AB 650: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation.
- Session Year: 2025-2026
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2025-09-15
Current Status:
Failed
(2026-01-22: Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file.)
Introduced
In Committee
Awaiting First Chamber Vote
Passed First Chamber
In Committee
Awaiting Second Chamber Vote
Passed Second Chamber
Enacted
What does this bill do?
The bill shifts and lengthens timelines for housing planning: it generally moves the Department of Housing and Community Development’s regional housing‑need and consultation deadlines from about 2 years to about 3 years before a housing element update, and it extends deadlines for forming subregional groups and for councils of governments to allocate housing need—affecting councils of governments, cities, and counties. It also requires the department to publish a standardized reporting form by December 31, 2026 for fair‑housing actions and to tell a jurisdiction, in writing, exactly what analysis or text is needed when a draft housing plan is found noncompliant, and the jurisdiction must include that material.
The summary is provided by generative AI which can make mistakes. For original language, please view the details in the table below.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element. The bill would require the department to meet and consult with the council of governments, as described above, pursuant to prescribed deadlines. For the 7th revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision, except for specified councils of governments. For the 8th and subsequent revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision.
(3)Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions existing and projected housing need among its members. If the council of governments does not receive a notification of this formation at least 28 months prior to the update, existing law requires the council of governments to implement specified requirements regarding the regional housing need process. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for cities and counties to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions housing need, as provided, from 28 months to 34 months, and the above-described timeline for the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each subregion from 25 months to 31 months, respectively.
(4)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(5)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment.
(6)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by SB 340 and AB 610 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 to be operative only if this bill and SB 486 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.03 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1275 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 and AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by AB 507 to be operative only if this bill and AB 507 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(7)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element. The bill would require the department to meet and consult with the council of governments, as described above, pursuant to prescribed deadlines. For the 7th revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision, except for specified councils of governments. For the 8th and subsequent revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision.
(3)Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions existing and projected housing need among its members. If the council of governments does not receive a notification of this formation at least 28 months prior to the update, existing law requires the council of governments to implement specified requirements regarding the regional housing need process. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for cities and counties to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions housing need, as provided, from 28 months to 34 months, and the above-described timeline for the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each subregion from 25 months to 31 months, respectively.
(4)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(5)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment.
(6)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by SB 340 and AB 610 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 to be operative only if this bill and SB 486 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.03 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1275 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 and AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by AB 507 to be operative only if this bill and AB 507 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(6)(7)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, and the above-described timeline to meet and consult with a council of governments from at least 26 months to at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively. element. The bill would require the department to meet and consult with the council of governments, as described above, pursuant to prescribed deadlines. For the 7th revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision, except for specified councils of governments. For the 8th and subsequent revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision.
(3)Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions existing and projected housing need among its members. If the council of governments does not receive a notification of this formation at least 28 months prior to the update, existing law requires the council of governments to implement specified requirements regarding the regional housing need process. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for cities and counties to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions housing need, as provided, from 28 months to 34 months, and the above-described timeline for the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each subregion from 25 months to 31 months, respectively.
(4)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(5)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment.
(6)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, and the above-described timeline to meet and consult with a council of governments from at least 26 months to at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(3)Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, and at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions existing and projected housing need among its members. If the council of governments does not receive a notification of this formation at least 28 months prior to the update, existing law requires the council of governments to implement specified requirements regarding the regional housing need process. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for cities and counties to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions housing need, as provided, from 28 months to 34 months, and the above-described timeline for the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each subregion from 25 months to 31 months, respectively.
(4)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(5)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment.
(6)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 30 months 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, and the above-described timeline to meet and consult with a council of governments from at least 26 months to at least 32 38 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(3)Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, and at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions existing and projected housing need among its members. If the council of governments does not receive a notification of this formation at least 28 months prior to the update, existing law requires the council of governments to implement specified requirements regarding the regional housing need process. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for cities and counties to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregions housing need, as provided, from 28 months to 34 months, and the above-described timeline for the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each subregion from 25 months to 31 months, respectively.
(3)(4)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(4)(5)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment. The bill would also exempt a jurisdiction from certain requirements to approve a so-called builders remedy project under specified law for the period during which the department is reviewing that jurisdictions updated draft element or draft amendment after submission of the updated element or amendment, as described above, or for 90 days from the date the department notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies with the draft, as provided. The bill would make various conforming changes in this regard.
(5)(6)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1)Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines affirmatively furthering fair housing, as provided.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires that a housing element include, among other things, a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would require the department to develop the above-described standardized reporting format on or before December 31, 2026.
(2)Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the regions housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 30 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, and the above-described timeline to meet and consult with a council of governments from at least 26 months to at least 32 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(3)Existing law, at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to jurisdictions, as specified. Existing law, at least 1 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, as specified, requires each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, as specified.
This bill, except with respect to the 7th housing element cycle for councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year, would instead require that the above-described methodology be developed from at least 2 1/2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, and that the distribution of the draft allocation plan be made at least 2 years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, respectively.
(4)Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a copy of its draft housing element or amendments to its housing element or housing element revision to the department for review, and requires the department to notify the city, county, or city and county with written findings if the department finds that the housing element or the amendment does not substantially comply with specified law. If the department finds that the draft housing element or draft amendment is not in substantial compliance, existing law requires the jurisdiction to either update the draft to substantially comply with specified law, or adopt the draft housing element or amendment without changes, as provided.
This bill would require the department, if the department finds that a draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply, as described above, to (A) identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment and (B) provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy those deficiencies, as specified. The bill would require a jurisdiction, in updating a noncompliant housing element or amendment under the above-described provisions, to include the specific analysis or text in its draft element or amendment. The bill would also exempt a jurisdiction from certain requirements to approve a so-called builders remedy project under specified law for the period during which the department is reviewing that jurisdictions updated draft element or draft amendment after submission of the updated element or amendment, as described above, or for 90 days from the date the department notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies with the draft, as provided. The bill would make various conforming changes in this regard.
(5)By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law authorizes a legislative body, defined as a board of trustees, city council, or other governing body of a city, to abandon a park and sell the land comprising it pursuant to a prescribed procedure.This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.Existing law authorizes a legislative body, defined as a board of trustees, city council, or other governing body of a city, to abandon a park and sell the land comprising it pursuant to a prescribed procedure.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.1.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development.
(A)The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(B)(i)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis shall also include a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement containing both of the following:
(I)An identification of each new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, adopted after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element to the department.
(II)An identification of any new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, that the governing body of the local government can anticipate adopting during the first three years of the planning period commencing on the date that a local agencys housing element is considered to be in substantial compliance pursuant to Section 65585.03.
(ii)For the purposes of this subparagraph, anticipate adopting means a legislative body of the local government had, after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element, identified in an agenda published by a legislative body of the local government pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5) an action to consider the adoption, amendment, or increase in the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint.
(iii)This subparagraph shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint regardless of whether it was included in a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement pursuant to this subparagraph.
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.2.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs, and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of those needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care, and all services provided onsite, including the addition or expansion of services that are consistent with any written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.3.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs, and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of those needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care, and all services provided onsite, including the addition or expansion of services that are consistent with any written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development.
(A)The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(B)(i)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis shall also include a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement containing both of the following:
(I)An identification of each new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, adopted after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element to the department.
(II)An identification of any new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, that the governing body of the local government can anticipate adopting during the first three years of the planning period commencing on the date that a local agencys housing element is considered to be in substantial compliance pursuant to Section 65585.03.
(ii)For the purposes of this subparagraph, anticipate adopting means a legislative body of the local government had, after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element, identified in an agenda published by a legislative body of the local government pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5) an action to consider the adoption, amendment, or increase in the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint.
(iii)This subparagraph shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint regardless of whether it was included in a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement pursuant to this subparagraph.
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)(1)(A)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except in the following circumstances:
(i)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least two years prior to the scheduled revision.
(ii)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first 6 months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least 32 months prior to the scheduled revision.
(B)For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 24 months prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588.
(2)The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)Subject to the applicable deadline specified in paragraph (2), and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The deadline for the department to meet and consult with each council of governments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A)For the fourth, fifth, and sixth revisions of the housing element, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(B)For the seventh revision of the housing element, the applicable of the following:
(i)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(IV)The County of Nevada.
(ii)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 34 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
(II)The Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
(iii)With respect to all councils of governments other than those specified in clauses (i) and (ii), at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(C)For the eighth and subsequent revisions of the housing element, at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(3)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 3.5.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)Subject to the applicable deadline specified in paragraph (2), and before developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)(i)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(ii)The Department of Finance shall consider changes in enrollment levels at campuses of the University of California or the California State University in the region, as forecasted by the University of California and the California State University pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (e) of Section 65584.04, when preparing the anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data used by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The deadline for the department to meet and consult with each council of governments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A)For the fourth, fifth, and sixth revisions of the housing element, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(B)For the seventh revision of the housing element, the applicable of the following:
(i)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(IV)The County of Nevada.
(ii)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 34 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
(II)The Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
(iii)With respect to all councils of governments other than those specified in clauses (i) and (ii), at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(C)For the eighth and subsequent revisions of the housing element, at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(3)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 4.5.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the subregions share of the current adopted final regional housing need allocation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.1.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and use readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)(A)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction, the distribution of those students among jurisdictions within the region, and for a campus of the California State University or the University of California, the optimization of transit, pedestrian, and other nonvehicle trip efficiency by students to the campus, including off-campus facilities.
(B)(i)No more than six months before the development of the methodology, the Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide to each council of governments a forecast of changes in enrollment levels at its campuses, including off-campus facilities, within the region, based on factors including, but not limited to, (I) cohort progression projections, (II) improvements in the percentage of California residents meeting university admission and transfer standards, and (III) improvements in degree completion by noncohort students. The forecast shall not be limited to students who will be recent high school graduates. The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide copies of the forecast to the Director of Finance, the Director of Housing and Community Development, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(ii)Clause (i) shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent housing element cycle, except as specified in clause (iii).
(iii)With respect to all of the following councils of governments, clause (i) shall apply to the eighth and each subsequent housing element cycles:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(C)The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide trip and travel data to the council of governments upon request.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.2.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)The development pattern set forth in the regions sustainable communities strategy of its regional transportation plan.
(14)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall be informed by the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is informed by the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.3.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and use readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)(A)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction, the distribution of those students among jurisdictions within the region, and for a campus of the California State University or the University of California, the optimization of transit, pedestrian, and other nonvehicle trip efficiency by students to the campus, including off-campus facilities.
(B)(i)No more than six months before the development of the methodology, the Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide to each council of governments a forecast of changes in enrollment levels at its campuses, including off-campus facilities, within the region, based on factors including, but not limited to, (I) cohort progression projections, (II) improvements in the percentage of California residents meeting university admission and transfer standards, and (III) improvements in degree completion by noncohort students. The forecast shall not be limited to students who will be recent high school graduates. The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide copies of the forecast to the Director of Finance, the Director of Housing and Community Development, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(ii)Clause (i) shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent housing element cycle, except as specified in clause (iii).
(iii)With respect to all of the following councils of governments, clause (i) shall apply to the eighth and each subsequent housing element cycles:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(C)The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide trip and travel data to the council of governments upon request.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)The development pattern set forth in the regions sustainable communities strategy of its regional transportation plan.
(14)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall be informed by the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is informed by the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 7.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (i), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 7.5.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (i), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
SEC. 8.(a)(1)Section 1.1 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 610. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65583 of the Government Code, (C) Senate Bill 340 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 610, in which case Sections 1, 1.2, and 1.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(2)Section 1.2 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 340. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65583 of the Government Code, (C) Assembly Bill 610 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 340 in which case Sections 1, 1.1, and 1.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(3)Section 1.3 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by this bill, Assembly Bill 610, and Senate Bill 340. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) all three bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) all three bills amend Section 65583 of the Government Code, and (C) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 610 and Senate Bill 340, in which case Sections 1, 1.1, and 1.2 of this bill shall not become operative.
(b)Section 3.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 486. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65584.01 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486, in which case Section 3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(c)Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.03 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65584.03 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Section 4 of this bill shall not become operative.
(d)(1)Section 5.1 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 486. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, (C) Assembly Bill 1275 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486, in which case Sections 5, 5.2, and 5.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(2)Section 5.2 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, (C) Senate Bill 486 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Sections 5, 5.1, and 5.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(3)Section 5.3 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by this bill, Senate Bill 486, and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) all three bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) all three bills amend Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, and (C) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486 and Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Sections 5, 5.1, and 5.2 of this bill shall not become operative.
(e)Section 7.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 507. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65585 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 507, in which case Section 7 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 9.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.1.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(A)The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(B)(i)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis shall also include a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement containing both of the following:
(I)An identification of each new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, adopted after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element to the department.
(II)An identification of any new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, that the governing body of the local government can anticipate adopting during the first three years of the planning period commencing on the date that a local agencys housing element is considered to be in substantial compliance pursuant to Section 65585.03.
(ii)For the purposes of this subparagraph, anticipate adopting means a legislative body of the local government had, after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element, identified in an agenda published by a legislative body of the local government pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5) an action to consider the adoption, amendment, or increase in the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint.
(iii)This subparagraph shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint regardless of whether it was included in a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement pursuant to this subparagraph.
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)The On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.2.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs needs, and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these those needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. care, and all services provided onsite, including the addition or expansion of services that are consistent with any written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)The On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 1.3.Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:65583.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs needs, and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these those needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. care, and all services provided onsite, including the addition or expansion of services that are consistent with any written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(A)The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(B)(i)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis shall also include a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement containing both of the following:
(I)An identification of each new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, adopted after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element to the department.
(II)An identification of any new or amended potential or actual governmental constraint, or revision increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint, that the governing body of the local government can anticipate adopting during the first three years of the planning period commencing on the date that a local agencys housing element is considered to be in substantial compliance pursuant to Section 65585.03.
(ii)For the purposes of this subparagraph, anticipate adopting means a legislative body of the local government had, after the due date of the previous housing element and before submittal of the current draft housing element, identified in an agenda published by a legislative body of the local government pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5) an action to consider the adoption, amendment, or increase in the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint.
(iii)This subparagraph shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a potential or actual governmental constraint regardless of whether it was included in a potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement pursuant to this subparagraph.
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)The On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)(1)(A)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except in the following circumstances:
(i)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least two years before prior to the scheduled revision.
(ii)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six 6 months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least 32 months before prior to the scheduled revision.
(B)For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 24 months before prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, the department shall determine their existing and projected housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision. 65588.
(2)The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)Subject to the applicable deadline specified in paragraph (2), and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The deadline for the department to meet and consult with each council of governments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A)For the fourth, fifth, and sixth revisions of the housing element, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(B)For the seventh revision of the housing element, the applicable of the following:
(i)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(IV)The County of Nevada.
(ii)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 34 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
(II)The Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
(iii)With respect to all councils of governments other than those specified in clauses (i) and (ii), at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(C)For the eighth and subsequent revisions of the housing element, at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(3)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 3.5.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)At least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 Subject to the applicable deadline specified in paragraph (2), and prior to before developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)(i)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(ii)The Department of Finance shall consider changes in enrollment levels at campuses of the University of California or the California State University in the region, as forecasted by the University of California and the California State University pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (e) of Section 65584.04, when preparing the anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized used by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The deadline for the department to meet and consult with each council of governments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A)For the fourth, fifth, and sixth revisions of the housing element, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(B)For the seventh revision of the housing element, the applicable of the following:
(i)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(IV)The County of Nevada.
(ii)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 34 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
(II)The Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
(iii)With respect to all councils of governments other than those specified in clauses (i) and (ii), at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(C)For the eighth and subsequent revisions of the housing element, at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(2)(3)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 4.5.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 25 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. subregions share of the current adopted final regional housing need allocation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.1.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize use readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)(A)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction. jurisdiction, the distribution of those students among jurisdictions within the region, and for a campus of the California State University or the University of California, the optimization of transit, pedestrian, and other nonvehicle trip efficiency by students to the campus, including off-campus facilities.
(B)(i)No more than six months before the development of the methodology, the Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide to each council of governments a forecast of changes in enrollment levels at its campuses, including off-campus facilities, within the region, based on factors including, but not limited to, (I) cohort progression projections, (II) improvements in the percentage of California residents meeting university admission and transfer standards, and (III) improvements in degree completion by noncohort students. The forecast shall not be limited to students who will be recent high school graduates. The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide copies of the forecast to the Director of Finance, the Director of Housing and Community Development, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(ii)Clause (i) shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent housing element cycle, except as specified in clause (iii).
(iii)With respect to all of the following councils of governments, clause (i) shall apply to the eighth and each subsequent housing element cycles:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(C)The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide trip and travel data to the council of governments upon request.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.2.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)The development pattern set forth in the regions sustainable communities strategy of its regional transportation plan.
(13)(14)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with be informed by the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with informed by the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.3.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize use readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)(A)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction. jurisdiction, the distribution of those students among jurisdictions within the region, and for a campus of the California State University or the University of California, the optimization of transit, pedestrian, and other nonvehicle trip efficiency by students to the campus, including off-campus facilities.
(B)(i)No more than six months before the development of the methodology, the Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide to each council of governments a forecast of changes in enrollment levels at its campuses, including off-campus facilities, within the region, based on factors including, but not limited to, (I) cohort progression projections, (II) improvements in the percentage of California residents meeting university admission and transfer standards, and (III) improvements in degree completion by noncohort students. The forecast shall not be limited to students who will be recent high school graduates. The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide copies of the forecast to the Director of Finance, the Director of Housing and Community Development, and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
(ii)Clause (i) shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent housing element cycle, except as specified in clause (iii).
(iii)With respect to all of the following councils of governments, clause (i) shall apply to the eighth and each subsequent housing element cycles:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(C)The Regents of the University of California are requested to, and the Trustees of the California State University shall, provide trip and travel data to the council of governments upon request.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)The development pattern set forth in the regions sustainable communities strategy of its regional transportation plan.
(13)(14)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with be informed by the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with informed by the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 7.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (j), (i), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 7.5.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Change the Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article. article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without changes. the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (i), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)). 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
SEC. 8.(a)(1)Section 1.1 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 610. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65583 of the Government Code, (C) Senate Bill 340 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 610, in which case Sections 1, 1.2, and 1.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(2)Section 1.2 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 340. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65583 of the Government Code, (C) Assembly Bill 610 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 340 in which case Sections 1, 1.1, and 1.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(3)Section 1.3 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by this bill, Assembly Bill 610, and Senate Bill 340. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) all three bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) all three bills amend Section 65583 of the Government Code, and (C) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 610 and Senate Bill 340, in which case Sections 1, 1.1, and 1.2 of this bill shall not become operative.
(b)Section 3.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 486. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65584.01 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486, in which case Section 3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(c)Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.03 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65584.03 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Section 4 of this bill shall not become operative.
(d)(1)Section 5.1 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 486. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, (C) Assembly Bill 1275 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486, in which case Sections 5, 5.2, and 5.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(2)Section 5.2 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) each bill amends Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, (C) Senate Bill 486 is not enacted or as enacted does not amend that section, and (D) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Sections 5, 5.1, and 5.3 of this bill shall not become operative.
(3)Section 5.3 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by this bill, Senate Bill 486, and Assembly Bill 1275. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (A) all three bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (B) all three bills amend Section 65584.04 of the Government Code, and (C) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 486 and Assembly Bill 1275, in which case Sections 5, 5.1, and 5.2 of this bill shall not become operative.
(e)Section 7.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 507. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2026, (2) each bill amends Section 65585 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 507, in which case Section 7 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 8.SEC. 9.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)(1)(A)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except in the following circumstances:
(i)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(ii)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
(B)For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months before the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, the department shall determine their existing and projected housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(2)The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)At least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 Subject to the applicable deadline specified in paragraph (2), and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs, except for the seventh housing element cycle, for which the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region pursuant to the timelines in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65584. needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The deadline for the department to meet and consult with each council of governments pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(A)For the fourth, fifth, and sixth revisions of the housing element, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(B)For the seventh revision of the housing element, the applicable of the following:
(i)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The Humboldt County Association of Governments.
(II)The Lake Area Planning Council.
(III)The Mendocino Council of Governments.
(IV)The County of Nevada.
(ii)With respect to the following councils of governments, at least 34 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588:
(I)The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
(II)The Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
(iii)With respect to all councils of governments other than those specified in clauses (i) and (ii), at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(C)For the eighth and subsequent revisions of the housing element, at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588.
(2)(3)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 7.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (j), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 8.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)(1)(A)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except in the following circumstances:
(i)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(ii)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
(B)For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months before the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, the department shall determine their existing and projected housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(2)The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.(b)(1)At least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs, except for the seventh housing element cycle, for which the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region pursuant to the timelines in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65584. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.(B)Household size data and trends in household size.(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded and the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market. For purposes of this subparagraph:(i)The term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.(ii)The term overcrowded rate for a comparable housing market means that the overcrowding rate is no more than the average overcrowding rate in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened and the rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market. For the purposes of this subparagraph:(i)The term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.(ii)The term rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market means that the rate of households that are cost burdened is no more than the average rate of households that are cost burdened in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.(2)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)At least 26 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. needs, except for the seventh housing element cycle, for which the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region pursuant to the timelines in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65584. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded within the region and the percentage of households that are overcrowded throughout the nation. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened within the region and the percentage of households that are cost burdened throughout the nation. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.(7)The rate of overcrowding.(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take one of the following actions:(1)Revise the methodology to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.(2)Adopt the regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology without revisions and include within its resolution of adoption findings, supported by substantial evidence, as to why the council of governments, or delegate subregion, believes that the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 despite the findings of the department.(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.(k)Upon either action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take both of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology, in consultation with the department, to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 within 45 days.
