Emergency and Transitional Housing Act of 2019.

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law requires the housing element to contain specified information and analysis, including an assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of those needs, including the identification of a zone or zones where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit. Existing law authorizes a local government to impose only those development and management standards that apply to residential or commercial development within the same zone, however, a local government may impose specified objective standards, including standards for off-street parking based on demonstrated need, as specified. This bill would instead authorize a local government to apply a written objective standard that provides sufficient parking to accommodate the staff working in the emergency shelter, except as provided. (2) Existing law additionally requires the inventory of resources and constraints relevant to the meeting of housing needs to include an analysis of any special housing needs, including, among others, families and persons in need of emergency shelter and requires the need for emergency shelter to be assessed based on annual and seasonal needs. This bill would, instead, require the need for emergency shelter to be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time count, the number of shelter beds available on a year-round and seasonal basis, the number of beds that go unused on an average monthly basis, and the percentage of those in emergency shelters that move to permanent housing. Existing law requires each local government to review its housing element as frequently as appropriate to evaluate, among other things, the appropriateness of the housing goals, objectives, and policies in contributing to the attainment of the state housing goal. This bill would additionally require each local government to review the effectiveness of the housing element goals, policies, and related actions to meet the community's special housing needs. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The Planning and Zoning Law, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as provided, and requires the appropriate council of governments or for cities and counties without a council of governments, the department, to adopt a final regional housing need plan allocating a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used by the department to determine the region's housing needs and requires the council of governments to provide data assumptions, including specified information regarding housing availability within the region. Existing law requires the council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to develop a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or subregion, as applicable, that is consistent with specified objectives. Existing law, to the extent that sufficient data is available as provided, requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to include specified factors to develop the methodology that allocates regional housing needs. This bill would require that these factors include the housing needs of individual and families experiencing homelessness, except as specified. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law, for cities and counties without a council of governments, requires the department to determine and distribute the existing and projected housing need, as specified. Existing law requires the distribution of regional housing need, based upon available data and in consultation with the cities and counties, to take into consideration market demand for housing, the distribution of household growth within the county assumed in the regional transportation plan where applicable, employment opportunities and commuting patterns, the availability of suitable sites and public facilities, agreements between a county and cities in a county to direct growth toward incorporated areas of the county, or other considerations as may be requested by the affected cities or counties and agreed to by the department. This bill would additionally require the distribution of housing need to be based on the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. By increasing the duties of local 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. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by AB 671 to be operative only if this bill and AB 671 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1730 and SB 182 to be operative only if this bill and one or more of the other bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.06 of the Government Code proposed by SB 182 to be operative only if this bill and SB 182 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 65588 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1730 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1730 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.