California SB 457

The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law requires the housing element to include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, 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 jurisdiction's duty to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law requires a city or county, based on that inventory of land, to determine whether each site in the inventory can accommodate the development of some portion of its share of the regional housing need by income level during the planning period, as provided. Existing law requires the inventory of land to include, among other things, a description of the existing use of the property for nonvacant sites. For the nonvacant sites, existing law requires the city or county to specify the additional development potential for each site within the planning period. Existing law requires a city or county to rezone sites according to a specified program if the inventory of sites suitable and available for residential development does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2028, the Department of Housing and Community Development to promulgate or approve one or more formulas and associated user interfaces or other tools that allow for the determination of specified information, including, among other things, the realistic capacity of housing element inventory sites, as specified. The bill would authorize the above-described analysis and determinations by a city or county related to sites in the inventory of land suitable and available for residential development to rely on the formula promulgated or approved by the department. The bill would authorize the department to hire economists and data scientists for the purpose of promulgating the formulas and associated user interfaces or other tools. This bill would require the inventory of land suitable and available for residential development to specify the number of units allowed to be built on each site at the time of the housing element's adoption, and the number that will be allowed after rezoning, as specified, to accommodate the city's or county's share of regional housing need. This bill would exempt the use by a city or county of any adopted formula, associated user interface, or tool promulgated or approved by the department for these purposes from judicial review, except as specified. Existing law also requires that the housing element, among other things, sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals of the housing element, as provided. Existing law authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to allow a city or county to substitute the provision of units pursuant to this schedule of actions if the community includes in its housing element a program committing the local government to provide specified units that will be made available through the provision of committed assistance to lower income households at affordable housing costs or rents, as defined. Existing law requires a unit to meet specified requirements to qualify for inclusion in the program. Existing law defines "committed assistance" for these purposes to mean that the city or county enters into a legally enforceable agreement during a specified time period that obligates sufficient available funds or other in-kind services to provide the assistance necessary to make the identified units affordable and that requires that the units be made available for occupancy within 2 years of the execution of the agreement. This bill would define "in-kind services" for these purposes.