Housing development projects: objective standards: campus development zone.

The document changed from an official chaptered legal text format (with page numbers, legislative counsel's digest, and formal section numbering) to a web page display format that includes site navigation menus, bill version history dropdown, and action buttons like Track Bill and Add To My Favorites. No policy language was added, removed, or altered.

Local government review of a property or site for streamlined ministerial approval is now limited to the area 'described as being physically disturbed by construction' in the application, rather than the broader 'area described in the application.' This narrows what local agencies can consider and makes it harder for them to deny approval based on conditions in areas that will not be physically affected by the project.

Section numbering was adjusted: a duplicate or placeholder 'SEC. 5.' was removed, renumbering subsequent sections so that what was previously SEC. 6 is now SEC. 6 without the gap.

New Section 65912.114 requires local governments to determine consistency with objective standards within 60 days (150 or fewer units) or 90 days (more than 150 units), and to approve consistent projects within the same timeframes after a positive determination. A 30-day window applies to resubmitted applications.

Local governments must provide an exhaustive written list of all conflicting standards and may not request new information in subsequent reviews that was not included in the initial conflict list.

The 25-foot parking setback requirement now applies only to aboveground parking, not underground parking, making it easier for projects with below-grade parking to qualify for streamlined review.

For projects in the coastal zone (not excluded under existing law), a coastal development permit is still required, but the permitting agency must approve it if the development is consistent with all objective standards of the local coastal program.

If a local government fails to provide the required written documentation listing conflicts with objective standards, the development is deemed to satisfy those standards (deemed approval).

Easements for public right-of-way, public or private utilities, or other public improvements in, under, or over a property no longer make the property ineligible for streamlined ministerial review for either affordable or mixed-income housing developments.

Design review may be conducted by the local planning commission but must be objective, strictly focused on compliance with published criteria, and shall not inhibit or chill ministerial approval.

Use of density bonuses, incentives, concessions, waivers, or parking ratios under Section 65915 does not trigger discretionary local review or CEQA, even if the specific incentive is not specified in a local ordinance. Receipt of these also cannot be used as a basis to find a project inconsistent with the local coastal program.

Impact fees must be offset to account for demolition or change of existing use (e.g., office to residential), so the fee is attributable only to the incremental impact. Offsets exceeding the fee amount are not refundable.

The campus development zone radius is expanded from one mile to one and one-half miles around qualifying institutions (UC, CSU, California Community Colleges, and private postsecondary institutions), substantially increasing the area where streamlined housing approval is available.

The word 'Colleges' appears to be added in multiple definitions (campus development zone, lower income faculty or staff, very low income faculty or staff) after references to Section 94858 of the Education Code, potentially broadening which institutions qualify beyond those explicitly listed.

Five coauthors are added: Assembly Members Caloza, Haney, Kalra, Wicks, and Wilson.

Several drafting errors are corrected: 'The It satisfies' changed to 'It satisfies', stray letters 'A' and 'An' removed before 'Except as provided', and 'are principally permitted use' corrected to 'are a principally permitted use.'

The legislative counsel's digest was updated to specify that the existing 25-foot parking setback requirement applies to 'mixed-income development project' standards, adding clarity about which category of projects is affected by the change limiting the setback to aboveground parking only.

Formatting changes throughout: removal of line numbers, addition of passage dates (Assembly September 8, 2025; Senate September 3, 2025), removal of amendment history headers, and reformatting into the standard enrolled bill layout.

New Section 65912.103.5 limits a local government's site review to only the area described in the application for streamlined ministerial review. Other contiguous or noncontiguous areas are excluded from consideration unless expressly stated otherwise, even if they are under the ownership or control of the project proponent. This prevents local agencies from using conditions on neighboring parcels (such as industrial uses or environmental concerns) to block streamlined approval.

The legislative digest now specifies that the campus development zone expansion applies to 'mixed-income housing developments' rather than broadly to all affordable housing developments, narrowing the stated scope of the eligibility expansion.

The bill's operative clause now includes 'and to add Section 65912.103.5 to, the Government Code,' reflecting the new section. Subsequent section numbers are renumbered accordingly (old SEC. 3 becomes SEC. 4, etc.).

The definition of 'campus development zone' now excludes private postsecondary educational institutions. Previously, the one-half mile radius could be measured from any main campus including private colleges; now it is limited to UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges campuses only.

The definitions of 'extremely low income faculty or staff,' 'lower income faculty or staff,' and 'very low income faculty or staff' no longer include employees of private postsecondary educational institutions. Only employees of UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges qualify for the associated affordable housing units.

The parking setback requirement (minimum 25 feet) now applies only to aboveground parking rather than all parking. This allows projects with underground or below-grade parking to meet the objective standards without needing to set back that parking 25 feet from the property line.