Housing element: inventory of land: substantial compliance: rebuttable presumptions.

(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, commonly referred to as the Housing Element Law, prescribes requirements for a city's or county's preparation of, and compliance with, its housing element, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and determine whether the housing element substantially complies with the Housing Element Law, as specified. Existing law requires the housing element to include an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. If that inventory of sites does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels, as provided, existing law requires that the local government rezone sites within 3 years after the date the housing element is adopted or within one year if the local government fails to adopt a housing element that the department finds to be in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law within 120 days of the statutory deadline to adopt the housing element. This bill, for the 7th and each subsequent revision of the housing element, would require a local government to complete the rezoning of sites within one year of the statutory deadline for the adoption of the housing element or 3 years and 90 days of the statutory deadline if the local government satisfies certain requirements, including submitting a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review within specified timeframes and adopting a draft element or draft amendment that the department finds to be in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law, as specified. (2) Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department for review at least 90 days prior to adoption and requires the department, in written findings, to determine whether the draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law. Existing law, if the department finds that the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with the Housing Element Law, requires the legislative body to either change the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with the Housing Element Law or adopt the draft element or draft amendment without changes and make specified findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes the draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law despite the findings of the department. Existing law requires a planning agency, promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, to submit a copy to the department and requires the department to review the adopted housing element or amendment and report its findings to the planning agency within 60 days. This bill would require a planning agency to submit the above-described findings explaining the reasons that the legislative body believes its draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law to the department. The bill would additionally specify that the duty to submit the findings or a copy of the adopted element or amendment to the department does not excuse a legislative body from taking required actions in response to the department finding that the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with the Housing Element Law and provide that this is declaratory of existing law. The bill would require the department to review the finding in its review of an adopted housing element or amendment. Because the bill would require planning agencies to submit specified findings to the department with an adopted housing element or amendment, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the department to review any action or failure to act by a city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element and requires the department to provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption in any action filed on or after January 1, 1991, taken to challenge the validity of a housing element of the validity of the element or amendment if the department has found that the element or amendment substantially complies with the requirements of the Housing Element Law. This bill would create a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging an action or failure to act by a city, county, or city and county if the department finds that the city, county, or city and county's action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or specified obligations under the Housing Element Law. This bill would also create a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any action taken to challenge the validity of a housing element or amendment if the department has found that element or amendment does not substantially comply with the requirements of the Housing Element Law. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2667 and AB 3093 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583.2 of the Government Code proposed by AB 3093 to be operative only if this bill and AB 3093 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2667 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2667 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (7) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65588 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2597 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2597 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (8) 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.