of low or moderate income in thestate. It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide aprogram which gives consideration, not only to the production andfinancing of housing, but also to the social and aesthetic impact ofsuch housing. A California housing program must consider thedistribution throughout the state of such housing as may be assistedpursuant to this division, the avoidance of imposed economic, ethnic,and racial isolation or concentration, an emphasis on superiordesign, including the scale and location of such housing, thepreparation of communities and persons to avail themselves of theprogram, and other factors which contribute to a decent livingenvironment. Such program shall be designed to overcome racialisolation and concentration through revitalization of deterioratingand deteriorated urban areas by attracting a full range of incomegroups to central-city areas to provide economic integration withpersons and families of low or moderate income in such areas.50007.  The Legislature finds and declares that the large equitiesthat the majority of California residents in most economic stratahave now accumulated in single-family homes must be protected andconserved.50007.5.  The Legislature finds and declares that manufacturedhousing, by virtue of its production costs and sales prices canprovide a source of decent, safe, and affordable shelter for personsand families of low and moderate income. The Legislature finds anddeclares that the availability of manufactured housing has beenlimited by inadequate sites for such manufactured housing and by thecosts of financing the purchase of such housing. The Legislaturefinds and declares that, if California is to effectively meet thehousing needs of persons and families of low and moderate income, itmust encourage increased manufactured housing production, newmanufactured housing developments, and the purchase of newmanufactured housing by persons and families of low and moderateincome. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that theDepartment of Housing and Community Development and the CaliforniaHousing Finance Agency, in implementing the programs established bythis division, as amended by the Manufactured Housing Assistance Actof 1980, shall encourage increased availability and affordability ofmanufactured housing for persons and families of low and moderateincome.50008.  The Legislature finds and declares that a significantlygrowing percentage of newly formed households are unable to achievehomeownership under existing conditions, and that preservation andenhancement of opportunities for homeownership are beneficial to thewell-being and prosperity of the people of the state and contributematerially to social and economic balance and to the stability ofCalifornia's communities and of the state as a whole. The Legislature also finds and declares that the problem ofhousing affordability facing the first-time home buyer presentsserious implications for housing market activity and for economicgrowth in California since the first-time home buyer is critical to ahealthy market for all Californians, as all Californians arematerially inhibited in seeking needed adjustments to their housingneeds if potential first-time home buyers cannot enter the market;and that the ability of California to generate activity to producenew jobs is limited by the lack of affordable housing with affordablefinancing for the persons who would fill such jobs. It is, therefore, necessary to implement a program incorporatingthe elements of this division, added by the chapter of the Statutesof 1982 which enacted this section, and the provisions enacted bythat chapter shall be liberally construed to effect their purposes.50009.  The Legislature finds and declares that the utilization oftax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds can, and should, encourage theproduction of housing units affordable to low- and moderate-incomepersons and families. The Legislature further finds and declares thatas a result of recent bond interest rates at historically highlevels, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond programs may not be able toprovide housing affordable to low- and moderate-income persons andfamilies, without an additional subsidy. The Legislature furtherfinds and declares that the effectiveness of tax-exempt mortgagerevenue bonds in reducing the housing costs of low- andmoderate-income persons and families should be carefully monitored bythe Legislature to permit an assessment of the costs and benefits ofthis financing mechanism.50010.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) The high cost of housing in this state makes it impossible formost households to become homeowners and impedes the ability ofCalifornia employers to compete in the national marketplace foremployees. (2) Approximately 1,100,000 lower income renters pay more than 35percent of their income for housing and over 1,600,000 lower incomerenters pay more than 25 percent of their income for housing. (3) Approximately 875,000 housing units need to be rehabilitatedand over 385,000 units need to be replaced in the state. (4) Sufficient safe, sanitary, and affordable housing is notavailable for households with special needs, particularly elderly anddisabled households. (5) The Department of Housing and Community Development estimatesthat there are between 50,000 and 75,000 homeless individuals inCalifornia and other data discloses that the fastest growing segmentof the homeless population are families with children. (6) There are nearly 2,000 rental projects built in this stateprior to 1980 under the Section 236, Section 221(d)(3)B.M.I.R., andSection 8 programs of the United States Department of Housing andUrban Development and the Section 515 Program of the federal FarmersHome Administration, containing approximately 123,000 units subjectto potential conversion to higher rent housing or condominium units. (7) The federal budget for assisted housing has declined sharplyleaving state and local government the burden of developingaffordable housing. (8) The annual budget of the Department of Housing and CommunityDevelopment, which includes forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000)in General Fund and special fund revenues, comprises less thantwo-tenths of 1 percent of the proposed 1988-89 state budget offorty-two billion three hundred million dollars ($42,300,000,000). (9) The basic housing goal for state government pursuant tosubdivision (b) of Section 50003 of the Health and Safety Code is toprovide a decent home and suitable living environment for everyCalifornia family. (b) The Legislature further finds and declares the following: (1) There is an urgent and continuing need to provide affordablehousing to meet the increasingly unfulfilled housing needs of thisstate. (2) There is an immediate need to reaffirm commitment to theofficial housing policy of the state and provide sufficient financialresources 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 tominimize the administrative costs and simplify the financing systemsfor producing affordable housing. (4) There is a critical need to provide financial assistance to(A) purchase, construct, and rehabilitate emergency shelters andtransitional housing for homeless families and individuals, (B)construct rental housing for families and individuals, including thespecial housing needs of the elderly, disabled, and farmworkers, (C)preserve and rehabilitate homes and rental housing, and (D) providehome purchase assistance for first-time homebuyers.