Overview
AB 2097 (Government Code § 65863.2) was approved by the Governor on September 22, 2022. The legislation prohibits public agencies from imposing minimum off-site automobile parking requirements for most development within a half-mile of a “major transit stop.” AB 2553 (2024) changed the definition of a “major transit stop” by decreasing the frequency time required for bus routes to qualify from 15 minutes to 20 minutes during the peak period (Public Resources Code § 21064.3). The California Legislative Information site includes a complete statement of AB 2097 and AB 2553.
Eligibility Requirements
"Major transit stop” is defined in California Public Resources Code Section 21155. Public Resources Code Section 21155 further references Section 21064.3. Collectively, qualifying “public transit” to be a “major transit stop,” which is a site containing:
- an existing rail or bus rapid transit station (e.g., Caltrain, BART),
- a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service (e.g., Oyster Point),
- the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 20 minutes or less during the morning (typically 6:00 – 9:00 am) and afternoon (typically 3:00 – 7:00 pm) peak commute periods (e.g., intersection of El Camino Real and East Market Street, due to SamTrans ECR and SamTrans 130, both of which have 15-min headways in peak periods), or
- a major transit stop identified in the applicable regional transportation plan (e.g., Plan Bay Area-identified stops).
AB 2097 does not apply to event centers; hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging; or commercial parking in a contractual agreement with a public agency executed prior to January 1, 2023. AB 2097 applies without exceptions to development containing fewer than 20 housing units; affordable, senior, student or special needs housing where at least 20 percent of the units are dedicated to very low-, low-, or moderate-income households, students, the elderly or persons with disabilities; or developments subject to other state law parking reductions.
Distance from the project site to the major transit stop is measured in a straight line “as the crow flies.”
AB 2097 can be applied at any time during the entitlement process but may require additional review and resubmittals.
Implementation
In order to support AB 2097 applicability verification, please provide the assigned project planner the following:
- map with stop location(s) and project location with a straight, direct line measurement in miles and feet from the nearest edge of the parcel containing the project site to the transit stop as pinpointed by a map sourcing data from 511.org (e.g., third party maps such as Google Maps) if it is within a public right-of-way, or to any point on the parcel(s) that make up the property upon which the stop is located. Map should include roadway network, parcel lines, APNs of project site, north arrow, scale, and legend.
- Transit operator(s) and route number(s) that serve the location(s).
- Hours of operation(s) and schedule during weekdays (6:00 – 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.) from the transit operators’ website with weblink to original documentation).
Resources
For more information about AB 2097, review the California Department of Housing and Community Development Technical Advisory on the Implementation AB 2097. Web tools such as the Caltrans High Quality Transit Stops Dataset Map view, with filter applied under “hqta_type” for major bus, ferry, rail or brt applied, can help with identification of potential stops and qualifying parcels. Most transit service in San Mateo County is provided by SamTrans, Caltrain, and BART.
Contact
Chanda Singh, Senior Transportation Planner