Land use: housing element.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element that analyzes existing and projected housing needs and includes a statement of goals, quantified objectives, policies, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element is required to identify the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The Department of Housing and Community Development is authorized to allow a city, county, or city and county to substitute the provision of units for up to 25% of the community's obligation to identify adequate sites for any income category in its housing element, as specified, when the community includes in its housing element a program committing the local government to provide units in that income category within the city, county, or city and county that will be made available through the provision of committed assistance during the planning period covered by the housing element to low- and very low income households at affordable housing costs or affordable rents, as defined. Units that are to be substantially rehabilitated with committed assistance from the city, county, or city and county and constitute a net increase in the community's housing stock may be included in this housing element program, if the units meet certain criteria. Existing law defines various terms for use of these provisions. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to include weatherization and energy efficiency improvements as part of its efforts to substantially rehabilitate a unit, and modify the definition of "committed assistance" for purposes of specified provisions. The bill would also define "planning period" and "projection period" for purposes of specified provisions, if SB 575 is not enacted. The Planning and Zoning Law requires a planning agency, after a legislative body has adopted all or part of a general plan, to provide an annual report to the legislative body, the Office of Planning and Research, and the Department of Housing and Community Development on the status of the general plan and progress in meeting the community's share of regional housing needs. This bill would authorize the planning agency to include in its annual report the number of units that have been substantially rehabilitated, converted from nonaffordable to affordable by acquisition, and preserved, as defined. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by SB 575, that would become operative only if SB 575 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is chaptered last.