Latest news with #AssemblyBill130
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: HOA fine cap a step in the right direction, but there's still work to be done
To the editor: As a homeowner member of an HOA, I am pleased with the enactment of Assembly Bill 130 limiting the fines charged to homeowners to a cap of $100 ('She faced $500 daily HOA fines for an unapproved door. A new state law saved her,' Aug. 1). However, what the article does not tell you is that the Davis-Stirling Act is not enforced by any state government agency. Since the law consists of civil codes, it is only enforceable through these actions: If a HOA board of directors violates any of the sections, homeowners can recall the board, request a resolution through internal dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution using a third-party mediator or file a case in civil court against the board. All are time-consuming, costly and may not resolve the complaint. If Jinah Kim's HOA continues to fine her as noted, they could place a lien on her property for non-payment. She might then need an attorney to seek relief from the court, which would cost her time and money. The Davis-Stirling Act was written by attorneys for attorneys. The Legislature needs to designate an agency to enforce this act and relieve homeowners from having to take legal action on their own. Frank Deni, Lake Forest
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
She faced $500 daily HOA fines for an unapproved door in her home. A new state law saved her
Jinah Kim's HOA said she couldn't fix a doorway inside her condo. She did it anyway. She figured it was fine. After all, the doorway was completely inside her home, separating an office and dining room. But when the complex's manager peeked into her place through the open garage door one day in March and saw the renovation, she received a notice the next day. The privacy intrusion was shocking, but the cost of noncompliance was even worse: a single $100 fine at first, then up to $500 per day — $3,500 per week — starting July 10 until she changed the doorway back. But on July 1, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 130 into law, her HOA nightmare vanished with the stroke of a pen, and her fee for defiance was capped at $100. "It's a game changer," Kim said. "For years, HOAs have been able to bend entire communities to their will on a whim. This stops that." Industry experts and HOA lobbyists were taken by surprise in June when Newsom pushed AB 130 through the state Legislature and signed it into law — not because it passed, but because it included a last-minute update redefining HOA law in California. The overall goal of the bill is to expedite housing by easing California Environmental Quality Act regulations for many projects, but it also amends the Davis-Stirling Act, the framework that governs homeowners associations. The biggest change? HOA fines are now capped at $100 per violation unless there are health or safety impacts. Want to paint your house neon green? $100. Erect a giant Halloween skeleton on your front lawn year-round? $100. The bill also bans interest and late fees on violations and prohibits HOAs from disciplining homeowners as long as they address violations before the hearing. It allows homeowners to request internal dispute resolution if they don't agree with the board's findings at hearings. It's a massive win for disgruntled homeowners, who have long claimed that California HOAs are too aggressive, stringent and overbearing. It's a startling blow for HOAs, which were left blindsided by the changes. Dyanne Peters, an attorney with Tinnelly Law Group who practices HOA law, said her firm was tracking the legislation, but in a different bill. The HOA language was originally part of Senate Bill 681, a housing bill authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward). Peters said HOA lobbyists were making headway negotiating the bill and coming to a mutual agreement, but on June 27, the HOA language from SB 681 was added into AB 130 and passed three days later, leaving the HOA industry reeling. "As an industry, this came as a shock," she said. "Everyone is scrambling to get a handle on the changes." Peters said no one likes paying fines, but noted that fines aren't a money-making tool for HOAs. Instead, they're used as deterrents for actions that disrupt communities. For example, if a neighborhood doesn't allow homes to be used as short-term rentals such as Airbnbs, but a homeowner shirking the rules only has to pay $100 one time, they'll probably just pay the fine and keep renting out their home. Or if a resident wants to build a huge fence but doesn't want to deal with the architectural approval process, they'll just eat the $100 and build whatever they want. "It's frustrating because these new rules are handcuffing homeowners associations," Peters said. "It takes away the ability for HOAs to govern their own communities. Clients are calling us asking, 'What's the point?'" However, the bill added a lifeline for HOAs by specifying that fines can be greater than $100 if they "result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another association member's property." Peters said associations should go through their current rules and see which could be health or safety violations, and then adopt resolutions that specify in writing that certain actions, such as speeding or having aggressive pets, have health or safety impacts and therefore