AB 670: Planning and zoning: housing element: converted affordable housing units.

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each city, county, and city and county to adopt a general plan that includes, among other things, a housing element. After a legislative body has adopted all or part of a general plan, existing law requires a planning agency among other things, to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to specified entities that includes prescribed information, including the number of housing development applications received in the prior year, as specified, the number of units of housing demolished, and the number of new units of housing, as specified.

This bill would, beginning with the report due by April 1, 2027, require specified information to be included in the report, including additional information regarding units of new housing, the units of housing demolished, and a report on replacement housing units, as specified.

For purposes of the housing element portion of the report described above, existing law authorizes a planning agency to include the number of units in an existing multifamily building that were converted to deed-restricted rental housing for moderate-income households by the imposition of affordability covenants and restrictions for the unit, as specified, if the units meet certain criteria.

This bill would, beginning with the report due by April 1, 2027, for purposes of the housing element portion of the report, authorize a planning agency to include the number of units in an existing multifamily building that were converted to affordable housing by imposition of long-term affordability covenants and restrictions that require the unit to be available to persons or families of low, very low, extremely low, or acutely low income at an affordable rent or affordable housing cost for at least 55 years, if the units meet certain criteria.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by AB 726 to be operative only if this bill and AB 726 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.