California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1537


Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

January 22, 2014


An act to amend Section 65583.2 of the Government Code, relating to land use.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1537, as introduced, Levine. General plan housing element: regional housing need.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, or city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. That law requires the housing element to, among other things, include an inventory of land suitable for residential development and make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. That law prescribes the densities appropriate to accomodate housing for lower income households and varies those densities depending upon how an area is classified, whether as metropolitan, suburban, or in another category. A city, county, or city and county is required to submit a draft housing element or draft amendment to its housing element to the Department of Housing and Community Development for a determination of whether the draft substantially complies with state law governing housing elements.

This bill would require a county in a Metropolitan Statistical Area of 2,000,000 or more and that has a population of less than 400,000 to be considered suburban for purposes of determining the densities appropriate to accomodate housing for lower income households. The bill would, for that same purpose, also require a city that has a population of less than 100,000 and is incorporated within that county to be considered suburban.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 65583.2 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

65583.2.  

(a) A city’s or county’s inventory of land suitable
4for residential development pursuant to paragraph (3) of
5subdivision (a) of Section 65583 shall be used to identify sites that
6can be developed for housing within the planning period and that
7are sufficient to provide for the jurisdiction’s share of the regional
8housing need for all income levels pursuant to Section 65584. As
9used in this section, “land suitable for residential development”
10includes all of the following:

11(1) Vacant sites zoned for residential use.

12(2) Vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allows
13residential development.

14(3) Residentially zoned sites that are capable of being developed
15at a higher density.

16(4) Sites zoned for nonresidential use that can be redeveloped
17for, and as necessary, rezoned for, residential use.

18(b) The inventory of land shall include all of the following:

19(1) A listing of properties by parcel number or other unique
20reference.

21(2) The size of each property listed pursuant to paragraph (1),
22and the general plan designation and zoning of each property.

23(3) For nonvacant sites, a description of the existing use of each
24property.

25(4) A general description of any environmental constraints to
26the development of housing within the jurisdiction, the
27documentation for which has been made available to the
28jurisdiction. This information need not be identified on a
29site-specific basis.

30(5) A general description of existing or planned water, sewer,
31and other dry utilities supply, including the availability and access
32to distribution facilities. This information need not be identified
33on a site-specific basis.

P3    1(6) Sites identified as available for housing for above
2moderate-income households in areas not served by public sewer
3systems. This information need not be identified on a site-specific
4basis.

5(7) A map that shows the location of the sites included in the
6inventory, such as the land use map from the jurisdiction’s general
7plan for reference purposes only.

8(c) Based on the information provided in subdivision (b), a city
9or county shall determine whether each site in the inventory can
10accommodate some portion of its share of the regional housing
11need by income level during the planning period, as determined
12pursuant to Section 65584. The analysis shall determine whether
13the inventory can provide for a variety of types of housing,
14including multifamily rental housing, factory-built housing,
15mobilehomes, housing for agricultural employees, emergency
16shelters, and transitional housing. The city or county shall
17determine the number of housing units that can be accommodated
18on each site as follows:

19(1) If local law or regulations require the development of a site
20at a minimum density, the department shall accept the planning
21agency’s calculation of the total housing unit capacity on that site
22based on the established minimum density. If the city or county
23does not adopt a law or regulations requiring the development of
24a site at a minimum density, then it shall demonstrate how the
25number of units determined for that site pursuant to this subdivision
26will be accommodated.

27(2) The number of units calculated pursuant to paragraph (1)
28shall be adjusted as necessary, based on the land use controls and
29site improvements requirement identified in paragraph (5) of
30subdivision (a) of Section 65583.

31(3) For the number of units calculated to accommodate its share
32of the regional housing need for lower income households pursuant
33to paragraph (2), a city or county shall do either of the following:

34(A) Provide an analysis demonstrating how the adopted densities
35accommodate this need. The analysis shall include, but is not
36limited to, factors such as market demand, financial feasibility, or
37information based on development project experience within a
38zone or zones that provide housing for lower income households.

39(B) The following densities shall be deemed appropriate to
40accommodate housing for lower income households:

P4    1(i) For begin insertan end insertincorporatedbegin delete citiesend deletebegin insert cityend insert within begin inserta end insertnonmetropolitan
2begin delete countiesend deletebegin insert countyend insert and for begin inserta end insertnonmetropolitanbegin delete countiesend deletebegin insert countyend insert that
3begin deletehaveend deletebegin insert has aend insert micropolitanbegin delete areas:end deletebegin insert area:end insert sites allowing at least 15 units
4per acre.