(2)Receive department acceptance that the revised methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)After taking action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 7.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (j), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 8.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)(1)(A)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588. The 65588, except in the following circumstances:
(i)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(ii)For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the regions housing need at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
(B)For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months before the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, the department shall determine their existing and projected housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(2)The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low- low and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)At least 32 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. needs, except for the seventh housing element cycle, for which the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region pursuant to the timelines in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65584. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded and the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market. For purposes of this subparagraph:
(i)The term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(ii)The term overcrowded rate for a comparable housing market means that the overcrowding rate is no more than the average overcrowding rate in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened and the rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market. For the purposes of this subparagraph:
(i)The term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(ii)The term rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market means that the rate of households that are cost burdened is no more than the average rate of households that are cost burdened in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.03 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.03.(a)At least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregions existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b)Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c)At least 25 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d)Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
SEC. 4.SEC. 5.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take one of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(2)Adopt the regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology without revisions and include within its resolution of adoption findings, supported by substantial evidence, as to why the council of governments, or delegate subregion, believes that the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 despite the findings of the department.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)Upon either action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.SEC. 6.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.SEC. 7.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(C)Notwithstanding Section 65589.5, a jurisdiction shall not be required to approve a builders remedy project, as defined in paragraph (11) of subdivision (h) of Section 65889.5, within the planning agencys jurisdiction during either of the following periods:(i)The duration of the departments review of a draft element or draft amendment revised pursuant to this paragraph.(ii)Ninety days from the date the department notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies not previously identified by the department in response to the prior submission of the draft element or draft amendment.(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (j), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 7.Section 65589.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65589.5.(a)(1)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(A)The lack of housing, including emergency shelters, is a critical problem that threatens the economic, environmental, and social quality of life in California.(B)California housing has become the most expensive in the nation. The excessive cost of the states housing supply is partially caused by activities and policies of many local governments that limit the approval of housing, increase the cost of land for housing, and require that high fees and exactions be paid by producers of housing.(C)Among the consequences of those actions are discrimination against low-income and minority households, lack of housing to support employment growth, imbalance in jobs and housing, reduced mobility, urban sprawl, excessive commuting, and air quality deterioration.(D)Many local governments do not give adequate attention to the economic, environmental, and social costs of decisions that result in disapproval of housing development projects, reduction in density of housing projects, and excessive standards for housing development projects.(2)In enacting the amendments made to this section by the act adding this paragraph, the Legislature further finds and declares the following:(A)California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis are hurting millions of Californians, robbing future generations of the chance to call California home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining the states environmental and climate objectives.(B)While the causes of this crisis are multiple and complex, the absence of meaningful and effective policy reforms to significantly enhance the approval and supply of housing affordable to Californians of all income levels is a key factor.(C)The crisis has grown so acute in California that supply, demand, and affordability fundamentals are characterized in the negative: underserved demands, constrained supply, and protracted unaffordability.(D)According to reports and data, California has accumulated an unmet housing backlog of nearly 2,000,000 units and must provide for at least 180,000 new units annually to keep pace with growth through 2025.(E)Californias overall home ownership rate is at its lowest level since the 1940s. The state ranks 49th out of the 50 states in home ownership rates as well as in the supply of housing per capita. Only one-half of Californias households are able to afford the cost of housing in their local regions.(F)Lack of supply and rising costs are compounding inequality and limiting advancement opportunities for many Californians.(G)The majority of California renters, more than 3,000,000 households, pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and nearly one-third, more than 1,500,000 households, pay more than 50 percent of their income toward rent.(H)When Californians have access to safe and affordable housing, they have more money for food and health care; they are less likely to become homeless and in need of government-subsidized services; their children do better in school; and businesses have an easier time recruiting and retaining employees.(I)An additional consequence of the states cumulative housing shortage is a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the displacement and redirection of populations to states with greater housing opportunities, particularly working- and middle-class households. Californias cumulative housing shortfall therefore has not only national but international environmental consequences.(J)Californias housing picture has reached a crisis of historic proportions despite the fact that, for decades, the Legislature has enacted numerous statutes intended to significantly increase the approval, development, and affordability of housing for all income levels, including this section.(K)The Legislatures intent in enacting this section in 1982 and in expanding its provisions since then was to significantly increase the approval and construction of new housing for all economic segments of Californias communities by meaningfully and effectively curbing the capability of local governments to deny, reduce the density for, or render infeasible housing development projects and emergency shelters. That intent has not been fulfilled.(L)It is the policy of the state that this section be interpreted and implemented in a manner to afford the fullest possible weight to the interest of, and the approval and provision of, housing.(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that the conditions that would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), arise infrequently.(4)It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments removing provisions from subparagraphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) and adding those provisions to Sections 65589.5.1 and 65589.5.2 by Assembly Bill 1413 (2023), insofar as they are substantially the same as existing law, shall be considered restatements and continuations of existing law, and not new enactments.(b)It is the policy of the state that a local government not reject or make infeasible housing development projects, including emergency shelters, that contribute to meeting the need determined pursuant to this article without a thorough analysis of the economic, social, and environmental effects of the action and without complying with subdivision (d).(c)The Legislature also recognizes that premature and unnecessary development of agricultural lands for urban uses continues to have adverse effects on the availability of those lands for food and fiber production and on the economy of the state. Furthermore, it is the policy of the state that development should be guided away from prime agricultural lands; therefore, in implementing this section, local jurisdictions should encourage, to the maximum extent practicable, in filling existing urban areas.(d)For a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, or an emergency shelter, a local agency shall not disapprove the housing development project or emergency shelter, or condition approval in a manner that renders the housing development project or emergency shelter infeasible, including through the use of design review standards, unless it makes written findings, based upon a preponderance of the evidence in the record, as to one of the following:(1)The jurisdiction has adopted a housing element pursuant to this article that has been revised in accordance with Section 65588, is in substantial compliance with this article, and the jurisdiction has met or exceeded its share of the regional housing need allocation pursuant to Section 65584 for the planning period for the income category proposed for the housing development project, provided that any disapproval or conditional approval shall not be based on any of the reasons prohibited by Section 65008. If the housing development project includes a mix of income categories, and the jurisdiction has not met or exceeded its share of the regional housing need for one or more of those categories, then this paragraph shall not be used to disapprove or conditionally approve the housing development project. The share of the regional housing need met by the jurisdiction shall be calculated consistently with the forms and definitions that may be adopted by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 65400. In the case of an emergency shelter, the jurisdiction shall have met or exceeded the need for emergency shelter, as identified pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. Any disapproval or conditional approval pursuant to this paragraph shall be in accordance with applicable law, rule, or standards.(2)The housing development project or emergency shelter as proposed would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete. The following shall not constitute a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety:(A)Inconsistency with the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation.(B)The eligibility to claim a welfare exemption under subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.(3)The denial of the housing development project or imposition of conditions is required in order to comply with specific state or federal law, and there is no feasible method to comply without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible.(4)The housing development project or emergency shelter is proposed on land zoned for agriculture or resource preservation that is surrounded on at least two sides by land being used for agricultural or resource preservation purposes, or which does not have adequate water or wastewater facilities to serve the project.(5)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction had adopted a revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article, and the housing development project or emergency shelter was inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation as specified in any element of the general plan.(A)This paragraph shall not be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve a housing development project proposed on a site, including a candidate site for rezoning, that is identified as suitable or available for very low, low-, or moderate-income households in the jurisdictions housing element if the housing development project is consistent with the density specified in the housing element, even though the housing development project was inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation on the date the application was deemed complete.(B)If the local agency has failed to identify a zone or zones where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit, has failed to demonstrate that the identified zone or zones include sufficient capacity to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, or has failed to demonstrate that the identified zone or zones can accommodate at least one emergency shelter, as required by paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, then this paragraph shall not be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve an emergency shelter proposed for a site designated in any element of the general plan for industrial, commercial, or multifamily residential uses. In any action in court, the burden of proof shall be on the local agency to show that its housing element does satisfy the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583.(6)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article and the housing development project is not a builders remedy project.(7)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article, and the housing development project is a builders remedy project, and at least one of the conditions described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 65585 applies.(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve the local agency from complying with the congestion management program required by Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 65088) of Division 1 of Title 7 or the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code). Neither shall anything in this section be construed to relieve the local agency from making one or more of the findings required pursuant to Section 21081 of the Public Resources Code or otherwise complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (6) and (8) of this subdivision, and subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring the housing development project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdictions share of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584. However, the development standards, conditions, and policies shall be applied to facilitate and accommodate development at the density permitted on the site and proposed by the development. Nothing in this section shall limit a projects eligibility for a density bonus, incentive, or concession, or waiver or reduction of development standards and parking ratios, pursuant to Section 65915.(2)Except as provided in subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring an emergency shelter project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies that are consistent with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 and appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdictions need for emergency shelter, as identified pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. However, the development standards, conditions, and policies shall be applied by the local agency to facilitate and accommodate the development of the emergency shelter project.(3)Except as provided in subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from imposing fees and other exactions otherwise authorized by law that are essential to provide necessary public services and facilities to the housing development project or emergency shelter.(4)For purposes of this section, a housing development project or emergency shelter shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision if there is substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the housing development project or emergency shelter is consistent, compliant, or in conformity.(5)For purposes of this section, a change to the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation subsequent to the date the application was deemed complete shall not constitute a valid basis to disapprove or condition approval of the housing development project or emergency shelter.(6)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, all of the following apply to a housing development project that is a builders remedy project:(A)A local agency may only require the project to comply with the objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies that would have applied to the project had it been proposed on a site with a general plan designation and zoning classification that allow the density and unit type proposed by the applicant. If the local agency has no general plan designation or zoning classification that would have allowed the density and unit type proposed by the applicant, the development proponent may identify any objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies associated with a different general plan designation or zoning classification within that jurisdiction, that facilitate the projects density and unit type, and those shall apply.(B)(i)Except as authorized by paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (d), a local agency shall not apply any individual or combination of objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies to the project that do any of the following:(I)Render the project infeasible.(II)Preclude a project that meets the requirements allowed to be imposed by subparagraph (A), as modified by any density bonus, incentive, or concession, or waiver or reduction of development standards and parking ratios, pursuant to Section 65915, from being constructed as proposed by the applicant.(ii)The local agency shall bear the burden of proof of complying with clause (i).(C)(i)A project applicant that qualifies for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915 shall receive two incentives or concessions in addition to those granted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65915.(ii)For a project seeking density bonuses, incentives, concessions, or any other benefits pursuant to Section 65915, and notwithstanding paragraph (6) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, for purposes of this paragraph, maximum allowable residential density or base density means the density permitted for a builders remedy project pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h).(iii)A local agency shall grant any density bonus pursuant to Section 65915 based on the number of units proposed and allowable pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h).(iv)A project that dedicates units to extremely low-income households pursuant to subclause (I) of clause (i) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (h) shall be eligible for the same density bonus, incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of development standards as provided to a housing development project that dedicates three percentage points more units to very low income households pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 65915.(v)All units dedicated to extremely low-income, very low income, low-income, and moderate-income households pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (h) shall be counted as affordable units in determining whether the applicant qualifies for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915.(D)(i)The project shall not be required to apply for, or receive approval of, a general plan amendment, specific plan amendment, rezoning, or other legislative approval.(ii)The project shall not be required to apply for, or receive, any approval or permit not generally required of a project of the same type and density proposed by the applicant.(iii)Any project that complies with this paragraph shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, redevelopment plan and implementing instruments, or other similar provision for all purposes, and shall not be considered or treated as a nonconforming lot, use, or structure for any purpose.(E)A local agency shall not adopt or impose any requirement, process, practice, or procedure or undertake any course of conduct, including, but not limited to, increased fees or inclusionary housing requirements, that applies to a project solely or partially on the basis that the project is a builders remedy project.(F)(i)A builders remedy project shall be deemed to be in compliance with the residential density standards for the purposes of complying with subdivision (b) of Section 65912.123.(ii)A builders remedy project shall be deemed to be in compliance with the objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards for the purposes of complying with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4.(G)(i)(I)If the local agency had a local affordable housing requirement, as defined in Section 65912.101, that on January 1, 2024, required a greater percentage of affordable units than required under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h), or required an affordability level deeper than what is required under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h), then, except as provided in subclauses (II) and (III), the local agency may require a housing development for mixed-income households to comply with an otherwise lawfully applicable local affordability percentage or affordability level. The local agency shall not require housing for mixed-income households to comply with any other aspect of the local affordable housing requirement.(II)Notwithstanding subclause (I), the local affordable housing requirements shall not be applied to require housing for mixed-income households to dedicate more than 20 percent of the units to affordable units of any kind.(III)Housing for mixed-income households that is required to dedicate 20 percent of the units to affordable units shall not be required to dedicate any of the affordable units at an income level deeper than lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.(IV)A local agency may only require housing for mixed-income households to comply with the local percentage requirement or affordability level described in subclause (I) if it first makes written findings, supported by a preponderance of evidence, that compliance with the local percentage requirement or the affordability level, or both, would not render the housing development project infeasible. If a reasonable person could find compliance with either requirement, either alone or in combination, would render the project infeasible, the project shall not be required to comply with that requirement.(ii)Affordable units in the development project shall have a comparable bedroom and bathroom count as the market rate units.(iii)Each affordable unit dedicated pursuant to this subparagraph shall count toward satisfying a local affordable housing requirement. Each affordable unit dedicated pursuant to a local affordable housing requirement that meets the criteria established in this subparagraph shall count towards satisfying the requirements of this subparagraph. This is declaratory of existing law.(7)(A)For a housing development project application that is deemed complete before January 1, 2025, the development proponent for the project may choose to be subject to the provisions of this section that were in place on the date the preliminary application was submitted, or, if the project meets the definition of a builders remedy project, it may choose to be subject to any or all of the provisions of this section applicable as of January 1, 2025.(B)Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 65941.1, for a housing development project deemed complete before January 1, 2025, the development proponent may choose to revise their application so that the project is a builders remedy project, without being required to resubmit a preliminary application, even if the revision results in the number of residential units or square footage of construction changing by 20 percent or more.(8)A housing development project proposed on a site that is identified as suitable or available for very low, low-, or moderate-income households in the jurisdictions housing element, that is consistent with the density specified in the most recently updated and adopted housing element, and that is inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation on the date the application was deemed complete, shall be subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of paragraph (6) and paragraph (9).(9)For purposes of this subdivision, objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies means criteria that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official before submittal, including, but not limited to, any standard, ordinance, or policy described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (o). Nothing herein shall affect the obligation of the housing development project to comply with the minimum building standards approved by the California Building Standards Commission as provided in Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code. In the event that applicable objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies are mutually inconsistent, a development shall be deemed consistent with the criteria that permits the density and unit type closest to that of the proposed project.(g)This section shall be applicable to charter cities because the Legislature finds that the lack of housing, including emergency shelter, is a critical statewide problem.(h)The following definitions apply for the purposes of this section:(1)Feasible means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social, and technological factors.(2)Housing development project means a use consisting of any of the following:(A)Residential units only.(B)Mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses that meet any of the following conditions:(i)At least two-thirds of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use.(ii)At least 50 percent of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use and the project meets both of the following:(I)The project includes at least 500 net new residential units.(II)No portion of the project is designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except a portion of the project may be designated for use as a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.(iii)At least 50 percent of the net new or converted square footage is designated for residential use and the project meets all of the following:(I)The project includes at least 500 net new residential units.(II)The project involves the demolition or conversion of at least 100,000 square feet of nonresidential use.(III)The project demolishes at least 50 percent of the existing nonresidential uses on the site.(IV)No portion of the project is designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except a portion of the project may be designated for use as a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.(C)Transitional housing or supportive housing.(D)Farmworker housing, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50199.7 of the Health and Safety Code.(3)(A)Housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households means housing for lower income households, mixed-income households, or moderate-income households.(B)Housing for lower income households means a housing development project in which 100 percent of the units, excluding managers units, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable cost, as defined by Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent set in an amount consistent with the rent limits established by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. The units shall be subject to a recorded deed restriction for a period of 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units.(C)(i)Housing for mixed-income households means any of the following:(I)A housing development project in which at least 7 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to extremely low income households, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.(II)A housing development project in which at least 10 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to very low income households, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.(III)A housing development project in which at least 13 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.(IV)A housing development project in which there are 10 or fewer total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, that is on a site that is smaller than one acre, and that is proposed for development at a minimum density of 10 units per acre.(ii)All units dedicated to extremely low income, very low income, and low-income households pursuant to clause (i) shall meet both of the following:(I)The units shall have an affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.(II)The development proponent shall agree to, and the local agency shall ensure, the continued affordability of all affordable rental units included pursuant to this section for 55 years and all affordable ownership units included pursuant to this section for a period of 45 years.(D)Housing for moderate-income households means a housing development project in which 100 percent of the units are sold or rented to moderate-income households, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code. The units shall be subject to a recorded deed restriction for a period of 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units.(4)Area median income means area median income as periodically established by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.(5)Notwithstanding any other law, until January 1, 2030, deemed complete means that the applicant has submitted a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 or, if the applicant has not submitted a preliminary application, has submitted a complete application pursuant to Section 65943. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof in establishing that the application is not complete.(6)Disapprove the housing development project includes any instance in which a local agency does any of the following:(A)Votes or takes final administrative action on a proposed housing development project application and the application is disapproved, including any required land use approvals or entitlements necessary for the issuance of a building permit.(B)Fails to comply with the time periods specified in subdivision (a) of Section 65950. An extension of time pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 65950) shall be deemed to be an extension of time pursuant to this paragraph.(C)Fails to meet the time limits specified in Section 65913.3.(D)Fails to cease a course of conduct undertaken for an improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increases in the cost of the proposed housing development project, that effectively disapproves the proposed housing development without taking final administrative action if all of the following conditions are met:(i)The project applicant provides written notice detailing the challenged conduct and why it constitutes disapproval to the local agency established under Section 65100.(ii)Within five working days of receiving the applicants written notice described in clause (i), the local agency shall post the notice on the local agencys internet website, provide a copy of the notice to any person who has made a written request for notices pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 21167 of the Public Resources Code, and file the notice with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. The county clerk shall post the notice and make it available for public inspection in the manner set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 21152 of the Public Resources Code.(iii)The local agency shall consider all objections, comments, evidence, and concerns about the project or the applicants written notice and shall not make a determination until at least 60 days after the applicant has given written notice to the local agency pursuant to clause (i).(iv)Within 90 days of receipt of the applicants written notice described in clause (i), the local agency shall issue a written statement that it will immediately cease the challenged conduct or issue written findings that comply with both of the following requirements:(I)The findings articulate an objective basis for why the challenged course of conduct is necessary.(II)The findings provide clear instructions on what the applicant must submit or supplement so that the local agency can make a final determination regarding the next necessary approval or set the date and time of the next hearing.(v)(I)If a local agency continues the challenged course of conduct described in the applicants written notice and fails to issue the written findings described in clause (iv), the local agency shall bear the burden of establishing that its course of conduct does not constitute a disapproval of the housing development project under this subparagraph in an action taken by the applicant.(II)If an applicant challenges a local agencys course of conduct as a disapproval under this subparagraph, the local agencys written findings described in clause (iv) shall be incorporated into the administrative record and be deemed to be the final administrative action for purposes of adjudicating whether the local agencys course of conduct constitutes a disapproval of the housing development project under this subparagraph.(vi)A local agencys action in furtherance of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), including, but not limited to, imposing mitigating measures, shall not constitute project disapproval under this subparagraph.(E)Fails to comply with Section 65905.5. For purposes of this subparagraph, a builders remedy project shall be deemed to comply with the applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards in effect at the time an application is deemed complete.(F)(i)Determines that an application for a housing development project is incomplete pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 65943 and includes in the determination an item that is not required on the local agencys submittal requirement checklist. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof that the required item is listed on the submittal requirement checklist.(ii)In a subsequent review of an application pursuant to Section 65943, requests the applicant provide new information that was not identified in the initial determination and upholds this determination in the final written determination on an appeal filed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65943. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof that the required item was identified in the initial determination.(iii)Determines that an application for a housing development project is incomplete pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 65943, a reasonable person would conclude that the applicant has submitted all of the items required on the local agencys submittal requirement checklist, and the local agency upholds this determination in the final written determination on an appeal filed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65943.(iv)If a local agency determines that an application is incomplete under Section 65943 after two resubmittals of the application by the applicant, the local agency shall bear the burden of establishing that the determination is not an effective disapproval of a housing development project under this section.(G)Violates subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (f).(H)Makes a written determination that a preliminary application described in subdivision (a) of Section 65941.1 has expired or that the applicant has otherwise lost its vested rights under the preliminary application for any reason other than those described in subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 65941.1.(I)(i)Fails to make a determination of whether the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), or commits an abuse of discretion, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.1 if all of the conditions in Section 65589.5.1 are satisfied.(ii)This subparagraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(J)(i)Fails to adopt a negative declaration or addendum for the project, to certify an environmental impact report for the project, or to approve another comparable environmental document, such as a sustainable communities environmental assessment pursuant to Section 21155.2 of the Public Resources Code, as required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), if all of the conditions in Section 65589.5.2 are satisfied.(ii)This subparagraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(7)(A)For purposes of this section and Sections 65589.5.1 and 65589.5.2, lawful determination means any final decision about whether to approve or disapprove a statutory or categorical exemption or a negative declaration, addendum, environmental impact report, or comparable environmental review document under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) that is not an abuse of discretion, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.1 or subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.2.(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(8)Lower density includes any conditions that have the same effect or impact on the ability of the project to provide housing.(9)Until January 1, 2030, objective means involving no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and being uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official.(10)Notwithstanding any other law, until January 1, 2030, determined to be complete means that the applicant has submitted a complete application pursuant to Section 65943.(11)Builders remedy project means a project that meets all of the following criteria:(A)The project is a housing development project that provides housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households.(B)On or after the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have a housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article.(C)The project has a density such that the number of units, as calculated before the application of a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915, complies with all of the following conditions:(i)The density does not exceed the greatest of the following densities:(I)Fifty percent greater than the minimum density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for that jurisdiction as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2.(II)Three times the density allowed by the general plan, zoning ordinance, or state law, whichever is greater.(III)The density that is consistent with the density specified in the housing element.(ii)Notwithstanding clause (i), the greatest allowable density shall be 35 units per acre more than the amount allowable pursuant to clause (i), if any portion of the site is located within any of the following:(I)One-half mile of a major transit stop, as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code.(II)A very low vehicle travel area, as defined in subdivision (h).(III)A high or highest resource census tract, as identified by the latest edition of the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Map published by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the Department of Housing and Community Development.(D)(i)On sites that have a minimum density requirement and are located within one-half mile of a commuter rail station or a heavy rail station, the density of the project shall not be less than the minimum density required on the site.(I)For purposes of this subparagraph, commuter rail means a railway that is not a light rail, streetcar, trolley, or tramway and that is for urban passenger train service consisting of local short distance travel operating between a central city and adjacent suburb with service operated on a regular basis by or under contract with a transit operator for the purpose of transporting passengers within urbanized areas, or between urbanized areas and outlying areas, using either locomotive-hauled or self-propelled railroad passenger cars, with multitrip tickets and specific station-to-station fares.(II)For purposes of this subparagraph, heavy rail means an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic using high speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multicar trains on fixed rails, separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded, and high platform loading.(ii)On all other sites with a minimum density requirement, the density of the project shall not be less than the local agencys minimum density or one-half of the minimum density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for that jurisdiction as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, whichever is lower.(E)The project site does not abut a site where more than one-third of the square footage on the site has been used, within the past three years, by a heavy industrial use, or a Title V industrial use, as those terms are defined in Section 65913.16.(12)Condition approval includes imposing on the housing development project, or attempting to subject it to, development standards, conditions, or policies.(13)Unit type means the form of ownership and the kind of residential unit, including, but not limited to, single-family detached, single-family attached, for-sale, rental, multifamily, townhouse, condominium, apartment, manufactured homes and mobilehomes, factory-built housing, and residential hotel.(14)Proposed by the applicant means the plans and designs as submitted by the applicant, including, but not limited to, density, unit size, unit type, site plan, building massing, floor area ratio, amenity areas, open space, parking, and ancillary commercial uses.(i)If any city, county, or city and county denies approval or imposes conditions, including design changes, lower density, or a reduction of the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a building or structure under the applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the housing development projects application is complete, that have a substantial adverse effect on the viability or affordability of a housing development for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, and the denial of the development or the imposition of conditions on the development is the subject of a court action which challenges the denial or the imposition of conditions, then the burden of proof shall be on the local legislative body to show that its decision is consistent with the findings as described in subdivision (d), and that the findings are supported by a preponderance of the evidence in the record, and with the requirements of subdivision (o).(j)(1)When a proposed housing development project complies with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria, including design review standards, in effect at the time that the application was deemed complete, but the local agency proposes to disapprove the project or to impose a condition that the project be developed at a lower density, the local agency shall base its decision regarding the proposed housing development project upon written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.(2)(A)If the local agency considers a proposed housing development project to be inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision as specified in this subdivision, it shall provide the applicant with written documentation identifying the provision or provisions, and an explanation of the reason or reasons it considers the housing development to be inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity as follows:(i)Within 30 days of the date that the application for the housing development project is determined to be complete, if the housing development project contains 150 or fewer housing units.(ii)Within 60 days of the date that the application for the housing development project is determined to be complete, if the housing development project contains more than 150 units.(B)If the local agency fails to provide the required documentation pursuant to subparagraph (A), the housing development project shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with the applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision.(3)For purposes of this section, the receipt of a density bonus, incentive, concession, waiver, or reduction of development standards pursuant to Section 65915 shall not constitute a valid basis on which to find a proposed housing development project is inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity, with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision specified in this subdivision.(4)For purposes of this section, a proposed housing development project is not inconsistent with the applicable zoning standards and criteria, and shall not require a rezoning, if the housing development project is consistent with the objective general plan standards and criteria but the zoning for the project site is inconsistent with the general plan. If the local agency has complied with paragraph (2), the local agency may require the proposed housing development project to comply with the objective standards and criteria of the zoning which is consistent with the general plan, however, the standards and criteria shall be applied to facilitate and accommodate development at the density allowed on the site by the general plan and proposed by the proposed housing development project.(k)(1)(A)(i)The applicant, a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the housing development project or emergency shelter, or a housing organization may bring an action to enforce this section. If, in any action brought to enforce this section, a court finds that any of the following are met, the court shall issue an order pursuant to clause (ii):(I)The local agency, in violation of subdivision (d), disapproved a housing development project or conditioned its approval in a manner rendering it infeasible for the development of an emergency shelter, or housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, including farmworker housing, without making the findings required by this section.(II)The local agency, in violation of subdivision (j), disapproved a housing development project complying with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, or imposed a condition that the project be developed at a lower density, without making the findings required by this section.(III)(ia)Subject to sub-subclause (ib), the local agency, in violation of subdivision (o), required or attempted to require a housing development project to comply with an ordinance, policy, or standard not adopted and in effect when a preliminary application was submitted.(ib)This subclause shall become inoperative on January 1, 2030.(IV)The local agency violated a provision of this section applicable to a builders remedy project.(ii)If the court finds that one of the conditions in clause (i) is met, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance with this section within a time period not to exceed 60 days, including, but not limited to, an order that the local agency take action on the housing development project or emergency shelter. The court may issue an order or judgment directing the local agency to approve the housing development project or emergency shelter if the court finds that the local agency acted in bad faith when it disapproved or conditionally approved the housing development or emergency shelter in violation of this section. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out and shall award reasonable attorneys fees and costs of suit to the plaintiff or petitioner, provided, however, that the court shall not award attorneys fees in either of the following instances:(I)The court finds, under extraordinary circumstances, that awarding fees would not further the purposes of this section.(II)(ia)In a case concerning a disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (I) or (J) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h), the court finds that the local agency acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to disapprove the housing development project due to the existence of a controlling question of law about the application of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) or implementing guidelines as to which there was a substantial ground for difference of opinion at the time of the disapproval.(ib)This subclause shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(B)Upon a determination that the local agency has failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling compliance with this section within the time period prescribed by the court, the court shall impose fines on a local agency that has violated this section and require the local agency to deposit any fine levied pursuant to this subdivision into a local housing trust fund. The local agency may elect to instead deposit the fine into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. The fine shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per housing unit in the housing development project on the date the application was deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943. In determining the amount of the fine to impose, the court shall consider the local agencys progress in attaining its target allocation of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584 and any prior violations of this section. Fines shall not be paid out of funds already dedicated to affordable housing, including, but not limited to, Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Funds, funds dedicated to housing for very low, low-, and moderate-income households, and federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program and Community Development Block Grant Program funds. The local agency shall commit and expend the money in the local housing trust fund within five years for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households. After five years, if the funds have not been expended, the money shall revert to the state and be deposited in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households.(C)If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders as provided by law to ensure that the purposes and policies of this section are fulfilled, including, but not limited to, an order to vacate the decision of the local agency and to approve the housing development project, in which case the application for the housing development project, as proposed by the applicant at the time the local agency took the initial action determined to be in violation of this section, along with any standard conditions determined by the court to be generally imposed by the local agency on similar projects, shall be deemed to be approved unless the applicant consents to a different decision or action by the local agency.(D)Nothing in this section shall limit the courts inherent authority to make any other orders to compel the immediate enforcement of any writ brought under this section, including the imposition of fees and other sanctions set forth under Section 1097 of the Code of Civil Procedure.(2)For purposes of this subdivision, housing organization means a trade or industry group whose local members are primarily engaged in the construction or management of housing units or a nonprofit organization whose mission includes providing or advocating for increased access to housing for low-income households and have filed written or oral comments with the local agency prior to action on the housing development project. A housing organization may only file an action pursuant to this section to challenge the disapproval of a housing development by a local agency. A housing organization shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys fees and costs if it is the prevailing party in an action to enforce this section.(l)If the court finds that the local agency (1) acted in bad faith when it violated this section and (2) failed to carry out the courts order or judgment within the time period prescribed by the court, the court, in addition to any other remedies provided by this section, shall multiply the fine determined pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) by a factor of five. If a court has previously found that the local agency violated this section within the same planning period, the court shall multiply the fines by an additional factor for each previous violation. For purposes of this section, bad faith includes, but is not limited to, an action or inaction that is frivolous, pretextual, intended to cause unnecessary delay, or entirely without merit.(m)(1)Any action brought to enforce the provisions of this section shall be brought pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the local agency shall prepare and certify the record of proceedings in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure no later than 30 days after the petition is served, provided that the cost of preparation of the record shall be borne by the local agency, unless the petitioner elects to prepare the record as provided in subdivision (n) of this section. A petition to enforce the provisions of this section shall be filed and served no later than 90 days from the later of (1) the effective date of a decision of the local agency imposing conditions on, disapproving, or any other final action on a housing development project or (2) the expiration of the time periods specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h). Upon entry of the trial courts order, a party may, in order to obtain appellate review of the order, file a petition within 20 days after service upon it of a written notice of the entry of the order, or within such further time not exceeding an additional 20 days as the trial court may for good cause allow, or may appeal the judgment or order of the trial court under Section 904.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the local agency appeals the judgment of the trial court, the local agency shall post a bond, in an amount to be determined by the court, to the benefit of the plaintiff if the plaintiff is the project applicant.(2)(A)A disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (I) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) shall be final for purposes of this subdivision, if the local agency did not make a lawful determination within the time period set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.1 after the applicants timely written notice.(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(3)(A)A disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) shall be final for purposes of this subdivision, if the local agency did not make a lawful determination within 90 days of the applicants timely written notice.(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(n)In any action, the record of the proceedings before the local agency shall be filed as expeditiously as possible and, notwithstanding Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure or subdivision (m) of this section, all or part of the record may be prepared (1) by the petitioner with the petition or petitioners points and authorities, (2) by the respondent with respondents points and authorities, (3) after payment of costs by the petitioner, or (4) as otherwise directed by the court. If the expense of preparing the record has been borne by the petitioner and the petitioner is the prevailing party, the expense shall be taxable as costs.(o)(1)Subject to paragraphs (2), (6), and (7), and subdivision (d) of Section 65941.1, a housing development project shall be subject only to the ordinances, policies, and standards adopted and in effect when a preliminary application including all of the information required by subdivision (a) of Section 65941.1 was submitted.(2)Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a housing development project from being subject to ordinances, policies, and standards adopted after the preliminary application was submitted pursuant to Section 65941.1 in the following circumstances:(A)In the case of a fee, charge, or other monetary exaction, to an increase resulting from an automatic annual adjustment based on an independently published cost index that is referenced in the ordinance or resolution establishing the fee or other monetary exaction.(B)A preponderance of the evidence in the record establishes that subjecting the housing development project to an ordinance, policy, or standard beyond those in effect when a preliminary application was submitted is necessary to mitigate or avoid a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), and there is no feasible alternative method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact.(C)Subjecting the housing development project to an ordinance, policy, standard, or any other measure, beyond those in effect when a preliminary application was submitted is necessary to avoid or substantially lessen an impact of the project under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).(D)The housing development project has not commenced construction within two and one-half years, or three and one-half years for an affordable housing project, following the date that the project received final approval. For purposes of this subparagraph:(i)Affordable housing project means a housing development that satisfies both of the following requirements:(I)Units within the development are subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years for rental housing and 45 years for owner-occupied housing, or the first purchaser of each unit participates in an equity sharing agreement as described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 65915.(II)All of the units within the development, excluding managers units, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.(ii)Final approval means that the housing development project has received all necessary approvals to be eligible to apply for, and obtain, a building permit or permits and either of the following is met:(I)The expiration of all applicable appeal periods, petition periods, reconsideration periods, or statute of limitations for challenging that final approval without an appeal, petition, request for reconsideration, or legal challenge having been filed.(II)If a challenge is filed, that challenge is fully resolved or settled in favor of the housing development project.(E)The housing development project is revised following submittal of a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 such that the number of residential units or square footage of construction changes by 20 percent or more, exclusive of any increase resulting from the receipt of a density bonus, incentive, concession, waiver, or similar provision, including any other locally authorized program that offers additional density or other development bonuses when affordable housing is provided. For purposes of this subdivision, square footage of construction means the building area, as defined by the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).(3)This subdivision does not prevent a local agency from subjecting the additional units or square footage of construction that result from project revisions occurring after a preliminary application is submitted pursuant to Section 65941.1 to the ordinances, policies, and standards adopted and in effect when the preliminary application was submitted.(4)For purposes of this subdivision, ordinances, policies, and standards includes general plan, community plan, specific plan, zoning, design review standards and criteria, subdivision standards and criteria, and any other rules, regulations, requirements, and policies of a local agency, as defined in Section 66000, including those relating to development impact fees, capacity or connection fees or charges, permit or processing fees, and other exactions.(5)This subdivision shall not be construed in a manner that would lessen the restrictions imposed on a local agency, or lessen the protections afforded to a housing development project, that are established by any other law, including any other part of this section.(6)This subdivision shall not restrict the authority of a public agency or local agency to require mitigation measures to lessen the impacts of a housing development project under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).(7)With respect to completed residential units for which the project approval process is complete and a certificate of occupancy has been issued, nothing in this subdivision shall limit the application of later enacted ordinances, policies, and standards that regulate the use and occupancy of those residential units, such as ordinances relating to rental housing inspection, rent stabilization, restrictions on short-term renting, and business licensing requirements for owners of rental housing.(8)(A)This subdivision shall apply to a housing development project that submits a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 before January 1, 2030.(B)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2034.(p)(1)Upon any motion for an award of attorneys fees pursuant to Section 1021.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in a case challenging a local agencys approval of a housing development project, a court, in weighing whether a significant benefit has been conferred on the general public or a large class of persons and whether the necessity of private enforcement makes the award appropriate, shall give due weight to the degree to which the local agencys approval furthers policies of this section, including, but not limited to, subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), the suitability of the site for a housing development, and the reasonableness of the decision of the local agency. It is the intent of the Legislature that attorneys fees and costs shall rarely, if ever, be awarded if a local agency, acting in good faith, approved a housing development project that satisfies conditions established in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.1 or paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.2.(2)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.(q)This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Housing Accountability Act.(r)The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.SEC. 8.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
REVISIONS: HeadingLine 2.The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element shall contain all of the following:
(a)An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints that are relevant to the meeting of these needs. The assessment and inventory shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of population and employment trends and documentation of projections and a quantification of the localitys existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. These existing and projected needs shall include the localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584.
