AB 73 — Planning and zoning: housing sustainability districts.

Summary

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law provides for various reforms and incentives intended to facilitate and expedite the construction of affordable housing. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county, including a charter city, charter county, or charter city and county, to establish by ordinance a housing sustainability district that meets specified requirements, including authorizing residential use within the district through the ministerial issuance of a permit. The bill would authorize the city, county, or city and county to apply to the Department of Housing and Community Development for approval for a zoning incentive payment and require the city, county, or city and county to provide specified information about the proposed housing sustainability district ordinance. The bill would require the department to approve a zoning incentive payment if the ordinance meets the above-described requirements and the city's housing element is in compliance with specified law. The bill would also require the department, each October 1 following the approval of the housing sustainability district, to issue a certificate of compliance if the city, county, or city and county meets specified criteria pertaining to the continued compliance with these provisions or to deny certification, as provided. The bill would provide that a city, county, or city and county with a housing sustainability district would be entitled to a zoning incentive payment, subject to appropriation of funds for that purpose, and require that 12 the amount be provided upon zone approval by the department and 12 the amount upon verification by the department of the issuance of permits for the projected units of residential construction within the zone, provided that the city, county, or city and county has received a certificate of compliance for the applicable year. The bill, if the city, county, or city and county reduces the density of sites within the district from specified levels, would require the city, county, or city and county to return the full amount of zoning incentive payments it has received to the department. The bill would also authorize a developer to develop a project in a housing sustainability district in accordance with the already existing land use approval procedures that would otherwise apply to the parcel in the absence of the establishment of the housing sustainability district pursuant to its provisions, as provided. The bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to incorporate provisions in its housing sustainability district ordinance prescribing the contents of an application for a permit for residential development, to adopt design review standards, and to charge a project application fee to defray the costs of preparation, adoption, and administration of the housing sustainability district plan, as provided. The bill would require that a housing sustainability district ordinance be effective for no more than 10 years, but would authorize the city, county, or city and county to renew the ordinance for not more than 10 years. The bill would also require that prevailing wages be paid, and a skilled workforce employed, in connection with all projects within the housing sustainability district, as provided. The bill would establish procedures for review of an application by an approving authority, including requiring the approving authority to conduct a public hearing on an application and issue a written decision within 120 days of receipt of the application. The bill, if a proposed development within a housing sustainability district includes any parcels being used for affordable housing, would require that the approving authority condition approval of the application on the applicant's agreement to replace those affordable housing units. The bill would also prescribe procedures for review of a decision of the approving authority to deny or approve with conditions an application for a permit in the superior court. The bill would authorize the department to adopt, amend, and repeal standards, forms, or definitions to implement its provisions and exempt those standards, forms, or definitions from specified provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act governing rulemaking. The bill would require the department to publish a report containing specified information about the housing sustainability district program on its Internet Web site no later than November 1, 2018, and each November 1 thereafter. (2) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would require a lead agency, when designating housing sustainability districts, to prepare an EIR for the designation, as specified. The bill would exempt from CEQA housing projects undertaken in the housing sustainability districts that meet specified requirements. (3) This bill would declare that its provisions are not severable. The bill would also make findings that it addresses a matter of statewide concern. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65582.1 of the Government Code proposed by SB 35 to be operative only if this bill and SB 35 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/29/17 - Chaptered Current pdf September 29, 2017
• Enrolled 09/19/17 - Enrolled pdf September 19, 2017
• Amended 07/13/17 - Amended Senate pdf July 13, 2017
• Amended 06/19/17 - Amended Senate pdf June 19, 2017
• Amended 05/02/17 - Amended Assembly pdf May 02, 2017
• Amended 03/28/17 - Amended Assembly pdf March 28, 2017
• Introduced 12/16/16 - Introduced pdf December 16, 2016
• AB73 View text html

Action History

1. September 29, 2017

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 371, Statutes of 2017.

2. September 29, 2017

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 26, 2017

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

4. September 15, 2017

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 54. Noes 23. Page 3507.).

5. September 15, 2017

   Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3507.)

6. September 15, 2017

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

7. September 15, 2017

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 25. Noes 10. Page 2956.).

8. July 18, 2017

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

9. July 17, 2017

   From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 17).

10. July 13, 2017

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR.

11. July 12, 2017

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

12. July 06, 2017

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on GOV. & F. (Ayes 4. Noes 2.) (July 5). Re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

13. June 28, 2017

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on EQ. (Ayes 8. Noes 3.) (June 27). Re-referred to Com. on EQ.

14. June 19, 2017

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on T. & H.

15. June 14, 2017

    Referred to Coms. on T. & H., EQ. and GOV. & F.

16. June 05, 2017

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

17. June 01, 2017

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 56. Noes 20. Page 2054.)

18. May 30, 2017

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

19. May 26, 2017

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 5.) (May 26).

20. May 17, 2017

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

21. May 03, 2017

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

22. May 02, 2017

    Read second time and amended.

23. May 01, 2017

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 1.) (April 24).

24. April 06, 2017

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.

25. March 29, 2017

    Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

26. March 28, 2017

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended.

27. February 09, 2017

    Coauthors revised.

28. January 19, 2017

    Referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and NAT. RES.

29. January 04, 2017

    Read first time.

30. December 19, 2016

    From printer. May be heard in committee January 18.

31. December 16, 2016

    Introduced. To print.

Sponsors

• Caballero · Cosponsor
• Marc Berman · Cosponsor
• Chiu · Primary
• Gloria · Cosponsor
• Ash Kalra · Cosponsor
• Mullin · Cosponsor
• Santiago · Cosponsor
• Ting · Cosponsor
• Mia Bonta · Cosponsor

Votes

Subjects