Atherton City Council
May 21, 2025

line 1 trust fund. The local agency may elect to instead deposit the penalty line 2 moneys into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund or the line 3 Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund. Penalties shall not be paid out line 4 of funds already dedicated to affordable housing, including, but line 5 not limited to, Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Funds, line 6 funds dedicated to housing for very low, low-, and line 7 moderate-income households, and federal HOME Investment line 8 Partnerships Program and Community Development Block Grant line 9 Program funds. The local agency shall commit and expend the line 10 penalty moneys deposited into the local housing trust fund within line 11 five years of deposit for the sole purpose of financing newly line 12 constructed housing units that are affordable to extremely low, line 13 very low, or low-income households.
line 14 (VI)  Five years after deposit of the penalty moneys into the line 15 local housing trust fund, if the funds have not been expended, the line 16 funds shall revert to the state and be deposited in the Building line 17 Homes and Jobs Trust Fund or the Housing Rehabilitation Loan line 18 Fund for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing line 19 units located in the same jurisdiction as the surplus land and that line 20 are affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income line 21 households. Expenditure of any penalty moneys deposited into the line 22 Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund or the Housing Rehabilitation line 23 Loan Fund pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to line 24 appropriation by the Legislature.
line 25 (vi)  For purposes of this subparagraph, the following definitions line 26 apply:
line 27 (I)  “Sectional planning area” means an area composed of line 28 identifiable planning units, within which common services and line 29 facilities, a strong internal unity, and an integrated pattern of land line 30 use, circulation, and townscape planning are readily achievable. line 31 (II)  “Sectional planning area document” means a document or line 32 plan that sets forth, at minimum, a site utilization plan of the line 33 sectional planning area and development standards for each land line 34 use area and designation.
line 35 (vii)  This subparagraph shall become inoperative on January 1, line 36 2034.
line 37 (Q)  Land that is owned by a California public-use airport on line 38 which residential uses are prohibited pursuant to Federal Aviation line 39 Administration Order 5190.6B, Airport Compliance Program, line 40 Chapter 20 – Compatible Land Use and Airspace Protection. 96 SB 79 — 16 —

line 1 (R)  Land that is transferred to a community land trust, and all line 2 of the following conditions are met:
line 3 (i)  The property is being or will be developed or rehabilitated line 4 as any of the following:
line 5 (I)  An owner-occupied single-family dwelling.
line 6 (II)  An owner-occupied unit in a multifamily dwelling. line 7 (III)  A member-occupied unit in a limited equity housing line 8 cooperative.
line 9 (IV)  A rental housing development.
line 10 (ii)  Improvements on the property are or will be available for line 11 use and ownership or for rent by qualified persons, as defined in line 12 paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 214.18 of the Revenue line 13 and Taxation Code.
line 14 (iii)  (I)  A deed restriction or other instrument, requiring a line 15 contract or contracts serving as an enforceable restriction on the line 16 sale or resale value of owner-occupied units or on the affordability line 17 of rental units is recorded on or before the lien date following the line 18 acquisition of the property by the community land trust. line 19 (II)  For the purpose of this clause, the following definitions line 20 apply:
line 21 (ia)  “A contract or contracts serving as an enforceable restriction line 22 on the sale or resale value of owner-occupied units” means a line 23 contract described in paragraph (11) of subdivision (a) of Section line 24 402.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
line 25 (ib)  “A contract or contracts serving as an enforceable restriction line 26 on the affordability of rental units” means an enforceable and line 27 verifiable agreement with a public agency, a recorded deed line 28 restriction, or other legal document described in subparagraph (A) line 29 of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue line 30 and Taxation Code.
line 31 (iv)  A copy of the deed restriction or other instrument shall be line 32 provided to the assessor.
line 33 (S)  (i)  For local agencies whose primary mission or purpose is line 34 to supply the public with a transportation system, surplus land that line 35 is developed for commercial or industrial uses or activities, line 36 including nongovernmental retail, entertainment, or office line 37 development or for the sole purpose of investment or generation line 38 of revenue, if the agency meets all of the following conditions:
line 39 (I)  The agency has an adopted land use plan or policy that line 40 designates at least 50 percent of the gross acreage covered by the 96 — 17 — SB 79

line 1 adopted land use plan or policy for residential purposes. The line 2 adopted land use plan or policy shall also require the development line 3 of at least 300 residential units, or at least 10 residential units per line 4 gross acre, averaged across all land covered by the land use plan line 5 or policy, whichever is greater.
line 6 (II)  The agency has an adopted land use plan or policy that line 7 requires at least 25 percent of all residential units to be developed line 8 on the parcels covered by the adopted land use plan or policy made line 9 available to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079 line 10 of the Health and Safety Code, at an affordable sales price or rented line 11 at an affordable rent, as defined in Sections 50052.5 and 50053 of line 12 the Health and Safety Code, for 55 years for rental housing and line 13 45 years for ownership housing, unless a local ordinance or the line 14 terms of a federal, state, or local grant, tax credit, or other project line 15 financing requires a longer period of affordability. These terms line 16 shall be included in the land use plan or policy and dictate that line 17 they will be contained in a covenant or restriction recorded against line 18 the surplus land at the time of disposition that shall run with the line 19 land and be enforceable against any owner or lessee who violates line 20 the covenant or restriction and each successor in interest who line 21 continues the violation.
line 22 (III)  Land disposed of for residential purposes shall issue a line 23 competitive request for proposals subject to the local agency’s line 24 open, competitive solicitation process or put out to open, line 25 competitive bid by the local agency, provided that all entities line 26 identified in subdivision (a) of Section 54222 are invited to line 27 participate.
line 28 (IV)  Prior to entering into an agreement to dispose of a parcel line 29 for nonresidential development on land designated for the purposes line 30 authorized pursuant to this subparagraph in an agency’s adopted line 31 land use plan or policy, the agency, since January 1, 2020, must line 32 have entered into an agreement to dispose of a minimum of 25 line 33 percent of the land designated for affordable housing pursuant to line 34 subclause (II).
line 35 (ii)  The agency may exempt at one time all parcels covered by line 36 the adopted land use plan or policy pursuant to this subparagraph. line 37 (2)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a written notice of the line 38 availability of surplus land for open-space purposes shall be sent line 39 to the entities described in subdivision (b) of Section 54222 before line 40 disposing of the surplus land, provided the land does not meet the 96 SB 79 — 18 —

line 1 criteria in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (1), if the land is any of line 2 the following:
line 3 (A)  Within a coastal zone.
line 4 (B)  Adjacent to a historical unit of the State Parks System. line 5 (C)  Listed on, or determined by the State Office of Historic line 6 Preservation to be eligible for, the National Register of Historic line 7 Places.
line 8 (D)  Within the Lake Tahoe region as defined in Section 66905.5. line 9 (g)  “Persons and families of low or moderate income” has the line 10 same meaning as provided in Section 50093 of the Health and line 11 Safety Code.
line 12 SEC. 2. Chapter 4.1.5 (commencing with Section 65912.155) line 13 is added to Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, to read:
line 14
line 15 Chapter 4.1.5. Transit-Oriented Development
line 16
line 17 65912.155. The Legislature finds and declares all of the line 18 following:
line 19 (a)  California faces a housing shortage both acute and chronic, line 20 particularly in areas with access to robust public transit line 21 infrastructure.
line 22 (b)  Building more homes near transit access reduces housing line 23 and transportation costs for California families, and promotes line 24 environmental sustainability, economic growth, and reduced traffic line 25 congestion.
line 26 (c)  Public transit systems require sustainable funding to provide line 27 reliable service, especially in areas experiencing increased density line 28 and ridership. The state does not invest in public transit service to line 29 the same degree as it does in roads, and the state funds a smaller line 30 proportion of the state’s major transit agencies’ operations costs line 31 than other states with comparable systems. Transit systems in other line 32 countries derive significant revenue from transit-oriented line 33 development at and near their stations.
line 34 65912.156. For purposes of this chapter, the following line 35 definitions apply:
line 36 (a)  “Adjacent” means sharing a property line with a transit stop, line 37 including any parcels that serve a parking or circulation purpose line 38 related to the stop.
96 — 19 — SB 79