qualify for fines greater than $100. Luke Carlson, an attorney who represents homeowners in HOA disputes, called the bill a "long-overdue course correction." "AB 130 is more than a law — it's a signal that Sacramento is finally starting to hear the voices of homeowners who've suffered in silence for too long," said Carlson, who authored the book "Bad HOA: The Homeowner's Guide to Going to War and Reclaiming Your Power." Carlson said HOAs in Southern California are uniquely aggressive because of soaring home prices. Property values are high — and so are the stakes for maintaining a problem-free community that keeps those values high. But he said when an association is bad, it tends to feed off its own power, making arbitrary decisions or giving out preferential treatment until someone pushes back. "Everyone agrees bad HOAs are a bad thing, and it takes legislative reform to stop them," he said. HOA horror stories abound in California, the state with the most HOAs (more than 50,000) and the most homes within HOAs (4.68 million) in the country — roughly a million more than Florida, the state with the second most. More than a third of Californians live in HOA communities, and nearly two-thirds of homeowners are a part of HOAs, according to the California Assn. of Homeowners Assns. In San Ramon in Contra Costa County, a woman was fined for replacing her lawn with drought-tolerant plants. In Oakland, HOAs are installing surveillance cameras to track cars and sharing the data with police. Last year, a Times investigation dove into allegations of grand theft and money laundering inside a Santa Monica co-op. Kim, a resident of Shadow Ridge in Oak Park in Ventura County, wanted to remove a blockage in the doorway between her office and dining room. The previous owner had filled the top of the entry with drywall to cover up plumbing pipes, but Kim grew tired of ducking to get under it. The HOA denied her initial request to fix it since the work required briefly shutting off shared water and rerouting pipes. But Kim had her contractor do it anyway. It was an hourlong fix. A few months later, the complex's general manager spotted the unauthorized renovation. The next day, she received four violation letters: one for the door, one for installing an EV charger in her garage, one for having her dog off-leash and one for an unpermitted rug on her balcony. "It's a door within my home that no one else sees and no one else is affected by," Kim said. "It felt like accidentally tapping someone in the hallway and getting the death penalty." She resolved the dog and rug violations and is appealing the EV charger one. But she refused to change the doorway back. On June 27, Kim received a letter saying that since the renovation rerouted shared plumbing lines, she'd have to pay to fill the doorway back in, plus pay $100. If she didn't resolve the issue by July 10, she'd get slapped with fines of up to $500 for every day it wasn't fixed. But after AB 130 went into law, the deadline came and went. She hasn't heard a peep from her HOA, which didn't respond to a request for comment. "It was a big relief. Having a daily $500 fine hanging over my head was a huge source of anxiety," Kim said. She acknowledged that the new blanket of rules will probably allow homeowners to get away with things they shouldn't. But for now, she's just happy to stop banging her head on drywall every time she walks through her dining room. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
She faced $500 daily HOA fines for an unapproved door in her home. A new state law saved her
Jinah Kim's HOA said she couldn't fix a doorway inside her condo. She did it anyway. She figured it was fine. After all, the doorway was completely inside her home, separating an office and dining room. But when the complex's manager peeked into her place through the open garage door one day in March and saw the renovation, she received a notice the next day. The privacy intrusion was shocking, but the cost of noncompliance was even worse: a single $100 fine at first, then up to $500 per day — $3,500 per week — starting July 10 until she changed the doorway back. But on July 1, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 130 into law, her HOA nightmare vanished with the stroke of a pen, and her fee for defiance was capped at $100. 'It's a game changer,' Kim said. 'For years, HOAs have been able to bend entire communities to their will on a whim. This stops that.' Industry experts and HOA lobbyists were taken by surprise in June when Newsom pushed AB 130 through the state Legislature and signed it into law — not because it passed, but because it included a last-minute update redefining HOA law in California. The overall goal of the bill is to expedite housing by easing California Environmental Quality Act regulations for many projects, but it also amends the Davis-Stirling Act, the framework that governs homeowners associations. The biggest change? HOA fines are now capped at $100 per violation unless there are health or safety impacts. Want to paint your house neon green? $100. Erect a giant Halloween skeleton on your front lawn year-round? $100. The bill also bans interest and late fees on violations and prohibits HOAs from disciplining homeowners as long as they address violations before the hearing. It allows homeowners to request internal dispute resolution if they don't agree with the board's findings at hearings. It's a massive win for disgruntled homeowners, who have long claimed that California HOAs are too aggressive, stringent and overbearing. It's a startling blow for HOAs, which were left blindsided by the changes. Dyanne Peters, an attorney with Tinnelly Law Group who practices HOA law, said her firm was tracking the legislation, but in a different bill. The HOA language was originally part of Senate Bill 681, a housing bill authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward). Peters said HOA lobbyists were making headway negotiating the bill and coming to a mutual agreement, but on June 27, the HOA language from SB 681 was added into AB 130 and passed three days later, leaving the HOA industry reeling. 