SB 457

Bill Subjects

Housingaccountabilityact Housingelementcompliance Housingdisapprovals

Abstract

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, 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 within the Planning and Zoning Law, the Housing Accountability Act, among other things, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households or an emergency shelter unless the local agency makes written findings, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that one of 6 specified conditions exist. Among these conditions, the act allows a local agency to disapprove a housing development project that is inconsistent with the jurisdiction's zoning ordinances and general plan land use designation as it existed on the date the application was deemed complete, if the jurisdiction has adopted a revised housing element that is in substantial compliance with the housing element law, as specified. The act defines "deemed complete" for purposes of its provisions, until January 1, 2030, to mean that the applicant has submitted a preliminary application, as specified, or if the applicant has not submitted a preliminary application, the submission of a completed application, as specified. This bill, for the purpose of allowing a local agency to disapprove a housing development project that is inconsistent with the jurisdiction's zoning ordinances and general plan land use designation, as described above, would revise the definition of "deemed complete" to mean that the applicant submitted a complete application, as specified. The bill would provide that this definition would apply to an application that as of January 1, 2026 has not (1) received approval from a local agency or (2) incurred substantial liability in good faith reliance upon the local agency approval. Existing law provides that a housing element or amendment is considered substantially compliant with the housing element law when the local agency adopts a housing element or amendment, the department or a court of competent jurisdiction determines the adopted housing element or amendment to be in substantial compliance with the housing element law, and the department's compliance findings have not been superseded by subsequent contrary findings by the department or by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction or the court's decision has not been overturned or superseded by a subsequent court decision or by statute, as applicable. This bill would, instead, provide that a housing element or amendment is considered substantially compliant with the housing element law on the date when the governing body of a local agency adopts the housing element or amendment, provided that after the date the housing element or amendment is adopted and without further action by the governing body, the department or a court of competent jurisdiction determines the adopted housing element or amendment to be in substantial compliance with the housing element law, and the department's compliance findings are not superseded by subsequent contrary findings by the department or by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction or the court's decision is not overturned or superseded by a subsequent court decision or by statute.