line 1 (b)  “Commuter rail” means a rail transit service not meeting line 2 the standards for heavy rail or light rail, excluding California line 3 High-Speed Rail and Amtrak Long Distance Service. line 4 (c)  “Department” means the Department of Housing and line 5 Community Development.
line 6 (d)  “Frequent commuter rail” means a commuter rail service line 7 with a total of at least 24 daily trains per weekday across both line 8 directions and not meeting the standard for very high or line 9 high-frequency commuter rail at any point in the past three years. line 10 (e)  “Heavy rail transit” means an electric railway with the line 11 capacity for a heavy volume of traffic using high-speed and rapid line 12 acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multicar line 13 trains on fixed rails, separate rights-of-way from which all other line 14 vehicular and foot traffic are excluded, and high platform loading. line 15 (f)  “High-frequency commuter rail” means a commuter rail line 16 service operating a total of at least 48 trains per day across both line 17 directions at any point in the past three years. line 18 (g)  “High-resource area” means a highest resource or line 19 high-resource neighborhood opportunity area, as used in the line 20 opportunity area maps published annually by the California Tax line 21 Credit Allocation Committee and the department. line 22 (h)  “Housing development project” has the same meaning as line 23 defined in Section 65589.5.
line 24 (i)  “Light rail transit” includes streetcar, trolley, and tramway line 25 service.
line 26 (j)  “Net habitable square footage” means the finished and heated line 27 floor area fully enclosed by the inside surface of walls, windows, line 28 doors, and partitions, and having a headroom of at least six and line 29 one-half feet, including working, living, eating, cooking, sleeping, line 30 stair, hall, service, and storage areas, but excluding garages, line 31 carports, parking spaces, cellars, half-stories, and unfinished attics line 32 and basements.
line 33 (k)  “Rail transit” has the same meaning as defined in Section line 34 99602 of the Public Utilities Code.
line 35 (l)  “Residential floor area ratio” means the ratio of net habitable line 36 square footage dedicated to residential use to the area of the lot. line 37 (m)  “Tier 1 transit-oriented development stop” means a major line 38 transit stop, as defined by Section 21155 of the Public Resources line 39 Code, served by heavy rail transit or very high frequency commuter line 40 rail.
96 SB 79 — 20 —

line 1 (n)  “Tier 2 transit-oriented development stop” means a major line 2 transit stop, as defined by Section 21155 of the Public Resources line 3 Code, excluding a Tier 1 transit-oriented development stop, served line 4 by light rail transit, by high-frequency commuter rail, or by bus line 5 service meeting the standards of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) line 6 of Section 21060.2 of the Public Resources Code. line 7 (o)  “Tier 3 transit-oriented development stop” means a major line 8 transit stop, as defined by Section 21155 of the Public Resources line 9 Code, excluding a Tier 1 or Tier 2 transit-oriented development line 10 stop, served by frequent commuter rail service or by ferry service. line 11 (p)  “Transit-oriented development stop” means a major transit line 12 stop, as defined by Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code, line 13 excluding any stop served by rail transit with a frequency of fewer line 14 than 10 total trains per weekday.
line 15 (q)  “Very high frequency commuter rail” means a commuter line 16 rail service with a total of at least 72 trains per day across both line 17 directions at any point in the past three years. line 18 65912.157. (a)  A housing development project within one-half line 19 or one-quarter mile of a transit-oriented development stop shall line 20 be an allowed use on any site zoned for residential, mixed, line 21 commercial, or light industrial development, if the development line 22 complies with the applicable of all of the following requirements:
line 23 (1)  For a residential development within one-quarter mile of a line 24 Tier 1 transit-oriented development stop, all of the following apply:
line 25 (A)  A development may be built up to 75 feet high, or up to the line 26 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 27 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 28 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 29 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 30 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 31 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 32 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
line 33 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 34 of less than 120 dwelling units per acre. The development line 35 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 36 applicable density bonus law.
line 37 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 38 development standard or combination of standards that would line 39 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 3.5. 96 — 21 — SB 79

line 1 (D)  A development that otherwise meets the eligibility line 2 requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, line 3 affordability requirements, shall be eligible for three additional line 4 concessions pursuant to Section 65915.
line 5 (2)  For a residential development further than one-quarter mile line 6 but within one-half mile of a Tier 1 transit-oriented development line 7 stop, all of the following apply:
line 8 (A)  A development may be built up to 65 feet high, or up to the line 9 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 10 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 11 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 12 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 13 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 14 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 15 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
line 16 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 17 standard of less than 100 dwelling units per acre. The development line 18 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 19 applicable density bonus law.
line 20 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 21 development standard or combination of standards that would line 22 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 3. line 23 (D)  A development that otherwise meets the eligibility line 24 requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, line 25 affordability requirements, shall be eligible for two additional line 26 concessions pursuant to Section 65915.
line 27 (3)  For a residential development within one-quarter mile of a line 28 Tier 2 transit-oriented development stop, all of the following apply:
line 29 (A)  A development may be built up to 65 feet high, or up to the line 30 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 31 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 32 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 33 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 34 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 35 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 36 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
line 37 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 38 standard of less than 100 dwelling units per acre. The development line 39 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 40 applicable density bonus law.
96 SB 79 — 22 —

line 1 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 2 development standard or combination of standards that would line 3 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 3. line 4 (D)  A development that otherwise meets the eligibility line 5 requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, line 6 affordability requirements, shall be eligible for two additional line 7 concessions pursuant to Section 65915.
line 8 (4)  For a residential development further than one-quarter mile line 9 but within one-half mile of a Tier 2 transit-oriented development line 10 stop, all of the following apply:
line 11 (A)  A development may be built up to 55 feet high, or up to the line 12 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 13 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 14 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 15 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 16 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 17 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 18 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
line 19 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 20 standard of less than 80 dwelling units per acre. The development line 21 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 22 applicable density bonus law.
line 23 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 24 development standard or combination of standards that would line 25 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 2.5. line 26 (D)  A development that otherwise meets the eligibility line 27 requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, line 28 affordability requirements, shall be eligible for one additional line 29 concession pursuant to Section 65915.
line 30 (5)  For a residential development within one-quarter mile of a line 31 Tier 3 transit-oriented development stop, all of the following apply:
line 32 (A)  A development may be built up to 55 feet high, or up to the line 33 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 34 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 35 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 36 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 37 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 38 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 39 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
96 — 23 — SB 79

line 1 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 2 standard of less than 80 dwelling units per acre. The development line 3 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 4 applicable density bonus law.
line 5 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 6 development standard or combination of standards that would line 7 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 2.5. line 8 (D)  A development that otherwise meets the eligibility line 9 requirements of Section 65915, including, but not limited to, line 10 affordability requirements, shall be eligible for one additional line 11 concession pursuant to Section 65915.
line 12 (6)  For a residential development further than one-quarter mile line 13 but within one-half mile of a Tier 3 transit-oriented development line 14 stop, all of the following apply:
line 15 (A)  A development may be built up to 45 feet high, or up to the line 16 local height limit, whichever is greater. If a development proposes line 17 a height under this subparagraph in excess of the local height line 18 limit, then a local government shall not be required to grant a line 19 waiver, incentive, or concession pursuant to Section 65915 for line 20 additional height beyond that specified under this subparagraph, line 21 except as provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of line 22 subdivision (d) of Section 65915.
line 23 (B)  A local government shall not impose any maximum density line 24 standard of less than 60 dwelling units per acre. The development line 25 proponent may seek a further increased density in accordance with line 26 applicable density bonus law.
line 27 (C)  A local government shall not enforce any other local line 28 development standard or combination of standards that would line 29 prevent achieving a residential floor area ratio of up to 2. line 30 (b)  Notwithstanding any other law, a housing development line 31 project that meets any of the eligibility criteria under subdivision line 32 (a) and is immediately adjacent to a Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 line 33 transit-oriented development stop shall be eligible for an adjacency line 34 intensifier to increase the height limit by an additional 20 feet, the line 35 maximum density standard by an additional 40 dwelling units per line 36 acre, and the residential floor area ratio by 1. line 37 (c)  A development proposed pursuant to this section shall line 38 comply with the antidisplacement requirements of Section 66300.6. line 39 This subdivision shall apply to any city or county. 96 SB 79 — 24 —

line 1 (d)  For purposes of subdivision (j) of Section 65589.5, a line 2 proposed housing development project that is consistent with the line 3 applicable standards from this chapter shall be deemed consistent, line 4 compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, line 5 policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision. line 6 (e)  A local government that denies a housing development line 7 project meeting the requirements of this section that is located in line 8 a high-resource area shall be presumed to be in violation of the line 9 Housing Accountability Act (Section 65589.5) and immediately line 10 liable for penalties pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) line 11 of subdivision (k) of Section 65589.5, unless the local government line 12 demonstrates, pursuant to the standards in subdivisions (j) and (o) line 13 of Section 65589.5, that it has a health, life, or safety reason for line 14 denying the project.
line 15 65912.158. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, line 16 a transit agency may adopt objective standards for both residential line 17 and commercial developments proposed to be constructed on land line 18 owned by the transit agency or on which the transit agency has a line 19 permanent operating easement, if the objective standards allow line 20 for the same or greater development intensity as that allowed by line 21 local standards or applicable state law.
line 22 65912.159. A housing development project proposed pursuant line 23 to Section 65912.157 shall be eligible for streamlined ministerial line 24 approval pursuant to Section 65913.4 in accordance with all of the line 25 following:
line 26 (a)  The proposed project shall be exempt from subparagraph line 27 (A) of paragraph (4) of, paragraph (5) of, and clause (iv) of line 28 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of, subdivision (a) of Section line 29 65913.4.
line 30 (b)  The proposed project shall comply with the affordability line 31 requirements in subclauses (I) through (III), inclusive, of clause line 32 (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of line 33 Section 65913.4.
line 34 (c)  The proposed project shall comply with all other line 35 requirements of Section 65913.4, including, but not limited to, the line 36 prohibition against a site that is within a very high fire hazard line 37 severity zone, pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (6) of line 38 subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4.
line 39 65912.160. (a)  The department shall oversee compliance with line 40 this chapter, including, but not limited to, promulgating standards 96 — 25 — SB 79