(2)An analysis and documentation of household characteristics, including level of payment compared to ability to pay, housing characteristics, including overcrowding, and housing stock condition.
(3)An inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the localitys housing need for a designated income level, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites, and an analysis of the relationship of the sites identified in the land inventory to the jurisdictions duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
(4)(A)The identification of one or more zoning designations that allow residential uses, including mixed uses, where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit and that are suitable for residential uses. The identified zoning designations shall include sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) with sufficient capacity, as described in subparagraph (I), to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7), except that each local government shall identify a zoning designation or designations that can accommodate at least one year-round emergency shelter. If the local government cannot identify a zoning designation or designations with sufficient capacity, the local government shall include a program to amend its zoning ordinance to meet the requirements of this paragraph within one year of the adoption of the housing element. The local government may identify additional zoning designations where emergency shelters are permitted with a conditional use permit. The local government shall also demonstrate that existing or proposed permit processing, development, and management standards that apply to emergency shelters are objective and encourage and facilitate the development of, or conversion to, emergency shelters.
(B)Emergency shelters shall only be subject to the following written, objective standards:
(i)The maximum number of beds or persons permitted to be served nightly by the facility.
(ii)Sufficient parking to accommodate all staff working in the emergency shelter, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.
(iii)The size and location of exterior and interior onsite waiting and client intake areas.
(iv)The provision of onsite management.
(v)The proximity to other emergency shelters, provided that emergency shelters are not required to be more than 300 feet apart.
(vi)The length of stay.
(vii)Lighting.
(viii)Security during hours that the emergency shelter is in operation.
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.
(D)The permit processing, development, and management standards applied under this paragraph shall not be deemed to be discretionary acts within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(E)If a local government has adopted written, objective standards pursuant to subparagraph (B), the local government shall include an analysis of the standards in the analysis of constraints pursuant to paragraph (5).
(F)A local government that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, the existence of one or more emergency shelters either within its jurisdiction or pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement that can accommodate that jurisdictions need and the needs of the other jurisdictions that are a part of the agreement for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) may comply with the zoning requirements of subparagraph (A) by identifying a zoning designation where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit.
(G)A local government with an existing ordinance or ordinances that comply with this paragraph shall not be required to take additional action to identify zoning designations for emergency shelters. The housing element must only describe how existing ordinances, policies, and standards are consistent with the requirements of this paragraph.
(H)The zoning designation or designations where emergency shelters are allowed, as described in subparagraph (A), shall include sites that meet at least one of the following standards:
(i)Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(ii)Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allow residential development, if the local government can demonstrate how the sites with this zoning designation that are being used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(iii)Nonvacant sites zoned for residential use or for nonresidential use that allow residential development that are suitable for use as a shelter in the current planning period, or which can be redeveloped for use as a shelter in the current planning period. A nonvacant site with an existing use shall be presumed to impede emergency shelter development absent an analysis based on substantial evidence that the use is likely to be discontinued during the planning period. The analysis shall consider current market demand for the current uses, market conditions, and incentives or standards to encourage shelter development.
(I)The zoning designation or designations shall have sufficient sites meeting the requirements of subparagraph (H) to accommodate the need for shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7). The number of people experiencing homelessness that can be accommodated on any site shall be demonstrated by dividing the square footage of the site by a minimum of 200 square feet per person, unless the locality can demonstrate that one or more shelters were developed on sites that have fewer square feet per person during the prior planning period or the locality provides similar evidence to the department demonstrating that the site can accommodate more people experiencing homelessness. Any standard applied pursuant to this subparagraph is intended only for calculating site capacity pursuant to this section, and shall not be construed as establishing a development standard applicable to the siting, development, or approval of a shelter.
(J)Notwithstanding subparagraph (H), a local government may accommodate the need for emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7) on sites owned by the local government if it demonstrates with substantial evidence that the sites will be made available for emergency shelter during the planning period, they are suitable for residential use, and the sites are located near amenities and services that serve people experiencing homelessness, which may include health care, transportation, retail, employment, and social services, or that the local government will provide free transportation to services or offer services onsite.
(5)An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the types of housing identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and for persons with disabilities as identified in the analysis pursuant to paragraph (7), including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees, and other exactions required of developers, local processing and permit procedures, historic preservation practices and policies and an assessment of how existing and proposed historic designations affect the localitys ability to meet its share of the housing need pursuant to paragraph (1), and any locally adopted ordinances that directly impact the cost and supply of residential development. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584 and from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters identified pursuant to paragraph (7).
(6)An analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including the availability of financing, the price of land, the cost of construction, the requests to develop housing at densities below those anticipated in the analysis required by subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, and the length of time between receiving approval for a housing development and submittal of an application for building permits for that housing development that hinder the construction of a localitys share of the regional housing need in accordance with Section 65584. The analysis shall also demonstrate local efforts to remove nongovernmental constraints that create a gap between the localitys planning for the development of housing for all income levels and the construction of that housing.
(7)(A)An analysis of any special housing needs, such as those of the elderly; persons with disabilities, including a developmental disability, as defined in Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; extremely low income households; large families; farmworkers; families with female heads of households; and families and persons in need of emergency shelter. The need for emergency shelter shall be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count conducted before the start of the planning period, the need for emergency shelter based on number of beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of shelter beds that go unused on an average monthly basis within a one-year period, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing solutions. The need for emergency shelter may be reduced by the number of supportive housing units that are identified in an adopted 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and that are either vacant or for which funding has been identified to allow construction during the planning period. An analysis of special housing needs by a city or county may include an analysis of the need for frequent user coordinated care housing services.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the analysis required in subparagraph (A) shall also include an analysis of the housing needs of acutely and extremely low income households.
(8)An analysis of opportunities for energy conservation with respect to residential development. Cities and counties are encouraged to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of publicly subsidized housing rehabilitation projects. This may include energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, and its electrical system.
(9)An analysis of existing assisted housing developments that are eligible to change from low-income housing uses during the next 10 years due to termination of subsidy contracts, mortgage prepayment, or expiration of restrictions on use. Assisted housing developments, for the purpose of this section, shall mean multifamily rental housing that receives governmental assistance under federal programs listed in subdivision (a) of Section 65863.10, state and local multifamily revenue bond programs, local redevelopment programs, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program, or local in-lieu fees. Assisted housing developments shall also include multifamily rental units that were developed pursuant to a local inclusionary housing program or used to qualify for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65916.
(A)The analysis shall include a listing of each development by project name and address, the type of governmental assistance received, the earliest possible date of change from low-income use, and the total number of elderly and nonelderly units that could be lost from the localitys low-income housing stock in each year during the 10-year period. For purposes of state and federally funded projects, the analysis required by this subparagraph need only contain information available on a statewide basis.
(B)The analysis shall estimate the total cost of producing new rental housing that is comparable in size and rent levels, to replace the units that could change from low-income use, and an estimated cost of preserving the assisted housing developments. This cost analysis for replacement housing may be done aggregately for each five-year period and does not have to contain a project-by-project cost estimate.
(C)The analysis shall identify public and private nonprofit corporations known to the local government that have legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage these housing developments.
(D)The analysis shall identify and consider the use of all federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs that can be used to preserve, for lower income households, the assisted housing developments, identified in this paragraph, including, but not limited to, federal Community Development Block Grant Program funds, tax increment funds received by a redevelopment agency of the community, and administrative fees received by a housing authority operating within the community. In considering the use of these financing and subsidy programs, the analysis shall identify the amounts of funds under each available program that have not been legally obligated for other purposes and that could be available for use in preserving assisted housing developments.
(b)(1)A statement of the communitys goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing.
(2)It is recognized that the total housing needs identified pursuant to subdivision (a) may exceed available resources and the communitys ability to satisfy this need within the content of the general plan requirements outlined in Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300). Under these circumstances, the quantified objectives need not be identical to the total housing needs. The quantified objectives shall establish the maximum number of housing units by income category that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five-year time period.
(c)A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation, that may recognize that certain programs are ongoing, such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through the administration of land use and development controls, the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives, the utilization of appropriate federal and state financing and subsidy programs when available, and the utilization of moneys in a low- and moderate-income housing fund of an agency if the locality has established a redevelopment project area pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code). In order to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community, the program shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the citys or countys share of the regional housing need for all income levels that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the inventory completed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) without rezoning, and to comply with the requirements of Section 65584.09. Sites shall be identified as needed to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of types of housing for all income levels, including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing, mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, supportive housing, single-room occupancy units, emergency shelters, and transitional housing.
(A)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, a program for rezoning of those sites, subject to the following deadlines:
(i)For the adoption of the sixth revision of the housing element, jurisdictions with an eight-year housing element planning period pursuant to Section 65588, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than three years after either the date the housing element is adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65585 or the date that is 90 days after receipt of comments from the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585, whichever is earlier, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for a local government that fails to adopt a housing element that the department has found to be in substantial compliance with this article within 120 days of the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, rezoning of those sites, including adoption of minimum density and development standards or, for a jurisdiction in the coastal zone, any necessary local coastal program amendments related to land use designations, changes in intensity of land use, zoning ordinances, or zoning district maps, consistent with Sections 30512, 30512.2, 30513, and 30514 of the Public Resources Code, shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(ii)For adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than one year from the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(iii)Notwithstanding clause (ii), for the adoption of the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rezonings shall be completed no later than three years and 90 days after the statutory deadline in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element, unless the deadline is extended pursuant to subdivision (f). This clause shall apply only if the local government complies with all of the following:
(I)The local government submits a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 at least 90 days before the statutory deadline established in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(II)The local government receives from the department findings that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65585 on or before the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588 for adoption of the housing element.
(III)The local government adopts the draft element or draft amendment that the department found to substantially comply with this article no later than 120 days after the statutory deadline set forth in Section 65588.
(B)Where the inventory of sites, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to Section 65584, the program shall identify sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 65583.2. The identification of sites shall include all components specified in Section 65583.2.
(C)Where the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for farmworker housing, the program shall provide for sufficient sites to meet the need with zoning that permits farmworker housing use by right, including density and development standards that could accommodate and facilitate the feasibility of the development of farmworker housing for low- and very low income households.
(2)(A)Assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the program shall also assist in the development of adequate housing to meet the needs of acutely low income households.
(3)Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. The program shall remove constraints to, and provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for, intended for occupancy by, or with supportive services for, persons with disabilities. Transitional housing and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. Supportive housing, as defined in Section 65650, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, as provided in Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(4)Conserve and improve the condition of the existing affordable housing stock, which may include addressing ways to mitigate the loss of dwelling units demolished by public or private action.
(5)Promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities and promote housing throughout the community or communities for all persons regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, familial status, or disability, and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2), Section 65008, and any other state and federal fair housing and planning law.
(6)Preserve for lower income households the assisted housing developments identified pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). The program for preservation of the assisted housing developments shall utilize, to the extent necessary, all available federal, state, and local financing and subsidy programs identified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), except where a community has other urgent needs for which alternative funding sources are not available. The program may include strategies that involve local regulation and technical assistance.
(7)Develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of accessory dwelling units that can be offered at affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households. For purposes of this paragraph, accessory dwelling units has the same meaning as accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313.
(8)Include an identification of the agencies and officials responsible for the implementation of the various actions and the means by which consistency will be achieved with other general plan elements and community goals.
(9)Include a diligent effort by the local government to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community in the development of the housing element, and the program shall describe this effort.
(10)(A)Affirmatively further fair housing in accordance with Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8899.50) of Division 1 of Title 2. The program shall include an assessment of fair housing in the jurisdiction that shall include all of the following components:
(i)A summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdictions fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity.
(ii)An analysis of available federal, state, and local data and knowledge to identify integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk. The analysis shall identify and examine such patterns, trends, areas, disparities, and needs, both within the jurisdiction and comparing the jurisdiction to the region in which it is located, based on race and other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2) and Section 65008.
(iii)An assessment of the contributing factors, including the local and regional historical origins and current policies and practices, for the fair housing issues identified under clauses (i) and (ii).
(iv)An identification of the jurisdictions fair housing priorities and goals, giving highest priority to those factors identified in clause (iii) that limit or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, or negatively impact fair housing or civil rights compliance, and identifying the metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.
(v)Strategies and actions to implement those priorities and goals, which may include, but are not limited to, enhancing mobility strategies and encouraging development of new affordable housing in areas of opportunity, as well as place-based strategies to encourage community revitalization, including preservation of existing affordable housing, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
(B)A jurisdiction that completes or revises an assessment of fair housing pursuant to Subpart A (commencing with Section 5.150) of Part 5 of Subtitle A of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as published in Volume 80 of the Federal Register, Number 136, page 42272, dated July 16, 2015, or an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice in accordance with the requirements of Section 91.225 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations in effect before August 17, 2015, may incorporate relevant portions of that assessment or revised assessment of fair housing or analysis or revised analysis of impediments to fair housing into its housing element.
(C)(i)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to housing elements due to be revised pursuant to Section 65588 on or after January 1, 2021.
(ii)The assessment required pursuant to this paragraph shall be completed before the planning agency makes its first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65585.
(D)(i)The On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken pursuant to this paragraph. The standardized reporting format shall enable the reporting of all of the assessment components listed in subparagraph (A) and, at a minimum, include all of the following fields:
(I)Timelines for implementation.
(II)Responsible party or parties.
(III)Resources committed from the local budget to affirmatively further fair housing.
(IV)Action areas.
(V)Potential impacts of the program.
(ii)A local government shall utilize the standardized report format developed pursuant to this subparagraph for the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(d)(1)A local government may satisfy all or part of its requirement to identify a zone or zones suitable for the development of emergency shelters pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) by adopting and implementing a multijurisdictional agreement, with a maximum of two other adjacent communities, that requires the participating jurisdictions to develop at least one year-round emergency shelter within two years of the beginning of the planning period.
(2)The agreement shall allocate a portion of the new shelter capacity to each jurisdiction as credit toward its emergency shelter need, and each jurisdiction shall describe how the capacity was allocated as part of its housing element.
(3)Each member jurisdiction of a multijurisdictional agreement shall describe in its housing element all of the following:
(A)How the joint facility will meet the jurisdictions emergency shelter need.
(B)The jurisdictions contribution to the facility for both the development and ongoing operation and management of the facility.
(C)The amount and source of the funding that the jurisdiction contributes to the facility.
(4)The aggregate capacity claimed by the participating jurisdictions in their housing elements shall not exceed the actual capacity of the shelter.
(e)Except as otherwise provided in this article, amendments to this article that alter the required content of a housing element shall apply to both of the following:
(1)A housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when a city, county, or city and county submits a draft to the department for review pursuant to Section 65585 more than 90 days after the effective date of the amendment to this section.
(2)Any housing element or housing element amendment prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or Section 65584.02, when the city, county, or city and county fails to submit the first draft to the department before the due date specified in Section 65588 or 65584.02.
(f)The deadline for completing required rezoning pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall be extended by one year if the local government has completed the rezoning at densities sufficient to accommodate at least 75 percent of the units for lower income households and if the legislative body at the conclusion of a public hearing determines, based upon substantial evidence, that any of the following circumstances exists:
(1)The local government has been unable to complete the rezoning because of the action or inaction beyond the control of the local government of any other state, federal, or local agency.
(2)The local government is unable to complete the rezoning because of infrastructure deficiencies due to fiscal or regulatory constraints.
(3)The local government must undertake a major revision to its general plan in order to accommodate the housing-related policies of a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy adopted pursuant to Section 65080.
The resolution and the findings shall be transmitted to the department together with a detailed budget and schedule for preparation and adoption of the required rezonings, including plans for citizen participation and expected interim action. The schedule shall provide for adoption of the required rezoning within one year of the adoption of the resolution.
(g)(1)If a local government fails to complete the rezoning by the deadline provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), as it may be extended pursuant to subdivision (f), except as provided in paragraph (2), a local government may not disapprove a housing development project, nor require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other locally imposed discretionary permit, or impose a condition that would render the project infeasible, if the housing development project, (A) is proposed to be located on a site required to be rezoned pursuant to the program action required by that subparagraph and, (B) complies with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, including design review standards, described in the program action required by that subparagraph. Any subdivision of sites shall be subject to the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)). Design review shall not constitute a project for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2)A local government may disapprove a housing development described in paragraph (1) if it makes written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(3)The applicant or any interested person may bring an action to enforce this subdivision. If a court finds that the local agency disapproved a project or conditioned its approval in violation of this subdivision, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance within 60 days. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders to ensure that the purposes and policies of this subdivision are fulfilled. In any such action, the city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden of proof.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, housing development project means a project to construct residential units for which the project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability and use of at least 49 percent of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income households with an affordable housing cost or affordable rent, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively, for the period required by the applicable financing.
(h)An action to enforce the program actions of the housing element shall be brought pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(i)Notwithstanding any other law, the otherwise applicable timeframe set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (d) of Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources Code, for a Native American tribe to respond to a lead agency and request consultation in writing is extended by 30 days for any housing development project application determined or deemed to be complete on or after March 4, 2020, and prior to December 31, 2021.
(j)On or after January 1, 2024, at the discretion of the department, the analysis of government constraints pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) may include an analysis of constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for persons with a characteristic identified in subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code. The implementation of this subdivision is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
SEC. 2.Section 65584 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.(a)(1)For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of the city or county.
(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that cities, counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, and reasonable actions should be taken by local and regional governments to ensure that future housing production meets, at a minimum, the regional housing need established for planning purposes. These actions shall include applicable reforms and incentives in Section 65582.1.
(3)The Legislature finds and declares that insufficient housing in job centers hinders the states environmental quality and runs counter to the states environmental goals. In particular, when Californians seeking affordable housing are forced to drive longer distances to work, an increased amount of greenhouse gases and other pollutants are released and puts in jeopardy the achievement of the states climate goals, as established pursuant to Section 38566 of the Health and Safety Code, and clean air goals.
(b)The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each regions existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least two years 30 months prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588. The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for the determinations of the department or for the council of governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension will enable access to more recent critical population or housing data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the determination of the department or the council of governments is extended for this reason, the department shall extend the corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section 65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d)The regional housing needs allocation plan shall further all of the following objectives:
(1)Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low income households. The regional housing needs allocation plan shall allocate units for extremely low- and acutely low income households in a manner that is roughly proportional to, and within a range of 3 percent of, the housing need for very low income households.
(2)Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, the encouragement of efficient development patterns, and the achievement of the regions greenhouse gas reductions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(3)Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction.
(4)Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category, as compared to the countywide distribution of households in that category from the most recent American Community Survey.
(5)Affirmatively furthering fair housing.
(e)For purposes of this section, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
(f)(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section with respect to revisions of the housing element through the sixth revision, household income levels are as determined by the department pursuant to the following code sections:
(A)Very low incomes, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B)Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(D)Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2)For purposes of this section with respect to the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, household income levels are as determined by the department in accordance with the definitions of acutely low, extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income in Section 65582.
(g)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03, 65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3.Section 65584.01 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.01.For the fourth and subsequent revision of the housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, where applicable, shall determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in the following manner:
(a)The departments determination shall be based upon population projections produced by the Department of Finance and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans, in consultation with each council of governments. If the total regional population forecast for the projection year, developed by the council of governments and used for the preparation of the regional transportation plan, is within a range of 1.5 percent of the total regional population forecast for the projection year by the Department of Finance, then the population forecast developed by the council of governments shall be the basis from which the department determines the existing and projected need for housing in the region. If the difference between the total population projected by the council of governments and the total population projected for the region by the Department of Finance is greater than 1.5 percent, then the department and the council of governments shall meet to discuss variances in methodology used for population projections and seek agreement on a population projection for the region to be used as a basis for determining the existing and projected housing need for the region. If agreement is not reached, then the population projection for the region shall be the population projection for the region prepared by the Department of Finance as may be modified by the department as a result of discussions with the council of governments.
(b)(1)At least 26 32 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the regions housing needs. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the councils projections, including, if available, the following data for the region:
(A)Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
(B)Household size data and trends in household size.
(C)The percentage of households that are overcrowded and the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market. For purposes of this subparagraph:
(i)The term overcrowded means more than one resident per room in each room in a dwelling.
(ii)The term overcrowded rate for a comparable housing market means that the overcrowding rate is no more than the average overcrowding rate in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.
(D)The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures.
(E)The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs. For purposes of this subparagraph, the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market shall be considered no less than 5 percent.
(F)Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population.
(G)The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing.
(H)The percentage of households that are cost burdened and the rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market. For the purposes of this subparagraph:
(i)The term cost burdened means the share of very low, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income households that are paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.
(ii)The term rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market means that the rate of households that are cost burdened is no more than the average rate of households that are cost burdened in comparable regions throughout the nation, as determined by the council of governments.
(I)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
(J)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(i)The data utilized by the council of governments shall align with homelessness data best practices as determined by the department.
(ii)Sources of homelessness data may include the Homeless Data Integration System administered by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the homeless point-in-time count, or other sources deemed appropriate by the department.
(2)The department may accept or reject the information provided by the council of governments or modify its own assumptions or methodology based on this information. After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make determinations in writing on the assumptions for each of the factors listed in subparagraphs (A) to (I), inclusive, of paragraph (1) and the methodology it shall use and shall provide these determinations to the council of governments. The methodology submitted by the department may make adjustments based on the regions total projected households, which includes existing households as well as projected households.
(c)(1)After consultation with the council of governments, the department shall make a determination of the regions existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The regions existing and projected housing need shall reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan. Within 30 days following notice of the determination from the department, the council of governments may file an objection to the departments determination of the regions existing and projected housing need with the department.
(2)The objection shall be based on and substantiate either of the following:
(A)The department failed to base its determination on the population projection for the region established pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall identify the population projection which the council of governments believes should instead be used for the determination and explain the basis for its rationale.
(B)The regional housing need determined by the department is not a reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b). The objection shall include a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need based upon the determinations made in subdivision (b), including analysis of why the proposed alternative would be a more reasonable application of the methodology and assumptions determined pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3)If a council of governments files an objection pursuant to this subdivision and includes with the objection a proposed alternative determination of its regional housing need, it shall also include documentation of its basis for the alternative determination. Within 45 days of receiving an objection filed pursuant to this section, the department shall consider the objection and make a final written determination of the regions existing and projected housing need that includes an explanation of the information upon which the determination was made.
(4)In regions in which the department is required to distribute the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.06, no city or county may file an objection to the regional housing need determination.
(d)Statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination pursuant to this section shall not be a basis for a revision of the final determination.
SEC. 4.Section 65584.04 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.04.(a)At least two and one-half years before a scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall develop, in consultation with the department, a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, where applicable pursuant to this section. The methodology shall further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(b)(1)No more than six months before the development of a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected housing need, each council of governments shall survey each of its member jurisdictions to request, at a minimum, information regarding the factors listed in subdivision (e) that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the factors established in subdivision (e).
(2)With respect to the objective in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the survey shall review and compile information that will allow the development of a methodology based upon the issues, strategies, and actions that are included, as available, in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice or an Assessment of Fair Housing completed by any city or county or the department that covers communities within the area served by the council of governments, and in housing elements adopted pursuant to this article by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments.
(3)The council of governments shall seek to obtain the information in a manner and format that is comparable throughout the region and utilize readily available data to the extent possible.
(4)The information provided by a local government pursuant to this section shall be used, to the extent possible, by the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, as source information for the methodology developed pursuant to this section. The survey shall state that none of the information received may be used as a basis for reducing the total housing need established for the region pursuant to Section 65584.01.
(5)If the council of governments fails to conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision, a city, county, or city and county may submit information related to the items listed in subdivision (e) before the public comment period provided for in subdivision (d).
(c)The council of governments shall electronically report the results of the survey of fair housing issues, strategies, and actions compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The report shall describe common themes and effective strategies employed by cities and counties within the area served by the council of governments, including common themes and effective strategies around avoiding the displacement of lower income households. The council of governments shall also identify significant barriers to affirmatively furthering fair housing at the regional level and may recommend strategies or actions to overcome those barriers. A council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, as appropriate, may use this information for any other purpose, including publication within a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant to Section 65080 or to inform the land use assumptions that are applied in the development of a regional transportation plan.