'As an industry, this came as a shock,' she said. 'Everyone is scrambling to get a handle on the changes.' Peters said no one likes paying fines, but noted that fines aren't a money-making tool for HOAs. Instead, they're used as deterrents for actions that disrupt communities. For example, if a neighborhood doesn't allow homes to be used as short-term rentals such as Airbnbs, but a homeowner shirking the rules only has to pay $100 one time, they'll probably just pay the fine and keep renting out their home. Or if a resident wants to build a huge fence but doesn't want to deal with the architectural approval process, they'll just eat the $100 and build whatever they want. 'It's frustrating because these new rules are handcuffing homeowners associations,' Peters said. 'It takes away the ability for HOAs to govern their own communities. Clients are calling us asking, 'What's the point?'' However, the bill added a lifeline for HOAs by specifying that fines can be greater than $100 if they 'result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another association member's property.' Peters said associations should go through their current rules and see which could be health or safety violations, and then adopt resolutions that specify in writing that certain actions, such as speeding or having aggressive pets, have health or safety impacts and therefore qualify for fines greater than $100. Luke Carlson, an attorney who represents homeowners in HOA disputes, called the bill a 'long-overdue course correction.' 'AB 130 is more than a law — it's a signal that Sacramento is finally starting to hear the voices of homeowners who've suffered in silence for too long,' said Carlson, who authored the book 'Bad HOA: The Homeowner's Guide to Going to War and Reclaiming Your Power.' Carlson said HOAs in Southern California are uniquely aggressive because of soaring home prices. Property values are high — and so are the stakes for maintaining a problem-free community that keeps those values high. But he said when an association is bad, it tends to feed off its own power, making arbitrary decisions or giving out preferential treatment until someone pushes back. 'Everyone agrees bad HOAs are a bad thing, and it takes legislative reform to stop them,' he said. HOA horror stories abound in California, the state with the most HOAs (more than 50,000) and the most homes within HOAs (4.68 million) in the country — roughly a million more than Florida, the state with the second most. More than a third of Californians live in HOA communities, and nearly two-thirds of homeowners are a part of HOAs, according to the California Assn. of Homeowners Assns. In San Ramon in Contra Costa County, a woman was fined for replacing her lawn with drought-tolerant plants. In Oakland, HOAs are installing surveillance cameras to track cars and sharing the data with police. Last year, a Times investigation dove into allegations of grand theft and money laundering inside a Santa Monica co-op. Kim, a resident of Shadow Ridge in Oak Park in Ventura County, wanted to remove a blockage in the doorway between her office and dining room. The previous owner had filled the top of the entry with drywall to cover up plumbing pipes, but Kim grew tired of ducking to get under it. The HOA denied her initial request to fix it since the work required briefly shutting off shared water and rerouting pipes. But Kim had her contractor do it anyway. It was an hourlong fix. A few months later, the complex's general manager spotted the unauthorized renovation. The next day, she received four violation letters: one for the door, one for installing an EV charger in her garage, one for having her dog off-leash and one for an unpermitted rug on her balcony. 'It's a door within my home that no one else sees and no one else is affected by,' Kim said. 'It felt like accidentally tapping someone in the hallway and getting the death penalty.' She resolved the dog and rug violations and is appealing the EV charger one. But she refused to change the doorway back. On June 27, Kim received a letter saying that since the renovation rerouted shared plumbing lines, she'd have to pay to fill the doorway back in, plus pay $100. If she didn't resolve the issue by July 10, she'd get slapped with fines of up to $500 for every day it wasn't fixed. But after AB 130 went into law, the deadline came and went. She hasn't heard a peep from her HOA, which didn't respond to a request for comment. 'It was a big relief. Having a daily $500 fine hanging over my head was a huge source of anxiety,' Kim said. She acknowledged that the new blanket of rules will probably allow homeowners to get away with things they shouldn't. But for now, she's just happy to stop banging her head on drywall every time she walks through her dining room.