line 1 on how to account for capacity pursuant to this chapter in a city line 2 or county’s inventory of land suitable for residential development, line 3 pursuant to Section 65583.2.
line 4 (b)  (1)  A local government may adopt an ordinance to line 5 implement the provisions of this chapter, which may include line 6 revisions to applicable zoning requirements on individual sites line 7 within a transit-oriented development zone, provided that those line 8 revisions maintain the average density allowed for the applicable line 9 tier, or up to a 100-percent increase, subject to review by the line 10 department pursuant to paragraph (3).
line 11 (2)  An ordinance adopted to implement this section shall not line 12 be considered a project under Division 13 (commencing with line 13 Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
line 14 (3)  (A)  A local government shall submit a copy of any line 15 ordinance adopted pursuant to this section to the department within line 16 60 days of adoption.
line 17 (B)  Upon receipt of an ordinance pursuant to this paragraph, line 18 the department shall review that ordinance and determine whether line 19 it complies with this section. If the department determines that the line 20 ordinance does not comply with this section, the department shall line 21 notify the local government in writing and provide the local line 22 government a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days, to respond line 23 before taking further action as authorized by this section. line 24 (C)  The local government shall consider any findings made by line 25 the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) and shall do one of line 26 the following:
line 27 (i)  Amend the ordinance to comply with this section. line 28 (ii)  Adopt the ordinance without changes. The local government line 29 shall include findings in its resolution adopting the ordinance that line 30 explain the reasons the local government believes that the line 31 ordinance complies with this section despite the findings of the line 32 department.
line 33 (D)  If the local government does not amend its ordinance in line 34 response to the department’s findings or does not adopt a resolution line 35 with findings explaining the reason the ordinance complies with line 36 this chapter and addressing the department’s findings, the line 37 department shall notify the local government and may notify the line 38 Attorney General that the local government is in violation of this line 39 section.
96 SB 79 — 26 —

line 1 65912.161. The Legislature finds and declares that the state line 2 faces a housing crisis of availability and affordability, in large part line 3 due to a severe shortage of housing, and solving the housing crisis line 4 therefore requires a multifaceted, statewide approach, including, line 5 but not limited to, encouraging an increase in the overall supply line 6 of housing, encouraging the development of housing that is line 7 affordable to households at all income levels, removing barriers line 8 to housing production, expanding homeownership opportunities, line 9 and expanding the availability of rental housing, and is a matter line 10 of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is line 11 used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. line 12 Therefore, this chapter applies to all cities, including charter cities. line 13 SEC. 3. Section 21080.26.5 is added to the Public Resources line 14 Code, to read:
line 15 21080.26.5. (a)  For the purposes of this section, “public line 16 project” means a project constructed by either a public agency or line 17 private entity, that, upon the completion of the construction, will line 18 be operated by a public agency.
line 19 (b)  This division shall not apply to a public or private residential, line 20 commercial, or mixed-used project that, at the time the project line 21 application is filed, is located entirely or principally on land owned line 22 by a public transit agency, or fully or partially encumbered by an line 23 existing operating easement in favor of a public transit agency, line 24 and that includes at least one of the following:
line 25 (1)  A project component identified in paragraphs (1) to (5), line 26 inclusive, or paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 21080.25. line 27 (2)  A public project for passenger rail service facilities, other line 28 than light rail service eligible under paragraph (5) of subdivision line 29 (b) of Section 21080.25, including the construction, line 30 reconfiguration, or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, rails, line 31 platforms, or existing operations facilities, which will be line 32 exclusively used by zero-emission or electric trains. The project line 33 shall be located on land owned by a public transit agency, or land line 34 fully or partially encumbered by an existing operating easement line 35 in favor of a public transit agency, at the time the project line 36 application is filed.
line 37 (3)  An agreement between the project applicant and public line 38 transit agency that owns the land or has the permanent operating line 39 easement to finance transit capital infrastructure, transit line 40 maintenance, or transit operations, including through a proposed 96 — 27 — SB 79

line 1 public financing district, community financing district, or tax line 2 increment generated by the project.
line 3 (c)  If a project described in subdivision (b) requires the line 4 construction of new passenger rail storage and maintenance line 5 facilities at a publicly or privately owned offsite location distinct line 6 from the principal project site, then that project shall be considered line 7 a wholly separate project from the project described in subdivision line 8 (b) and shall not be exempt from this division. Any required line 9 environmental review shall not affect or render invalid the line 10 exemption provided in subdivision (b), regardless of whether the line 11 project described in subdivision (b) cannot proceed unless the line 12 offsite facilities are constructed.
line 13 SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to line 14 Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because line 15 a local government or school district has the authority to levy line 16 service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the line 17 program or level of service mandated by this act, within the line 18 meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

O
96 SB 79 — 28 —

Town of Atherton
Office of the Mayor
80 Fair Oaks Lane
Atherton, California 94027
Phone (650) 752-0500
May 21, 2025
The Honorable Scott Wiener
California State Senate
1021 O Street, Suite 3330
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Opposition to Senate Bill 677 – Housing Development: Streamlined Approvals Dear Senator Wiener,
On behalf of the Town of Atherton, I write to express our strong opposition to Senate Bill 677, which proposes significant amendments to existing housing laws, including SB 9 and SB 423.

While we acknowledge the pressing need to address California’s housing shortage, we believe that SB 677 undermines local governance, disregards community character, and imposes one-size-fitsall mandates that are ill-suited to the diverse needs of our municipalities.

Key Concerns:

1. Erosion of Local Control:

SB 677 mandates ministerial approval for housing developments containing up to two residential units on lots zoned for single-family use or up to four units, irrespective of local zoning ordinances or community input. This blanket approach diminishes the authority of local governments to make land-use decisions that reflect the unique characteristics and needs of their communities.

2. Infrastructure and Environmental Constraints:

The bill’s provisions fail to account for existing infrastructure limitations and environmental considerations. For instance, increasing density without corresponding investments in transportation, water, and sewage systems can strain resources and degrade the quality of life for existing residents. Moreover, the bill’s exemptions for developments in areas affected by natural disasters could inadvertently encourage construction in highrisk zones.

3. Impact on Community Character:

Atherton is characterized by its low-density residential neighborhoods, which contribute to its unique identity and appeal. SB 677’s provisions could lead to developments that are

SB 677 – Letter of Opposition
May 21, 2025

incongruent with the town’s established character, potentially affecting property values and community cohesion.

4. Financial Implications:

By prohibiting the imposition of impact fees on developments under 1,750 square feet and requiring proportional fees for larger units, SB 677 limits the ability of local governments to fund necessary infrastructure improvements and public services that accommodate increased density.

5. Precedent for Future Legislation:

The bill sets a concerning precedent by overriding local ordinances and homeowner association covenants. This could pave the way for future legislation that further erodes local autonomy and disregards the voices of community stakeholders.

In light of these concerns, the Town of Atherton respectfully urges you and your legislative colleagues to reconsider SB 677. We advocate for solutions that address the state’s housing crisis while preserving the integrity of local governance and respecting the distinct identities of our communities.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lewis
Mayor
Town of Atherton
cc: Senator Josh Becker
Assemblymember Diane Papan
League of California Cities
Atherton City Council

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2025
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2025
SENATE BILL No. 677
Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wicks)
February 21, 2025
An act to amend Section 4751 of the Civil Code, and to amend Sections 65852.21, 65913.4, and 66411.7 of the Government Code, relating to land use.
legislative counsel’s digest
SB 677, as amended, Wiener. Housing development: streamlined approvals.
(1)  Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a proposed housing development containing no more than 2 residential units within a single-family residential zone to be considered ministerially, without discretionary review or hearing, if the proposed housing development meets certain requirements.

This bill would require ministerial approval for proposed housing developments containing no more than 2 residential units on any lot hosting a single-family home or zoned for 4 or fewer residential units, notwithstanding any covenant, condition, or restriction imposed by a common interest development association.

Existing law prohibits ministerial approval for proposed housing developments that would require the demolition or alteration of housing that, among other things, has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years.

This bill would provide an exception to that prohibition for housing located in a county subject to a state of emergency declaration, as

97

specified. The bill would also provide an exemption to the prohibition if a structure on the development site that includes at least one housing unit was involuntarily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, other catastrophic event, or the public enemy.