(d)Public participation and access shall be required in the development of the methodology and in the process of drafting and adoption of the allocation of the regional housing needs. Participation by organizations other than local jurisdictions and councils of governments shall be solicited in a diligent effort to achieve public participation of all economic segments of the community as well as members of protected classes under Section 12955 and households with special housing needs under paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. The proposed methodology, along with any relevant underlying data and assumptions, an explanation of how information about local government conditions gathered pursuant to subdivision (b) has been used to develop the proposed methodology, how each of the factors listed in subdivision (e) is incorporated into the methodology, and how the proposed methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, shall be distributed to all cities, counties, any subregions, and members of the public who have made a written or electronic request for the proposed methodology and published on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website. The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive oral and written comments on the proposed methodology.
(e)To the extent that sufficient data is available from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b) or other sources, each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, shall consider including the following factors in developing the methodology that allocates regional housing needs:
(1)Each member jurisdictions existing and projected jobs and housing relationship. This shall include an estimate based on readily available data on the number of low-wage jobs within the jurisdiction and how many housing units within the jurisdiction are affordable to low-wage workers as well as an estimate based on readily available data, of projected job growth and projected household growth by income level within each member jurisdiction during the planning period.
(2)The opportunities and constraints to development of additional housing in each member jurisdiction, including all of the following:
(A)Lack of capacity for sewer or water service due to federal or state laws, regulations or regulatory actions, or supply and distribution decisions made by a sewer or water service provider other than the local jurisdiction that preclude the jurisdiction from providing necessary infrastructure for additional development during the planning period.
(B)The availability of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, the availability of underutilized land, and opportunities for infill development and increased residential densities. The council of governments may not limit its consideration of suitable housing sites or land suitable for urban development to existing zoning ordinances and land use restrictions of a locality, but shall consider the potential for increased residential development under alternative zoning ordinances and land use restrictions. The determination of available land suitable for urban development may exclude lands where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources has determined that the flood management infrastructure designed to protect that land is not adequate to avoid the risk of flooding.
(C)Lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis, including land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(D)County policies to preserve prime agricultural land, as defined pursuant to Section 56064, within an unincorporated area and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts its conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(E)Emergency evacuation route capacity, wildfire risk, sea level rise, and other impacts caused by climate change.
(3)The distribution of household growth assumed for purposes of a comparable period of regional transportation plans and opportunities to maximize the use of public transportation and existing transportation infrastructure.
(4)Agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county and land within an unincorporated area zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that is subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of the jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts conversion to nonagricultural uses.
(5)The loss of units contained in assisted housing developments, as defined in paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, that changed to non-low-income use through mortgage prepayment, subsidy contract expirations, or termination of use restrictions.
(6)The percentage of existing households at each of the income levels listed in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 that are paying more than 30 percent and more than 50 percent of their income in rent.
(7)The rate of overcrowding.
(8)The housing needs of farmworkers.
(9)The housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
(10)The housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. If a council of governments has surveyed each of its member jurisdictions pursuant to subdivision (b) on or before January 1, 2020, this paragraph shall apply only to the development of methodologies for the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element.
(11)The loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision pursuant to Section 65588 that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.
(12)The regions greenhouse gas emissions targets provided by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Section 65080.
(13)Any other factors adopted by the council of governments, that further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584, provided that the council of governments specifies which of the objectives each additional factor is necessary to further. The council of governments may include additional factors unrelated to furthering the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 so long as the additional factors do not undermine the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and are applied equally across all household income levels as described in subdivision (f) of Section 65584 and the council of governments makes a finding that the factor is necessary to address significant health and safety conditions.
(f)The council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall explain in writing how each of the factors described in subdivision (e) was incorporated into the methodology and how the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The methodology may include numerical weighting. This information, and any other supporting materials used in determining the methodology, shall be posted on the council of governments, or delegate subregions, internet website.
(g)The following criteria shall not be a justification for a determination or a reduction in a jurisdictions share of the regional housing need:
(1)Any ordinance, policy, voter-approved measure, or standard of a city or county that directly or indirectly limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county.
(2)Prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous regional housing need allocation, as determined by each jurisdictions annual production report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
(3)Stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous regional housing needs cycle.
(h)Following the conclusion of the public comment period described in subdivision (d) on the proposed allocation methodology, and after making any revisions deemed appropriate by the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, as a result of comments received during the public comment period, and as a result of consultation with the department, each council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall publish a draft allocation methodology on its internet website and submit the draft allocation methodology, along with the information required pursuant to subdivision (e), to the department.
(i)Within 60 days, the department shall review the draft allocation methodology and report its written findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable. In its written findings the department shall determine whether the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. If the department determines that the methodology is not consistent with subdivision (d) of Section 65584, the council of governments, or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall take one of the following actions:
(1)Revise the methodology to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 and adopt a final regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology.
(2)Adopt the regional, or subregional, housing need allocation methodology without revisions and include within its resolution of adoption findings, supported by substantial evidence, as to why the council of governments, or delegate subregion, believes that the methodology furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584 despite the findings of the department.
(j)If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, may act without them.
(k)Upon either action pursuant to subdivision (i), the council of governments, or delegate subregion, shall provide notice of the adoption of the methodology to the jurisdictions within the region, or delegate subregion, as applicable, and to the department, and shall publish the adopted allocation methodology, along with its resolution and any adopted written findings, on its internet website.
(l)The department may, within 45 days, review the adopted methodology and report its findings to the council of governments, or delegate subregion.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, the allocation plan shall allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.
(2)(A)The final allocation plan shall ensure that the total regional housing need, by income category, as determined under Section 65584, is maintained, and that each jurisdiction in the region receive an allocation of units for low- and very low income households.
(B)For the seventh and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the allocation to each region required under subparagraph (A) shall also include an allocation of units for acutely low and extremely low income households.
(3)The resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan shall demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan and furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(n)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.
(o)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 5.Section 65584.05 of the Government Code is amended to read:65584.05.(a)At least one and one-half two years before the scheduled revision required by Section 65588, each council of governments and delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion, where applicable, and the department, based on the methodology adopted pursuant to Section 65584.04 and shall publish the draft allocation on its internet website. The council of governments may additionally distribute the draft allocation plan upon adoption of the final methodology reviewed and accepted by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i) of Section 65584.04. The draft allocation shall include the underlying data and methodology on which the allocation is based, and a statement as to how it furthers the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. It is the intent of the Legislature that the draft allocation should be distributed before the completion of the update of the applicable regional transportation plan. The draft allocation shall distribute to localities and subregions, if any, within the region the entire regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 or within subregions, as applicable, the subregions entire share of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(b)Within 30 days following receipt of the draft allocation, a local government within the region or the delegate subregion, as applicable, or the department may appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments. Appeals shall be based upon comparable data available for all affected jurisdictions and accepted planning methodology, and supported by adequate documentation, and shall include a statement as to why the revision is necessary to further the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. An appeal pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with, and not to the detriment of, the development pattern in an applicable sustainable communities strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080. Appeals shall be limited to any of the following circumstances:
(1)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to adequately consider the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04.
(2)The council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, failed to determine the share of the regional housing need in accordance with the information described in, and the methodology established pursuant to, Section 65584.04, and in a manner that furthers, and does not undermine, the intent of the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584.
(3)A significant and unforeseen change in circumstances has occurred in the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions that merits a revision of the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65584.04. Appeals on this basis shall only be made by the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the change in circumstances has occurred.
(c)At the close of the period for filing appeals pursuant to subdivision (b), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall notify all other local governments within the region or delegate subregion and the department of all appeals and shall make all materials submitted in support of each appeal available on a publicly available internet website. Local governments and the department may, within 45 days, comment on one or more appeals. If no appeals are filed, the draft allocation may be adopted pursuant to subdivision (g).
(d)No later than 30 days after the close of the comment period, and after providing all local governments within the region or delegate subregion, as applicable, at least 10 days prior notice, the council of governments or delegate subregion shall conduct one public hearing to consider all appeals filed pursuant to subdivision (b) and all comments received pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)No later than 45 days after the public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d), the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall do all of the following:
(1)Make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal for a revised share filed pursuant to subdivision (b). Final determinations shall be based upon the information and methodology described in Section 65584.04 and whether the revision is necessary to further the objectives listed in subdivision (d) of Section 65584. The final determination shall be in writing and shall include written findings as to how the determination is consistent with this article. The final determination on an appeal may require the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adjust the share of the regional housing need allocated to one or more local governments that are not the subject of an appeal.
(2)Issue a proposed final allocation plan.
(3)Submit the proposed final allocation plan to the department.
(4)Set a date for a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan pursuant to subdivision (g).
(f)In the proposed final allocation plan, the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall adjust allocations to local governments based upon the results of the appeals process. If the adjustments total 7 percent or less of the regional housing need determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, or, as applicable, total 7 percent or less of the subregions share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall distribute the adjustments proportionally to all local governments. If the adjustments total more than 7 percent of the regional housing need, then the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, shall develop a methodology to distribute the amount greater than the 7 percent to local governments. The total distribution of housing need shall not equal less than the regional housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01, nor shall the subregional distribution of housing need equal less than its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.03.
(g)Within 45 days after the issuance of the proposed final allocation plan by the council of governments and each delegate subregion, as applicable, the council of governments shall hold a public hearing to adopt a final allocation plan. To the extent that the final allocation plan fully allocates the regional share of statewide housing need, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01 and has taken into account all appeals, the council of governments shall have final authority to determine the distribution of the regions existing and projected housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The council of governments shall submit its final allocation plan to the department within three days of adoption. Within 15 days after the departments receipt of the final allocation plan adopted by the council of governments, the department shall determine if the final allocation plan is consistent with the existing and projected housing need for the region, as determined pursuant to Section 65584.01. The department may revise the determination of the council of governments if necessary to obtain this consistency.
(h)Any authority of the council of governments to review and revise the share of a city or county of the regional housing need under this section shall not constitute authority to revise, approve, or disapprove the manner in which the share of the city or county of the regional housing need is implemented through its housing program.
(i)Any time period in subdivision (d) or (e) may be extended by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, for up to 30 days. Any time period in subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (g) may be reduced by a council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to facilitate earlier adoption of the final allocation plan. No time period shall be reduced to fewer than a minimum of 10 days.
(j)The San Diego Association of Governments may follow the process in this section for the draft and final allocation plan for the sixth revision of the housing element notwithstanding such actions being carried out before the adoption of an updated regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy.
(k)For the seventh housing element cycle, the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not apply to councils of governments with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
SEC. 6.Section 65585 of the Government Code is amended to read:65585.(a)In the preparation of its housing element, each city and county shall consider the guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to Section 50459 of the Health and Safety Code. Those guidelines shall be advisory to each city or county in the preparation of its housing element.
(b)(1)(A)At least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to this element, the planning agency shall submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department. The local government of the planning agency shall make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if any comments are received, the local government shall take at least 10 business days after the 30-day public comment period to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision prior to submitting it to the department. For any subsequent draft revision, the local government shall post the draft revision on its internet website and shall email a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the local governments housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to the department.
(B)The planning agency staff shall collect and compile the public comments regarding the housing element received by the city, county, or city and county and provide these comments to each member of the legislative body before it adopts the housing element.
(C)The department shall review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft amendment or an adopted revision or adopted amendment to an element. The department shall not review the first draft submitted for each housing element revision pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588 until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, has taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2)(A)At least 90 days prior to the initial adoption of a revision of its housing element pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 65588, and at least 7 days prior to any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites, a local government shall do both of the following:
(i)Make a draft of its inventory of sites required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 available to the department and the public and post the draft inventory on its internet website.
(ii)Send an email to all individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices notifying them that the inventory has been updated that includes a link to the draft inventory on its website.
(B)The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to the seventh and each subsequent revision of the housing element.
(c)In the preparation of its findings, the department may consult with any public agency, group, or person. The department shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person regarding the draft or adopted element or amendment under review.
(d)In its written findings, the department shall determine whether the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article. If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the department shall in a written communication to the planning agency do both of the following:
(1)Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of Section 65583 that the draft element or draft amendment does not comply with.
(2)Provide the specific analysis or text that the department expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or draft amendment to remedy the deficiencies identified in paragraph (1).
(e)Prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment, the legislative body shall consider the findings made made, and the specific analysis or text required, by the department. If the departments findings are not available within the time limits set by this section, the legislative body may act without them.
(f)If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1)(A)Change Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article. article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B)Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(C)Notwithstanding Section 65589.5, a jurisdiction shall not be required to approve a builders remedy project, as defined in paragraph (11) of subdivision (h) of Section 65889.5, within the planning agencys jurisdiction during either of the following periods:
(i)The duration of the departments review of a draft element or draft amendment revised pursuant to this paragraph.
(ii)Ninety days from the date the department notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies not previously identified by the department in response to the prior submission of the draft element or draft amendment.
(2)Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without changes. the specific analysis or text required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d). The legislative body shall include in its resolution of adoption written findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft element or draft amendment substantially complies with this article despite the findings of of, and specific analysis or text required by, the department.
(g)(1)Promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, the planning agency shall submit a copy of the adopted element or amendment and any findings made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to the department.
(2)This subdivision shall not be construed to excuse a legislative body from complying with subdivision (f). This paragraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(h)The department shall, within 60 days, review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with this article, and report its findings to the planning agency. If the department finds that the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with this article, the department shall identify each subdivision of Section 65583 that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
(i)(1)(A)The department shall review any action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element or Section 65583, including any failure to implement any program actions included in the housing element pursuant to Section 65583. The department shall issue written findings to the city, county, or city and county as to whether the action or failure to act substantially complies with this article, and provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond to the findings before taking any other action authorized by this section, including the action authorized by subparagraph (C).
(B)If the department finds that the citys, countys, or city and countys action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or its obligations pursuant to Section 65583, there shall be a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging that action or failure to act.
(C)If the department finds that the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county does not substantially comply with this article, and if it has issued findings pursuant to this section that an amendment to the housing element substantially complies with this article, the department may revoke its findings until it determines that the city, county, or city and county has come into compliance with this article.
(2)The department may consult with any local government, public agency, group, or person, and shall receive and consider any written comments from any public agency, group, or person, regarding the action or failure to act by the city, county, or city and county described in paragraph (1), in determining whether the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(j)The department shall notify the city, county, or city and county and may notify the office of the Attorney General that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to this element, or any action or failure to act described in subdivision (i), (j), does not substantially comply with this article or that any local government has taken an action in violation of the following:
(1)Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5).
(2)Section 65863.
(3)Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915).
(4)Section 65008.
(5)Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Chapter 654, Statutes of 2019, Sections 65941.1, 65943, and 66300).
(6)Section 8899.50.
(7)Section 65913.4.
(8)Article 11 (commencing with Section 65650).
(9)Article 12 (commencing with Section 65660).
(10)Section 65913.11.
(11)Section 65400.
(12)Section 65863.2.
(13)Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 65912.100).
(14)Section 65905.5.
(15)Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310).
(16)Section 65852.21.
(17)Section 65852.24.
(18)Section 66411.7.
(19)Section 65913.16.
(20)Article 2 (commencing with Section 66300.5) of Chapter 12.
(21)Section 65852.28.
(22)Section 65913.4.5.
(23)Section 66499.41.
(24)Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(25)Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(26)Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(27)(A)Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 65658).
(B)This paragraph shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 3068 of the 202324 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.
(k)Commencing July 1, 2019, prior to the Attorney General bringing any suit for a violation of the provisions identified in subdivision (j) related to housing element compliance and seeking remedies available pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall offer the jurisdiction the opportunity for two meetings in person or via telephone to discuss the violation, and shall provide the jurisdiction written findings regarding the violation. This paragraph does not affect any action filed prior to the effective date of this section. The requirements set forth in this subdivision do not apply to any suits brought for a violation or violations of paragraphs (1) and (3) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (j).
(l)In any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the Attorney General may request, upon a finding of the court that the housing element does not substantially comply with the requirements of this article pursuant to this section, that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance with the requirements of this article. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out. If a court determines that the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article, it shall have the same force and effect, for purposes of eligibility for any financial assistance that requires a housing element in substantial compliance and for purposes of any incentives provided under Section 65589.9, as a determination by the department that the housing element substantially complies with this article.
(1)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling substantial compliance with the requirements of this article, the court shall impose fines on the jurisdiction, which shall be deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Any fine levied pursuant to this paragraph shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month, but shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per month, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3). In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(2)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after three months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Following the status conference, if the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of three. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(3)If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment six months following the imposition of fees described in paragraph (1), the court shall conduct a status conference. Upon a determination that the jurisdiction failed to comply with the order or judgment, the court may impose the following:
(A)If the court finds that the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are insufficient to bring the jurisdiction into compliance with the order or judgment, the court may multiply the fine determined pursuant to paragraph (1) by a factor of six. In the event that the jurisdiction fails to pay fines imposed by the court in full and on time, the court may require the Controller to intercept any available state and local funds and direct such funds to the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to correct the jurisdictions failure to pay. The intercept of the funds by the Controller for this purpose shall not violate any provision of the California Constitution.
(B)The court may order remedies available pursuant to Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the agent of the court may take all governmental actions necessary to bring the jurisdictions housing element into substantial compliance pursuant to this article in order to remedy identified deficiencies. The court shall determine whether the housing element of the jurisdiction substantially complies with this article and, once the court makes that determination, it shall have the same force and effect, for all purposes, as the departments determination that the housing element substantially complies with this article. An agent appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have expertise in planning in California.
(4)This subdivision does not limit a courts discretion to apply any and all remedies in an action or special proceeding for a violation of any law identified in subdivision (j).
(m)In determining the application of the remedies available under subdivision (l), the court shall consider whether there are any mitigating circumstances delaying the jurisdiction from coming into compliance with state housing law. The court may consider whether a city, county, or city and county is making a good faith effort to come into substantial compliance or is facing substantial undue hardships.
(n)Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the office of the Attorney General to bring a suit to enforce state law in an independent capacity. The office of the Attorney General may seek all remedies available under law including those set forth in this section.
(o)Notwithstanding Sections 11040 and 11042, if the Attorney General declines to represent the department in any action or special proceeding brought pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), the department may appoint or contract with other counsel for purposes of representing the department in the action or special proceeding.
(p)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the statute of limitations set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply to any action or special proceeding brought by the office of the Attorney General or pursuant to a notice or referral under subdivision (j), or by the department pursuant to subdivision (o).
(q)The amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision shall not be construed to limit the departments ability to enforce programmatic requirements or remedies against cities, counties, and continuums of care pursuant to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 50230) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code), the Encampment Resolution Funding program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 50250)), and the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 50255)).
SEC. 7.Section 65589.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:65589.5.(a)(1)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(A)The lack of housing, including emergency shelters, is a critical problem that threatens the economic, environmental, and social quality of life in California.
(B)California housing has become the most expensive in the nation. The excessive cost of the states housing supply is partially caused by activities and policies of many local governments that limit the approval of housing, increase the cost of land for housing, and require that high fees and exactions be paid by producers of housing.
(C)Among the consequences of those actions are discrimination against low-income and minority households, lack of housing to support employment growth, imbalance in jobs and housing, reduced mobility, urban sprawl, excessive commuting, and air quality deterioration.
(D)Many local governments do not give adequate attention to the economic, environmental, and social costs of decisions that result in disapproval of housing development projects, reduction in density of housing projects, and excessive standards for housing development projects.
(2)In enacting the amendments made to this section by the act adding this paragraph, the Legislature further finds and declares the following:
(A)California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis are hurting millions of Californians, robbing future generations of the chance to call California home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining the states environmental and climate objectives.
(B)While the causes of this crisis are multiple and complex, the absence of meaningful and effective policy reforms to significantly enhance the approval and supply of housing affordable to Californians of all income levels is a key factor.
(C)The crisis has grown so acute in California that supply, demand, and affordability fundamentals are characterized in the negative: underserved demands, constrained supply, and protracted unaffordability.
(D)According to reports and data, California has accumulated an unmet housing backlog of nearly 2,000,000 units and must provide for at least 180,000 new units annually to keep pace with growth through 2025.
(E)Californias overall home ownership rate is at its lowest level since the 1940s. The state ranks 49th out of the 50 states in home ownership rates as well as in the supply of housing per capita. Only one-half of Californias households are able to afford the cost of housing in their local regions.
(F)Lack of supply and rising costs are compounding inequality and limiting advancement opportunities for many Californians.
(G)The majority of California renters, more than 3,000,000 households, pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and nearly one-third, more than 1,500,000 households, pay more than 50 percent of their income toward rent.
(H)When Californians have access to safe and affordable housing, they have more money for food and health care; they are less likely to become homeless and in need of government-subsidized services; their children do better in school; and businesses have an easier time recruiting and retaining employees.
(I)An additional consequence of the states cumulative housing shortage is a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the displacement and redirection of populations to states with greater housing opportunities, particularly working- and middle-class households. Californias cumulative housing shortfall therefore has not only national but international environmental consequences.
(J)Californias housing picture has reached a crisis of historic proportions despite the fact that, for decades, the Legislature has enacted numerous statutes intended to significantly increase the approval, development, and affordability of housing for all income levels, including this section.
(K)The Legislatures intent in enacting this section in 1982 and in expanding its provisions since then was to significantly increase the approval and construction of new housing for all economic segments of Californias communities by meaningfully and effectively curbing the capability of local governments to deny, reduce the density for, or render infeasible housing development projects and emergency shelters. That intent has not been fulfilled.
(L)It is the policy of the state that this section be interpreted and implemented in a manner to afford the fullest possible weight to the interest of, and the approval and provision of, housing.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that the conditions that would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), arise infrequently.
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments removing provisions from subparagraphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) and adding those provisions to Sections 65589.5.1 and 65589.5.2 by Assembly Bill 1413 (2023), insofar as they are substantially the same as existing law, shall be considered restatements and continuations of existing law, and not new enactments.
(b)It is the policy of the state that a local government not reject or make infeasible housing development projects, including emergency shelters, that contribute to meeting the need determined pursuant to this article without a thorough analysis of the economic, social, and environmental effects of the action and without complying with subdivision (d).
(c)The Legislature also recognizes that premature and unnecessary development of agricultural lands for urban uses continues to have adverse effects on the availability of those lands for food and fiber production and on the economy of the state. Furthermore, it is the policy of the state that development should be guided away from prime agricultural lands; therefore, in implementing this section, local jurisdictions should encourage, to the maximum extent practicable, in filling existing urban areas.
(d)For a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, or an emergency shelter, a local agency shall not disapprove the housing development project or emergency shelter, or condition approval in a manner that renders the housing development project or emergency shelter infeasible, including through the use of design review standards, unless it makes written findings, based upon a preponderance of the evidence in the record, as to one of the following:
(1)The jurisdiction has adopted a housing element pursuant to this article that has been revised in accordance with Section 65588, is in substantial compliance with this article, and the jurisdiction has met or exceeded its share of the regional housing need allocation pursuant to Section 65584 for the planning period for the income category proposed for the housing development project, provided that any disapproval or conditional approval shall not be based on any of the reasons prohibited by Section 65008. If the housing development project includes a mix of income categories, and the jurisdiction has not met or exceeded its share of the regional housing need for one or more of those categories, then this paragraph shall not be used to disapprove or conditionally approve the housing development project. The share of the regional housing need met by the jurisdiction shall be calculated consistently with the forms and definitions that may be adopted by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 65400. In the case of an emergency shelter, the jurisdiction shall have met or exceeded the need for emergency shelter, as identified pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. Any disapproval or conditional approval pursuant to this paragraph shall be in accordance with applicable law, rule, or standards.
(2)The housing development project or emergency shelter as proposed would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete. The following shall not constitute a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety:
(A)Inconsistency with the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation.
(B)The eligibility to claim a welfare exemption under subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(3)The denial of the housing development project or imposition of conditions is required in order to comply with specific state or federal law, and there is no feasible method to comply without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible.
(4)The housing development project or emergency shelter is proposed on land zoned for agriculture or resource preservation that is surrounded on at least two sides by land being used for agricultural or resource preservation purposes, or which does not have adequate water or wastewater facilities to serve the project.
(5)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction had adopted a revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article, and the housing development project or emergency shelter was inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation as specified in any element of the general plan.
(A)This paragraph shall not be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve a housing development project proposed on a site, including a candidate site for rezoning, that is identified as suitable or available for very low, low-, or moderate-income households in the jurisdictions housing element if the housing development project is consistent with the density specified in the housing element, even though the housing development project was inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)If the local agency has failed to identify a zone or zones where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit, has failed to demonstrate that the identified zone or zones include sufficient capacity to accommodate the need for emergency shelter identified in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, or has failed to demonstrate that the identified zone or zones can accommodate at least one emergency shelter, as required by paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583, then this paragraph shall not be utilized to disapprove or conditionally approve an emergency shelter proposed for a site designated in any element of the general plan for industrial, commercial, or multifamily residential uses. In any action in court, the burden of proof shall be on the local agency to show that its housing element does satisfy the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583.
(6)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article and the housing development project is not a builders remedy project.
(7)On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article, and the housing development project is a builders remedy project, and at least one of the conditions described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 65585 applies.
(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve the local agency from complying with the congestion management program required by Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 65088) of Division 1 of Title 7 or the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code). Neither shall anything in this section be construed to relieve the local agency from making one or more of the findings required pursuant to Section 21081 of the Public Resources Code or otherwise complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (6) and (8) of this subdivision, and subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring the housing development project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdictions share of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584. However, the development standards, conditions, and policies shall be applied to facilitate and accommodate development at the density permitted on the site and proposed by the development. Nothing in this section shall limit a projects eligibility for a density bonus, incentive, or concession, or waiver or reduction of development standards and parking ratios, pursuant to Section 65915.
(2)Except as provided in subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring an emergency shelter project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies that are consistent with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583 and appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdictions need for emergency shelter, as identified pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65583. However, the development standards, conditions, and policies shall be applied by the local agency to facilitate and accommodate the development of the emergency shelter project.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (o), nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local agency from imposing fees and other exactions otherwise authorized by law that are essential to provide necessary public services and facilities to the housing development project or emergency shelter.
(4)For purposes of this section, a housing development project or emergency shelter shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision if there is substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the housing development project or emergency shelter is consistent, compliant, or in conformity.
(5)For purposes of this section, a change to the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation subsequent to the date the application was deemed complete shall not constitute a valid basis to disapprove or condition approval of the housing development project or emergency shelter.
(6)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, all of the following apply to a housing development project that is a builders remedy project:
(A)A local agency may only require the project to comply with the objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies that would have applied to the project had it been proposed on a site with a general plan designation and zoning classification that allow the density and unit type proposed by the applicant. If the local agency has no general plan designation or zoning classification that would have allowed the density and unit type proposed by the applicant, the development proponent may identify any objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies associated with a different general plan designation or zoning classification within that jurisdiction, that facilitate the projects density and unit type, and those shall apply.
(B)(i)Except as authorized by paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (d), a local agency shall not apply any individual or combination of objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies to the project that do any of the following:
(I)Render the project infeasible.
(II)Preclude a project that meets the requirements allowed to be imposed by subparagraph (A), as modified by any density bonus, incentive, or concession, or waiver or reduction of development standards and parking ratios, pursuant to Section 65915, from being constructed as proposed by the applicant.