Business Journals
02-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
5 things: Black Sails Coffee opens July 12 in Citrus Heights
Welcome to Wednesday, loyal readers. The operator of the latest incarnation of Downtown Sacramento restaurant Jim-Denny's says she's closing the business today amid a dispute with her landlord. Here's what else you need to know. Want more local business headlines? Sign up for our morning and afternoon newsletters to get Sacramento business news delivered straight to your inbox. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events Black Sails Coffee Lounge sets opening date in Citrus Heights Last month, my colleague Jake Abbott told you that Black Sails Coffee Lounge was coming to the Marketplace at Birdcage in Citrus Heights. Update: The locally owned business will open at 11 a.m. on July 12, operators announced on social media. It's located at 5925 Birdcage Centre Lane, Suite 102. Black Sails Coffee Lounge will specialize in espresso drinks, cold brew, hot coffee and tea, in addition to pastries, the Business Journal previously reported. Intel cuts more jobs in Folsom The Intel Corp. campus in Folsom will have a permanent layoff of 54 employees in July, part of a reduction that also included 110 employees for the chip giant in and around its headquarters in Santa Clara. Intel notified state employment officials of a permanent layoff of 54 employees effective July 11 at the Folsom campus. Reporter Mark Anderson has details about Intel's latest layoffs in Folsom. Chinese eatery to replace Station 16 in Midtown A restaurant group specializing in Chinese cuisine is expanding into California, with a new concept planned for the Firestone Building in Midtown Sacramento. Dumpling King has signed a lease for a 5,128-square-foot restaurant space at 1118 16th St. The space was most recently occupied by Station 16, which operated out of the spot for nearly 10 years and served steaks and seafood. The restaurant group behind the upcoming Dumpling King has several sites in Oregon. Reporter Jake Abbott explains what to expect from Dumpling King in Midtown Sacramento. California passes 'historic' CEQA reform California has enacted a series of changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, easing a regulatory process that critics, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have long decried as unnecessarily restrictive of new development. Newsom late Monday signed into law Assembly Bill 130, which, drawing upon a bill proposed earlier this year by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), creates a new class of residential development for which review under CEQA, a law notorious for its capacity to delay and derail development in California, is no longer necessary. Sarah Klearman from our sister publication, the San Francisco Business Times, explains what you need to know about changes to the California Environmental Quality Act. 2 undeveloped Natomas properties proposed for infill housing Two undeveloped North Natomas properties, including one less than 5 miles from Downtown Sacramento, are proposed for zoning changes to develop them as single-family housing. The larger one, 38.3 acres northwest of where Interstate 5 meets Interstate 80, was proposed five years ago as an employment center, but didn't get far before the Covid-19 pandemic sapped demand for office space. Senior Reporter Ben van der Meer has details about the Natomas properties proposed for infill housing. Have a great day, folks. Thanks for reading.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Gov. Newsom signs housing legislation overhauling California's landmark environmental law
California lawmakers have approved two new bills that are expected to lead to a significant overhaul of the state's landmark environmental protection law and jump-start the stagnated housing market that has long stymied residents and would-be employers. The major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, were attached to two bills in a larger $321 billion state budget bill that eventually passed with ease. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation on June 30, which received rare bipartisan support. "This is the most consequential housing reform in modern history in the state of California. Long overdue? Absolutely," Newsom said at a news conference as he signed the legislation. Supporters said the reforms to CEQA's strenuous review process will help improve the state's ongoing housing shortage and chronic homelessness crisis. Some environmental advocates call the move back-door dealmaking. Assembly Bill 130, created by California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, exempts most urban housing projects from environmental review. Another bill, Senate Bill 131, by California state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, waives the environmental restrictions for other buildings, including health clinics, child care, and food banks. Newsom on legislation: 'Too urgent, too important' California has long been considered a national pioneer for environmental action, as changes to its signature impact review law come at a time that may change the landscape within the nation's most populous state. California is estimated to need 3.5 million more housing units than it has. The shortage is one reason people and businesses have fled as housing in popular cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles is unaffordable to the vast majority who want to live and work there. The changes are meant to jump-start housing construction, which has often been strangled by the use of the state's signature 1970 environmental law. Critics say the law is used by groups whose goal is more intent on stopping buildings than sparing the environment. The bills became law after Newsom threatened to reject the state budget passed last week unless there was an overhaul of CEQA, which requires strict reviews of any new development built and its impact on the environment. That process could take months to years, adding expense and uncertainty to projects. For years, these environmental impact studies have often been known to delay and even halt new development due to CEQA, regarded as among the strictest laws