SB 715: Regional housing need: methodology: distribution.

The Planning and Zoning Law, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as provided, and requires the appropriate council of governments or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, to adopt a final regional housing need plan allocating a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county. Existing law requires the department to 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 and requires the council of governments to provide data assumptions, including specified information regarding housing availability within the region. Existing law requires the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or subregion, as applicable, that furthers specified objectives. Existing law, to the extent that sufficient data is available as provided, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to consider including specified factors to develop the methodology that allocates regional housing needs, including the loss of units during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis.

This bill would remove the requirement that the loss of units factor be considered and instead require the draft methodology to allocate some or all of the housing need resulting from units lost during a state of emergency that was declared by the Governor during the planning period immediately preceding the relevant revision that have yet to be rebuilt or replaced at the time of the analysis to jurisdictions other than the jurisdictions in which the lost units were located. those lost units to be distributed proportionally according to the regions proposed methodology, as provided, and would prohibit the lost units from solely being distributed to the jurisdictions in which they were lost. By imposing additional duties on councils of governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law, for cities and counties without a council of governments, requires the department to determine and distribute the existing and projected housing need. If the department determines that a county or counties and a majority of cities within the county or counties representing a majority of the population of the county or counties possess the capability and resources and has agreed to accept the responsibility for the distribution of the regional housing need, as specified, existing law requires the department to delegate this responsibility to the cities and county or counties. Existing law requires the distribution of regional housing need to take into consideration certain factors. Existing law also requires, as part of the allocation of the regional housing need, the department to provide each city and county with data describing the assumptions and methodology used in calculating its share of the regional housing need. Existing law authorizes a city or county to propose to revise the determination of its share of the regional housing need in accordance with criteria set forth in the draft distribution within a specified timeframe. If the department grants a revised allocation, existing law requires the department to ensure that the total regional housing need is maintained.

This bill would require the department to adjust the allocation described above, including by, among other things, reducing the allocation to each city and county by a percentage equal to the percentage of land suitable for urban development or for conversion to residential use, as provided, within the city and county that is located with a very high fire risk area, as defined. The bill would modify the authorization for a city or county proposing to revise its determination of its share of the regional housing need by requiring the proposal to be subject to the adjustments described above. The bill would also require any revised allocation to be consistent with adjustments described above. or the entities delegated, as described above, to allocate the units lost in a state of emergency based on the allocation methodology.

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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.