Existing law authorizes a local agency to impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards on the proposed housing development, except as specified, including that (1) the imposed standards may not have the effect of physically precluding a unit from being at least 800 square feet in floor area, (2) a local agency’s authority to impose, among other things, setbacks, is restricted, and (3) the local agency is prohibited from imposing standards that do not apply uniformly to development within the underlying zone.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to, among other things, as to the exceptions specified above, raise the minimum size of a unit to 1,750 net habitable square feet, revise a local agency’s authority to impose setbacks, and, in addition to objective standards, prohibit a local agency from imposing permitting requirements that do not apply uniformly to development within the underlying zone, except as specified. The bill would prohibit a local agency from imposing a low-income deed restriction or covenant that restricts rents, as specified.

The bill would prohibit local agencies from using or imposing any standards other than those provided by its provisions.

Existing law authorizes a local agency to adopt an ordinance to implement these provisions.

This bill would require a local agency that has adopted an ordinance to submit a copy of that ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development within 60 days after adoption, as specified.

The bill would authorize the department to review the ordinance and submit written findings to the local agency as to whether the ordinance is in compliance with these provisions. Should the department conclude an ordinance is not in compliance, the bill would establish a process for the department to notify the local agency and the local agency to amend the ordinance or adopt the ordinance without changes, as provided. The bill would require the local agency to include the ordinance with the annual housing element report.

The bill would prohibit a local agency from denying a proposed housing development due to the presence of preexisting issues under specified conditions, including that the issues do not present a threat to public health and safety.
97 SB 677 — 2 —

The bill would also require a local agency to provide applicants with a single application for a housing development that falls under these provisions and also involves an urban lot split to review both applications concurrently.

This bill would prohibit the imposition of an impact fee, as defined, upon a proposed housing development that is less than 1,750 square feet and require any impact fees imposed on proposed developments of 1,750 square feet or greater to be charged proportionately. (2)  The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a multifamily housing development that is subject to a streamlined, ministerial approval process, as provided, and not subject to a conditional use permit, if the development satisfies specified objective planning standards. These standards include that, among other things, the development is subject to a requirement mandating a minimum percentage of below market rate housing because the locality’s latest production report reflects there were fewer units of affordable housing issued building permits than required for the regional housing needs assessment cycle for that period and the project seeking approval dedicates 50 percent of the units to affordable housing, as specified. The standards include that the development is not located on a site that meets specified environmental criteria. The standards also include that the development is not located on a site that would require the demolition of specified types housing, including, among others, a historic structure that was placed on a national, state, or local historic register.

The bill would revise the first planning standard so that it would be met if a development meets the above-described criteria and dedicates 20 percent of the units to affordable housing, as specified. The bill would revise the second planning standard so that it would be met if a development is not located within a site that meets specified criteria.

The bill would revise the third planning standard to instead include a development is not located on a site that would require the demolition of a property individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources historic or of a contributing structure located within a historic district included on the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources. The bill would also exempt a proposed housing development from restrictions on demolition if a structure on the development site that includes at least one housing unit was involuntarily 97 — 3 — SB 677

damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, other catastrophic event, or the public enemy.

Existing law provides that a development is consistent with the objective planning standards in these provisions if there is substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the development is consistent and prohibits a local government from determining a development is in conflict on a specified basis, as provided.

This bill would require the local government to bear the burden of proof in any evaluation of a development related to compliance with objective planning standards related to specified environmental criteria, as provided. The bill would require a local government to demonstrate, with a preponderance of the evidence, that the development does not comply with the applicable environmental criteria established under state or federal law, as provided.

Existing law defines a “reporting period” as either the first or last half of the regional housing needs assessment cycle.

This bill would require the reporting period to instead include each quarter of the regional housing needs assessment cycle. (3)  The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency’s processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification of those maps. Existing law requires a local agency to ministerially approve a parcel map for an urban lot split that meets certain requirements, including that one parcel is not smaller than 40% of the lot area of the original parcel and the owner of the parcel being subdivided has not previously subdivided an adjacent parcel using an urban lot split, as provided.

This bill would remove the requirement that one parcel of a split lot be no smaller than 40% of the lot area of the original parcel and would exempt both newly created lots from following certain additional requirements, as specified. The bill would also remove the prohibition against owners who have previously subdivided an adjacent parcel using an urban lot split.

Existing law prohibits ministerial approval for a proposed urban lot split that would require the demolition or alteration of housing that, among other things, has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years.
97 SB 677 — 4 —

The bill would exempt a lot split from restrictions on demolition if a structure on the development site that includes at least one housing unit was involuntarily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, other catastrophic event, or the public enemy.

Existing law authorizes a local agency, except as provided, to impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards related to the design or improvements of a parcel subject to an urban lot split, including that the imposed standards may not have the effect of physically precluding a unit being constructed on either of the resulting parcels from being at least 800 square feet. Existing law allows a local agency to require specified conditions when considering an application for a parcel map for an urban lot split, including access requirements.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to, among other things, prohibit a local agency from imposing standards that would have the effect of physically precluding an urban lot split from occurring or a unit being constructed on either of the resulting parcels from being at least 1,750 net habitable square feet. The bill would also revise and recast the restrictions on a local agency’s authority to impose a setback, as provided. The bill would prohibit a local agency from imposing a driveway requirement width requirement, as provided.

This bill would specify that a local agency’s access requirement may not physically preclude the lot split from occurring if another access method would facilitate the lot split.

The bill would require a local agency to provide applicants with a single application for an urban lot split that falls under these provisions and also includes a proposed housing development that falls under the provisions discussed above to review both applications concurrently.

Under existing law, a local agency must require an applicant for an urban lot split to sign an affidavit stating that the applicant intends to occupy one of the housing units as their principal residence, as specified.

This bill would remove the requirement that an applicant sign an affidavit stating that the applicant intends to occupy one of the housing units as their principal residence and prohibit a local agency from using or imposing any additional standards, except as specified.

Existing law authorizes a local agency to adopt an ordinance to implement these provisions.

This bill would require a local agency that has adopted an ordinance to submit a copy of that ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development within 60 days after adoption, as specified. 97 — 5 — SB 677

The bill would authorize the department to review the ordinance and submit written findings to the local agency as to whether the ordinance is in compliance with these provisions. Should the department conclude an ordinance is not in compliance, the bill would establish a process for the department to notify the local agency and the local agency to amend the ordinance or adopt the ordinance without changes, as provided.

The bill would require a local agency to ministerially review a condominium map that would subdivide a specified housing development, as provided. The bill would prohibit the imposition of an impact fee upon an urban lot split, as specified.
(4)  Existing law authorizes a local agency, by ordinance, to provide for the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in areas zoned for residential use and requires ministerial approval of ADUs, as specified.

Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, governs the management and operation of common interest developments. Existing law makes void and unenforceable any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a planned development, and any provision of a governing document, that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential use that meets the above-described requirements established for those units, except as provided.

This bill would, additionally, apply the above-described provisions to housing developments and urban lot splits receiving ministerial approval, as specified.
(5)  Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, establishes the California Coastal Commission and prescribes the powers and responsibilities of the commission with regard to the regulation of development along the California coast.

Existing law specifies that proposed housing developments and urban lot splits considered ministerially under the above-described provisions may be required to obtain a coastal development permit, but a local agency is not required to hold public hearings for coastal development permit applications, as provided.

This bill would instead specify that these provisions do not relieve a proposed housing development’s or urban lot split’s requirement to obtain a coastal development permit if the proposed activity would take 97 SB 677 — 6 —

place in the coastal zone, as provided. express the intent of the Legislature to achieve the goal of increasing the supply of housing in the coastal zone while also protecting coastal resources and public coastal access, as provided.
(6)  The bill would define key terms and make nonsubstantive and conforming changes.
(7)  By increasing the duties of local agencies with respect to land use regulations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8)  The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (9)  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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.

