BILL NUMBER: AB 542 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Allen
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Section 65583.2 of the Government Code, relating
to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 542, as amended, Allen. Land use: housing element: regional
housing need.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to prepare
and adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan, and requires the
general plan to include specified, mandatory elements, including a
housing element. That law requires the housing element, in turn, to
contain, among other items, an assessment of housing needs and an
inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of
those needs. That law requires that assessment and inventory, in
turn, to contain an inventory of land suitable for residential
development.
That law requires a city or county to determine whether each site
in the inventory of land suitable for residential development can
accommodate some portion of the city's or county's share of the
regional housing need by income level, as specified, and the number
of housing units that can be accommodated on each site. That
law requires specified densities to be deemed That
law requires a city or county to prepare an analysis of how the
adopted densities accommodate the regional housing need for lower
income households in accordance with certain requirements, unless the
adopted density is deem ed to be appropriate to
accommodate housing for lower income households.
This bill would require densities less than those
specified to be deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower
income households, if the site is zoned to allow a minium residential
density of 10 units per acre, is located close to jobs and within
one mile of a grocery store or elementary school, and is either owned
by the county, is set aside for affordable housing development, and
will be provided for the development of affordable housing at no cost
to the developer, or the county has committed to providing subsidies
of at least 15% of the total development cost per unit for the
construction of affordable housing on the side during the planning
period, as specified modify the requirements that a
city or county must meet in preparing the analysis demonstrating how
the adopted densities accomodate the regional housing need for lower
income households, as specified .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65583.2 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
65583.2. (a) A city's or county's inventory of land suitable for
residential development pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a)
of Section 65583 shall be used to identify sites that can be
developed for housing within the planning period and that are
sufficient to provide for the jurisdiction's share of the regional
housing need for all income levels pursuant to Section 65584. As used
in this section, "land suitable for residential development"
includes all of the following:
(1) Vacant sites zoned for residential use.
(2) Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allows
residential development.
(3) Residentially zoned sites that are capable of being developed
at a higher density.
(4) Sites zoned for nonresidential use that can be redeveloped
for, and as necessary, rezoned for, residential use.
(b) The inventory of land shall include all of the following:
(1) A listing of properties by parcel number or other unique
reference.
(2) The size of each property listed pursuant to paragraph (1),
and the general plan designation and zoning of each property.
(3) For nonvacant sites, a description of the existing use of each
property.
(4) A general description of any environmental constraints to the
development of housing within the jurisdiction, the documentation for
which has been made available to the jurisdiction. This information
need not be identified on a site-specific basis.
(5) A general description of existing or planned water, sewer, and
other dry utilities supply, including the availability and access to
distribution facilities. This information need not be identified on
a site-specific basis.
(6) Sites identified as available for housing for above
moderate-income households in areas not served by public sewer
systems. This information need not be identified on a site-specific
basis.
(7) A map that shows the location of the sites included in the
inventory, such as the land use map from the jurisdiction's general
plan for reference purposes only.
(c) (1) Based on the information provided in
subdivision (b), a city or county shall determine whether each site
in the inventory can accommodate some portion of its share of the
regional housing need by income level during the planning period, as
determined pursuant to Section 65584. The analysis shall determine
whether the inventory can provide for a variety of types of housing,
including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing,
mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, emergency shelters,
and transitional housing. The city or county shall determine the
number of housing units that can be accommodated on each site as
follows:
(1)
(A) If local law or regulations require the development
of a site at a minimum density, the department shall accept the
planning agency's calculation of the total housing unit capacity on
that site based on the established minimum density. If the city or
county does not adopt a law or regulations requiring the development
of a site at a minimum density, then it shall demonstrate how the
number of units determined for that site pursuant to this subdivision
will be accommodated.
(2)
(B) The number of units calculated pursuant to
paragraph (1) subparagraph (A) shall be
adjusted as necessary, based on the land use controls and site
improvements requirement improvement
requirements identified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of
Section 65583.
(2) A city or county shall provide an analysis demonstrating how
the adopted densities on the sites designated for lower income
housing accommodate the need for housing affordable to lower income
households in either of the following ways:
(A) The analysis shall be based on substantial evidence and
include one or both of the following:
(i) An analysis demonstrating the financial feasibility of newly
constructing unsubsidized, market-rate housing that is affordable to
low-income and very low income households at the adopted densities.
(ii) An analysis demonstrating that the total development cost per
unit of newly constructing housing affordable to lower income
households at the adopted densities does not exceed the total
development cost per unit of newly constructing housing affordable to
lower income households at the densities specified in subparagraph
(B) and that the adopted densities do not reduce the ability of
housing developments affordable to lower income households to obtain
subsidies to meet all anticipated funding gaps. For the purposes of
this subparagraph, "total development cost" shall include, but not be
limited to, land, costs of construction, utility extensions,
architectural, engineering, and similar professional services, fees
imposed by public agencies, taxes, and construction financing costs.