5(ii) For begin insertan end insertunincorporatedbegin delete areasend deletebegin insert areaend insert inbegin delete allend deletebegin insert aend insert nonmetropolitan
6begin delete countiesend deletebegin insert countyend insert not included in clause (i): sites allowing at least
710 units per acre.

8(iii) For begin inserta end insertsuburbanbegin delete jurisdictions:end deletebegin insert jurisdiction,end insert sites allowing at
9least 20 units per acre.

10(iv) Forbegin delete jurisdictionsend deletebegin insert a jurisdictionend insert in begin inserta end insertmetropolitanbegin delete counties:end delete
11begin insert county:end insert sites allowing at least 30 units per acre.

12(d) For purposes of this section,begin insert aend insert metropolitanbegin delete counties,end deletebegin insert county,end insert
13 nonmetropolitanbegin delete counties,end deletebegin insert county,end insert and nonmetropolitanbegin delete countiesend delete
14begin insert countyend insert with begin inserta end insertmicropolitanbegin delete areas areend deletebegin insert area shall beend insert as determined
15by the United States Census Bureau.begin delete Nonmetropolitancountiesend deletebegin insert A
16nonmetropolitan countyend insert
with begin inserta end insertmicropolitanbegin delete areas include end delete
17begin insertareaend insertbegin insertincludes end insertthe following counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake,
18Mendocino, Nevada, Tehama, and Tuolumne andbegin delete suchend delete other
19counties as may be determined by the United States Census Bureau
20to be nonmetropolitan counties with micropolitan areas in the
21future.

22(e) A jurisdictionbegin delete isend deletebegin insert shall beend insert considered suburban if the
23jurisdiction does not meet the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii)
24of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) and is
25located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of less than
262,000,000 in population, unless that jurisdiction’s population is
27greater than 100,000, in which case itbegin delete isend deletebegin insert shall beend insert considered
28metropolitan.begin delete Countiesend deletebegin insert A countyend insert, not including the City and County
29of San Francisco,begin delete willend deletebegin insert shallend insert be considered suburban unlessbegin delete they
30areend delete
begin insert the county isend insert in a MSA of 2,000,000 or greater in population
31in which casebegin delete they areend deletebegin insert the county shall beend insert considered metropolitan.
32begin insert A county that is included in a MSA of 2,000,000 or greater in
33population, and has a population of less than 400,000 shall be
34considered suburban. When this county includes an incorporated
35city that has a population of less than 100,000, this city shall also
36be considered suburban.end insert

37(f) A jurisdictionbegin delete isend deletebegin insert shall beend insert considered metropolitan if the
38jurisdiction does not meet the requirements for “suburban area”
39above and is located in a MSA of 2,000,000 or greater in
P5    1population, unless that jurisdiction’s population is less than 25,000
2in which case itbegin delete isend deletebegin insert shall beend insert considered suburban.

3(g) For sites described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the
4city or county shall specify the additional development potential
5for each site within the planning period and shall provide an
6explanation of the methodology used to determine the development
7potential. The methodology shall consider factors including the
8extent to which existing uses may constitute an impediment to
9additional residential development, development trends, market
10conditions, and regulatory or other incentives or standards to
11encourage additional residential development on these sites.

12(h) The program required by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1)
13of subdivision (c) of Section 65583 shall accommodate 100 percent
14of the need for housing for very low and low-income households
15allocated pursuant to Section 65584 for which site capacity has
16not been identified in the inventory of sites pursuant to paragraph
17(3) of subdivision (a) on sites that shall be zoned to permit
18owner-occupied and rental multifamily residential use by right
19during the planning period. These sites shall be zoned with
20minimum density and development standards that permit at least
2116 units per site at a density of at least 16 units per acre in
22jurisdictions described in clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of
23paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) and at least 20 units per acre in
24jurisdictions described in clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (B)
25of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c). At least 50 percent of the very
26low and low-income housing need shall be accommodated on sites
27designated for residential use and for which nonresidential uses
28or mixed-uses are not permitted.

29(i) For purposes of this section and Section 65583, the phrase
30“use by right” shall mean that the local government’s review of
31the owner-occupied or multifamily residential use may not require
32a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other
33discretionary local government review or approval that would
34constitute a “project” for purposes of Division 13 (commencing
35with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. Any subdivision
36of the sites shall be subject to all laws, including, but not limited
37to, the local government ordinance implementing the Subdivision
38Map Act. A local ordinance may provide that “use by right” does
39not exempt the use from design review. However, that design
40review shall not constitute a “project” for purposes of Division 13
P6    1(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
2Use by right for all rental multifamily residential housing shall be
3provided in accordance with subdivision (f) of Section 65589.5.



O

    99