Local planning: regional housing need assessment.

Existing law, 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. Existing law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. The Planning and Zoning Law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need for housing in each region and further requires the appropriate council of governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county, as provided. This bill would authorize a city or county to include in its inventory of land suitable for residential development specified sites that contain an existing single-family dwelling unit, but that the city or county has permitted, or is proposing to permit, to contain 4 dwelling units as a use by right. The bill would require these sites to be identified to satisfy either the moderate- or the above moderate-income regional housing need income level. The bill would require a city or county identifying a site pursuant to these provisions to include in its housing element a description of the development standards that enable the identified sites to be redeveloped at a higher density, as specified, and a description of the policies, programs, and incentives that will be used to facilitate the development. The bill would also require the city or county that proposes to permit a site that contains an existing single-family dwelling unit to contain 4 dwelling units pursuant to these provisions to do so in accordance with specified timeframes. If SB 1120 of the 2019–20 Regular Session is enacted, the bill would prohibit the zoning capacity permitted by a provision of SB 1120 from being considered as enabling a development of 4 dwelling units. The bill would authorize a city or county, instead of listing sites individually in its inventory of land suitable for residential development, to include a summary of the credits received if the housing element includes a separate list of the sites that includes specified information. This bill would require the department to provide a credit of one unit toward the city or county's share of the regional housing need allocation for every 10 sites identified under these provisions, as specified. The bill would prohibit the cumulative credit received by a city or county under these provisions from exceeding either 50% of the units needed to meet its regional housing needs allocation for moderate income or 10% of the units needed to meet its regional housing needs allocation for above moderate income. Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, governs the management and operation of common interest developments. Existing law prohibits the governing document of a common interest development from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential use, as specified. This bill would make void and unenforceable any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a planned development, and any provision of a governing document, that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of up to 4 primary dwelling units on a lot zoned for at least 4 dwelling units, as specified.