AB 2667

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing, and take no action that is materially inconsistent with its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Existing law defines "affirmatively furthering fair housing" as taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. 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, commonly referred to as the Housing Element Law, prescribes requirements for a city's or county's preparation of, and compliance with, its housing element, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and determine whether the housing element substantially complies with the Housing Element Law, as specified. Existing law requires a housing element to contain an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having realistic and demonstrated potential for redevelopment during the planning period to meet the locality's housing need for a designated income level. Existing law requires a housing element to include a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation such that there will be beneficial impacts of the programs within the planning period, that the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element through, among other things, the administration of land use and development controls and the provision of regulatory concessions and incentives. Existing law requires this program to affirmatively further fair housing and consist of specified components, including a summary of fair housing issues in the jurisdiction and an assessment of the jurisdiction's fair housing enforcement and fair housing outreach capacity. This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a standardized reporting format for programs and actions taken with regards to the local agency affirmatively further fair housing that enables the reporting of the assessment components described-above, as specified. The bill would require local governments to utilize the standardized reporting format for the 7th and each subsequent revision of the housing element. This bill would require a planning agency, for the 7th and each subsequent revision of the housing element, to make a draft of its inventory of sites required under the Housing Element Law available to the department and the public, post the draft inventory on its internet website, and send a notification email to individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices at least 90 days before the initial adoption of the housing element and at least 7 days before any subsequent adoption submittal if changes have occurred to the inventory of sites. Existing law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to the Department of Housing and Community Development that includes, among other things, the agency's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs, as specified, the number of units included in all development applications in the prior year, and the number of units approved and disapproved in the prior year. This bill would require that the portion of the annual report indicating the number of units that were approved and disapproved in the prior year, as described above, include specified subcategories, including the number of those units located within an opportunity area, as defined. Because the bill would impose new duties on local governments when developing its inventory of sites and annual report, it would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.