State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. Section 4751 of the Civil Code is amended to line 2 read:
line 3 4751. (a)  Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in line 4 any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument line 5 affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a planned line 6 development, and any provision of a governing document, that line 7 either effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the line 8 construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior line 9 accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential line 10 use that meets the requirements of Article 2 (commencing with line 11 Section 66314) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 66333) of line 12 Chapter 13 of Division 1 of Title 7, or of a housing development line 13 pursuant to Section 65852.21 of the Government Code, or an urban line 14 lot split pursuant to Section 66411.7 of the Government Code, is line 15 void and unenforceable.
line 16 (b)  This section does not apply to provisions that impose line 17 reasonable restrictions on accessory dwelling units or junior line 18 accessory dwelling units or a housing development pursuant to line 19 Section 65852.21 of the Government Code or an urban lot split 97 — 7 — SB 677

line 1 pursuant to 66411.7 of the Government Code. For purposes of this line 2 subdivision, “reasonable restrictions” means restrictions that do line 3 not unreasonably increase the cost to construct, effectively prohibit line 4 the construction of, or extinguish the ability to otherwise construct, line 5 an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit line 6 consistent with the provisions of Article 2 (commencing with line 7 Section 66314) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 66333) of line 8 Chapter 13 of Division 1 of Title 7, or a housing development line 9 pursuant to Section 65852.21 of the Government Code, or an urban line 10 lot split pursuant to Section 66411.7 of the Government Code. line 11 SEC. 2. Section 65852.21 of the Government Code is amended line 12 to read:
line 13 65852.21. (a)  Notwithstanding any covenant, condition, or line 14 restriction set by an association, a proposed housing development line 15 containing no more than two residential units on any lot hosting line 16 a single-family home or zoned for four or fewer residential units line 17 shall be considered ministerially, without discretionary review or line 18 a hearing, if the proposed housing development meets all of the line 19 following requirements:
line 20 (1)  The parcel subject to the proposed housing development is line 21 located within a city, the boundaries of which include some portion line 22 of either an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the line 23 United States Census Bureau, or, for unincorporated areas, a legal line 24 parcel wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban line 25 cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau. line 26 (2)  The parcel satisfies the requirements specified in line 27 subparagraphs (B) to (K), inclusive, of paragraph (6) of subdivision line 28 (a) of Section 65913.4.
line 29 (3)  (A)  Notwithstanding any provision of this section or any line 30 local law, the proposed housing development would not require line 31 demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing:
line 32 (i)  Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, line 33 or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and line 34 families of moderate income, as defined in subdivision (m) of line 35 Section 65582, or lower income, as defined in subdivision (l) of line 36 Section 65582.
line 37 (ii)  Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control line 38 through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power. line 39 (iii)  Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three line 40 years, except for housing in any county subject to a state of 97 SB 677 — 8 —

line 1 emergency declaration by the Governor, pursuant to Section 8625, line 2 provided the declaration was made prior to the date of tenancy, line 3 and the housing is occupied by a tenant for no more than 24 months line 4 from the date of the declaration.
line 5 (B)  This paragraph shall not apply if a structure on the line 6 development site that includes at least one housing unit was line 7 involuntarily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, other line 8 catastrophic event, or the public enemy.
line 9 (4)  The parcel subject to the proposed housing development is line 10 not a parcel on which an owner of residential real property has line 11 exercised the owner’s rights under Chapter 12.75 (commencing line 12 with Section 7060) of Division 7 of Title 1 to withdraw line 13 accommodations from rent or lease within 15 years before the date line 14 that the development proponent submits an application. line 15 (5)  The development is not located within a historic district or line 16 property included on the State Historic Resources Inventory, as line 17 defined in Section 5020.1 of the Public Resources Code, or within line 18 a site that is designated or listed as a city or county landmark or line 19 historic property or district pursuant to a city or county ordinance. line 20 (b)  (1)  (A)  Notwithstanding any local law and except as line 21 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a local agency may impose line 22 objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and line 23 objective design review standards that do not conflict with this line 24 section.
line 25 (B)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a local agency may only line 26 impose a front setback with respect to the original lot line. line 27 (2)  (A)  The local agency shall not impose objective zoning line 28 standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design line 29 standards that would have the effect of physically precluding the line 30 construction of up to two units or that would physically preclude line 31 either of the two units from being at least 1,750 net habitable square line 32 feet in floor area.
line 33 (B)  (i)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), no setback, height line 34 limitation, lot coverage limitation, floor area ratio, or other standard line 35 that would limit residential development capacity shall be required line 36 for an existing structure or a structure constructed in the same line 37 location and within the same dimensions as an existing structure. line 38 (ii)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in all other circumstances line 39 not described in clause (i), a local agency may require a setback 97 — 9 — SB 677

line 1 from the original lot line of up to four feet from the side and rear line 2 lot lines.
line 3 (iii)  A local agency shall not require a setback between the units, line 4 except as required in the California Building Standards Code (Title line 5 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
line 6 (3)  A local agency shall not impose objective zoning standards, line 7 objective subdivision standards, objective design standards, or line 8 permitting requirements that do not apply uniformly to line 9 development within the underlying zone. This subdivision shall line 10 not prevent a local agency from adopting or imposing objective line 11 zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, objective design line 12 standards, or permitting requirements on development authorized line 13 by this section if those standards are more permissive than line 14 applicable standards within the underlying zone. line 15 (4)  A local agency shall not require a deed restriction or line 16 covenant that restricts rents to the levels affordable to persons and line 17 families of moderate income, as defined in subdivision (m) of line 18 Section 65582, or lower income, as defined in subdivision (l) of line 19 Section 65582.
line 20 (5)  This section establishes the maximum standards that a local line 21 agency shall use to evaluate a housing development proposed line 22 pursuant to this section. No additional standards, other than those line 23 provided in this section, shall be used or imposed, including an line 24 owner occupancy requirement.
line 25 (c)  A local agency may require any of the following conditions line 26 when considering an application for two residential units as line 27 provided for in this section:
line 28 (1)  Offstreet parking of up to one space per unit, except that a line 29 local agency shall not impose parking requirements in any of the line 30 following instances:
line 31 (A)  The parcel is located within one-half mile walking distance line 32 of either a high-quality transit corridor, as defined in subdivision line 33 (b) of Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code, or a major line 34 transit stop, as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources line 35 Code.
line 36 (B)  There is a car share vehicle located within one block of the line 37 parcel.
line 38 (2)  For residential units connected to an onsite wastewater line 39 treatment system, a percolation test completed within the last 5 97 SB 677 — 10 —

line 1 years, or, if the percolation test has been recertified, within the last line 2 10 years.
line 3 (d)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a local agency may deny line 4 a proposed housing development project if the building official line 5 makes a written finding, based upon a preponderance of the line 6 evidence, that the proposed housing development project would line 7 have a specific, adverse impact, as defined and determined in line 8 paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65589.5, upon public line 9 health and safety for which there is no feasible method to line 10 satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. line 11 (e)  A local agency shall require that a rental of any unit created line 12 pursuant to this section be for a term longer than 30 days. line 13 (f)  Notwithstanding Article 2 (commencing with Section 66314) line 14 or Article 3 (commencing with Section 66333) of Chapter 13, a line 15 local agency may permit an accessory dwelling unit or a junior line 16 accessory dwelling unit on a parcel that uses the authority contained line 17 within this section and that was created pursuant to the authority line 18 contained in Section 66411.7.
line 19 (g)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of line 20 subdivision (b), an application shall not be rejected solely because line 21 it proposes adjacent or connected structures provided that the line 22 structures meet building code safety standards and are sufficient line 23 to allow separate conveyance.
line 24 (h)  (1)  An application for a proposed housing development line 25 pursuant to this section shall be considered and approved or denied line 26 within 60 days from the date the local agency receives a completed line 27 application. If the local agency has not approved or denied the line 28 completed application within 60 days, the application shall be line 29 deemed approved.
line 30 (2)  If a permitting agency denies an application for a proposed line 31 housing development pursuant to paragraph (1), the permitting line 32 agency shall, within the time period described in paragraph (1), line 33 return in writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a list line 34 of items that are defective or deficient and a description of how line 35 the application can be remedied by the applicant. line 36 (i)  Local agencies shall include units constructed and any line 37 ordinance adopted pursuant to this section in the annual housing line 38 element report as required by subparagraph (I) of paragraph (2) line 39 of subdivision (a) of Section 65400.
line 40 (j)  For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
97 — 11 — SB 677

line 1 (1)  A housing development contains two residential units if the line 2 development proposes no more than two new units or if it proposes line 3 to add one new unit to one existing unit.
line 4 (2)  The terms “objective zoning standards,” “objective line 5 subdivision standards,” and “objective design review standards” line 6 mean standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment line 7 by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to line 8 an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and line 9 knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the line 10 public official prior to submittal. These standards may be embodied line 11 in alternative objective land use specifications adopted by a local line 12 agency, and may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay line 13 zones, specific plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density line 14 bonus ordinances.
line 15 (3)  “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county, line 16 whether general law or chartered.
line 17 (4)  “Association” has the same meaning as defined in Section line 18 4080 of the Civil Code.
line 19 (5)  “Urbanized area” means an urbanized area designated by line 20 the United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal line 21 Register, Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012. line 22 (6)  “Urban cluster” means an urbanized area designated by the line 23 United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal Register, line 24 Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012.
line 25 (7)  “Net habitable square feet” means the finished and heated line 26 floor area fully enclosed by the inside surface of walls, windows, line 27 doors, and partitions, and having a headroom of at least six and line 28 one-half feet, including working, living, eating, cooking, sleeping, line 29 stair, hall, service, and storage areas, but excluding garages, line 30 carports, parking spaces, cellars, half-stories, and unfinished attics line 31 and basements.
line 32 (k)  A local agency may adopt an ordinance to implement the line 33 provisions of this section. An ordinance adopted to implement this line 34 section shall not be considered a project under Division 13 line 35 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. line 36 (1)  A local agency shall submit a copy of the ordinance adopted line 37 pursuant to this section to the department within 60 days after line 38 adoption. After adoption of an ordinance, the department may line 39 submit written findings to the local agency as to whether the line 40 ordinance complies with this section. The local agency shall submit 97 SB 677 — 12 —

