Planning and zoning: housing development.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires that the legislative body of each county and each city adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county and city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development, as provided. If the inventory of sites does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels, as specified, existing law requires the local government to rezone those sites within specified time periods. Existing law requires this rezoning to accommodate 100% of the need for housing for very low and low-income households, allocated as provided, for which site capacity has not been identified in the inventory of sites on sites zoned to permit specified residential developments as a use by right, as that term is defined. This bill would additionally require that, if a local government fails to complete the above-described rezoning within one year of the specified deadline, a housing development in which at least 40% of the units have an affordable housing cost or affordable rent for lower income households be a use by right in all zones where multifamily, commercial, and mixed uses are permitted. The bill would define the terms "affordable housing cost," "affordable rent," and "use by right" for these purposes. The bill would include findings that 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 also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA does not apply to the approval of ministerial projects. By requiring local planning officials to approve housing developments as a use by right under certain circumstances, this bill would expand the above-described exemption from CEQA for the ministerial approval of projects. By adding to the duties of local planning officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.