Transit-oriented development: exclusions: historic sites.

Bill format changed from amended-in-senate version (with line numbers showing amendments) to enrolled version (clean text ready for gubernatorial signature). No changes to statutory language.

Header updated to reflect passage dates: Passed the Assembly August 20, 2026 and Passed the Senate August 19, 2026. Added enrollment block with date/time fields for the Governor's receipt.

New Section 1.5 creates an alternative version of Government Code Section 65912.161 that would replace Section 1's version if both AB 2576 and AB 2415 are enacted, both amend the same section, and AB 2576 is enacted after AB 2415. In that scenario, Section 1 of this bill would not become operative.

In the new Section 1.5 version, a plan may reduce capacity in one transit-oriented development zone by more than 50 percent if all four conditions are met: (1) the jurisdiction is a city, (2) the city has a population under 150,000, (3) a majority of that zone is part of a local historic district designated before January 1, 2000, and (4) the city has more than one transit-oriented development zone. This exception does not exist in the original Section 1 version.

The exclusions in subdivision (b)(1) were reorganized from a deeply nested structure (with historic sites under subparagraph (A) and other site types under subparagraph (B) with sub-sub-paragraphs) to a flatter structure with lettered subparagraphs (A) through (F), removing the intermediate nesting levels.

New Section 2 establishes the conditional operative mechanism: Section 1.5 becomes operative only if both bills are enacted and effective on or before January 1, 2027, each amends Section 65912.161, and this bill is enacted after AB 2415.

Subsection numbering within Section 65912.161(b)(1)(B) was reorganized from a flat (A)-(F) structure to a nested (i)-(vi) structure with internal lettering, but the substantive content of each exclusion category remains the same.

A topic descriptor 'development: exclusions: historic sites' was added to the digest title line, likely for indexing or navigation purposes.

Corrected a drafting error in the prior version where the effective date read 'January July 1, 2026' to simply 'July 1, 2026.'

The legislative digest now explicitly frames the historic resource exclusions (local register sites, SHRI contributing sites, and individually listed SHRI parcels designated before January 1, 2025) as applying 'prior to one year following the adoption of the 7th revision of the housing element,' making the time-limited nature of these exclusions more prominent in the summary.

The Senate removed amendments to four of five sections (65912.156 definitions, 65912.157 TOD housing requirements, 65912.158 agency TOD projects, and 65912.160 department oversight), leaving only Section 65912.161 (alternative plan) to be amended.

The Assembly version would have delayed enforcement dates by one year (e.g., pushing the date local governments become subject to penalties from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028). The Senate removed this delay, keeping the original January 1, 2027 penalty date.

The Assembly version increased the minimum city population threshold for certain density and height requirements from 35,000 to 40,000. The Senate removed this change by deleting the entire Section 65912.157 amendment.

The Assembly version added a broad definition of 'historic resource' meaning any resource listed on a local, state, or national historic register. The Senate removed this definition along with the rest of Section 65912.156.

The Assembly version would have removed the 10 percent cap limiting how much of a TOD zone could be excluded based on historic resources. The Senate retained the 10 percent cap in Section 65912.161.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'yes' to 'no,' indicating the Senate determined the bill no longer has a state fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee review.

The date by which local agencies must comply with transit-oriented development requirements was delayed from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027.

The date when penalties apply for denying qualifying housing projects in high-resource areas was delayed from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

The population threshold for cities subject to certain density and height requirements (for projects between one-quarter and one-half mile from transit stops) was raised from 35,000 to 40,000 residents.

The bill no longer amends Section 65580 of the Government Code (relating to housing elements in general plans), removing a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

New exclusions were added for contributing sites within historic districts on the State Historic Resources Inventory designated before January 1, 2025, and for parcels individually listed as historical resources on the State Historic Resources Inventory designated before January 1, 2025.

The 10% cumulative cap on the share of a transit-oriented development zone that may be excluded due to historic resources was removed, allowing local governments to exclude an unlimited percentage of eligible area for historic resource sites.

The fiscal committee determination was changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a state-mandated local program or fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee review.

The bill was expanded from amending only Section 65580 (nonsubstantive housing element language) to also amending Sections 65912.156, 65912.157, 65912.158, 65912.160, and 65912.161, which govern transit-oriented development zones, density requirements, agency TOD zoning standards, department oversight, and local alternative plans.

The date when the penalty presumption applies (denying a qualifying project in a high-resource area is presumed to violate the Housing Accountability Act) was delayed from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

The date when TOD provisions apply to local agencies that have not adopted a compliant ordinance or alternative plan was delayed from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027.

The deadline for the Department of Housing and Community Development to promulgate standards on counting TOD capacity in housing element inventories was delayed from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027.

The population threshold for certain density and height requirements (applicable to projects further than one-quarter mile but within one-half mile of Tier 1 or Tier 2 TOD stops) was raised from 35,000 to 40,000 residents, meaning fewer cities are subject to those specific standards.

A new definition of 'historic resource' was added, meaning a historic resource listed on a local, state, or national historic register (including historic districts and local landmark districts). Previously the exclusion only applied to resources on a local register.

The 10% cumulative cap on sites excluded from density requirements based on historic resources was removed. Previously, sites with historic resources designated on a local register that were excluded from density minimums could not exceed 10% of the eligible area of any transit-oriented development zone.

The fiscal committee review requirement changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has fiscal implications requiring committee review.