Bills

AB 605: Department of Housing and Community Development: program administration: bonus points: housing element.

Session Year: 2021-2022
House: Assembly
Latest Version Date: 2021-03-11

Version:

Existing law establishes various programs intended to promote the development of affordable housing, including the Multifamily Housing Program, under which the Department of Housing and Community Development provides financial assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of certain housing development activities.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development, and the development of certain lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development that identifies sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period and that are sufficient to provide for the jurisdictions share of the regional housing need for all income levels, as specified.

This bill would require the department to develop and implement a bonus point system for competitive grant and loan programs that are administered by the department and that facilitate the development of housing. The bill would require the department to award bonus points to proponents of housing development projects that meet specified requirements including that the project has received all necessary local agency approvals to begin construction, and the local agency determines that the project will meet or exceed the local agencys requirement to satisfy the local agencys share of regional housing need for at least one household income level, as specified. The bill would require the department to award bonus points to an applicant that is the proponent of a housing development project that is located on a site identified in the local agencys inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, and the project meets or exceeds the local agencys share of regional housing need at a designated household income level, as specified. The bill would require the bonus point system to also award bonus points to applicants for competitive grants or loans awarded for the purposes of constructing infrastructure necessary for the development of housing that satisfies the local agencys share of regional housing need.

This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this bill to include provisions that would improve the competitive application process for housing-related funding by awarding additional points to areas that meet the states affordable housing targets.

Version:

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.Section 50459.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:50459.5.

(a)The department shall develop and implement a bonus point system for competitive grant and loan programs that are administered by the department and that facilitate the development of housing. The bonus point system shall award additional points to applicants that meet the following requirements:

(1)The applicant is the proponent of a housing development project that has received all necessary local agency approvals to begin construction of the project and the local agency determines that the project will meet or exceed the local agencys requirement to satisfy the local agencys share of regional housing need established pursuant to Section 65584 of the Government Code for at least one household income level.

(2)(A)The applicant is the proponent of a housing development project that is located on a site identified in the local agencys inventory of land suitable and available for residential development required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 of the Government Code, the project meets or exceeds the local agencys share of regional housing need at a designated household income level, and the project has received all necessary approvals from the local agency to begin construction of the housing development.

(B)This paragraph shall only apply to an applicant of a project located on a site identified in the local agencys fifth housing element cycle.

(b)(1)The department shall award bonus points under this section based on the number of housing units developed for households within the designated household income levels established pursuant to Section 65584 of the Government Code. The department shall award the most bonus points to the projects that provide housing affordable to very low and lower income households.

(2)The department shall begin awarding bonus points under this section to projects approved by a local agency on and after January 1, 2022.

(c)The bonus point system developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall also award bonus points to applicants for competitive grants or loans awarded for the purposes of constructing infrastructure necessary for the development of housing that satisfies the local agencys share of regional housing need.

SECTION 1.It is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this measure to include provisions that would improve the competitive application process for housing-related funding by awarding additional points to areas that meet the states affordable housing targets.

Date	Status
Feb 1, 2022	From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
Jan 31, 2022	Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
Mar 15, 2021	Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.
Mar 11, 2021	Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV.
Feb 13, 2021	From printer. May be heard in committee March 15.
Feb 12, 2021	Read first time. To print.

Authors shown for version:
Amended Assembly (3/11/2021)