General plan: annual report.

Existing law, 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. That law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide, by April 1 of each year, an annual report to, among other entities, the Department of Housing and Community Development that includes, among other specified information, the number of applications submitted, the location and total number of developments approved, the number of building permits issued, and the number of units constructed pursuant to a specific streamlined, ministerial approval process. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2024, require a planning agency to include in that annual report specified information on costs, standards, and applications for proposed housing development projects and specified information on housing development projects within the jurisdiction. Existing law requires an applicant for a housing development project, as defined, to be deemed to have submitted a preliminary application upon providing all of specified information about the proposed project to the city, county, or city and county from which approval for the project is being sought and upon payment of the permit processing fee. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2024, require a planning agency to include in the annual report described above the number of times in which a preliminary application for a housing development project expired pursuant to specified procedures. Existing law, known as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development in the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions for the production of lower income housing units, or for the donation of land within the development, if the developer agrees to, among other things, construct a specified percentage of units for very low, low-, or moderate-income households or qualifying residents, including lower income students. This bill would require the planning agency to include in the annual report described above the number of units in a student housing development for lower income students for which the developer was granted a density bonus. By adding to the duties of local planning officials with respect to preparing and submitting the above-described annual report to the Department of Housing and Community Development, 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.