Changes how regional housing needs are set

(1)The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a draft of the housing element to the Department of Housing and Community Development for review, as specified.

Existing law requires the department, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in accordance with specified requirements. Existing law requires the appropriate council of governments, or the department for a city and county that does not have a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county in accordance with certain requirements and procedures, including that a specified type of ordinance or policy that limits the number of residential building permits issued by a city or county may not be used as a justification for a determination or reduction in a jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need.

This bill would prohibit the prior underproduction of housing in a city or county from the previous cycle and stable population numbers in a city or county from the previous cycle from being used as a justification for a determination or a reduction in the jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need.

(2)Existing law requires, at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element and developing the existing and projected housing need for a region, 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 region’s housing needs. Existing law requires the council of governments to provide data assumptions from the council’s projections, including, if available, specified data factors for the region, including, data relating to the percentage of renter’s households that are overcrowded and vacancy rates for healthy housing market functioning and regional mobility. Existing law requires the department, after consulting with the council of governments, to determine, in writing, the data assumptions for each of the data factors provided, as well as the methodology the department will use.

This bill would additionally require the council of governments to provide data on the overcrowding rate for a comparable housing market, and would define the vacancy rate for a healthy rental housing market for those purposes to be no less than 5%. The bill would also require the council of governments to include data on the percentage of households that are cost burdened, the rate of housing cost for a healthy housing market, and data on the projected household income growth. This bill would provide that statutory changes enacted after the date the department issued a final determination do not provide a basis for a revision of the final determination.

This bill would require the methodology approved by the department to grant allowances to adjust for data factors relating to overcrowding, vacancy rates, and households that are cost burdened, as described above, based on the region’s total projected households, which includes existing households as well as future projected households.

(3)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 is consistent with 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 include specified factors to develop the methodology that allocates regional housing needs including, among other factors, the opportunities and constraints regarding development of addition housing in each member jurisdiction, such as lands preserved or protected from urban development under existing federal or state programs, or both, designed to protect open space, farmland, environmental habitats, and natural resources on a long-term basis.

This bill would revise this factor to also include lands zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation that are subject to a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction that prohibits or restricts their conversion to nonagricultural uses.

(4)By expanding the duties of local governments relating to the housing element program and the final regional housing need plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1771 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1771 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1771 and AB 2238 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 1771 and AB 2238 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1771 and AB 2238 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 1771 and AB 2238 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(6)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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.