(ii)The local agency shall bear the burden of proof of complying with clause (i).
(C)(i)A project applicant that qualifies for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915 shall receive two incentives or concessions in addition to those granted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
(ii)For a project seeking density bonuses, incentives, concessions, or any other benefits pursuant to Section 65915, and notwithstanding paragraph (6) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, for purposes of this paragraph, maximum allowable residential density or base density means the density permitted for a builders remedy project pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h).
(iii)A local agency shall grant any density bonus pursuant to Section 65915 based on the number of units proposed and allowable pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h).
(iv)A project that dedicates units to extremely low-income households pursuant to subclause (I) of clause (i) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (h) shall be eligible for the same density bonus, incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of development standards as provided to a housing development project that dedicates three percentage points more units to very low income households pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 65915.
(v)All units dedicated to extremely low-income, very low income, low-income, and moderate-income households pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (h) shall be counted as affordable units in determining whether the applicant qualifies for a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915.
(D)(i)The project shall not be required to apply for, or receive approval of, a general plan amendment, specific plan amendment, rezoning, or other legislative approval.
(ii)The project shall not be required to apply for, or receive, any approval or permit not generally required of a project of the same type and density proposed by the applicant.
(iii)Any project that complies with this paragraph shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, redevelopment plan and implementing instruments, or other similar provision for all purposes, and shall not be considered or treated as a nonconforming lot, use, or structure for any purpose.
(E)A local agency shall not adopt or impose any requirement, process, practice, or procedure or undertake any course of conduct, including, but not limited to, increased fees or inclusionary housing requirements, that applies to a project solely or partially on the basis that the project is a builders remedy project.
(F)(i)A builders remedy project shall be deemed to be in compliance with the residential density standards for the purposes of complying with subdivision (b) of Section 65912.123.
(ii)A builders remedy project shall be deemed to be in compliance with the objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards for the purposes of complying with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4.
(G)(i)(I)If the local agency had a local affordable housing requirement, as defined in Section 65912.101, that on January 1, 2024, required a greater percentage of affordable units than required under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h), or required an affordability level deeper than what is required under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (h), then, except as provided in subclauses (II) and (III), the local agency may require a housing development for mixed-income households to comply with an otherwise lawfully applicable local affordability percentage or affordability level. The local agency shall not require housing for mixed-income households to comply with any other aspect of the local affordable housing requirement.
(II)Notwithstanding subclause (I), the local affordable housing requirements shall not be applied to require housing for mixed-income households to dedicate more than 20 percent of the units to affordable units of any kind.
(III)Housing for mixed-income households that is required to dedicate 20 percent of the units to affordable units shall not be required to dedicate any of the affordable units at an income level deeper than lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(IV)A local agency may only require housing for mixed-income households to comply with the local percentage requirement or affordability level described in subclause (I) if it first makes written findings, supported by a preponderance of evidence, that compliance with the local percentage requirement or the affordability level, or both, would not render the housing development project infeasible. If a reasonable person could find compliance with either requirement, either alone or in combination, would render the project infeasible, the project shall not be required to comply with that requirement.
(ii)Affordable units in the development project shall have a comparable bedroom and bathroom count as the market rate units.
(iii)Each affordable unit dedicated pursuant to this subparagraph shall count toward satisfying a local affordable housing requirement. Each affordable unit dedicated pursuant to a local affordable housing requirement that meets the criteria established in this subparagraph shall count towards satisfying the requirements of this subparagraph. This is declaratory of existing law.
(7)(A)For a housing development project application that is deemed complete before January 1, 2025, the development proponent for the project may choose to be subject to the provisions of this section that were in place on the date the preliminary application was submitted, or, if the project meets the definition of a builders remedy project, it may choose to be subject to any or all of the provisions of this section applicable as of January 1, 2025.
(B)Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 65941.1, for a housing development project deemed complete before January 1, 2025, the development proponent may choose to revise their application so that the project is a builders remedy project, without being required to resubmit a preliminary application, even if the revision results in the number of residential units or square footage of construction changing by 20 percent or more.
(8)A housing development project proposed on a site that is identified as suitable or available for very low, low-, or moderate-income households in the jurisdictions housing element, that is consistent with the density specified in the most recently updated and adopted housing element, and that is inconsistent with both the jurisdictions zoning ordinance and general plan land use designation on the date the application was deemed complete, shall be subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of paragraph (6) and paragraph (9).
(9)For purposes of this subdivision, objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies means criteria that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official before submittal, including, but not limited to, any standard, ordinance, or policy described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (o). Nothing herein shall affect the obligation of the housing development project to comply with the minimum building standards approved by the California Building Standards Commission as provided in Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code. In the event that applicable objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies are mutually inconsistent, a development shall be deemed consistent with the criteria that permits the density and unit type closest to that of the proposed project.
(g)This section shall be applicable to charter cities because the Legislature finds that the lack of housing, including emergency shelter, is a critical statewide problem.
(h)The following definitions apply for the purposes of this section:
(1)Feasible means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social, and technological factors.
(2)Housing development project means a use consisting of any of the following:
(A)Residential units only.
(B)Mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses that meet any of the following conditions:
(i)At least two-thirds of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use.
(ii)At least 50 percent of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use and the project meets both of the following:
(I)The project includes at least 500 net new residential units.
(II)No portion of the project is designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except a portion of the project may be designated for use as a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.
(iii)At least 50 percent of the net new or converted square footage is designated for residential use and the project meets all of the following:
(I)The project includes at least 500 net new residential units.
(II)The project involves the demolition or conversion of at least 100,000 square feet of nonresidential use.
(III)The project demolishes at least 50 percent of the existing nonresidential uses on the site.
(IV)No portion of the project is designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except a portion of the project may be designated for use as a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C)Transitional housing or supportive housing.
(D)Farmworker housing, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50199.7 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3)(A)Housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households means housing for lower income households, mixed-income households, or moderate-income households.
(B)Housing for lower income households means a housing development project in which 100 percent of the units, excluding managers units, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable cost, as defined by Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent set in an amount consistent with the rent limits established by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. The units shall be subject to a recorded deed restriction for a period of 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units.
(C)(i)Housing for mixed-income households means any of the following:
(I)A housing development project in which at least 7 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to extremely low income households, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.
(II)A housing development project in which at least 10 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to very low income households, as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.
(III)A housing development project in which at least 13 percent of the total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(IV)A housing development project in which there are 10 or fewer total units, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (o) of Section 65915, that is on a site that is smaller than one acre, and that is proposed for development at a minimum density of 10 units per acre.
(ii)All units dedicated to extremely low income, very low income, and low-income households pursuant to clause (i) shall meet both of the following:
(I)The units shall have an affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.
(II)The development proponent shall agree to, and the local agency shall ensure, the continued affordability of all affordable rental units included pursuant to this section for 55 years and all affordable ownership units included pursuant to this section for a period of 45 years.
(D)Housing for moderate-income households means a housing development project in which 100 percent of the units are sold or rented to moderate-income households, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable housing cost, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or an affordable rent, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code. The units shall be subject to a recorded deed restriction for a period of 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units.
(4)Area median income means area median income as periodically established by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(5)Notwithstanding any other law, until January 1, 2030, deemed complete means that the applicant has submitted a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 or, if the applicant has not submitted a preliminary application, has submitted a complete application pursuant to Section 65943. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof in establishing that the application is not complete.
(6)Disapprove the housing development project includes any instance in which a local agency does any of the following:
(A)Votes or takes final administrative action on a proposed housing development project application and the application is disapproved, including any required land use approvals or entitlements necessary for the issuance of a building permit.
(B)Fails to comply with the time periods specified in subdivision (a) of Section 65950. An extension of time pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 65950) shall be deemed to be an extension of time pursuant to this paragraph.
(C)Fails to meet the time limits specified in Section 65913.3.
(D)Fails to cease a course of conduct undertaken for an improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increases in the cost of the proposed housing development project, that effectively disapproves the proposed housing development without taking final administrative action if all of the following conditions are met:
(i)The project applicant provides written notice detailing the challenged conduct and why it constitutes disapproval to the local agency established under Section 65100.
(ii)Within five working days of receiving the applicants written notice described in clause (i), the local agency shall post the notice on the local agencys internet website, provide a copy of the notice to any person who has made a written request for notices pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 21167 of the Public Resources Code, and file the notice with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. The county clerk shall post the notice and make it available for public inspection in the manner set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 21152 of the Public Resources Code.
(iii)The local agency shall consider all objections, comments, evidence, and concerns about the project or the applicants written notice and shall not make a determination until at least 60 days after the applicant has given written notice to the local agency pursuant to clause (i).
(iv)Within 90 days of receipt of the applicants written notice described in clause (i), the local agency shall issue a written statement that it will immediately cease the challenged conduct or issue written findings that comply with both of the following requirements:
(I)The findings articulate an objective basis for why the challenged course of conduct is necessary.
(II)The findings provide clear instructions on what the applicant must submit or supplement so that the local agency can make a final determination regarding the next necessary approval or set the date and time of the next hearing.
(v)(I)If a local agency continues the challenged course of conduct described in the applicants written notice and fails to issue the written findings described in clause (iv), the local agency shall bear the burden of establishing that its course of conduct does not constitute a disapproval of the housing development project under this subparagraph in an action taken by the applicant.
(II)If an applicant challenges a local agencys course of conduct as a disapproval under this subparagraph, the local agencys written findings described in clause (iv) shall be incorporated into the administrative record and be deemed to be the final administrative action for purposes of adjudicating whether the local agencys course of conduct constitutes a disapproval of the housing development project under this subparagraph.
(vi)A local agencys action in furtherance of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), including, but not limited to, imposing mitigating measures, shall not constitute project disapproval under this subparagraph.
(E)Fails to comply with Section 65905.5. For purposes of this subparagraph, a builders remedy project shall be deemed to comply with the applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards in effect at the time an application is deemed complete.
(F)(i)Determines that an application for a housing development project is incomplete pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 65943 and includes in the determination an item that is not required on the local agencys submittal requirement checklist. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof that the required item is listed on the submittal requirement checklist.
(ii)In a subsequent review of an application pursuant to Section 65943, requests the applicant provide new information that was not identified in the initial determination and upholds this determination in the final written determination on an appeal filed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65943. The local agency shall bear the burden of proof that the required item was identified in the initial determination.
(iii)Determines that an application for a housing development project is incomplete pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 65943, a reasonable person would conclude that the applicant has submitted all of the items required on the local agencys submittal requirement checklist, and the local agency upholds this determination in the final written determination on an appeal filed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65943.
(iv)If a local agency determines that an application is incomplete under Section 65943 after two resubmittals of the application by the applicant, the local agency shall bear the burden of establishing that the determination is not an effective disapproval of a housing development project under this section.
(G)Violates subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (f).
(H)Makes a written determination that a preliminary application described in subdivision (a) of Section 65941.1 has expired or that the applicant has otherwise lost its vested rights under the preliminary application for any reason other than those described in subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 65941.1.
(I)(i)Fails to make a determination of whether the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), or commits an abuse of discretion, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.1 if all of the conditions in Section 65589.5.1 are satisfied.
(ii)This subparagraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(J)(i)Fails to adopt a negative declaration or addendum for the project, to certify an environmental impact report for the project, or to approve another comparable environmental document, such as a sustainable communities environmental assessment pursuant to Section 21155.2 of the Public Resources Code, as required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), if all of the conditions in Section 65589.5.2 are satisfied.
(ii)This subparagraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(7)(A)For purposes of this section and Sections 65589.5.1 and 65589.5.2, lawful determination means any final decision about whether to approve or disapprove a statutory or categorical exemption or a negative declaration, addendum, environmental impact report, or comparable environmental review document under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) that is not an abuse of discretion, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.1 or subdivision (b) of Section 65589.5.2.
(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(8)Lower density includes any conditions that have the same effect or impact on the ability of the project to provide housing.
(9)Until January 1, 2030, objective means involving no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and being uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official.
(10)Notwithstanding any other law, until January 1, 2030, determined to be complete means that the applicant has submitted a complete application pursuant to Section 65943.
(11)Builders remedy project means a project that meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The project is a housing development project that provides housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households.
(B)On or after the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have a housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article.
(C)The project has a density such that the number of units, as calculated before the application of a density bonus pursuant to Section 65915, complies with all of the following conditions:
(i)The density does not exceed the greatest of the following densities:
(I)Fifty percent greater than the minimum density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for that jurisdiction as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2.
(II)Three times the density allowed by the general plan, zoning ordinance, or state law, whichever is greater.
(III)The density that is consistent with the density specified in the housing element.
(ii)Notwithstanding clause (i), the greatest allowable density shall be 35 units per acre more than the amount allowable pursuant to clause (i), if any portion of the site is located within any of the following:
(I)One-half mile of a major transit stop, as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code.
(II)A very low vehicle travel area, as defined in subdivision (h).
(III)A high or highest resource census tract, as identified by the latest edition of the CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Map published by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(D)(i)On sites that have a minimum density requirement and are located within one-half mile of a commuter rail station or a heavy rail station, the density of the project shall not be less than the minimum density required on the site.
(I)For purposes of this subparagraph, commuter rail means a railway that is not a light rail, streetcar, trolley, or tramway and that is for urban passenger train service consisting of local short distance travel operating between a central city and adjacent suburb with service operated on a regular basis by or under contract with a transit operator for the purpose of transporting passengers within urbanized areas, or between urbanized areas and outlying areas, using either locomotive-hauled or self-propelled railroad passenger cars, with multitrip tickets and specific station-to-station fares.
(II)For purposes of this subparagraph, heavy rail means an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic using high speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multicar trains on fixed rails, separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded, and high platform loading.
(ii)On all other sites with a minimum density requirement, the density of the project shall not be less than the local agencys minimum density or one-half of the minimum density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for that jurisdiction as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, whichever is lower.
(E)The project site does not abut a site where more than one-third of the square footage on the site has been used, within the past three years, by a heavy industrial use, or a Title V industrial use, as those terms are defined in Section 65913.16.
(12)Condition approval includes imposing on the housing development project, or attempting to subject it to, development standards, conditions, or policies.
(13)Unit type means the form of ownership and the kind of residential unit, including, but not limited to, single-family detached, single-family attached, for-sale, rental, multifamily, townhouse, condominium, apartment, manufactured homes and mobilehomes, factory-built housing, and residential hotel.
(14)Proposed by the applicant means the plans and designs as submitted by the applicant, including, but not limited to, density, unit size, unit type, site plan, building massing, floor area ratio, amenity areas, open space, parking, and ancillary commercial uses.
(i)If any city, county, or city and county denies approval or imposes conditions, including design changes, lower density, or a reduction of the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a building or structure under the applicable planning and zoning in force at the time the housing development projects application is complete, that have a substantial adverse effect on the viability or affordability of a housing development for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, and the denial of the development or the imposition of conditions on the development is the subject of a court action which challenges the denial or the imposition of conditions, then the burden of proof shall be on the local legislative body to show that its decision is consistent with the findings as described in subdivision (d), and that the findings are supported by a preponderance of the evidence in the record, and with the requirements of subdivision (o).
(j)(1)When a proposed housing development project complies with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria, including design review standards, in effect at the time that the application was deemed complete, but the local agency proposes to disapprove the project or to impose a condition that the project be developed at a lower density, the local agency shall base its decision regarding the proposed housing development project upon written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence on the record that both of the following conditions exist:
(A)The housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. As used in this paragraph, a specific, adverse impact means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(B)There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact identified pursuant to paragraph (1), other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density.
(2)(A)If the local agency considers a proposed housing development project to be inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision as specified in this subdivision, it shall provide the applicant with written documentation identifying the provision or provisions, and an explanation of the reason or reasons it considers the housing development to be inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity as follows:
(i)Within 30 days of the date that the application for the housing development project is determined to be complete, if the housing development project contains 150 or fewer housing units.
(ii)Within 60 days of the date that the application for the housing development project is determined to be complete, if the housing development project contains more than 150 units.
(B)If the local agency fails to provide the required documentation pursuant to subparagraph (A), the housing development project shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with the applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision.
(3)For purposes of this section, the receipt of a density bonus, incentive, concession, waiver, or reduction of development standards pursuant to Section 65915 shall not constitute a valid basis on which to find a proposed housing development project is inconsistent, not in compliance, or not in conformity, with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision specified in this subdivision.
(4)For purposes of this section, a proposed housing development project is not inconsistent with the applicable zoning standards and criteria, and shall not require a rezoning, if the housing development project is consistent with the objective general plan standards and criteria but the zoning for the project site is inconsistent with the general plan. If the local agency has complied with paragraph (2), the local agency may require the proposed housing development project to comply with the objective standards and criteria of the zoning which is consistent with the general plan, however, the standards and criteria shall be applied to facilitate and accommodate development at the density allowed on the site by the general plan and proposed by the proposed housing development project.
(k)(1)(A)(i)The applicant, a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the housing development project or emergency shelter, or a housing organization may bring an action to enforce this section. If, in any action brought to enforce this section, a court finds that any of the following are met, the court shall issue an order pursuant to clause (ii):
(I)The local agency, in violation of subdivision (d), disapproved a housing development project or conditioned its approval in a manner rendering it infeasible for the development of an emergency shelter, or housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, including farmworker housing, without making the findings required by this section.
(II)The local agency, in violation of subdivision (j), disapproved a housing development project complying with applicable, objective general plan and zoning standards and criteria, or imposed a condition that the project be developed at a lower density, without making the findings required by this section.
(III)(ia)Subject to sub-subclause (ib), the local agency, in violation of subdivision (o), required or attempted to require a housing development project to comply with an ordinance, policy, or standard not adopted and in effect when a preliminary application was submitted.
(ib)This subclause shall become inoperative on January 1, 2030.
(IV)The local agency violated a provision of this section applicable to a builders remedy project.
(ii)If the court finds that one of the conditions in clause (i) is met, the court shall issue an order or judgment compelling compliance with this section within a time period not to exceed 60 days, including, but not limited to, an order that the local agency take action on the housing development project or emergency shelter. The court may issue an order or judgment directing the local agency to approve the housing development project or emergency shelter if the court finds that the local agency acted in bad faith when it disapproved or conditionally approved the housing development or emergency shelter in violation of this section. The court shall retain jurisdiction to ensure that its order or judgment is carried out and shall award reasonable attorneys fees and costs of suit to the plaintiff or petitioner, provided, however, that the court shall not award attorneys fees in either of the following instances:
(I)The court finds, under extraordinary circumstances, that awarding fees would not further the purposes of this section.
(II)(ia)In a case concerning a disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (I) or (J) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h), the court finds that the local agency acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to disapprove the housing development project due to the existence of a controlling question of law about the application of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) or implementing guidelines as to which there was a substantial ground for difference of opinion at the time of the disapproval.
(ib)This subclause shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(B)Upon a determination that the local agency has failed to comply with the order or judgment compelling compliance with this section within the time period prescribed by the court, the court shall impose fines on a local agency that has violated this section and require the local agency to deposit any fine levied pursuant to this subdivision into a local housing trust fund. The local agency may elect to instead deposit the fine into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. The fine shall be in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per housing unit in the housing development project on the date the application was deemed complete pursuant to Section 65943. In determining the amount of the fine to impose, the court shall consider the local agencys progress in attaining its target allocation of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584 and any prior violations of this section. Fines shall not be paid out of funds already dedicated to affordable housing, including, but not limited to, Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Funds, funds dedicated to housing for very low, low-, and moderate-income households, and federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program and Community Development Block Grant Program funds. The local agency shall commit and expend the money in the local housing trust fund within five years for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households. After five years, if the funds have not been expended, the money shall revert to the state and be deposited in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households.
(C)If the court determines that its order or judgment has not been carried out within 60 days, the court may issue further orders as provided by law to ensure that the purposes and policies of this section are fulfilled, including, but not limited to, an order to vacate the decision of the local agency and to approve the housing development project, in which case the application for the housing development project, as proposed by the applicant at the time the local agency took the initial action determined to be in violation of this section, along with any standard conditions determined by the court to be generally imposed by the local agency on similar projects, shall be deemed to be approved unless the applicant consents to a different decision or action by the local agency.
(D)Nothing in this section shall limit the courts inherent authority to make any other orders to compel the immediate enforcement of any writ brought under this section, including the imposition of fees and other sanctions set forth under Section 1097 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, housing organization means a trade or industry group whose local members are primarily engaged in the construction or management of housing units or a nonprofit organization whose mission includes providing or advocating for increased access to housing for low-income households and have filed written or oral comments with the local agency prior to action on the housing development project. A housing organization may only file an action pursuant to this section to challenge the disapproval of a housing development by a local agency. A housing organization shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys fees and costs if it is the prevailing party in an action to enforce this section.
(l)If the court finds that the local agency (1) acted in bad faith when it violated this section and (2) failed to carry out the courts order or judgment within the time period prescribed by the court, the court, in addition to any other remedies provided by this section, shall multiply the fine determined pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) by a factor of five. If a court has previously found that the local agency violated this section within the same planning period, the court shall multiply the fines by an additional factor for each previous violation. For purposes of this section, bad faith includes, but is not limited to, an action or inaction that is frivolous, pretextual, intended to cause unnecessary delay, or entirely without merit.
(m)(1)Any action brought to enforce the provisions of this section shall be brought pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the local agency shall prepare and certify the record of proceedings in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure no later than 30 days after the petition is served, provided that the cost of preparation of the record shall be borne by the local agency, unless the petitioner elects to prepare the record as provided in subdivision (n) of this section. A petition to enforce the provisions of this section shall be filed and served no later than 90 days from the later of (1) the effective date of a decision of the local agency imposing conditions on, disapproving, or any other final action on a housing development project or (2) the expiration of the time periods specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h). Upon entry of the trial courts order, a party may, in order to obtain appellate review of the order, file a petition within 20 days after service upon it of a written notice of the entry of the order, or within such further time not exceeding an additional 20 days as the trial court may for good cause allow, or may appeal the judgment or order of the trial court under Section 904.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the local agency appeals the judgment of the trial court, the local agency shall post a bond, in an amount to be determined by the court, to the benefit of the plaintiff if the plaintiff is the project applicant.
(2)(A)A disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (I) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) shall be final for purposes of this subdivision, if the local agency did not make a lawful determination within the time period set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.1 after the applicants timely written notice.
(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(3)(A)A disapproval within the meaning of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) shall be final for purposes of this subdivision, if the local agency did not make a lawful determination within 90 days of the applicants timely written notice.
(B)This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(n)In any action, the record of the proceedings before the local agency shall be filed as expeditiously as possible and, notwithstanding Section 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure or subdivision (m) of this section, all or part of the record may be prepared (1) by the petitioner with the petition or petitioners points and authorities, (2) by the respondent with respondents points and authorities, (3) after payment of costs by the petitioner, or (4) as otherwise directed by the court. If the expense of preparing the record has been borne by the petitioner and the petitioner is the prevailing party, the expense shall be taxable as costs.
(o)(1)Subject to paragraphs (2), (6), and (7), and subdivision (d) of Section 65941.1, a housing development project shall be subject only to the ordinances, policies, and standards adopted and in effect when a preliminary application including all of the information required by subdivision (a) of Section 65941.1 was submitted.
(2)Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a housing development project from being subject to ordinances, policies, and standards adopted after the preliminary application was submitted pursuant to Section 65941.1 in the following circumstances:
(A)In the case of a fee, charge, or other monetary exaction, to an increase resulting from an automatic annual adjustment based on an independently published cost index that is referenced in the ordinance or resolution establishing the fee or other monetary exaction.
(B)A preponderance of the evidence in the record establishes that subjecting the housing development project to an ordinance, policy, or standard beyond those in effect when a preliminary application was submitted is necessary to mitigate or avoid a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), and there is no feasible alternative method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the adverse impact.
(C)Subjecting the housing development project to an ordinance, policy, standard, or any other measure, beyond those in effect when a preliminary application was submitted is necessary to avoid or substantially lessen an impact of the project under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(D)The housing development project has not commenced construction within two and one-half years, or three and one-half years for an affordable housing project, following the date that the project received final approval. For purposes of this subparagraph:
(i)Affordable housing project means a housing development that satisfies both of the following requirements:
(I)Units within the development are subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years for rental housing and 45 years for owner-occupied housing, or the first purchaser of each unit participates in an equity sharing agreement as described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 65915.
(II)All of the units within the development, excluding managers units, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)Final approval means that the housing development project has received all necessary approvals to be eligible to apply for, and obtain, a building permit or permits and either of the following is met:
(I)The expiration of all applicable appeal periods, petition periods, reconsideration periods, or statute of limitations for challenging that final approval without an appeal, petition, request for reconsideration, or legal challenge having been filed.
(II)If a challenge is filed, that challenge is fully resolved or settled in favor of the housing development project.
(E)The housing development project is revised following submittal of a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 such that the number of residential units or square footage of construction changes by 20 percent or more, exclusive of any increase resulting from the receipt of a density bonus, incentive, concession, waiver, or similar provision, including any other locally authorized program that offers additional density or other development bonuses when affordable housing is provided. For purposes of this subdivision, square footage of construction means the building area, as defined by the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(3)This subdivision does not prevent a local agency from subjecting the additional units or square footage of construction that result from project revisions occurring after a preliminary application is submitted pursuant to Section 65941.1 to the ordinances, policies, and standards adopted and in effect when the preliminary application was submitted.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, ordinances, policies, and standards includes general plan, community plan, specific plan, zoning, design review standards and criteria, subdivision standards and criteria, and any other rules, regulations, requirements, and policies of a local agency, as defined in Section 66000, including those relating to development impact fees, capacity or connection fees or charges, permit or processing fees, and other exactions.
(5)This subdivision shall not be construed in a manner that would lessen the restrictions imposed on a local agency, or lessen the protections afforded to a housing development project, that are established by any other law, including any other part of this section.
(6)This subdivision shall not restrict the authority of a public agency or local agency to require mitigation measures to lessen the impacts of a housing development project under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(7)With respect to completed residential units for which the project approval process is complete and a certificate of occupancy has been issued, nothing in this subdivision shall limit the application of later enacted ordinances, policies, and standards that regulate the use and occupancy of those residential units, such as ordinances relating to rental housing inspection, rent stabilization, restrictions on short-term renting, and business licensing requirements for owners of rental housing.
(8)(A)This subdivision shall apply to a housing development project that submits a preliminary application pursuant to Section 65941.1 before January 1, 2030.
(B)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2034.
(p)(1)Upon any motion for an award of attorneys fees pursuant to Section 1021.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in a case challenging a local agencys approval of a housing development project, a court, in weighing whether a significant benefit has been conferred on the general public or a large class of persons and whether the necessity of private enforcement makes the award appropriate, shall give due weight to the degree to which the local agencys approval furthers policies of this section, including, but not limited to, subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), the suitability of the site for a housing development, and the reasonableness of the decision of the local agency. It is the intent of the Legislature that attorneys fees and costs shall rarely, if ever, be awarded if a local agency, acting in good faith, approved a housing development project that satisfies conditions established in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.1 or paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65589.5.2.
(2)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2031.
(q)This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Housing Accountability Act.
