On Thursday, Sept. 19, Gov. Newsom signed a package of housing
bills designed to address the housing crisis affecting California.
Below is a brief summary of key bills. Check back here as we will be providing more detailed
analysis of several of these bills.
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Bill |
Summary |
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AB 1886: Housing Element Law: substantial
compliance: Housing Accountability Act |
Clarifies that the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) or a court determines when a housing element
substantially complies with state law, not the local agency
adopting the housing element Ends local agencies' claims that they
"self-certified" their housing elements to avoid the
Builder's Remedy |
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AB 1893: Housing Accountability Act: housing
disapprovals: required local findings |
Provides more certainty and flexibility for Builder's Remedy projects, including lower affordability requirements, in exchange for guardrails on aspects of Builder's Remedy projects, including the density. Supplements protections for all housing projects by further
limiting local agencies' actions that delay or effectively deny
housing projects |
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Expands the authority of the California Attorney General's
Office to seek civil penalties and attorneys' fees to enforce
Housing Element Law and state laws requiring ministerial approvals
of housing |
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Establishes time frames in the Housing Accountability Act for local agencies to consider objections, comments, evidence and concerns before determining whether a housing development project is exempt from CEQA Requires that an applicant's written notice requesting CEQA
exemption be posted on the local agency's website |
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Refines the process by which an applicant may request that a
court require a plaintiff challenging a housing development project
to post a bond to cover the applicant's costs associated with
delays caused by a meritless lawsuit |
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Strengthens SB 9, which legalizes duplex projects and lot splits, by limiting the standards that apply and adding processing timelines Adds legislative findings that undermine a recent trial court
ruling that found SB 9 does not apply in certain charter
cities |
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AB 2243: Housing development projects: objective
standards: affordability and site criteria |
Broadens the scope of the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, enacted by AB 2011, which provides a streamlined, ministerial review process for certain affordable and mixed-income housing developments in commercial zones Allows for streamlined approval on sites up to 100 acres for the redevelopment of regional malls, as defined Imposes additional health and safety requirements for
developments within 500 feet of a freeway |
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AB 2199: CEQA: exemption: residential or mixed-use
housing projects |
Extends the sunset date on an existing CEQA exemption for residential and mixed-use housing projects located in unincorporated areas of a county Makes this exemption inapplicable to a project that may cause
substantial adverse impacts to tribal cultural resources |
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SB 312: CEQA: university housing development
projects: exemption |
Extends the sunset date on an existing CEQA exemption for university housing development projects that meet certain green building standards Revises the exemption to require that the site be identified for
housing in the most recent long-range development plan EIR; relaxes
several conditions for qualifying for the exemption |
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SB 1123: Planning and zoning: subdivisions:
ministerial review |
Expands the scope of SB 684, which allowed for ministerial subdivisions in multifamily zones, to apply in single- family zones Clarifies provisions in SB 684 to ensure that different
homeownership types (e.g., tenancies in common and community land
trusts) and builders are eligible to use the bill |
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Increases the number of detached accessory dwelling units that
can be built on a lot with an existing multifamily dwelling to the
number of existing units or 8 units, whichever is less |
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AB 2117: Development permit expirations: actions
or proceedings |
Extends the permit expiration date for the duration of any
litigation challenging the permit |
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AB 2430: Planning and zoning: density bonuses:
monitoring fees |
Prohibits a local agency from charging a monitoring fee where Density Bonus Law applies unless certain conditions are met Applies retroactively to qualifying projects starting Jan. 1,
2025 |
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AB 2553: Housing development: major transit stops:
vehicular traffic impact fees |
Expands the definition of "major transit stop" to
include bus stops with a frequency of service of 20 minutes or
less |
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Prohibits local agencies from charging fees prior to the date of the final inspection or the date the certificate of occupancy is issued (whichever is first) except for utilities fees, which may be collected when the services are received with certain exceptions Applies to 100% affordable projects, projects of 10 units or
fewer, and projects that utilize Density Bonus Law |
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AB 3117: Mitigation Fee Act: land dedications:
mitigating vehicular traffic impacts |
Revises the Mitigation Fee Act to reduce vehicular traffic impact fees for projects in a transit priority area Prohibits a local agency, with some limited exceptions, from imposing a land dedication requirement to widen a roadway |
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
