To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: JANE CHUNG, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
TITLE
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AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO ASSEMBLY BILL 1708, WHICH, IF APPROVED BY THE STATE, WOULD CREATE ROUND 7 OF CALIFORNIA’S HOMELESS HOUSING, ASSISTANCE, AND PREVENTION (HHAP) PROGRAM, AND ASSEMBLY BILL 2152, WHICH, IF APPROVED BY THE STATE, WOULD PROVIDE TARGETED EXEMPTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR CERTAIN FIRE STATION PROJECTS
RECEIVE AND FILE A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO SENATE BILL 922, WHICH, IF APPROVED BY THE STATE, WOULD ALLOW FOR CITIES TO RECOVER STREET MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR COSTS CAUSED BY HEAVY ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consistent with the Legislative Action Platform, draft position letters are to be presented to the City Council whenever practical. Therefore, staff is providing the draft letters of support for AB 1708 and AB 2152 for the City Council’s consideration.
The Legislative Action Platform also authorizes the submission of position letters prior to City Council review when an immediate response is required, provided the letter is reviewed and approved by the City Manager. To take advantage of the opportunity to include the City’s position in the committee analysis for SB 922, staff submitted a letter of support in advance of the deadline. This report presents the submitted letter to the City Council to receive and file.
BACKGROUND
Assembly Bill (AB) 1708 (Solache)
The Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program is a statewide grant program that provides flexible, one-time block grant funding to cities, counties, and continuums of care (CoC) to support regional coordination and expand local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges. The grant program is designed to fund programs such as shelter operations, street outreach, and interim and permanent housing strategies.
The 2026-27 California State Budget appropriates $500 million in one-time General Fund support for Round 7 of the HHAP Program. This funding is contingent on the enactment of legislation that establishes clear accountability requirements for grantees, including a set of conditions and priorities, measurable outcomes, and shared investment between the state and local jurisdictions. If passed, AB 1708 would allow funding to be allocated to smaller municipalities, as defined as cities with populations under 300,000, which includes Redondo Beach. To be eligible for funding, AB 1708 requires smaller jurisdictions to meet several conditions, including adopting a resolution, having a compliant housing element, and adopting a local encampment policy.
The City’s Enhanced Response to Homelessness includes housing navigation and outreach services, an alternative crisis response team, interim housing sites, and a prosecution‑led diversion program. Currently, the City cannot access HHAP funding directly due to population thresholds. Expanding equitable access to HHAP would support the City in implementing localized strategies and strengthening programs and partnerships that address the City’s specific needs.
Assembly Bill (AB) 2152 (Gonzalez)
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires government agencies to evaluate environmental impacts before approving a project, such as public buildings. However, CEQA review can significantly slow down project timelines and increase costs, and because fire stations are critical emergency response facilities, delays in their construction can directly affect public safety.
AB 2152 seeks to address this by creating a specific CEQA exemption for fire station projects. If approved, projects involving the planning, design, site acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance of a public fire station could be exempt from CEQA review, provided they are not located on an environmentally sensitive site, and all construction-related agreements over $50,000 are covered by a project labor agreement (PLA). The City of Redondo Beach is currently in the process of replacing both Fire Stations 1 and 2, and must complete environmental analyses under CEQA. These requirements could be streamlined through AB 2152 if enacted as written.
If the City Council approves the letters of support for AB 1708 and AB 2152, staff will disseminate the letter to locally elected Legislators and upload it to the State’s new electronic portal, which automatically distributes letters to offices of the appropriate elected officials and committee(s) of jurisdiction.
Senate Bill (SB) 922 (Laird)
Local governments have long incorporated street maintenance and repair costs generated by heavy public service vehicles into service rates, fees, or franchise agreements. Providing a consistent and transparent method helps to ensure that the financial burden of maintaining safe and reliable streets does not fall solely on the General Fund or limited state transportation revenues, and that service providers contribute to the roadway impacts that their operations create.
Recent lawsuits have challenged these longstanding practices for recovering roadway maintenance costs. In Rogers v. City of Redlands, the court found that using solid waste fees to recover road repair costs violated the Vehicle Code, placing cities and counties at risk of losing an important revenue source for maintaining local streets. SB 922 seeks to address this by clarifying that the statutory prohibition applies only to weight-based charges and does not restrict service-related fees used to recover roadway impacts caused by essential public service operations.
The City has benefited from, and relied upon, vehicle road impact fees provided by its solid waste hauling contractor to support maintenance of the City’s roadways. In FY 2024-25, the City collected nearly $350,000, a typical annual amount, and used the funds for the Citywide Slurry Seal Program and the Residential Street Rehabilitation Program. Loss of these funds would directly affect the City’s ability to meet its goal of improving the average Pavement Condition Index (PCI). This index is already difficult to maintain due to the steep rise in construction prices, which reduces the amount of pavement area that can be addressed under current funding limitations. Additional loss of funding would lead to a decline of PCI.
On March 5, 2026, the City’s State lobbyists informed staff that SB 922 had been scheduled for a Senate Local Government Committee hearing on March 18, 2026. They also noted that the City could be listed in the committee analysis as a supporter of the bill if a position letter was submitted by March 10, 2026. Since the City’s Legislative Action Platform authorizes the submission of position letters prior to City Council review when an immediate response is required, provided the letter is reviewed and approved by the City Manager, the City submitted a letter of support for inclusion in the committee analysis. This report presents the submitted letter to the City Council to receive and file.
COORDINATION
The City Manager’s Office collaborated with the City Attorney’s Office, Public Works Department, and Fire Department to draft the position letters and the administrative report.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with authorizing the Mayor to sign the position letters.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• AB 1708 (Solache) Position Letter
• AB 2152 (Gonzalez) Position Letter
• AB 922 (Laird) Position Letter