Planning and zoning: housing development: supportive housing.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the housing element to contain, among other things, an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs and a program that sets forth a schedule of actions during the planning period, each with a timeline for implementation. That law specifies that transitional housing and supportive housing are a residential use of property, subject only to those restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this requirement. The Planning and Zoning Law requires the rezoning of sites identified in the inventory of sites by specific deadlines where the inventory does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels. That law further requires this rezoning to accommodate 100% of the need for housing for very low and low-income households, as specified, on sites zoned to permit owner-occupied and rental multifamily residential use by right during the planning period and defines the term "use by right" for these purposes. This bill would require that supportive housing be a use by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, including nonresidential zones permitting multifamily uses, if the proposed housing development meets specified criteria, and would require a local government to approve, within specified periods, a supportive housing development that complies with these requirements. The bill would require that a developer of supportive housing provide the planning agency with a plan for providing supportive services, with documentation demonstrating that supportive services will be provided onsite to residents in the project and describing those services, as provided. The bill would prohibit the local government from imposing any minimum parking requirement for units occupied by supportive housing residents if the development is located within ½ mile of a public transit stop. The bill would specify that its provisions do not (1) preclude or limit the ability of a developer to seek a density bonus from the local government or (2) expand or contract the authority of a local government to adopt or amend an ordinance, charter, general plan, specific plan, resolution, or other land use policy or regulation that promotes the development of supportive housing. The bill would include findings that the changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA does not apply to the ministerial approval of projects. This bill, by authorizing supportive housing as a use by right under certain circumstances, would expand the exemption for the ministerial approval of projects under CEQA. By adding to the duties of local planning officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by AB 686 to be operative only if this bill and AB 686 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.