(3) For the number of units calculated to accommodate its share of
the regional housing need for lower income households pursuant to
paragraph (2), a city or county shall do either of the following:
(A) Provide an analysis demonstrating how the adopted densities
accommodate this need. The analysis shall include, but is not limited
to, factors such as market demand, financial feasibility, or
information based on development project experience within a zone or
zones that provide housing for lower income households.
(B) The following densities shall be deemed appropriate to
accommodate housing for lower income households:
(i) For incorporated cities within nonmetropolitan counties and
for nonmetropolitan counties that have micropolitan areas: sites
allowing at least 15 units per acre.
(ii) For unincorporated areas in all nonmetropolitan counties not
included in clause (i): sites allowing at least 10 units per acre.
(iii) For suburban jurisdictions: sites allowing at least 20 units
per acre.
(iv) For jurisdictions in metropolitan counties: sites allowing at
least 30 units per acre.
(4) (A) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), a site
within the unincorporated area of a county shall be deemed
appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households if all
of the following criteria apply:
(i) Either of the following has occurred:
(I) The site is owned by the county, is set aside for affordable
housing, and the land will be provided for the development of
affordable housing at no cost to the developer.
(II) The county has committed to providing subsidies of at least
15 percent of the total development cost per unit for the
construction of affordable housing on the site during the planning
period.
(ii) The site is zoned to allow a minimum residential density of
10 units per acre.
(iii) The site is located close to jobs and within one mile of a
grocery store or an elementary school.
(B) If, by the end of the second year of the planning period, the
county has not entered into an enforceable agreement to provide
committed assistance, as defined by paragraph (4) of subdivision (c)
of Section 65583.1, for the development of affordable units on a site
included in a county's housing element pursuant to this paragraph,
the county shall, not later than July 1 of the fourth year of the
planning period, identify additional adequate sites pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583 sufficient to
accommodate the number of units for which committed assistance was
not provided.
(d) For purposes of this section, metropolitan counties,
nonmetropolitan counties, and nonmetropolitan counties with
micropolitan areas are as determined by the United States Census
Bureau. Nonmetropolitan counties with micropolitan areas include the
following counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada,
Tehama, and Tuolumne and such other counties as may be determined by
the United States Census Bureau to be nonmetropolitan counties with
micropolitan areas in the future.
(e) A jurisdiction is considered suburban if the jurisdiction does
not meet the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (3) (2) of subdivision
(c) and is located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of less
than 2,000,000 in population, unless that jurisdiction's population
is greater than 100,000, in which case it is considered metropolitan.
Counties, not including the City and County of San Francisco, will
be considered suburban unless they are in a MSA of 2,000,000 or
greater in population in which case they are considered metropolitan.
(f) A jurisdiction is considered metropolitan if the jurisdiction
does not meet the requirements for "suburban area" above and is
located in a MSA of 2,000,000 or greater in population, unless that
jurisdiction's population is less than 25,000 in which case it is
considered suburban.
(g) For sites described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the
city or county shall specify the additional development potential for
each site within the planning period and shall provide an
explanation of the methodology used to determine the development
potential. The methodology shall consider factors including the
extent to which existing uses may constitute an impediment to
additional residential development, development trends, market
conditions, and regulatory or other incentives or standards to
encourage additional residential development on these sites.
(h) The program required by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c) of Section 65583 shall accommodate 100 percent of the
need for housing for very low and low-income households allocated
pursuant to Section 65584 for which site capacity has not been
identified in the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) on sites that shall be zoned to permit owner-occupied
and rental multifamily residential use by right during the planning
period. These sites shall be zoned with minimum density and
development standards that permit at least 16 units per site at a
density of at least 16 units per acre in jurisdictions described in
clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3)
(2) of subdivision (c) and at least 20 units per acre in
jurisdictions described in clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (3) (2) of subdivision
(c). At least 50 percent of the very low and low-income housing need
shall be accommodated on sites designated for residential use and for
which nonresidential uses or mixed uses are not permitted.
(i) For purposes of this section and Section 65583, the phrase
"use by right" shall mean that the local government's review of the
owner-occupied or multifamily residential use may not require a
conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other
discretionary local government review or approval that would
constitute a "project" for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. Any subdivision of the
sites shall be subject to all laws, including, but not limited to,
the local government ordinance implementing the Subdivision Map Act.
A local ordinance may provide that "use by right" does not exempt the
use from design review. However, that design review shall not
constitute a "project" for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. Use by right for all
rental multifamily residential housing shall be provided in
accordance with subdivision (f) of Section 65589.5.