of its kind in the United States. During a news conference after signing the laws, Newsom said the matter was "too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation, invariably falling prey to all kinds of pratfall." Behind the bills Under the two new laws, nine types of projects are exempted from environmental impact reviews. They include child care centers, health clinics, food banks, as well as farmworker housing, broadband, wildfire prevention, water infrastructure, public parks or trails, and advanced manufacturing. "It's aligned with what I know about the history and the reform measures," Mark Baldassare, survey director for the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan research organization, told USA TODAY. "We'll see what takes place. Stay tuned." Possible changes have been under intense debate for at least a decade, Baldassare said. Newsom and other state legislators are now aware that voters nationwide during last year's elections blamed politicians, especially Democrats, for not curbing rising cost-of-living prices, Baldassare added. Baldassare said PPIC statewide polling of California voters in both 2023 and June 2025 revealed that the cost of living and affordable housing are their top two concerns, calling last year's election "a wake-up call." "The idea of reforming CEQA has been around for a long time," Baldassare said. "Our polling indicated that despite the state's strong environmental attributes, they were supportive of reforming CEQA across party lines, and that doesn't happen too often, especially given today's polarization." California budget breakdown: How it impacts your life, from Medi-Cal and education to fires California's environmental law The 54-year-old California statute, signed by then-governor Ronald Reagan, was intended to protect wildlife and natural resources of forests, mountains, and coastal spaces. The law requires state and local governments to study and publicize the likely environmental impact of any decisions they make, including the permitting of new housing, as California home values and rents are among the most expensive in the nation, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The requirement is called an Environmental Impact Report, which can take up to a year to complete. Aiming to streamline and lower the cost of construction in California, the new laws also restrict legal challenges under CEQA by narrowing the documents courts can consider. It also allows limited environmental reviews of projects that are not considered to have a litany of impacts. California state Senator Scott Wiener, who wrote one of the two bills, told reporters on June 30 that the changes won't happen in the next year or three years, but in decades to come. He called the changes a bold step forward toward tackling the root causes of California's affordability crisis. "The high costs devastating our communities stem directly from our extreme shortage of housing, childcare, affordable healthcare, and so many of the other things families need to thrive," Wiener, a Democrat, said in a statement. "These bills get red tape and major process hurdles out of the way, allowing us to finally start addressing these shortages and securing an affordable California and a brighter future." Weiner added that when the economic conditions are right, the state will be prepared "to build a ton of housing," and the structure is in place to facilitate it. 'Connect people to shelter, housing': California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils homelessness plan to clear street camps 'Bills were passed in the most undemocratic way possible' Asha Sharma, a state policy manager with Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability, described the changes as a "back-room, last-minute deal" that left the state budget hanging in the balance and the opposition little time for public scrutiny. "The bills were passed in the most undemocratic way possible. It made the entire state budget contingent on it," Sharma told USA TODAY. "We really couldn't make our voices heard. There was very little public process with this." She wasn't alone. Raquel Mason, a senior legislative manager with the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said her group opposes Weiner's bill. Sharma and Mason said there have been 23 Superfund sites in Santa Clara County, where tech-rich Silicon Valley is located. They say many of those sites are tied to semiconductor manufacturing. "By advancing this bill, the legislature sent a clear message: our health, our safety, and our right to participate in decisions that impact our lives are disposable," Mason said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This bill will usher industrial development without any opportunity for our communities to advocate for needed mitigations to protect ourselves." Newsom forced California legislators' hands While Weiner wrote a bill to exempt several types of projects from environmental review, Newsom forced the changes to overhaul the state's environmental law. The governor told lawmakers that he wouldn't approve California's $321 billion budget without them. Last week, a provision in the approved budget act said the spending plan would be repealed if changes to the state's environmental review process were not finalized by June 30. On June 30, Newsom said on social media that he enacted "the most game-changing housing reforms" in recent California history. "We're urgently embracing an abundance agenda by tearing down the barriers that have delayed new affordable housing and infrastructure for decades," Newsom wrote. The governor later mentioned to reporters during a June 30 news conference that his administration's goal is to build 2.5 million homes by 2030. Newsom said it's up to leaders across the state to use this new tool to help make the goal a reality. "If we can't address this issue, we're going to lose trust, and that's just the truth," Newsom said. "And so this is so much bigger in many ways than the issue itself. It is about the reputation of not just Sacramento and the legislative leadership and executive leadership, but the reputation of the state of California." Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
