Planning and zoning: housing element compliance: very low and lower income households.

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries. Existing law requires the general plan to include, among other mandatory elements, a housing element, and requires the housing element to include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine each region's existing and projected housing need, and requires each 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 and county, as provided. If the inventory of sites included in a housing element does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels pursuant to the allocation of regional housing need, existing law requires that the local government rezone sites within specified deadlines. Existing law also requires the department to notify a city or county, and authorizes the department to notify the Attorney General, that the city or county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to that element, or any specified action or failure to act, does not substantially comply with the law as it pertains to housing elements or that any local government has taken an action in violation of other specified housing laws. This bill would authorize the department, after notifying the city or county of the violation of the housing element provision and before notifying the Attorney General, either to complete the rezoning to accommodate 100% of the allocated need for housing for very low and lower income households on behalf of a local government within the Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura that failed to complete that rezoning by the required deadline, or to impose administrative civil penalties upon the local government of up to $10,000 per day until the local government is no longer in violation of state law or the department decides to refer the violation to the Attorney General. The bill would require the department to either rezone or impose those administrative penalties if the local government's failure to rezone persists across more than one cycle of the regional housing needs assessment. The bill would require the department, if it rezones on behalf of the local government, to consider rezoning input from the local government. The bill would require a local government for which the department completes a rezoning under the bill's provisions to amend its housing element and zoning ordinances as necessary to accommodate that rezoning. Existing law, in any action or special proceeding brought by the Attorney General relating to housing element compliance pursuant to a notice or referral by the department described above, authorizes the Attorney General to request that the court issue an order or judgment directing the jurisdiction to bring its housing element into substantial compliance, as specified. Existing law requires the court to conduct a status conference if the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 12 months, and requires the court to impose fines on the jurisdiction in an amount between $10,000 and $100,000 per month. If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 3 months following the imposition of the fine, existing law authorizes the court to multiply the fine by a factor of 3, as specified. If the jurisdiction has not complied with the order or judgment after 6 months following the imposition of the initial fine, existing law authorizes the court to multiply the fine by a factor of 6, as specified, and order the appointment of an agent of the court to bring the jurisdiction's housing element into substantial compliance, as provided. This bill would authorize the court to order the appointment of an agent of the court to bring the jurisdiction's housing element into substantial compliance, as provided, if the jurisdiction has not brought its housing element into substantial compliance after 3 months following the imposition of the initial fine. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. This bill would include findings that changes proposed by the bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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.