(r)The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 8.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1.Section 38405 of the Government Code is amended to read:38405.The resolution described in Section 38404 shall be published once a week for at least the three weeks before the day fixed for final action, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, or if there is none, in a newspaper designated by the legislative body which is published in the county. Not less than four copies of the resolution shall be posted conspicuously not more than one hundred feet apart along the boundaries of the park.The resolution described in Section 38404 shall be published once a week for at least the three weeks before the day fixed for final action, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, or if there is none, in a newspaper designated by the legislative body which is published in the county. Not less than four copies of the resolution shall be posted conspicuously not more than one hundred feet apart along the boundaries of the park.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Jan 22, 2026 | Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. |
| Oct 13, 2025 | Consideration of Governor's veto pending. |
| Oct 13, 2025 | Vetoed by Governor. |
| Sep 23, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Sep 11, 2025 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 3297.). |
| Sep 10, 2025 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Sep 10, 2025 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2833.). |
| Sep 8, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Sep 4, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Sep 3, 2025 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Sep 2, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| Aug 29, 2025 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29). |
| Jul 14, 2025 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jul 2, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 11, 2025 | Referred to Com. on HOUSING. |
| Jun 3, 2025 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| Jun 2, 2025 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1843.) |
| May 27, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 23, 2025 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23). |
| May 23, 2025 | Coauthors revised. |
| May 21, 2025 | Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 1627.) |
| May 21, 2025 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| May 14, 2025 | In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. |
| May 1, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| May 1, 2025 | Coauthors revised. |
| Apr 28, 2025 | Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. |
| Apr 24, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. |
| Apr 24, 2025 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended. |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 1265.) |
| Apr 24, 2025 | (Pending re-refer to Com. on L. GOV.) |
| Apr 1, 2025 | Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D. |
| Mar 28, 2025 | Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV. |
| Mar 28, 2025 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended. |
| Feb 14, 2025 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 16. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2025 | AB 650 Papan Concurrence in Senate Amendments | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Sep 10, 2025 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB650 Papan et al. By Becker | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 29, 2025 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jul 14, 2025 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jul 1, 2025 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Senate Standing Committee on Housing |
Passed |
|
| Jun 2, 2025 | AB 650 Papan Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 23, 2025 | Do pass. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 30, 2025 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government |
Passed |
|
| Apr 24, 2025 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Local Government] | Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| California Association Of Realtors | ** Against | |
| California Building Industry Association | ** Against | |
| California Housing Consortium | ** Support | |
| California State Association Of Counties | ** Support | |
| Cities Association of Santa Clara County | ** Support | |
| City of Artesia | ** Support | |
| City of Bakersfield | ** Support | |
| City of Bell Gardens | ** Support | |
| City of Belmont | ** Support | |
| City Of Beverly Hills | ** Support | |
| City of Buena Park | ** Support | |
| City of Calimesa | ** Support | |
| City of Carson | ** Support | |
| City of Chino Hills | ** Support | |
| City of Citrus Heights | ** Support | |
| City of Concord | ** Support | |
| City of Corona | ** Support | |
| City of Cotati | ** Support | |
| City Of Cupertino | ** Support | |
| city of Cypress | ** Support | |
| City Of Dinuba | ** Support | |
| City Of Eastvale | ** Support | |
| City of El Cerrito | ** Support | |
| City of Foster City | ** Support | |
| City Of Fullerton | ** Support | |
| City Of Garden Grove | ** Support | |
| City of Glendora | ** Support | |
| City of Goleta | ** Support | |
| City of Hawaiian Gardens | ** Support | |
| City of Hermosa Beach | ** Support | |
| City of Indian Wells | ** Support | |
| City Of Kerman | ** Support | |
| City of La Habra | ** Support | |
| City Of La Quinta | ** Support | |
| City Of Laguna Beach | ** Support | |
| City Of Lake Forest | ** Support | |
| City of Lakewood | ** Support | |
| City of Lakewood CA | ** Support | |
| City of Lodi | ** Support | |
| City Of Lomita | ** Support | |
| City of Long Beach | ** Support | |
| City of Los Alamitos | ** Support | |
| City of Madera | ** Support | |
| City of Manhattan Beach | ** Support | |
| City Of Martinez | ** Support | |
| City Of Menifee | ** Support | |
| City Of Merced | ** Support | |
| City Of Mission Viejo | ** Support | |
| City of Moorpark | ** Support | |
| City of Morgan Hill | ** Support | |
| City Of Oakley | ** Support | |
| City of Orinda | ** Support | |
| City of Palm Desert | ** Support | |
| City Of Palm Springs | ** Support | |
| City Of Palo Alto | ** Support | |
| City of Pico Rivera | ** Support | |
| City Of Placentia | ** Support | |
| City of Redding | ** Support | |
| City Of Redlands | ** Support | |
| City of Rohnert Park | ** Support | |
| City of Rolling Hills Estates | ** Support | |
| City Of Salinas | ** Support | |
| City of San Marcos | ** Support | |
| City Of San Mateo | ** Support | |
| City of Santa Barbara | ** Support | |
| City of Scotts Valley | ** Support | |
| City of Soledad | ** Support | |
| City of Stanton | ** Support | |
| City Of Temecula | ** Support | |
| City of Thousand Oaks | ** Support | |
| City of Tulare | ** Support | |
| City Of Tustin | ** Support | |
| City Of Visalia | ** Support | |
| City of Walnut Creek | ** Support | |
| City of Westlake Village | ** Support | |
| City of Whittier | ** Support | |
| City of Woodland | ** Support | |
| City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County | ** Support | |
| County of Santa Clara | ** Support | |
| Greenbelt Alliance | ** Against | |
| League Of California Cities | ** Support | |
| Liz Morris, Councilmember, City of Delano | ** Support | |
| Mayor's and Councilimembers' Association of Sonoma County Legislative Committee | ** Support | |
| San Bernardino County | ** Support | |
| San Diego Association Of Governments | ** Support | |
| South Pasadena Residents for Responsible Growth | ** Against | |
| Southern California Association Of Governments | ** Support | |
| SPUR | ** Against | |
| The Two Hundred | ** Against | |
| Tri-Valley Cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon and the Town of Danville | ** Support | |
| Yimby Action | ** Against |
GOVERNOR'S VETO
GV Bill Id:AB 650
Author:(Papan)
As Enrolled Ver:September 15, 2025
2/3 vote
SUMMARY
Extends a number of timelines in the process of regional housing needs determinations (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
Major Provisions
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), must determine each region's RHND, from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision to three years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exception to this and other deadline changes for certain regions with housing element revision due dates early in the seventh housing element cycle.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region's housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision to 38 months prior to the due date.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's RHNA among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior.
- Revises the time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 3) above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision to at least two and one-half years prior.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 5) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision to at least two years prior.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of housing element law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to 7) a) above.
- Requires a local government's legislative body to consider HCD's findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 7) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government's legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 7) above in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply; or
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with the law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 9) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, to identify each subdivision of housing element law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element into substantial compliance.
Governor's Veto Message
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), if it finds that a draft housing element is deficient, to provide the specific analysis and the draft text that should be included in the jurisdiction's housing element.
I share the author's interest in improving the housing element process. In partnership with the Legislature, we have enacted numerous reforms to strengthen this process by demanding more rigorous site inventories, enforceable rezoning, and stronger accountability mechanisms to uphold state law.
Although intended to build on these recent efforts, I am concerned that this bill would inappropriately shift responsibility for preparing housing elements from local jurisdictions to HCD. While HCD provides technical assistance when requested and in response to inadequate housing elements, that support is no substitute to the local government's fundamental responsibility to plan for its share of housing needs. Further, shifting these duties to the state would add at least $11 million in new annual costs.
Housing element law has advanced considerably through recent legislation, much of which is now being implemented in the current planning cycle. As these changes take hold, it is critical to preserve the fundamental structure of local planning responsibility under state oversight. However, I look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature on additional opportunities to further improve this process.
COMMENTS
RHNA and Housing Elements: The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region. The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would push back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond by six months, as follows:
- HCD would be required to consult with each COG at least 38 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 26 months prior under existing law;
- HCD must determine each region's RHND three years (36 months) prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law;
- Each COG must develop its proposed RHNA methodology at least 2.5 years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law; and
- Each COG must distribute its draft RHNA allocation plan at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 1.5 years under existing law.
This bill also contains some differences or exceptions to these extended timelines to provide feasible timelines for jurisdictions with due dates earlier in the upcoming seventh housing element cycle. Generally, the additional six months provided by this bill would mean that COGs would have to distribute their draft RHNA plan at least two years before the housing element due date. With the 195-day RHNA methodology appeal timeline in existing law, this change would result in local governments receiving their final RHNA numbers about 1.5 years prior to the housing element due date, providing them an extra six months to prepare housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval.
Adoption and Implementation of Housing Elements: All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. At least 90 days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law, that the draft does not comply with, and would require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
According to the Author
"AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
Arguments in Support
According to the League of California Cities, the bill's sponsor, "During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD's feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process. AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months early. The bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters. AB 650 would provide greater clarity and certainty to the housing element process and help ensure that all jurisdictions adopt a certified housing element on time."
Arguments in Opposition
According to YIMBY Action, "We appreciate the amendments made to this bill in [Assembly] Housing Committee on April 24th. However, we still oppose this bill because it limits the ability of California's Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) to comment on multiple drafts of a city's Housing Element. In order to adequately enforce Housing Element Law, HCD must be given the ability to provide guidance throughout the very technical process. … California's severe housing shortage is causing skyrocketing homelessness and poverty, crippling our economy, and exacerbating our global climate crisis. These impacts fall disproportionately on California's low-income workers and families and disproportionately affect communities of color. AB 650 will put up more hurdles to addressing our housing shortage and ensuring a welcoming California where everyone can thrive."
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies' housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region's existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state's largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency's housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
VOTES
ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 11-0-1
YES: Haney, Ávila Farías, Caloza, Garcia, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Ta, Tangipa, Wicks, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Patterson
ASM LOCAL GOVERNMENT: 9-0-1
YES: Carrillo, Ta, Pacheco, Ramos, Ransom, Blanca Rubio, Stefani, Ward, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 14-0-1
YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Hart, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache, Ta, Tangipa
ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0-0
YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0
YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0-0
YES: ddis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
UPDATED
VERSION: September 15, 2025
CONSULTANT: Nicole Restmeyer / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0002193
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CSA1 Bill Id:AB 650
Author:(Papan)
As Amended Ver:September 5, 2025
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
Senate Amendments
Make technical changes and add chaptering language.
COMMENTS
RHNA and Housing Elements: The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region. The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would push back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond by six months, as follows:
- HCD would be required to consult with each COG at least 38 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 26 months prior under existing law;
- HCD must determine each region's RHND three years (36 months) prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law;
- Each COG must develop its proposed RHNA methodology at least 2.5 years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law; and
- Each COG must distribute its draft RHNA allocation plan at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 1.5 years under existing law.
This bill also contains some differences or exceptions to these extended timelines to provide feasible timelines for jurisdictions with due dates earlier in the upcoming seventh housing element cycle. Generally, the additional six months provided by this bill would mean that COGs would have to distribute their draft RHNA plan at least two years before the housing element due date. With the 195-day RHNA methodology appeal timeline in existing law, this change would result in local governments receiving their final RHNA numbers about 1.5 years prior to the housing element due date, providing them an extra six months to prepare housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval.
Adoption and Implementation of Housing Elements: All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. At least ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law, that the draft does not comply with, and would require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
According to the Author
"AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
Arguments in Support
According to the League of California Cities, the bill's sponsor, "During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD's feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process. AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months early. The bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters. AB 650 would provide greater clarity and certainty to the housing element process and help ensure that all jurisdictions adopt a certified housing element on time."
Arguments in Opposition
According to YIMBY Action, "We appreciate the amendments made to this bill in [Assembly] Housing Committee on April 24th. However, we still oppose this bill because it limits the ability of California's Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) to comment on multiple drafts of a city's Housing Element. In order to adequately enforce Housing Element Law, HCD must be given the ability to provide guidance throughout the very technical process. … California's severe housing shortage is causing skyrocketing homelessness and poverty, crippling our economy, and exacerbating our global climate crisis. These impacts fall disproportionately on California's low-income workers and families and disproportionately affect communities of color. AB 650 will put up more hurdles to addressing our housing shortage and ensuring a welcoming California where everyone can thrive."
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies' housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region's existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state's largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency's housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
VOTES:
ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 11-0-1
YES: Haney, Ávila Farías, Caloza, Garcia, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Ta, Tangipa, Wicks, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Patterson
ASM LOCAL GOVERNMENT: 9-0-1
YES: Carrillo, Ta, Pacheco, Ramos, Ransom, Blanca Rubio, Stefani, Ward, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 14-0-1
YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Hart, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache, Ta, Tangipa
ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0-0
YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer‑Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
UPDATED
VERSION: September 5, 2025
CONSULTANT: Nicole Restmeyer / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0001857
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 650 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 650
Author: Papan (D), et al.
Amended: 9/5/25 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 7/1/25
AYES: Wahab, Seyarto, Arreguín, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/29/25
AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/25 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST:
This bill extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/5/25 align the timelines for HCD to consult with jurisdictions without a council of governments concerning their existing and projected regional housing needs prior to the scheduled housing element revision with those timelines contained in AB 1275 (Elhawary) and reconcile chaptering conflicts with AB 507 (Haney), AB 610 (Alvarez), AB 1275 (Elhawary), SB 340 (Laird), and SB 486 (Cabaldon).
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/25 reconcile similar policy changes contained in SB 233 (Seyarto) and this bill by redrafting and maintaining revised timelines for HCD to meet and consult with COGs prior to the seventh, eighth, and subsequent housing element revisions.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Provides that each community’s fair share of housing be determined through the RHND and the subsequent Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) plan for the region. Establishes the RHND/RHNA process as follows: (a) Department of Finance (DOF) and HCD develop regional housing needs estimates; (b) COGs allocate housing within each region based on these determinations, and where a COG does not exist, HCD conducts the allocations; and (c) cities and counties incorporate these allocations into their housing elements.
- Requires HCD, in consultation with each COG, to determine the RHND for each region using population projections produced by DOF and regional population forecasts used in preparing RTP updates, in consultation with each COG.
- Requires HCD, at least 26 months prior to the housing element adoption deadline for the region and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, to meet and consult with the COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to develop the RHND. Requires the COG to provide data assumptions from their projections, as specified.
- Requires HCD, after consultation with the COG, to make a determination of the region’s existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined in 3). Requires the RHND to reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least two years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or subregion.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least one and one-half years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to distribute a draft RHNA allocation plan to each local government in the region or subregion, and HCD, based on the methodology in 5) above, and publish the draft allocation on its website.
This bill:
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), must determine each region's existing and projected housing need (RHND) from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to three years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exception in the following circumstances:
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision; and
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
- Specifies that, for cities and counties without a COG, HCD must determine each region's existing and projected housing need at least 24 months before the scheduled housing element revision.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region's housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date. Provides an exception for the seventh housing element cycle, by requiring HCD to meet and consult with the COG at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need pursuant to the timelines in 1) and 2) above.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's RHNA among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update.
- Revises the time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 4) above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior to the scheduled revision.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 6) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for the seventh housing element cycle for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of housing element law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to 8) a) above.
- Requires a local government's legislative body to consider HCD's findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 8) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government's legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 8) above in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply; or
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with the law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 10) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, to identify each subdivision of housing element law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element into substantial compliance.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
- Resolve chaptering conflicts with AB 130 (Budget Committee, Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025).
Background
RHNA and Housing Elements. All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region.
Comments
Author’s statement. "AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
California’s Housing Future 2040. Last year, HCD published California’s Housing Future 2040: The Next Regional Housing Needs Allocation pursuant to statutory directive to develop recommendations to improve the RHNA process and methodology that promotes and streamlines housing development and substantially addresses California’s housing shortage following a stakeholder engagement process. One of the recommendations HCD adopted in the report recommends moving up the RHND consultation process by one year. Specifically, HCD includes a recommendation in the report that recommends, “Moving up the date by which the RHND must be provided by one year.” HCD additionally noted in its report that requiring the consultation to take place three years prior to the housing element due date will foster more alignment between the housing element cycle and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) planning cycles.
This bill pushes back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond, as specified.
HCD responses and technical assistance to draft elements. Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. HCD provides technical assistance (TA) at the COG level prior to the housing element due date, including workshops, regional plans, topic specific workshops, office hours and general TA. At least ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. Halfway through the 90 day period, HCD often provides preliminary feedback on what needs to change. Time permitting, local governments can submit amendments to the draft.
If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, HCD will issue a findings letter detailing areas of deficiency. These findings are the exclusive list of issues that must be addressed by the local government to reach compliance with state law, unless the local agency makes changes outside the scope of the initial draft. Following receipt of the findings letter, the local government may request additional TA from HCD, including informal review of changes, sample language, examples, or other feedback.
The local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez, Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024) further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
In the sixth housing element cycle, however, many local agencies failed to submit draft housing elements to HCD, or to adopt housing elements prior to the deadline to adopt a revised housing element. Many of these jurisdictions subsequently prepared and adopted housing elements, following consultation with HCD, long after the original deadline to comply.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law that the draft does not comply with. It would also require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
Senate Appropriations Amendments. Author’s amendments taken in the Senate Appropriations resolve chaptering conflicts with AB 130 (Budget Committee, Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies’ housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region’s existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state’s largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency’s housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
SUPPORT: (Verified 9/5/25)
California Housing Consortium
California State Association of Counties
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
City of Tustin
City of Bakersfield
City of Belmont
City of Carson
City of Chino Hills
City of Corona
City of Cupertino
City of Dinuba
City of Eastvale
City of El Cerrito
City of Foster City
City of Fullerton
City of Goleta
City of Laguna Beach
City of Lake Forest
City of Long Beach
City of Menifee
City of Moorpark
City of Morgan Hill
City of Orinda
City of Palo Alto
City of Pico Rivera
City of Placentia
City of San Marcos
City of San Mateo
City of Santa Barbara
City of Stanton
City of Temecula
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Tulare
City of Visalia
City of Westlake Village
City of Whittier
City/county Association of Governments of San Mateo County
County of Santa Clara
League of California Cities
Mayor's and Councilimembers' Association of Sonoma County Legislative Committee
San Bernardino County
San Diego Association of Governments
Southern California Association of Governments
Tri-valley Cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Town of Danville
OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/5/25)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/25
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124
9/8/25 21:18:45
**** END ****
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 650 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 650
Author: Papan (D), et al.
Amended: 8/29/25 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 7/1/25
AYES: Wahab, Seyarto, Arreguín, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/29/25
AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richarson, Wahab
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/25 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST:
This bill extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Provides that each community’s fair share of housing be determined through the RHND and the subsequent Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) plan for the region. Establishes the RHND/RHNA process as follows: (a) Department of Finance (DOF) and HCD develop regional housing needs estimates; (b) COGs allocate housing within each region based on these determinations, and where a COG does not exist, HCD conducts the allocations; and (c) cities and counties incorporate these allocations into their housing elements.
- Requires HCD, in consultation with each COG, to determine the RHND for each region using population projections produced by DOF and regional population forecasts used in preparing RTP updates, in consultation with each COG.
- Requires HCD, at least 26 months prior to the housing element adoption deadline for the region and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, to meet and consult with the COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to develop the RHND. Requires the COG to provide data assumptions from their projections, as specified.
- Requires HCD, after consultation with the COG, to make a determination of the region’s existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined in 3). Requires the RHND to reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least two years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or subregion.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least one and one-half years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to distribute a draft RHNA allocation plan to each local government in the region or subregion, and HCD, based on the methodology in 5) above, and publish the draft allocation on its website.
This bill:
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), must determine each region's existing and projected housing need (RHND) from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to three years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exception in the following circumstances:
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision; and
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
- Specifies that, for cities and counties without a COG, HCD must determine each region's existing and projected housing need at least 30 months before the scheduled housing element revision. Provides an exception for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, by requiring HCD to provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region's housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date. Provides an exception for the seventh housing element cycle, by requiring HCD to meet and consult with the COG at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need pursuant to the timelines in 1) and 2) above.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's RHNA among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update.
- Revises the time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 4) above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior to the scheduled revision.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 6) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for the seventh housing element cycle for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of housing element law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to 8) a) above.
- Requires a local government's legislative body to consider HCD's findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 8) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government's legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 8) above in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply; or
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with the law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 10) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, to identify each subdivision of housing element law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element into substantial compliance.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
- Resolve chaptering conflicts with AB 130 (Budget Committee, Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025).
Background
RHNA and Housing Elements. All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region.
Comments
Author’s statement. "AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
California’s Housing Future 2040. Last year, HCD published California’s Housing Future 2040: The Next Regional Housing Needs Allocation pursuant to statutory directive to develop recommendations to improve the RHNA process and methodology that promotes and streamlines housing development and substantially addresses California’s housing shortage following a stakeholder engagement process. One of the recommendations HCD adopted in the report recommends moving up the RHND consultation process by one year. Specifically, HCD includes a recommendation in the report that recommends, “Moving up the date by which the RHND must be provided by one year.” HCD additionally noted in its report that requiring the consultation to take place three years prior to the housing element due date will foster more alignment between the housing element cycle and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) planning cycles.
This bill pushes back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond, as specified.
HCD responses and technical assistance to draft elements. Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. HCD provides technical assistance (TA) at the COG level prior to the housing element due date, including workshops, regional plans, topic specific workshops, office hours and general TA. At least ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. Halfway through the 90 day period, HCD often provides preliminary feedback on what needs to change. Time permitting, local governments can submit amendments to the draft.
If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, HCD will issue a findings letter detailing areas of deficiency. These findings are the exclusive list of issues that must be addressed by the local government to reach compliance with state law, unless the local agency makes changes outside the scope of the initial draft. Following receipt of the findings letter, the local government may request additional TA from HCD, including informal review of changes, sample language, examples, or other feedback.
The local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez, Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024) further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
In the sixth housing element cycle, however, many local agencies failed to submit draft housing elements to HCD, or to adopt housing elements prior to the deadline to adopt a revised housing element. Many of these jurisdictions subsequently prepared and adopted housing elements, following consultation with HCD, long after the original deadline to comply.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law that the draft does not comply with. It would also require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
Senate Appropriations Amendments. Author’s amendments taken in the Senate Appropriations resolve chaptering conflicts with AB 130 (Budget Committee, Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies’ housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region’s existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state’s largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency’s housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/29/25)
California Housing Consortium
California State Association of Counties
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
City of Tustin
City of Bakersfield
City of Belmont
City of Carson
City of Chino Hills
City of Corona
City of Cupertino
City of Dinuba
City of Eastvale
City of El Cerrito
City of Foster City
City of Fullerton
City of Goleta
City of Laguna Beach
City of Lake Forest
City of Long Beach
City of Menifee
City of Moorpark
City of Morgan Hill
City of Orinda
City of Palo Alto
City of Pico Rivera
City of Placentia
City of San Marcos
City of San Mateo
City of Santa Barbara
City of Stanton
City of Temecula
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Tulare
City of Visalia
City of Westlake Village
City of Whittier
City/county Association of Governments of San Mateo County
County of Santa Clara
League of California Cities
Mayor's and Councilimembers' Association of Sonoma County Legislative Committee
San Bernardino County
San Diego Association of Governments
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Tri-valley Cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Town of Danville
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/29/25)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/25
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124
9/2/25 18:04:40
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Anna Caballero, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular Session
AB 650 (Papan) - Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
Bill Summary:
AB 650 would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), if it finds a local agency’s draft or adopted housing element is not in substantial compliance, to identify and explain specific deficiencies and to provide the specific analysis or text to the local agency that would bring the housing element into compliance, as specified. The bill would also extend various timelines in the process for determining and allocating regional housing needs, as specified.
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on August 29, 2025
Fiscal Impact:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies’ housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region’s existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state’s largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency’s housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
Author Amendments:
Make technical changes necessary to avoid chaptering out provisions of AB 130 (Budget Committee), Chap. 22/2025, the recently enacted housing budget trailer bill.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Anna Caballero, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular Session
AB 650 (Papan) - Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
Version: April 24, 2025 | Policy Vote: HOUSING 11 - 0 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: Yes |
Hearing Date: July 14, 2025 | Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
Bill Summary:
AB 650 would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), if it finds a local agency’s draft or adopted housing element is not in substantial compliance, to identify and explain specific deficiencies and to provide the specific analysis or text to the local agency that would bring the housing element into compliance, as specified. The bill would also extend various timelines in the process for determining and allocating regional housing needs, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
- HCD estimates ongoing costs of approximately $11.1 million annually for 52.0 PY of new staff as a result of the bill shifting core responsibilities for identifying and correcting deficiencies in local agencies’ housing elements from cities and counties to HCD. Additional staff would be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, to draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, to conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, and lead public engagement in order to provide the required feedback to local governments. (General Fund)
- HCD indicates that any costs associated with earlier consultation with regional councils of government (COGs) and determining each region’s existing and projected housing deed would be minor and absorbable (General Fund). Staff notes that, in the most recent housing element cycle, HCD moved up the consultation timeline with the state’s largest COGs by an additional year, consistent with the requirements of this bill.
- By imposing new duties on regional COGs and revising the process for local agencies to remedy deficiencies in their housing elements, the bill creates a state-mandated local program. Any additional costs to COGs would be minor, and staff notes that COGs are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs associated with new mandates or higher levels of service. Local agencies would likely experience overall cost savings by requiring HCD to identify housing element deficiencies and to provide specific text or analysis to bring a local agency’s housing element into compliance. Any costs incurred by local agencies related to the housing element revisions would not be state-reimbursable because cities and counties have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset any increased costs associated with this bill. (local funds)
Background:
Existing law requires cities and counties to prepare a general plan comprised of seven mandatory elements, including a housing element that identifies existing and projected housing needs. The housing element must include an inventory of adequate sites zoned for housing at all income levels (very low, low, moderate, and above moderate income) and to accommodate a jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing needs that is sufficient to account for population growth and to overcome existing housing deficiencies over the planning period. The regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) process is composed of three main stages: (1) development of regional housing need estimates by HCD and the Department of Finance; (2) allocation of housing within each region by councils of government (COGs), or by HCD in an area not within a COG; and (3) incorporation of RHNA allocations into city and county housing elements. Existing law requires cities and counties with larger populations in urban areas to update their housing elements every eight years, but local agencies in rural areas with smaller populations must complete updates every five years.
For each housing element cycle, the Department of Finance (DOF) provides HCD with a population projection for each region, while each region must also develop projections in conjunction with the development of its regional transportation plan (RTP). Current law requires HCD to meet and consult with each COG 26 months before the housing element due date for jurisdictions within each region, and to share data assumptions and the projected methodology that will be used to produce the RHND. After the consultation, HCD can modify its underlying data and methodology, and make a written determination of the data to be used to produce the final RHND. The COG must then use the RHND to create an allocation methodology (RHNA) that distributes the regional housing need equitably among the cities and counties within the region. Local agencies must incorporate the RHNA into their housing elements.
At least 90 days prior to adopting a revision of its housing element, or at least 60 days prior to adopting a subsequent amendment, a local planning agency must submit the revision or amendment to HCD for review. HCD must review the draft and report its written findings within 90 days of receiving a draft or within 60 days of receiving a subsequent draft amendment. The written findings must include a determination of whether the draft housing element or amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds a housing element is not in substantial compliance, the local agency must either change the draft housing element or amendment to bring it into compliance, or adopt the draft element or amendment without changes and include written findings that explain the reasons the local agency believes the element or amendment is in substantial compliance, as specified. Existing law authorizes HCD to notify the Attorney General if it finds a local agency’s housing element is not in substantial compliance with housing element law to compel compliance.
