AB 2234

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the Permit Streamlining Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each public agency to provide a development project applicant with a list that specifies the information that will be required from any applicant for a development project. The act requires public agencies to approve or disapprove of a development project within certain specified timeframes. Existing law requires a city, county, or special district to provide specified information, including a current schedule of fees, exactions, and affordability requirements applicable to a proposed housing development project, and an archive of impact fee nexus studies, cost of service studies, or equivalent studies, conducted by the city, county, or special district, on its internet website. The Housing Accountability Act, among other things, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, specified housing development projects, including projects for very low, low, or moderate-income households and projects for emergency shelters, that comply with applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and subdivision standards and criteria in effect at the time the application for the project is deemed complete, unless the local agency makes specified written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence in the record. The act authorizes a project applicant, a person who would be eligible to apply for residency in the housing development or emergency shelter, or a housing organization to bring a lawsuit to enforce its provisions. This bill would require a local agency to compile a list of information needed to approve or deny a postentitlement phase permit, as defined, to post an example of a complete, approved application and an example of a complete set of postentitlement phase permits for at least 5 types of housing development projects, as defined, in the jurisdiction, as specified, and to make those items available to all applicants for these permits no later than January 1, 2024. The bill would define "local agency" for these purposes to mean a city, county, or city and county. This bill would require a local agency, beginning on specified dates determined by population size, to provide an option for postentitlement phase permits to be applied for, completed, and retrieved by the applicant on its internet website, and accept applications for postentitlement phase permits and any related documentation by electronic mail until that process has been established. The bill would require the local agency to list on their internet website or provide by electronic mail upon request, as applicable, the current processing status of the applicant's permit. This bill would establish time limits for completing reviews regarding whether an application for a postentitlement phase permit is complete and compliant, and whether to approve or deny an application, as specified, and would make any failure to meet these time limits a disapproval of the housing development project and a violation of the Housing Accountability Act. The bill would define specified terms for its purposes. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Coastal Act of 1976 provides for the planning and regulation of development, under a coastal development permit process, within the coastal zone, as defined, based on various coastal resources planning and management policies set forth in the act. This bill would provide that the above provisions would not apply to permits required and issued by specified government agencies, including permits required and issued by the California Coastal Commission. (3) The Housing Accountability Act also requires a housing development project to be subject only to the ordinances, policies, and standards adopted and in effect when a preliminary application is submitted, except as specified. Existing law specifies the act does not prohibit a housing development project that is an affordable housing project from being subject to ordinances, policies, and standards adopted after the preliminary application was submitted if the project has not commenced construction within 3.5 years. Existing law defines "affordable housing project" for purposes of those provisions to mean a housing development in which units within the development are subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years, among other things. This bill would instead require either that units within the development be subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years for rental housing and 45 years for owner-occupied housing or that the first purchaser of each unit participate in an equity sharing agreement, as specified. (4) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, counties, and cities and counties, including charter cities, counties, and cities and counties. (5) 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.