Regional housing needs allocations: adjacent cities: agreements.

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, which is administered by the Director of State Planning and Research, requires a local planning agency to prepare, and a local legislative body to adopt, a long-term general plan that includes prescribed elements, including a housing element. Existing law prescribes certain methods pursuant to which the Department of Housing and Community Development may determine the existing and projected need for housing by region. Existing law authorizes the County of Napa and the City of Napa to reach a mutually acceptable agreement to allow one of those jurisdictions to report on its annual housing production report to the Department of Housing and Community Development, entitlements, building permits, and certificates of occupancy issued by the other jurisdiction for the development of housing if certain conditions are met. This bill would authorize 2 cities that meet specified requirements to enter into a memorandum of understanding to build a housing project in one jurisdiction and share the credit associated with the housing project for purposes of satisfying their regional housing needs allocation requirements. The bill would require the cities to be adjacent and that one city face prohibitive obstacles in the development of affordable housing in its jurisdiction, own land in the 2nd city suitable for the development, and have fiscal resources to finance the housing project. Among other things, the bill would require the memorandum of understanding to provide for the creation of housing for households of low income and very low income and provide for an explicit, mutual agreement for distribution of the credit associated with the housing project in connection with regional housing needs allocation requirements. The bill would condition the validity of the memorandum of understanding upon approval by the Department of Housing and Community Development.