Proposed Law:
AB 650 would require HCD to identify and explain specific deficiencies in a local agency’s draft or adopted housing element that is not substantially compliant with the law, and to provide specific analysis and text to a local agency that would correct any deficiencies. Specifically, this bill would:
- Require HCD to do both of the following in a written communication to a local planning agency if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or amendment, including a reference to each provision of housing element law that the draft element or amendment does not comply with.
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft element or amendment to remedy any identified deficiencies.
- Impose similar requirements on HCD when reviewing an adopted housing element or amendment, if a local agency’s adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, as specified.
AB 650 would also revise certain timelines in the process for determining and allocating regional housing needs. Specifically, this bill would:
- Extend the time by which HCD, in consultation with each COG, must determine each region’s existing and projected housing need from two years to three years, except as specified.
- Require HCD, for cities and counties without a COG, to determine each region’s existing and projected housing need at least 30 months (rather than two years) before the scheduled housing element revision, except as specified.
- Extend the time by which HCD must meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology HCD will use to determine the region’s regional housing need by one year (from 26 to 38 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision deadline), except as specified.
- Add six months to the following timelines:
- The time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity to allocate the subregion’s RHNA among its members.
- The time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion, as specified.
- The time by which each COG or delegate subregion must develop a proposed methodology in consultation with HCD for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, except as specified.
- The time by which each COG and delegate subregion must distribute a draft RHNA to each local government within the region or subregion and to HCD, based on the adopted methodology, and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, except as specified.
This bill would also specify a deadline of December 31, 2026 for an existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
Related Legislation:
AB 1275 (Elhawary), which is currently pending in this Committee, includes provisions that would, for future housing element cycles, extend the timeframe for HCD to determine the existing and projected housing needs in each region from 2 years to 3 years, and the timeframe for HCD to meet and consult with COGs from 26 months prior to the housing element due date to 38 months prior to that date, as specified.
SB 233 (Seyarto), which is currently pending in the Assembly Local Government Committee, would extend the timeframe for HCD to meet and consult with COGs from 26 months prior to the housing element due date to 38 months prior to that date, beginning with the seventh housing element cycle, as specified. For COGs that have a seventh housing element due in 2028 or earlier, this requirement would be delayed until the eighth housing element cycle.
Staff Comments:
HCD indicates that this bill would significantly shift responsibility for preparing compliant housing elements from local jurisdictions to the department, and estimates that new obligations imposed by the bill would require an additional 52.0 PY of staff at a cost of approximately $11.1 million annually. It is unclear if these resource needs are based on an assumption that HCD would conduct core housing element responsibilities for all local agencies, or some subset of cities and counties local agencies that submit noncompliant housing elements and amendments. It is clear, however, that the bill would impose substantial workload on HCD to provide local agencies with written notification of specific statutory provisions that a local agency’s draft or adopted housing element does not comply with, and to provide specific text and analysis that, if adopted, would correct any deficiencies. The bill is intended to facilitate local agencies’ timely compliance with housing element law, which would support the production of more housing.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
Senator Aisha Wahab, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular
Bill No: AB 650 Hearing Date: 7/01/2025
Author: | Papan | ||
Version: | 4/24/2025 Amended | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Alison Hughes | ||
SUBJECT: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
DIGEST: This bill extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Provides that each community’s fair share of housing be determined through the RHND and the subsequent Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) plan for the region. Establishes the RHND/RHNA process as follows: (a) Department of Finance (DOF) and HCD develop regional housing needs estimates; (b) COGs allocate housing within each region based on these determinations, and where a COG does not exist, HCD conducts the allocations; and (c) cities and counties incorporate these allocations into their housing elements.
- Requires HCD, in consultation with each COG, to determine the RHND for each region using population projections produced by DOF and regional population forecasts used in preparing RTP updates, in consultation with each COG.
- Requires HCD, at least 26 months prior to the housing element adoption deadline for the region and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, to meet and consult with the COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to develop the RHND. Requires the COG to provide data assumptions from their projections, as specified.
- Requires HCD, after consultation with the COG, to make a determination of the region’s existing and projected housing need based upon the assumptions and methodology determined in 3). Requires the RHND to reflect the achievement of a feasible balance between jobs and housing within the region using the regional employment projections in the applicable regional transportation plan.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least two years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or subregion.
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion, at least one and one-half years before a scheduled revision of the housing element, to distribute a draft RHNA allocation plan to each local government in the region or subregion, and HCD, based on the methodology in 5) above, and publish the draft allocation on its website.
This bill:
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), must determine each region's existing and projected housing need (RHND) from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to three years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exception in the following circumstances:
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision; and
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
- Specifies that, for cities and counties without a COG, HCD must determine each region's existing and projected housing need at least 30 months before the scheduled housing element revision. Provides an exception for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, by requiring HCD to provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region's housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date. Provides an exception for the seventh housing element cycle, by requiring HCD to meet and consult with the COG at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need pursuant to the timelines in 1) and 2) above.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's RHNA among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update.
- Revises the time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 4) above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior to the scheduled revision.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 6) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for the seventh housing element cycle for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of housing element law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to 8) a) above.
- Requires a local government's legislative body to consider HCD's findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 8) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government's legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 8) above in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply; or
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with the law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 10) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, to identify each subdivision of housing element law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element into substantial compliance.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
Background
RHNA and Housing Elements. All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region. The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
Comments
1) Author’s statement. "AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
2) California’s Housing Future 2040. Last year, HCD published California’s Housing Future 2040: The Next Regional Housing Needs Allocation pursuant to statutory directive to develop recommendations to improve the RHNA process and methodology that promotes and streamlines housing development and substantially addresses California’s housing shortage following a stakeholder engagement process. One of the recommendations HCD adopted in the report recommends moving up the RHND consultation process by one year. Specifically, HCD includes a recommendation in the report that recommends, “Moving up the date by which the RHND must be provided by one year.” HCD additionally noted in its report that requiring the consultation to take place three years prior to the housing element due date will foster more alignment between the housing element cycle and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) planning cycles.
This bill would push back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond by six months, as follows:
- HCD would be required to consult with each COG at least 38 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 26 months prior under existing law;
- HCD must determine each region's RHND three years (36 months) prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law;
- Each COG must develop its proposed RHNA methodology at least 2.5 years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law; and
- Each COG must distribute its draft RHNA allocation plan at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 1.5 years under existing law.
This bill also contains some differences or exceptions to these extended timelines to provide feasible timelines for jurisdictions with due dates earlier in the upcoming seventh housing element cycle. Generally, the additional six months provided by this bill would mean that COGs would have to distribute their draft RHNA plan at least two years before the housing element due date. With the 195-day RHNA methodology appeal timeline in existing law, this change would result in local governments receiving their final RHNA numbers about 1.5 years prior to the housing element due date, providing them an extra six months to prepare housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval.
3) HCD responses and technical assistance to draft elements. Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. HCD provides technical assistance (TA) at the COG level prior to the housing element due date, including workshops, regional plans, topic specific workshops, office hours and general TA. At least ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. Halfway through the 90 day period, HCD often provides preliminary feedback on what needs to change. Time permitting, local governments can submit amendments to the draft.
If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, HCD will issue a findings letter detailing areas of deficiency. These findings are the exclusive list of issues that must be addressed by the local government to reach compliance with state law, unless the local agency makes changes outside the scope of the initial draft. Following receipt of the findings letter, the local government may request additional TA from HCD, including informal review of changes, sample language, examples, or other feedback.
The local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez, Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024) further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
In the sixth housing element cycle, however, many local agencies failed to submit draft housing elements to HCD, or to adopt housing elements prior to the deadline to adopt a revised housing element. Many of these jurisdictions subsequently prepared and adopted housing elements, following consultation with HCD, long after the original deadline to comply.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law that the draft does not comply with. It would also require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
4) Ships passing in the night. This committee will also hear AB 1275 (Elhawary) today, which also amends RHNA and RHND timelines. Earlier this year, this committee heard and approved SB 233 (Seyarto), a bill that amends RHND timelines. All three of these bills have been amended to be consistent with each other and prevent conflicts.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 233 (Seyarto, 2025) — would require HCD, commencing with the seventh housing element cycle, to meet with COGs at least 38 months rather than 26 months prior to the housing element due date for jurisdictions within that COG. It would also delay the requirement for HCD to meet with COGs that have a seventh housing element revision due in 2028 or earlier until the eight housing element cycle. This bill is pending in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
AB 1275 (Elhawary, 2025) — would extend timelines for determining the RHNA and RHND for each region and requires each region to incorporate elements of its SCS into its RHNA methodology and allocation plan, as specified. This bill will be heard in this hearing.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,
June 25, 2025.)
SUPPORT:
California Housing Consortium
City of Corona
City of Eastvale
City of El Cerrito
City of Foster City
City of Goleta
City of Long Beach
City of Morgan Hill
City of San Marcos
City of San Mateo
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Westlake Village
City/county Association of Governments of San Mateo County
League of California Cities
Mayor's and Councilimembers' Association of Sonoma County Legislative Committee
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
OPPOSITION:
None received.
-- END --
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
ATR Bill Id:AB 650
Author:(Papan)
As Amended Ver:April 24, 2025
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs (RHND), regional housing needs allocations (RHNA), and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions.
Major Provisions
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), must determine each region's existing and projected housing need (RHND) from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to three years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exception in the following circumstances:
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision; and
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, HCD must provide the RHND at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
- Specifies that, for cities and counties without a COG, HCD must determine each region's existing and projected housing need at least 30 months before the scheduled housing element revision. Provides an exception for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, by requiring HCD to provide the RHND at least two years before the scheduled revision.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region's housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date. Provides an exception for the seventh housing element cycle, by requiring HCD to meet and consult with the COG at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need pursuant to the timelines in 1) and 2) above.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's RHNA among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update.
- Revises the time by which a COG must determine the share of RHNA assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 4) above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior to the scheduled revision.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 6) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two years prior to the scheduled revision. Provides an exemption for the seventh housing element cycle for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of housing element law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to 8) a) above.
- Requires a local government's legislative body to consider HCD's findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 8) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government's legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 8) above in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply; or
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with the law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 10) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance, to identify each subdivision of housing element law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element into substantial compliance.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
COMMENTS
RHNA and Housing Elements: The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income or 0-50% of area median income (AMI), low-income or 50-80% of AMI, moderate income or 80-120% of AMI, and above moderate income at 120% or more of AMI. Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and the Department of Finance (DOF) projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region (and for regions without a COG, HCD allocates the RHND directly to local governments). DOF produces population projections and COGs also develops projections during their Regional Transportation Plan updates. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on specific criteria. HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for specified factors. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region's expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region. The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would push back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond by six months, as follows:
- HCD would be required to consult with each COG at least 38 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 26 months prior under existing law;
- HCD must determine each region's RHND three years (36 months) prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law;
- Each COG must develop its proposed RHNA methodology at least 2.5 years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law; and
- Each COG must distribute its draft RHNA allocation plan at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 1.5 years under existing law.
This bill also contains some differences or exceptions to these extended timelines to provide feasible timelines for jurisdictions with due dates earlier in the upcoming seventh housing element cycle. Generally, the additional six months provided by this bill would mean that COGs would have to distribute their draft RHNA plan at least two years before the housing element due date. With the 195-day RHNA methodology appeal timeline in existing law, this change would result in local governments receiving their final RHNA numbers about 1.5 years prior to the housing element due date, providing them an extra six months to prepare housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval.
Adoption and Implementation of Housing Elements: All of the state's 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community's General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community's existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the "builder's remedy," public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region's RHNA. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program. It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction and preservation of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all it can and not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. At least ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024 further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
This bill would require HCD's findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law, that the draft does not comply with, and would require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
According to the Author
"AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process."
Arguments in Support
According to the League of California Cities, the bill's sponsor, "During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD's feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process. AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months early. The bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters. AB 650 would provide greater clarity and certainty to the housing element process and help ensure that all jurisdictions adopt a certified housing element on time."
Arguments in Opposition
According to YIMBY Action, "We appreciate the amendments made to this bill in [Assembly] Housing Committee on April 24th. However, we still oppose this bill because it limits the ability of California's Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) to comment on multiple drafts of a city's Housing Element. In order to adequately enforce Housing Element Law, HCD must be given the ability to provide guidance throughout the very technical process. … California's severe housing shortage is causing skyrocketing homelessness and poverty, crippling our economy, and exacerbating our global climate crisis. These impacts fall disproportionately on California's low-income workers and families and disproportionately affect communities of color. AB 650 will put up more hurdles to addressing our housing shortage and ensuring a welcoming California where everyone can thrive."
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:
- HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of $11.1 million annually for 52 positions to meet their new obligations. HCD indicates this bill shifts core responsibilities for preparing compliant housing elements from local jurisdictions to HCD. Additional staff will be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, and conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, in order to provide the required feedback to local governments.
- Costs of an unknown amount, but likely minor and potentially cost-saving to local agencies to adjust their housing element revision processes. These costs are not reimbursable by the state because local agencies have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset increased costs associated with the provisions of this bill.
VOTES
ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 11-0-1
YES: Haney, Ávila Farías, Caloza, Garcia, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Ta, Tangipa, Wicks, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Patterson
ASM LOCAL GOVERNMENT: 9-0-1
YES: Carrillo, Ta, Pacheco, Ramos, Ransom, Blanca Rubio, Stefani, Ward, Wilson
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 14-0-1
YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Hart, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache, Ta, Tangipa
ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez
UPDATED
VERSION: April 24, 2025
CONSULTANT: Nicole Restmeyer / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0000616
Date of Hearing: May 21, 2025
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 650
Author:(Papan) – As Amended Ver:April 24, 2025
Policy Committee: | Housing and Community Development | Vote: | 11 - 0 |
Local Government | 9 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill extends various timelines in the regional housing needs determination and allocation (RHNA) process, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing elements.
Specifically, among other provisions, this bill:
- Revises the required timeline for HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), to determine each region’s existing and projected housing need as required by Housing Element Law from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision due date in existing law, to three years prior to the due date, with exceptions for housing elements with revision due dates in 2027 and 2028 in the seventh housing element cycle.
- Lengthens the timeline according to which HCD is to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region’s housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified law with which the draft does not comply.
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified under item a, above.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to the existing requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- HCD estimates ongoing General Fund costs of $11.1 million annually for 52 positions to meet their new obligations. HCD indicates this bill shifts core responsibilities for preparing compliant housing elements from local jurisdictions to HCD. Additional staff will be needed to research local conditions such as site availability, zoning ordinances, and demographic trends, draft housing element content tailored to each jurisdiction, and conduct stakeholder outreach with developers, experts, and community members, in order to provide the required feedback to local governments.
- Costs of an unknown amount, but likely minor and potentially cost-saving to local agencies to adjust their housing element revision processes. These costs are not reimbursable by the state because local agencies have general authority to charge and adjust planning and permitting fees to offset increased costs associated with the provisions of this bill.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the League of California Cities. According to the author:
[This bill] will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process.
- Background. Housing Elements and RHNA. Existing law requires each city and county to prepare a general plan that includes, among other things, a housing element detailing existing housing conditions within the jurisdiction, the need for new housing and the strategy the jurisdiction will use to address that need. Local governments must adopt a new housing element every eight years, although some rural jurisdictions must do so every five years. Each local agency must plan for the amount of housing established by the state’s RHNA process, which includes housing allocations for all income levels.
The RHNA is determined by HCD through a demographic analysis of housing needs and population projections, also known as the regional housing need determination (RHND). HCD establishes its determination of each COG’s regional housing targets across the state for the next five- or eight-year planning cycle. Each COG (or in some areas, HCD acting directly as COG) then sub-allocates the RHNA to each local government within the COG’s jurisdiction.
Ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, cities and counties must submit a draft housing element to HCD. HCD must review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft housing element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element to substantially comply with the law or may “self-certify” the housing element by adopting the element and making findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of HCD. Even if a local agency self-certifies its housing element, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving approval from HCD.
This bill generally provides local agencies an additional six months to prepare their housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval. The bill also requires HCD’s findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law, and requires HCD to provide the specific analysis or text to address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
- Related Legislation. AB 1275 (Elhawary), of this legislative session, requires HCD to determine the existing and projected housing need for each region with a COG three years prior to the region’s housing element due date, instead of two years prior. AB 1275 is pending on the Assembly Floor.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2025
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Juan Carrillo, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 650 (
Author:Papan) – As Amended Ver:April 24, 2025
SUBJECT: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation.
SUMMARY: Extends a number of timelines in the process of determining regional housing needs and regional housing needs allocations (RHNA) and housing element revisions, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing element revisions. Specifically, this bill:
- Revises the time by which HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need as required by Housing Element Law from two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to three years prior to the scheduled revision.
- Provides an exception to 1), above, in the following circumstances:
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, HCD shall determine the region’s housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
- For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, HCD shall determine the region’s housing need at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
- Specifies that, for cities and counties without a COG, HCD shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need at least 30 months before the scheduled revision required pursuant to Housing Element Law.
- Provides an exception to 3), above, for cities and counties with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, by requiring HCD to determine their existing and projected housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region’s housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to 38 months prior to the due date.
- Provides an exception to 5), above, for the seventh housing element cycle, by requiring HCD to meet and consult with the COG at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need pursuant to the timelines in 1) and 2), above.
- Revises the time by which two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion’s existing and projected need for housing among its members, from 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update to 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update.
- Revises the time by which a COG shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 7), above, from 25 months prior to the scheduled revision to 31 months prior to the scheduled revision.
- Revises the time by which each COG or delegate subregion shall develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the scheduled revision.
- Provides an exemption to 9), above, for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Revises the time by which each COG and delegate subregion shall distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 5) above and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, from at least one and one-half years before the scheduled housing element revision in existing law, to at least two years prior to the scheduled revision.
- Provides an exemption to 11), above, for the seventh housing element cycle for COGs with a housing element revision due date during the 2027 calendar year.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with Housing Element Law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified portions of Housing Element Law that the draft does not comply with.
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified pursuant to a), above.
- Requires a local government’s legislative body to consider HCD’s findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD pursuant to 13), above, prior to the adoption of its draft element or draft amendment.
- Requires the local government’s legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with Housing Element Law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD specified in 13), above, in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with Housing Element Law.
- Adopt the draft element or draft amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with Housing Element Law, despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 15) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with Housing Element Law, to identify each subdivision of specified portions of Housing Element Law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing law requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element, as specified.
- Provides that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this bill, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides that each community’s fair share of housing be determined through the Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND)/RHNA process. Sets out the process as follows: (a) Department of Finance (DOF) and HCD develop regional housing needs determination estimates or RHNDs; (b) COGs allocate housing via RHNA within each region based on these determinations, and where a COG does not exist, HCD conducts the allocations; and (c) cities and counties incorporate these allocations into their housing elements. (Government Code (GOV) 65584 and 65584.01)
- Requires HCD, in consultation with each COG, to determine each region’s existing and projected housing need at least two years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided, and requires the COG or HCD to adopt a final RHNA that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city or county at least one year prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584(b))
- Requires HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used in determining the region’s housing needs at least 26 months prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.01(b)(1))
- Allows two or more cities and a county, or counties, to form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocating the subregion's existing and projected need for housing among its members 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element update. (GOV 65584.03)
- Requires a COG to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion specified in 4), above, 25 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision. (GOV 65584.03)
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion at least two years prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.04(a))
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion to distribute a draft RHNA based on the methodology under 3) above to each local government in the region and to HCD, and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, at least one and one-half years prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.05(a))
- Requires each city and county to adopt a housing element, which must contain specified information, programs, and objectives, including:
- An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs, including a quantification of the locality’s existing and projected housing needs for all income levels; an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development; an analysis of potential and actual governmental and nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels; and a demonstration of local efforts to remove constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need, among other things;
- A statement of the community’s goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing; and
- A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, and timelines for implementation, that the local government is undertaking to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element, including actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the local government’s share of the regional housing need for each income level that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the sites inventory without rezoning, among other things. (Government Code (GOV) Section 65583(a)-(c))
- Requires a local government to submit a draft housing element revision or amendment to HCD at least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element, as specified, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to the housing element. (GOV 65585(b)(1)(A))
- Requires HCD to review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft. Prohibits HCD from reviewing the first draft submitted for each housing element revision until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, as taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments, as provided. (GOV 65585(b)(1)(C))
- Requires HCD, in its written findings under 10) above, to determine whether the draft element or amendment substantially complies with housing element law. (GOV 65585(d))
- Requires the legislative body of a local government to consider the findings made by HCD under 10) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or amendment. Allows the legislative body to act without the findings if HCD’s findings are not available within specified time limits. (GOV 65585(e))
- Requires the legislative body of a local government, if HCD finds the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to take one of the following actions:
- Change the draft element or amendment to substantially comply with housing element law, as provided; or
- Adopt the draft element or amendment without changes, and include written findings in its adoption resolution that explain the reasons the legislative body believes the draft element or amendment substantially complies with housing element law despite the findings of HCD. (GOV 65585(f))
- Requires HCD to review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings described under 11) b) above within 60 days and make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with housing element law, and report its findings to the planning agency. (GOV 65585(h))
- Requires HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken in a housing element to affirmatively further fair housing, which must enable the reporting of specified components of assessing fair housing and include specified fields. (GOV 65583(c)(10)(D))
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal and contains a state-mandated local program.
COMMENTS:
- Author’s Statement. According to the author, “AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in dealing with HCD. This bill makes two key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, giving municipalities more time work on their housing elements and allowing them to engage with HCD sooner; second, it mandates clear and actionable feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing and ensuring clarity in the process.”
- Background. The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income (0-50% of AMI), low-income (50-80% of AMI), moderate income (80-120% of AMI), and above moderate income (120% or more of AMI). Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and DOF projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region. DOF produces population projections and the COG also develops projections during its Regional Transportation Plan update. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on several criteria, including:
- Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases;
- Household size data and trends in household size;
- The percentage of households that are overcrowded, as defined, and the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market, as defined;
- The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures;
- The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs, as specified;
- Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population;
- The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing;
- The percentage of households that are cost burdened and the rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market, as defined; and
- The loss of units during a declared state of emergency during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant housing element cycle that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for each of the factors noted above, and provides that information in writing to the COG. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region’s expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region.
The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
- Adoption and Implementation of Housing Elements. Counties and cities must plan for new housing through the housing element of each community’s General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community’s existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in certain escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the “builder’s remedy,” public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or even court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region’s RHNA, described above. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program to accommodate the housing planned for in the housing element. Depending on whether the jurisdiction met its statutory deadline for housing element adoption, it will have either one year (if it failed to meet the deadline) or three years (if it met the deadline) from its adoption deadline to complete that rezoning program.
Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. Ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element to substantially comply with the law or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department.
Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. When a local government adopts its housing element without making the changes HCD provides, the process is called “self-certification.” Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD has found the element in compliance.
- Bill Summary. This bill extends a number of timelines in the RHND/RHNA and housing element process. These timelines are generally extended by six months, with an extension of one year for the time by which HCD must determine each region’s housing need at the beginning of the process. This bill also contains some differences or exceptions to these extended timelines to provide feasible timelines for the seventh housing element cycle.
This bill also requires HCD to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing elements, and adds a deadline of December 31, 2026, to an existing law requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element.
This bill is sponsored by the League of California Cities.
- Related Legislation. AB 1275 (Elhawary) requires HCD to determine each region with a COG’s existing and projected housing need three years prior to each region’s scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years in existing law, and makes changes to how the transportation and job projections in a region’s sustainable communities strategy (SCS) must be incorporated into each COG’s RHNA methodology and final RHNA plan. AB 1275 is pending in this Committee.
- Previous Legislation. AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024, clarified that a housing element or amendment is not considered substantially compliant with housing element law until the local agency has adopted a housing element that HCD has determined is in substantial compliance with housing element law, as specified.
- Arguments in Support. The League of California Cities, sponsor of this measure, writes, “Since 1969, California’s local governments have planned and selected sites for housing at all income levels through the housing element portion of a local government’s general plan. Every five to eight years, local governments are required to adopt a blueprint outlining where developers can or cannot build residential developments within their respective communities and obtain certification from HCD. Local governments plan for their fair share of housing development as determined through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. As part of this complex process, local governments submit in their housing elements a variety of essential data, actions, and programs to promote fair, equitable, and affordable housing in their community. Currently, local jurisdictions are planning and zoning for nearly 2.5 million additional homes statewide.
“During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD’s feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process.
“AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months early. The bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters. AB 650 would provide greater clarity and certainty to the housing element process and help ensure that all jurisdictions adopt a certified housing element on time.”
- Arguments in Opposition. South Pasadena Residents for Responsible Growth, opposed to a prior version of this bill, states, “The Housing Element process has been a failure. Multiple cities have done things like claim their city halls, golf courses, and malls will all stop functioning and be turned into affordable housing.
“Here in South Pasadena we have a grocery store that underwent a multimillion dollar renovation completed in August of 2022, but somehow HCD allowed us to claim 220 low income units would be built on the site in this planning period. Our general plan said it went site by site and determined that 1,230 units would be built in downtown in 20 years, but our Housing Element claims that 1,600 would be built in the next 5 years.
“Needless to say, if your Housing Element got rejected, it is because the city didn’t make a significant effort to actually produce housing. The cities that got builders remedy projects were the most NIMBY cities in California.
“This bill gives these cities a get our jail card for the next RHNA cycle. Literally the only thing that forced some cities to try and fix their housing elements was the threat of the builders remedy. Removing that threat means these NIMBY cities can delay adopting policies that produce housing for years.
“Even right now, 3.5 years into the RHNA cycle, South Pasadena STILL hasn’t adopted all of the zoning we were required to do. Please oppose AB 650 from the League of California Cities that will allow their NIMBY cities to delay complying with housing laws.”
- Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, where it passed on a 11-0 vote on April 24, 2025.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
League of California Cities [SPONSOR]
City of Artesia
City of Bell Gardens
City of Belmont
City of Beverly Hills
City of Buena Park
City of Calimesa
City of Chino Hills
City of Citrus Heights
City of Concord
City of Corona
City of Cotati
City of Cypress
City of Dinuba
City of Eastvale
City of Fullerton
City of Garden Grove
City of Glendora
City of Hawaiian Gardens
City of Hermosa Beach
City of Indian Wells
City of Kerman
City of La Habra
City of La Quinta
City of Laguna Beach
City of Lakewood
City of Lakewood CA
City of Lodi
City of Lomita
City of Long Beach
City of Los Alamitos
City of Madera
City of Manhattan Beach
City of Martinez
City of Merced
City of Mission Viejo
City of Oakley
City of Orinda
City of Palm Desert
City of Palm Springs
City of Placentia
City of Redding
City of Redlands
City of Rohnert Park
City of Rolling Hills Estates
City of Salinas
City of San Mateo
City of Scotts Valley
City of Soledad
City of Stanton
City of Temecula
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Tulare
City of Tustin
City of Walnut Creek
City of Whittier
City of Woodland
Liz Morris, Councilmember, City of Delano
Oppose
South Pasadena Residents for Responsible Growth (prior version)
Oppose Unless Amended
California Association of Realtors (prior version)
California Building Industry Association (CBIA) (prior version)
Greenbelt Alliance (prior version)
SPUR (prior version)
The Two Hundred (prior version)
Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2025
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Matt Haney, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 650 (
Author:Papan) – As Amended Ver:March 28, 2025
SUBJECT: Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation
SUMMARY: Extends various timelines in the regional housing needs determination and allocation (RHNA) and housing element process, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide specific analysis or text to local governments to remedy deficiencies in their draft housing elements, and allows local governments to deny applications for “builder’s remedy projects” during certain portions of the housing element review process. Specifically, this bill:
- Revises the required timeline for HCD, in consultation with each council of governments (COG), to determine each region’s existing and projected housing need, as specified, from two years prior to the scheduled housing element due date for the region as in existing law, to 30 months prior to the due date.