line 1 a copy of any existing ordinance adopted pursuant to this section line 2 to the department within 60 days of the date this act becomes line 3 effective.
line 4 (2)  (A)  The department may review the ordinance and if the line 5 department finds that the local agency’s ordinance does not comply line 6 with this section, the department shall notify the local agency and line 7 shall provide the local agency with a reasonable time, not to exceed line 8 30 days, to respond to the findings before taking any other action line 9 authorized by this section.
line 10 (B)  The local agency shall consider any findings made by the line 11 department pursuant to paragraph (1) and shall do one of the line 12 following:
line 13 (i)  Amend the ordinance to comply with this section. line 14 (ii)  Adopt the ordinance without changes. The local agency line 15 shall include findings in its resolution adopting the ordinance that line 16 explain the reasons the local agency believes that the ordinance line 17 complies with this section despite the findings of the department. line 18 (3)  If the local agency does not amend its ordinance in response line 19 to the department’s findings or does not adopt a resolution with line 20 findings explaining the reason the ordinance complies with this line 21 section and addressing the department’s findings, the department line 22 shall notify the local agency and may notify the Attorney General line 23 that the local agency is in violation of state law. line 24 (l)  A local agency shall provide applicants with a single line 25 application for a housing development pursuant to this section and line 26 any urban lot split pursuant to Section 66411.7. Both applications line 27 shall be reviewed concurrently.
line 28 (m)  For a project located in the coastal zone, as specified in the line 29 California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with line 30 Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code), this section does line 31 not relieve a project relying on the provisions of this section from line 32 the requirement to obtain a coastal development permit as required line 33 by Section 30600 of the Public Resources Code. Any standards to line 34 which the applicant is entitled under this section shall be permitted line 35 in a manner that is consistent with this section and does not result line 36 in significant adverse impacts to coastal resources and public line 37 coastal access pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section line 38 30200) of Division 20 of the Public Resources Code. line 39 (m)  (1)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede line 40 or in any way alter or lessen the effect or application of the 97 — 13 — SB 677

line 1 California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with line 2 Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code), except that the line 3 local agency shall not be required to hold public hearings for line 4 coastal development permit applications for a housing development line 5 pursuant to this section.
line 6 (2)  It is the intent of the Legislature that housing developments line 7 proposed pursuant to this section on any lot that satisfies the line 8 requirements specified in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, and clause line 9 (v) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of line 10 Section 65913.4 enjoy streamlined permitting consistent with line 11 Section 65913.4 of the Government Code so as to achieve the goal line 12 of increasing the supply of housing in the coastal zone while also line 13 protecting coastal resources and public coastal access. line 14 (n)  The local agency shall not deny an application for a permit line 15 due to the presence of preexisting nonconforming zoning line 16 conditions, building code violations, or unpermitted structures that line 17 do not present a threat to public health and safety and are not line 18 affected by the construction of the unit or units. line 19 (o)  (1)  A local agency, special district, or water corporation line 20 shall not impose any impact fee upon a housing development line 21 proposed pursuant to this section of less than 1,750 square feet. line 22 Any impact fees charged for a housing development proposed line 23 pursuant to this section of 1,750 square feet or greater shall be line 24 charged proportionately.
line 25 (2)  For purposes of this subdivision, “impact fee” has the same line 26 meaning as the term “fee” as defined in subdivision (b) of Section line 27 66000, except that it also includes fees specified in Section 66477. line 28 “Impact fee” does not include any connection fee or capacity line 29 charge charged by a local agency, special district, or water line 30 corporation.
line 31 SEC. 3. Section 65913.4 of the Government Code is amended line 32 to read:
line 33 65913.4. (a)  Except as provided in subdivision (r), a line 34 development proponent may submit an application for a line 35 development that is subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval line 36 process provided by subdivision (c) and is not subject to a line 37 conditional use permit or any other nonlegislative discretionary line 38 approval if the development complies with subdivision (b) and line 39 satisfies all of the following objective planning standards:
97 SB 677 — 14 —

line 1 (1)  The development is a multifamily housing development that line 2 contains two or more residential units.
line 3 (2)  The development and the site on which it is located satisfy line 4 all of the following:
line 5 (A)  It is a legal parcel or parcels located in a city if, and only line 6 if, the city boundaries include some portion of either an urbanized line 7 area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census line 8 Bureau, or, for unincorporated areas, a legal parcel or parcels line 9 wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, line 10 as designated by the United States Census Bureau. line 11 (B)  At least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins parcels line 12 that are developed with urban uses. For the purposes of this section, line 13 parcels that are only separated by a street or highway shall be line 14 considered to be adjoined.
line 15 (C)  (i)  A site that meets the requirements of clause (ii) and line 16 satisfies any of the following:
line 17 (I)  The site is zoned for residential use or residential mixed-use line 18 development.
line 19 (II)  The site has a general plan designation that allows residential line 20 use or a mix of residential and nonresidential uses. line 21 (III)  The site meets the requirements of Section 65852.24. line 22 (ii)  At least two-thirds of the square footage of the development line 23 is designated for residential use. Additional density, floor area, line 24 and units, and any other concession, incentive, or waiver of line 25 development standards granted pursuant to the Density Bonus Law line 26 in Section 65915 shall be included in the square footage line 27 calculation. The square footage of the development shall not line 28 include underground space, such as basements or underground line 29 parking garages.
line 30 (3)  (A)  The development proponent has committed to record, line 31 prior to the issuance of the first building permit, a land use line 32 restriction or covenant providing that any lower or line 33 moderate-income housing units required pursuant to subparagraph line 34 (B) of paragraph (4) shall remain available at affordable housing line 35 costs or rent to persons and families of lower or moderate income line 36 for no less than the following periods of time:
line 37 (i)  Fifty-five years for units that are rented. line 38 (ii)  Forty-five years for units that are owned. 97 — 15 — SB 677

line 1 (B)  The city or county shall require the recording of covenants line 2 or restrictions implementing this paragraph for each parcel or unit line 3 of real property included in the development.
line 4 (4)  The development satisfies clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph line 5 (A) and satisfies subparagraph (B) below:
line 6 (A)  (i)  For a development located in a locality that is in its sixth line 7 or earlier housing element cycle, the development is located in line 8 either of the following:
line 9 (I)  In a locality that the department has determined is subject line 10 to this clause on the basis that the number of units that have been line 11 issued building permits, as shown on the most recent production line 12 report received by the department, is less than the locality’s share line 13 of the regional housing needs, by income category, for that line 14 reporting period. A locality shall remain eligible under this line 15 subclause until the department’s determination for the next line 16 reporting period.
line 17 (II)  In a locality that the department has determined is subject line 18 to this clause on the basis that the locality did not adopt a housing line 19 element that has been found in substantial compliance with housing line 20 element law (Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of line 21 Chapter 3) by the department. A locality shall remain eligible under line 22 this subclause until such time as the locality adopts a housing line 23 element that has been found in substantial compliance with housing line 24 element law (Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of line 25 Chapter 3) by the department.
line 26 (ii)  For a development located in a locality that is in its seventh line 27 or later housing element cycle, is located in a locality that the line 28 department has determined is subject to this clause on the basis line 29 that the locality did not adopt a housing element that has been line 30 found in substantial compliance with housing element law (Article line 31 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of Chapter 3) by the line 32 department by the statutory deadline, or that the number of units line 33 that have been issued building permits, as shown on the most recent line 34 production report received by the department, is less than the line 35 locality’s share of the regional housing needs, by income category, line 36 for that reporting period. A locality shall remain eligible under line 37 this subparagraph until the department’s determination for the next line 38 reporting period.
97 SB 677 — 16 —