- Revises the required timeline for HCD to meet and consult with the COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by HCD to determine the region’s housing needs, from at least 26 months prior to the scheduled housing element due date for the region as in existing law, to 32 months prior to the due date.
- Revises the required timeline for each COG or delegate subregion to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion, from at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element due date as in existing law, to at least two and one-half years prior to the due date. Exempts COGs with a seventh cycle housing element due date in the 2027 calendar year from this timeline revision.
- Revises the required timeline for each COG and delegate subregion to distribute a draft RHNA to each local government in the region or subregion and to HCD based on the methodology described in 3) above and to publish the draft RHNA plan on its website, from at least one and one-half years prior to the scheduled housing element due date as in existing law, to at least two years prior to the due date. Exempts COGs with a seventh cycle housing element due date in the 2027 calendar year from this timeline revision.
- Adds a deadline of December 31, 2026 to the existing law requirement for HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing via the housing element, as specified.
- Requires HCD, if it finds that a draft housing element or amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do both of the following in a written communication to the planning agency:
- Identify and explain the specific deficiencies in the draft element or draft amendment, including a reference to each subdivision of specified law that the draft does not comply with; and
- Provide the specific analysis or text that HCD expects the planning agency to include in the draft to remedy the deficiencies identified under a) above.
- Requires a local government’s legislative body to consider HCD’s findings and the specific analysis or text required by HCD under 6) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or amendment.
- Requires the local government’s legislative body, if HCD finds that the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to do one of the following:
- Include the specific analysis or text from HCD under 6) above in the draft element or amendment to substantially comply with housing element law; or
- Adopt the draft element or amendment without the specific analysis or text required by HCD and include written findings in its resolution of adoption that explain the reasons the legislative body believes that the draft substantially complies with housing element law despite the specific analysis or text required by HCD.
- Allows a local government to deny a “builder’s remedy project,” as specified and notwithstanding specified law, within the planning agency’s jurisdiction during either of the following periods:
- The duration of HCD’s review of a draft element or amendment revised under 8) a) above; and
- 90 days from the date HCD notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies not previously identified by HCD in response to the prior submission of the draft element or amendment.
- Requires HCD, when reviewing adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings under 8) b) above, if it finds the adopted element or amendment is not in substantial compliance with housing element law, to identify each subdivision of specified law that the housing element does not substantially comply with and provide the specific analysis or text to the planning agency that, if adopted, would bring the housing element or amendment into substantial compliance.
- Prohibits a local agency, under the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), from disapproving or conditioning approval of a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households or an emergency shelter in a manner that renders the project infeasible, unless the local agency makes written findings, based upon a preponderance of the evidence in the record, that on the date an application for the project was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with housing element law, the project is a “builder’s remedy project,” and at least one of the conditions under 9) above applies.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides that each community’s fair share of housing be determined through the Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND)/RHNA process. Sets out the process as follows: (a) Department of Finance (DOF) and HCD develop regional housing needs determination estimates or RHNDs; (b) COGs allocate housing via RHNA within each region based on these determinations, and where a COG does not exist, HCD conducts the allocations; and (c) cities and counties incorporate these allocations into their housing elements. (Government Code (GOV) 65584 and 65584.01)
- Requires HCD, in consultation with each COG, to determine each region’s existing and projected housing need at least two years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided, and requires the COG or HCD to adopt a final RHNA that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city or county at least one year prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584(b))
- Requires HCD to meet and consult with each COG regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used in determining the region’s housing needs at least 26 months prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.01(b)(1))
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion to develop, in consultation with HCD, a proposed methodology for distributing the RHNA to local governments within the region or subregion at least two years prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.04(a))
- Requires each COG or delegate subregion to distribute a draft RHNA based on the methodology under 4) above to each local government in the region and to HCD, and to publish the draft RHNA on its website, at least one and one-half years prior to the housing element due date for the region. (GOV 65584.05(a))
- Requires each city and county to adopt a housing element, which must contain specified information, programs, and objectives, including:
- An assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of these needs, including a quantification of the locality’s existing and projected housing needs for all income levels; an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development; an analysis of potential and actual governmental and nongovernmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels; and a demonstration of local efforts to remove constraints that hinder the locality from meeting its share of the regional housing need, among other things;
- A statement of the community’s goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing; and
- A program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, and timelines for implementation, that the local government is undertaking to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element, including actions that will be taken to make sites available during the planning period with appropriate zoning and development standards and with services and facilities to accommodate that portion of the local government’s share of the regional housing need for each income level that could not be accommodated on sites identified in the sites inventory without rezoning, among other things. (Government Code (GOV) Section 65583(a)-(c))
- Requires a local government to submit a draft housing element revision or amendment to HCD at least 90 days prior to adoption of a revision of its housing element, as specified, or at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a subsequent amendment to the housing element. (GOV 65585(b)(1)(A))
- Requires HCD to review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of its receipt of the first draft submittal for each housing element revision or within 60 days of its receipt of a subsequent draft. Prohibits HCD from reviewing the first draft submitted for each housing element revision until the local government has made the draft available for public comment for at least 30 days and, if comments were received, as taken at least 10 business days to consider and incorporate public comments, as provided. (GOV 65585(b)(1)(C))
- Requires HCD, in its written findings under 8) above, to determine whether the draft element or amendment substantially complies with housing element law. (GOV 65585(d))
- Requires the legislative body of a local government to consider the findings made by HCD under 8) above prior to the adoption of its draft element or amendment. Allows the legislative body to act without the findings if HCD’s findings are not available within specified time limits. (GOV 65585(e))
- Requires the legislative body of a local government, if HCD finds the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with housing element law, to take one of the following actions:
- Change the draft element or amendment to substantially comply with housing element law, as provided; or
- Adopt the draft element or amendment without changes, and include written findings in its adoption resolution that explain the reasons the legislative body believes the draft element or amendment substantially complies with housing element law despite the findings of HCD. (GOV 65585(f))
- Requires HCD to review adopted housing elements or amendments and any findings described under 11) b) above within 60 days and make a finding as to whether the adopted element or amendment is in substantial compliance with housing element law, and report its findings to the planning agency. (GOV 65585(h))
- Requires HCD to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken in a housing element to affirmatively further fair housing, which must enable the reporting of specified components of assessing fair housing and include specified fields. (GOV 65583(c)(10)(D))
- Prohibits, under the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), a local government from disapproving or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible certain housing development projects, including a “builder’s remedy project,” which is defined to mean:
- A housing development project that provides housing for very low, low-, or moderate-income households;
- On or after the date an application for the project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have a housing element that was in substantial compliance with the law; and
- The project meets specified density, location, and affordability requirements. (GOV 65589.5(d)(6), (f)(6), and (h)(11))
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Author’s Statement: According to the author, “AB 650 will improve the housing element review process by addressing the delays and challenges local governments face in meeting housing requirements. This bill makes three key improvements: first, it starts the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process six months earlier, allowing municipalities to engage with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sooner; second, it mandates consistent and clear feedback from HCD to ensure local governments have the guidance they need to comply; and third, it provides relief to cities awaiting HCD’s determination by offering a stay on the builder’s remedy. These changes will help local governments develop compliant housing elements on time, supporting the production of much-needed housing while ensuring fairness and clarity in the process.”
California’s Housing Crisis: California is in the midst of a severe housing crisis. Over two-thirds of low-income renters are paying more than 30% of their income toward housing, a “rent burden” that means they have to sacrifice other essentials such as food, transportation, and health care. In 2024, over 185,000 Californians experienced homelessness on a given night, with a sharp increase in the number of people who became homeless for the first time. The crisis is driven in large part by the lack of affordable rental housing for lower income people. According to the California Housing Partnership’s (CHP) Housing Need Dashboard, in the current market, nearly 2 million extremely low-income and very low-income renter households are competing for roughly 750,000 available and affordable rental units in the state. Over three-quarters of the state’s extremely low-income households and over half of the state’s very low-income households are severely rent burdened, paying more than 50% of their income toward rent each month. CHP estimates that the state needs an additional 1.3 million housing units affordable to very low-income Californians to eliminate the shortfall. By contrast, production in the past decade has been under 100,000 housing units per year – including less than 20,000 units of affordable housing per year.[1]
Despite recent investments over the last few years, state and local governments have not significantly invested in affordable housing production in decades, leading to a lack of supply. In addition, local governments have failed to adequately zone or plan for new housing for decades. In the last eight years, the state has taken major steps to increase the supply of housing by requiring local governments to plan and zone for 2.5 million new housing units, holding local governments accountable for approving housing, and streamlining both affordable housing and mixed-income housing.
RHNA and Housing Elements: The RHNA process is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability level of those homes, each local government must plan for in its housing element to cover the duration of the next planning cycle. The state is currently in the sixth housing element cycle. The RHND is assigned at the COG level, while RHNA is suballocated to subregions of the COG or directly to local governments. RHNA is currently assigned via six income categories: very low-income (0-50% of AMI), low-income (50-80% of AMI), moderate income (80-120% of AMI), and above moderate income (120% or more of AMI). Beginning with the seventh cycle, two new income categories will be incorporated for acutely low-income (0-15% of AMI) and extremely low-income (15-30% of AMI).
The cycle begins with HCD and DOF projecting new RHND numbers every five or eight years, depending on the region. DOF produces population projections and the COG also develops projections during its Regional Transportation Plan update. Then, 26 months before the housing element due date for the region, HCD must meet and consult with the COG and share the data assumptions and methodology that they will use to produce the RHND. The COG provides HCD with its own regional data on several criteria, including:
- Anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases;
- Household size data and trends in household size;
- The percentage of households that are overcrowded, as defined, and the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market, as defined;
- The rate of household formation, or headship rates, based on age, gender, ethnicity, or other established demographic measures;
- The vacancy rates in existing housing stock, and the vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility, as well as housing replacement needs, as specified;
- Other characteristics of the composition of the projected population;
- The relationship between jobs and housing, including any imbalance between jobs and housing;
- The percentage of households that are cost burdened and the rate of housing cost burden for a healthy housing market, as defined; and
- The loss of units during a declared state of emergency during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant housing element cycle that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the data request.
HCD can take this information and use it to modify its own methodology, if it agrees with the data the COG produced, or can reject it if there are other factors or data that HCD feels are better or more accurate. Then, after a consultation with the COG, HCD makes written determinations on the data it is using for each of the factors bulleted above, and provides that information in writing to the COG. HCD uses that data to produce the final RHND, which must be distributed at least two years prior to the region’s expected housing element due date. The COG must then take the RHND and create an allocation methodology that distributes the housing need equitably amongst all the local governments in its region. The RHNA methodology is statutorily obligated to further all of the following objectives:
- Increase the housing supply and mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the regional in an equitable manner, which must result in each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low-income households;
- Promote infill development, socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and achievement of regional climate change reduction targets;
- Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing, including an improved balance between the number of low-wage jobs and the number of housing units affordable to low-wage workers in each jurisdiction;
- Allocate a lower proportion of housing need to an income category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high share of households in that income category; and
- Affirmatively further fair housing.
This bill would push back several RHND and RHNA deadlines for the seventh housing element cycle and beyond by six months, as follows:
- HCD would be required to consult with each COG at least 32 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 26 months prior under existing law;
- HCD must determine each region’s RHND 2.5 years (30 months) prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law;
- Each COG must develop its proposed RHNA methodology at least 2.5 years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years under existing law (except for COGs with due dates in the 2027 calendar year); and
- Each COG must distribute its draft RHNA allocation plan at least two years prior to the scheduled housing element revision, rather than 1.5 years under existing law (except for COGs with due dates in the 2027 calendar year).
When the draft RHNA plan is distributed, a 30-day shot clock starts for local governments and HCD to appeal the plan. If no appeals are filed, the COG or delegate subregion must adopt the final RHNA plan within 45 days. If appeals are filed, the COG or delegate subregion must publish all appeals and start a 45-day window for public comment. The COG must hold one public hearing within 30 days of close of the public comment period. The COG then has 45 days after hosting the public hearing to make a final determination on appeals and issue a proposed final RHNA. The COG must adopt the final RHNA within 45 days at another public hearing. Subject to GOV 65584, this must be completed and the final RHNA must be adopted at least one year prior to the housing element deadline, but with the various shot clocks, this yields a total of 195 days from the publishing of the draft RHNA plan (18 months prior to the deadline) to accept and publish appeals, receive comments, hold a hearing, make a determination on appeals, and adopt the final RHNA. This provides local governments with one year at the minimum to prepare and adopt their housing elements, though COGs now have the authority to shorten some of these appeal timelines if they so choose.
The additional six months provided by this bill would mean that COGs would have to distribute their draft RHNA plan at least two years before the housing element due date. With the 195 day appeal timeline, this change would result in local governments receiving their final RHNA numbers about 1.5 years prior to the due date, providing them an extra six months to prepare their housing elements and submit them to HCD for review and approval.
Adoption and Implementation of Housing Elements: All of the state’s 539 cities and counties are required to appropriately plan for new housing through the housing element of each community’s General Plan, which outlines a long-term plan for meeting the community’s existing and projected housing needs. Cities and counties are required to update their housing elements every eight years in most of the high population parts of the state, and five years in areas with smaller populations. Localities must adopt a legally valid housing element by their statutory deadline for adoption. Failure to do so can result in certain escalating penalties, including an accelerated deadline for completing rezoning, exposure to the “builder’s remedy,” public or private lawsuits, financial penalties, potential loss of permitting authority, or even court receivership.
Among other things, the housing element must demonstrate how the community plans to accommodate its share of its region’s RHNA, described above. To do so, each community establishes an inventory of sites designated for new housing that is sufficient to accommodate its fair share. Where a community does not already contain the existing capacity to accommodate its fair share of housing, it must undertake a rezoning program to accommodate the housing planned for in the housing element. Depending on whether the jurisdiction met its statutory deadline for housing element adoption, it will have either one year (if it failed to meet the deadline) or three years (if it met the deadline) from its adoption deadline to complete that rezoning program.
It is critical that local jurisdictions adopt legally compliant housing elements on time in order to meet statewide housing goals and create the environment locally for the successful construction of desperately needed housing at all income levels. Unless communities plan for production and preservation of affordable housing, new housing will be slow to build. Adequate zoning, removal of regulatory barriers, protection of existing stock and targeting of resources are essential to obtaining a sufficient permanent supply of housing affordable to all economic segments of the community. Although not requiring the community to develop the housing, housing element law requires the community to plan for housing. Recognizing that local governments may lack adequate resources to house all those in need, the law nevertheless mandates that the community do all that it can and that it not engage in exclusionary and harmful practices.
Local governments have a statutory deadline to submit a housing element based on region. Ninety days before the deadline to adopt a housing element, localities must submit a draft to HCD. HCD is required to review the draft element within 90 days of receipt and provide written findings as to whether the draft amendment substantially complies with housing element law. If HCD finds that the draft element does not substantially comply with the law, the local agency may either make changes to the draft element to substantially comply with the law or adopt the element and make findings as to why it complies with the law despite the findings of the department. Following adoption of a housing element, a local agency submits it to HCD. When a local government adopts its housing element without making the changes HCD provides, the process is called “self-certification.” Despite the fact that the process allows a local agency to adopt a housing element without making the changes required by HCD to be in substantial compliance, a local agency is not considered compliant until receiving ultimate approval from HCD. Last year, AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, further clarified that a housing element is in compliance when both a local agency has adopted a housing element and HCD had found the element in compliance.
This bill would require HCD’s findings of noncompliance for either a draft or adopted housing element to identify and explain the specific deficiencies, by reference to each subdivision of housing element law, that the draft does not comply with, and would require HCD to provide the specific analysis or text that would address the deficiencies if the local government were to include them in a revised element or amendment.
Housing Accountability Act (HAA)/Builder's Remedy: In 1982, the Legislature enacted the Housing Accountability Act (HAA). The purpose of the HAA is to help ensure that a city does not reject or make infeasible housing development projects that contribute to meeting their housing need without a thorough analysis of the economic, social, and environmental effects of the action and without complying with the HAA. The HAA restricts a city's ability to disapprove, or require density reductions in, certain types of residential projects. The HAA does not preclude a locality from imposing developer fees necessary to provide public services or requiring a housing development project to comply with objective standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to the locality's share of the RHNA.
One constraint within the HAA on local governments' authority to disprove housing is the “Builder's Remedy.” The Builder’s Remedy prohibits a local government from denying certain housing developments that do not conform to the local government's underlying zoning, if the local government has not adopted a compliant housing element. A number of developers have attempted to use the Builder’s Remedy in the last few years. Last year, AB 1893 (Wicks), Chapter 268, set parameters around the density, underlying zoning, and objective standards that a development must meet in order to qualify for the Builder’s Remedy, and reduced the amount of affordable housing a development must include to qualify.
This bill would allow a local government to deny a Builder’s Remedy project if the local government has not met its statutory deadline for adopting a compliant housing element and has submitted a second or subsequent draft of a housing element that they revised in response to an initial finding of noncompliance from HCD, for the duration of HCD’s review of the subsequent draft. HCD has 60 days to review second and subsequent drafts (90 days for initial drafts). The bill would also allow a local government to deny a Builder’s Remedy project for 90 days from the date HCD notifies the local government of additional deficiencies that were not previously identified by HCD in response to a prior draft element.
Arguments in Support: According to the League of California Cities, the bill’s sponsor, “During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD’s feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process. AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months early. The bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters.”
Arguments in Opposition: The California Home Building Alliance writes in opposition, “State housing element law exists to ensure there is a sufficient supply of properly zoned sites for residential development in jurisdictions across the state to accommodate the various housing needs of our population over time. The Builder’s Remedy is a provision in the Housing Accountability Act, first enacted in 1990, that – when a local jurisdiction is out of compliance with state housing element law – allows housing development project applications to be submitted that conform to prescribed development standards and new affordability requirements recently added to the statute. For jurisdictions that want to avoid Builder’s Remedy projects, the law offers a pathway to do so: get their housing elements approved before the deadline. Enforcement of state housing element law is key to addressing our housing affordability and availability crises and, therefore, we must strongly oppose AB 650 unless amended because it would take us backwards in this effort.
Committee Amendments: Staff recommends the bill be amended as follows:
- The Builder’s Remedy was modified just last year by AB 1893 (Wicks), which imposed new density and location restrictions in the HAA to better conform future Builder’s Remedy projects to their surrounding neighborhoods and created more certainty for developers utilizing the Builder’s Remedy in jurisdictions lacking compliant housing elements. The larger, more populous regions of the state will not begin preparing their seventh cycle housing elements until 2028, and other elements of this bill proposing to move the RHND and RHNA process earlier in sequence will mean local governments in the seventh cycle will have about 18 months to work on their housing elements, six months more time than under current law. Several factors converged in the sixth cycle that made the process more difficult than expected by many local governments and consultants who are often hired or contracted to prepare housing elements. These include changes to the RHND data methodology that more accurately captured the scale of the housing crisis and generated larger RHNA numbers, the inclusion of robust requirements to analyze fair housing issues and take steps to affirmatively further fair housing and delayed guidance from HCD on how to incorporate AFFH, new limitations on recycling old unbuilt or infeasible sites that prompted more intensive rezoning programs, and significant workload spikes for HCD staff reviewing lengthier and more involved housing elements that contributed to staff turnover challenges. Given the other provisions of this bill adding six months to the housing element preparation window for local governments and requiring HCD to provide more intensive, granular instructions on how to come into compliance, the committee may wish to consider striking the provisions of the bill allowing local governments to deny Builder’s Remedy projects:
GOV 65585. (f)(1) If the department finds that the draft element or draft amendment does not substantially comply with this article, the legislative body shall take one of the following actions:
(1) (A) Include the specific analysis or text in the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with this article, as required by the department pursuant to subdivision (d).
(B) Any change to a draft element or draft amendment pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (b). This subparagraph does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.
(C) Notwithstanding Section 65589.5, a jurisdiction shall not be required to approve a builder’s remedy project, as defined in paragraph (11) of subdivision (h) of Section 65889.5, within the planning agency’s jurisdiction during either of the following periods:
(i) The duration of the department’s review of a draft element or draft amendment revised pursuant to this paragraph.
(ii) Ninety days from the date the department notifies the planning agency of additional deficiencies not previously identified by the department in response to the prior submission of the draft element or draft amendment.
GOV 65589.5 (d)(7) On the date an application for the housing development project or emergency shelter was deemed complete, the jurisdiction did not have an adopted revised housing element that was in substantial compliance with this article, and the housing development project is a builder’s remedy project, and at least one of the conditions described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 65585 applies.
- Both this bill and AB 1275 (Elhawary) propose to modify timelines in the RHND process in different ways. This bill would require HCD to determine each region’s RHND at least 30 months prior to the housing element deadline, while AB 1275 proposes to require HCD to determine the RHND at least 36 months prior to the deadline. The committee may wish to consider harmonizing the RHND and COG consultation portions of the two bills by requiring HCD to determine the RHND 36 months prior to the deadline for regions with a COG, and 30 months prior if HCD acts as the region’s COG, phased in for those with due dates in 2027-29 as follows:
GOV 65584. (b) The department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months three years prior to the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except as provided in subparagraph (1). For cities and counties without a council of governments, the department shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least 30 months before the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588, except as provided in subparagraph (2). The appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and 65584.05. For the seventh housing element cycle, the department shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need as follows:
(1) For regions with a council of governments, the department, in consultation with each council of governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 as follows:
(A) For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year, the department shall determine the region’s housing need at least two years before the scheduled revision.
(B) For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2028 calendar year or the first six months of the 2029 calendar year, the department shall determine the region’s housing need at least 32 months before the scheduled revision.
(C) For regions with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the second six months of the 2029 calendar year or later, the department shall determine the region’s housing need at least three years before the scheduled revision.
(2) For cities and counties without a council of governments and with a scheduled housing element revision due date in the 2027 calendar year or the first six months of the 2028 calendar year, the department shall determine their existing and projected housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least two years before the scheduled revision.
GOV 65584.01. (b) (1) At least 32 38 months prior to the scheduled revision pursuant to Section 65588 and prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the region’s housing needs, except for the seventh housing element cycle, for which the department shall meet and consult with the council of governments at least two months prior to developing the existing and projected housing need for a region pursuant to the timelines in subparagraph (1) of paragraph (b) of Section 65584. The council of governments shall provide data assumptions from the council’s projections, including, if available, the following data for the region: […]
- While the bill modifies the timelines for a variety of RHND and RHNA code sections, it omits GOV 65584.03, which allows local governments to form a subregional entity underneath the COG that receives a direct allocation of the RHND from the COG and has the ability to establish its own RHNA methodology and allocation plan. The committee may wish to amend the bill to sync the deadlines in GOV 65584.03 with the amendments in 2) above to preserve the ability of local governments to form these entities.
GOV 65584.03. (a) At least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, at least two or more cities and a county, or counties, may form a subregional entity for the purpose of allocation of the subregion’s existing and projected need for housing among its members in accordance with the allocation methodology established pursuant to Section 65584.04. The purpose of establishing a subregion shall be to recognize the community of interest and mutual challenges and opportunities for providing housing within a subregion. A subregion formed pursuant to this section may include a single county and each of the cities in that county or any other combination of geographically contiguous local governments and shall be approved by the adoption of a resolution by each of the local governments in the subregion as well as by the council of governments. All decisions of the subregion shall be approved by vote as provided for in rules adopted by the local governments comprising the subregion or shall be approved by vote of the county or counties, if any, and the majority of the cities with the majority of population within a county or counties.
(b) Upon formation of the subregional entity, the entity shall notify the council of governments of this formation. If the council of governments has not received notification from an eligible subregional entity at least 28 34 months prior to the scheduled housing element update required by Section 65588, the council of governments shall implement the provisions of Sections 65584 and 65584.04. The delegate subregion and the council of governments shall enter into an agreement that sets forth the process, timing, and other terms and conditions of the delegation of responsibility by the council of governments to the subregion.
(c) At least 25 31 months prior to the scheduled revision, the council of governments shall determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion. The share or shares allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments shall be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan. Prior to allocating the regional housing needs to any delegate subregion or subregions, the council of governments shall hold at least one public hearing, and may consider requests for revision of the proposed allocation to a subregion. If a proposed revision is rejected, the council of governments shall respond with a written explanation of why the proposed revised share has not been accepted.
(d) Each delegate subregion shall fully allocate its share of the regional housing need to local governments within its subregion. If a delegate subregion fails to complete the regional housing need allocation process among its member jurisdictions in a manner consistent with this article and with the delegation agreement between the subregion and the council of governments, the allocations to member jurisdictions shall be made by the council of governments.
Related Legislation:
AB 1275 (Elhawary) of the current legislative session would requires HCD to determine each region with a COG’s existing and projected housing need three years prior to each region’s scheduled housing element revision, rather than two years as under existing law, and makes changes to how the transportation and job projections in a region’s sustainable communities strategy (SCS) must be incorporated into each COG’s RHNA methodology and final RHNA plan. This bill is currently pending a hearing before this committee.
AB 1886 (Alvarez), Chapter 267, Statutes of 2024: Clarified that a housing element or amendment is not considered substantially compliant with housing element law until the local agency has adopted a housing element that HCD has determined is in substantial compliance with housing element law, as specified.
AB 1893 (Wicks), Chapter 268, Statutes of 2024: Revised and clarified the Builder’s Remedy in the HAA.
Double-referred: This bill was also referred to the Assembly Committee on Local Government where it will be heard should it pass out of this committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
League of California Cities (Sponsor)
City of Artesia, California
City of Bell Gardens
City of Beverly Hills
City of Chino Hills
City of Citrus Heights
City of Corona
City of Cypress
City of Dinuba
City of Eastvale
City of Fullerton
City of Garden Grove
City of Hawaiian Gardens
City of Hermosa Beach
City of Indian Wells
City of Kerman
City of La Habra
City of LA Quinta
City of Lakewood
City of Lakewood
City of Lodi
City of Lomita
City of Long Beach
City of Los Alamitos
City of Madera
City of Manhattan Beach
City of Martinez
City of Mission Viejo
City of Oakley
City of Palm Desert
City of Palm Springs
City of Placentia
City of Redding
City of Redlands
City of Scotts Valley
City of Stanton
City of Temecula
City Of Thousand Oaks
City of Tulare
City of Tustin
City of Walnut Creek
City of Whittier
City of Woodland
Liz Morris, Councilmember, City of Delano
Individual - 1
Opposition
South Pasadena Residents for Responsible Growth
Oppose Unless Amended
California Association of Realtors
California Building Industry Association (CBIA)
Greenbelt Alliance
SPUR
The Two Hundred
Analysis Prepared by: Nicole Restmeyer / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
Discussed in Hearing
59SEC
Assembly Floor
2MIN
Senate Floor
24SEC
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
1MIN
Assembly Floor
9MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government
10MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development
Bill Author