line 1 (B)  The development is subject to a requirement mandating a line 2 minimum percentage of below market rate housing based on one line 3 of the following:
line 4 (i)  The locality did not adopt a housing element pursuant to line 5 Section 65588 that has been found in substantial compliance with line 6 the housing element law (Article 10.6 (commencing with Section line 7 65580) of Chapter 3) by the department, did not submit its latest line 8 production report to the department by the time period required line 9 by Section 65400, or that production report submitted to the line 10 department reflects that there were fewer units of above line 11 moderate-income housing issued building permits than were line 12 required for the regional housing needs assessment cycle for that line 13 reporting period. In addition, if the project contains more than 10 line 14 units of housing, the project does one of the following:
line 15 (I)  For for-rent projects, the project dedicates a minimum of 10 line 16 percent of the total number of units, before calculating any density line 17 bonus, to housing affordable to households making at or below 50 line 18 percent of the area median income. However, if the locality has line 19 adopted a local ordinance that requires that greater than 10 percent line 20 of the units be dedicated to housing affordable to households line 21 making below 50 percent of the area median income, that local line 22 ordinance applies.
line 23 (II)  For for-sale projects, the project dedicates a minimum of line 24 10 percent of the total number of units, before calculating any line 25 density bonus, to housing affordable to households making at or line 26 below 80 percent of the area median income. However, if the line 27 locality has adopted a local ordinance that requires that greater line 28 than 10 percent of the units be dedicated to housing affordable to line 29 households making below 80 percent of the area median income, line 30 that local ordinance applies.
line 31 (III)  (ia)  If the project is located within the San Francisco Bay line 32 area, the project, in lieu of complying with subclause (I) or (II), line 33 may opt to abide by this subclause. Projects utilizing this subclause line 34 shall dedicate 20 percent of the total number of units, before line 35 calculating any density bonus, to housing affordable to households line 36 making below 100 percent of the area median income with the line 37 average income of the units at or below 80 percent of the area line 38 median income. However, a local ordinance adopted by the locality line 39 applies if it requires greater than 20 percent of the units be line 40 dedicated to housing affordable to households making at or below 97 — 17 — SB 677

line 1 100 percent of the area median income, or requires that any of the line 2 units be dedicated at a level deeper than 100 percent. In order to line 3 comply with this subclause, the rent or sale price charged for units line 4 that are dedicated to housing affordable to households between 80 line 5 percent and 100 percent of the area median income shall not exceed line 6 30 percent of the gross income of the household. line 7 (ib)  For purposes of this subclause, “San Francisco Bay area” line 8 means the entire area within the territorial boundaries of the line 9 Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, line 10 Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, and the City and County of San line 11 Francisco.
line 12 (ii)  (I)  The locality’s latest production report reflects that there line 13 were fewer units of housing issued building permits affordable to line 14 either very low income or low-income households by income line 15 category than were required for the regional housing needs line 16 assessment cycle for that reporting period, and one of the following line 17 conditions exist:
line 18 (ia)  The project seeking approval dedicates 20 percent of the line 19 total number of units, before calculating any density bonus, to line 20 housing affordable to households making at or below 80 percent line 21 of the area median income.
line 22 (ib)  The project application was submitted prior to January 1, line 23 2019, and the project includes at least 500 units of housing, the line 24 project seeking approval or seeking a modification to a prior line 25 approval dedicates 20 percent of the total number of units, before line 26 calculating any density bonus, as affordable units, with at least 9 line 27 percent affordable to households making at or below 50 percent line 28 of the area median income and the remainder affordable to line 29 households making at or below 80 percent of the area median line 30 income.
line 31 (II)  Notwithstanding the conditions described in sub-subclauses line 32 (ia) and (ib) of subclause (I), if the locality has adopted a local line 33 ordinance that requires that greater than 20 percent of the units be line 34 dedicated to housing affordable to households making at or below line 35 80 percent of the area median income, that local ordinance applies. line 36 (III)  For purposes of this clause, the reference to units affordable line 37 to very low income households includes units affordable to acutely line 38 low income households, as defined in Section 50063.5 of the Health line 39 and Safety Code, and to extremely low income households, as line 40 defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code. 97 SB 677 — 18 —

line 1 (iii)  The locality did not submit its latest production report to line 2 the department by the time period required by Section 65400, or line 3 if the production report reflects that there were fewer units of line 4 housing affordable to both income levels described in clauses (i) line 5 and (ii) that were issued building permits than were required for line 6 the regional housing needs assessment cycle for that reporting line 7 period, the project seeking approval may choose between utilizing line 8 clause (i) or (ii).
line 9 (C)  (i)  A development proponent that uses a unit of affordable line 10 housing to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (B) may also line 11 satisfy any other local or state requirement for affordable housing, line 12 including local ordinances or the Density Bonus Law in Section line 13 65915, provided that the development proponent complies with line 14 the applicable requirements in the state or local law. If a local line 15 requirement for affordable housing requires units that are restricted line 16 to households with incomes higher than the applicable income line 17 limits required in subparagraph (B), then units that meet the line 18 applicable income limits required in subparagraph (B) shall be line 19 deemed to satisfy those local requirements for higher income units. line 20 (ii)  A development proponent that uses a unit of affordable line 21 housing to satisfy any other state or local affordability requirement line 22 may also satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (B), provided line 23 that the development proponent complies with applicable line 24 requirements of subparagraph (B).
line 25 (iii)  A development proponent may satisfy the affordability line 26 requirements of subparagraph (B) with a unit that is restricted to line 27 households with incomes lower than the applicable income limits line 28 required in subparagraph (B).
line 29 (D)  The amendments to this subdivision made by the act adding line 30 this subparagraph do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory line 31 of, existing law.
line 32 (5)  The development, excluding any additional density or any line 33 other concessions, incentives, or waivers of development standards line 34 for which the development is eligible pursuant to the Density Bonus line 35 Law in Section 65915, is consistent with objective zoning line 36 standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design line 37 review standards in effect at the time that the development is line 38 submitted to the local government pursuant to this section, or at line 39 the time a notice of intent is submitted pursuant to subdivision (b), line 40 whichever occurs earlier. For purposes of this paragraph, “objective 97 — 19 — SB 677

line 1 zoning standards,” “objective subdivision standards,” and line 2 “objective design review standards” mean standards that involve line 3 no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are line 4 uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform line 5 benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the line 6 development applicant or proponent and the public official before line 7 submittal. These standards may be embodied in alternative line 8 objective land use specifications adopted by a city or county, and line 9 may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay zones, specific line 10 plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density bonus line 11 ordinances, subject to the following:
line 12 (A)  A development shall be deemed consistent with the objective line 13 zoning standards related to housing density, as applicable, if the line 14 density proposed is compliant with the maximum density allowed line 15 within that land use designation, notwithstanding any specified line 16 maximum unit allocation that may result in fewer units of housing line 17 being permitted.
line 18 (B)  In the event that objective zoning, general plan, subdivision, line 19 or design review standards are mutually inconsistent, a line 20 development shall be deemed consistent with the objective zoning line 21 and subdivision standards pursuant to this subdivision if the line 22 development is consistent with the standards set forth in the general line 23 plan.
line 24 (C)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the objective zoning line 25 standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design line 26 review standards described in this paragraph be adopted or line 27 amended in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 905 of line 28 the Statutes of 2004.
line 29 (D)  The amendments to this subdivision made by the act adding line 30 this subparagraph do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory line 31 of, existing law.
line 32 (E)  A project that satisfies the requirements of Section 65852.24 line 33 shall be deemed consistent with objective zoning standards, line 34 objective design standards, and objective subdivision standards if line 35 the project is consistent with the provisions of subdivision (b) of line 36 Section 65852.24 and if none of the square footage in the project line 37 is designated for hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other line 38 transient lodging use, except for a residential hotel. For purposes line 39 of this subdivision, “residential hotel” shall have the same meaning line 40 as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code. 97 SB 677 — 20 —

line 1 (6)  The development is not located within any of the following:
line 2 (A)  (i)  An area of the coastal zone subject to paragraph (1) or line 3 (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 30603 of the Public Resources line 4 Code.
line 5 (ii)  An area of the coastal zone that is not subject to a certified line 6 local coastal program or a certified land use plan. line 7 (iii)  An area of the coastal zone that is vulnerable to five feet line 8 of sea level rise, as determined by the National Oceanic and line 9 Atmospheric Administration, the Ocean Protection Council, the line 10 United States Geological Survey, the University of California, or line 11 a local government’s coastal hazards vulnerability assessment. line 12 (iv)  In a parcel within the coastal zone that is not zoned for line 13 multifamily housing.
line 14 (v)  In a parcel in the coastal zone and located on either of the line 15 following:
line 16 (I)  A 100-foot radius of, or on, a wetland, as defined in Section line 17 30121 of the Public Resources Code.
line 18 (II)  Prime agricultural land, as defined in Sections 30113 and line 19 30241 of the Public Resources Code.
line 20 (B)  Either prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, line 21 as defined pursuant to the United States Department of Agriculture line 22 land inventory and monitoring criteria, as modified for California, line 23 and designated on the maps prepared by the Farmland Mapping line 24 and Monitoring Program of the Department of Conservation, or line 25 land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation line 26 by a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that line 27 jurisdiction.
line 28 (C)  Wetlands, as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife line 29 Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).
line 30 (D)  A very high fire hazard severity zone, as determined by the line 31 Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section line 32 51178, or within the state responsibility area, as defined in Section line 33 4102 of the Public Resources Code. This subparagraph does not line 34 apply to sites that have adopted fire hazard mitigation measures line 35 pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation line 36 measures applicable to the development, including, but not limited line 37 to, standards established under all of the following or their line 38 successor provisions:
line 39 (i)  Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code or Section 51182, line 40 as applicable.
97 — 21 — SB 677

line 1 (ii)  Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code. line 2 (iii)  Chapter 7A of the California Building Code (Title 24 of line 3 the California Code of Regulations).
line 4 (E)  A hazardous waste site that is listed pursuant to Section line 5 65962.5 or a hazardous waste site designated by the Department line 6 of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Section 25356 of the line 7 Health and Safety Code, unless either of the following apply:
line 8 (i)  The site is an underground storage tank site that received a line 9 uniform closure letter issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section line 10 25296.10 of the Health and Safety Code based on closure criteria line 11 established by the State Water Resources Control Board for line 12 residential use or residential mixed uses. This section does not line 13 alter or change the conditions to remove a site from the list of line 14 hazardous waste sites listed pursuant to Section 65962.5. line 15 (ii)  The State Department of Public Health, State Water line 16 Resources Control Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, line 17 or a local agency making a determination pursuant to subdivision line 18 (c) of Section 25296.10 of the Health and Safety Code, has line 19 otherwise determined that the site is suitable for residential use or line 20 residential mixed uses.
line 21 (F)  A delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the line 22 State Geologist in any official maps published by the State line 23 Geologist, unless the development complies with applicable seismic line 24 protection building code standards adopted by the California line 25 Building Standards Commission under the California Building line 26 Standards Law (Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of line 27 Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and by any local line 28 building department under Chapter 12.2 (commencing with Section line 29 8875) of Division 1 of Title 2.
line 30 (G)  A special flood hazard area subject to inundation by the 1 line 31 percent annual chance flood (100-year flood) as determined by line 32 the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps line 33 published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If a line 34 development proponent is able to satisfy all applicable federal line 35 qualifying criteria in order to provide that the site satisfies this line 36 subparagraph and is otherwise eligible for streamlined approval line 37 under this section, a local government shall not deny the application line 38 on the basis that the development proponent did not comply with line 39 any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by line 40 that local government that is applicable to that site. A development 97 SB 677 — 22 —

line 1 may be located on a site described in this subparagraph if either line 2 of the following are met:
line 3 (i)  The site has been subject to a Letter of Map Revision line 4 prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and line 5 issued to the local jurisdiction.
line 6 (ii)  The site meets Federal Emergency Management Agency line 7 requirements necessary to meet minimum flood plain management line 8 criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program pursuant to Part line 9 59 (commencing with Section 59.1) and Part 60 (commencing line 10 with Section 60.1) of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 44 of the line 11 Code of Federal Regulations.
line 12 (H)  A regulatory floodway as determined by the Federal line 13 Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published line 14 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, unless the line 15 development has received a no-rise certification in accordance line 16 with Section 60.3(d)(3) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal line 17 Regulations. If a development proponent is able to satisfy all line 18 applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to provide that the line 19 site satisfies this subparagraph and is otherwise eligible for line 20 streamlined approval under this section, a local government shall line 21 not deny the application on the basis that the development line 22 proponent did not comply with any additional permit requirement, line 23 standard, or action adopted by that local government that is line 24 applicable to that site.
line 25 (I)  Lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural line 26 community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community line 27 Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section line 28 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), habitat line 29 conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act line 30 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), or other adopted natural line 31 resource protection plan.
line 32 (J)  Habitat for protected species identified as candidate, line 33 sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies, line 34 fully protected species, or species protected by the federal line 35 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), line 36 the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing line 37 with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), or line 38 the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with line 39 Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code). line 40 (K)  Lands under conservation easement.
97 — 23 — SB 677

line 1 (7)  (A)  The development is not located on a site where any of line 2 the following apply:
line 3 (i)  The development would require the demolition of the line 4 following types of housing:
line 5 (I)  Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, line 6 or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and line 7 families of moderate income, as defined in subdivision (m) of line 8 Section 65582, or lower income, as defined in subdivision (l) of line 9 Section 65582.
line 10 (II)  Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control line 11 through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power. line 12 (III)  Housing that has been occupied by tenants within the past line 13 10 years.
line 14 (ii)  The site was previously used for housing that was occupied line 15 by tenants that was demolished within 10 years before the line 16 development proponent submits an application under this section. line 17 (iii)  The development would require the demolition of a property line 18 individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or line 19 the California Register of Historical Resources or of a contributing line 20 structure located within a historic district included on the National line 21 Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical line 22 Resources.
line 23 (iv)  The property contains housing units that are occupied by line 24 tenants, and units at the property are, or were, subsequently offered line 25 for sale to the general public by the subdivider or subsequent owner line 26 of the property.
line 27 (B)  This paragraph shall not apply if a structure on the line 28 development site that includes at least one housing unit was line 29 involuntarily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, other line 30 catastrophic event, or the public enemy.
line 31 (8)  Except as provided in paragraph (9), a proponent of a line 32 development project approved by a local government pursuant to line 33 this section shall require in contracts with construction contractors, line 34 and shall certify to the local government, that the following line 35 standards specified in this paragraph will be met in project line 36 construction, as applicable:
line 37 (A)  A development that is not in its entirety a public work for line 38 purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 line 39 of Division 2 of the Labor Code and approved by a local line 40 government pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 97 SB 677 — 24 —

line 1 65912.110) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 65912.120) line 2 shall be subject to all of the following:
line 3 (i)  All construction workers employed in the execution of the line 4 development shall be paid at least the general prevailing rate of line 5 per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area, as line 6 determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to line 7 Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code, except that line 8 apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the line 9 Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the line 10 applicable apprentice prevailing rate.
line 11 (ii)  The development proponent shall ensure that the prevailing line 12 wage requirement is included in all contracts for the performance line 13 of the work, and shall also provide notice of all contracts for the line 14 performance of the work to the Department of Industrial Relations, line 15 in accordance with Section 1773.35 of the Labor Code, for those line 16 portions of the development that are not a public work. line 17 (iii)  All contractors and subcontractors for those portions of the line 18 development that are not a public work shall comply with all of line 19 the following:
line 20 (I)  Pay to all construction workers employed in the execution line 21 of the work at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, line 22 except that apprentices registered in programs approved by the line 23 Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at line 24 least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate. line 25 (II)  Maintain and verify payroll records pursuant to Section line 26 1776 of the Labor Code and make those records available for line 27 inspection and copying as provided in that section. This subclause line 28 does not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing line 29 work on the development are subject to a project labor agreement line 30 that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction line 31 workers employed in the execution of the development and line 32 provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration line 33 procedure. For purposes of this subclause, “project labor line 34 agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of line 35 subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code. line 36 (III)  Be registered in accordance with Section 1725.6 of the line 37 Labor Code.
line 38 (B)  (i)  The obligation of the contractors and subcontractors to line 39 pay prevailing wages pursuant to this paragraph may be enforced line 40 by any of the following:
97 — 25 — SB 677

line 1 (I)  The Labor Commissioner through the issuance of a civil line 2 wage and penalty assessment pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor line 3 Code, which may be reviewed pursuant to Section 1742 of the line 4 Labor Code, within 18 months after the completion of the line 5 development.
line 6 (II)  An underpaid worker through an administrative complaint line 7 or civil action.
line 8 (III)  A joint labor-management committee through a civil action line 9 under Section 1771.2 of the Labor Code.
line 10 (ii)  If a civil wage and penalty assessment is issued pursuant to line 11 this paragraph, the contractor, subcontractor, and surety on a bond line 12 or bonds issued to secure the payment of wages covered by the line 13 assessment shall be liable for liquidated damages pursuant to line 14 Section 1742.1 of the Labor Code.
line 15 (iii)  This paragraph does not apply if all contractors and line 16 subcontractors performing work on the development are subject line 17 to a project labor agreement that requires the payment of prevailing line 18 wages to all construction workers employed in the execution of line 19 the development and provides for enforcement of that obligation line 20 through an arbitration procedure. For purposes of this clause, line 21 “project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in line 22 paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public line 23 Contract Code.
line 24 (C)  Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 1773.1 of the line 25 Labor Code, the requirement that employer payments not reduce line 26 the obligation to pay the hourly straight time or overtime wages line 27 found to be prevailing does not apply to those portions of a line 28 development that are not a public work if otherwise provided in a line 29 bona fide collective bargaining agreement covering the worker. line 30 (D)  The requirement of this paragraph to pay at least the general line 31 prevailing rate of per diem wages does not preclude use of an line 32 alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511 line 33 or 514 of the Labor Code.
line 34 (E)  A development of 50 or more housing units approved by a line 35 local government pursuant to this section shall meet all of the line 36 following labor standards:
line 37 (i)  The development proponent shall require in contracts with line 38 construction contractors and shall certify to the local government line 39 that each contractor of any tier who will employ construction craft line 40 employees or will let subcontracts for at least 1,000 hours shall 97 SB 677 — 26 —

line 1 satisfy the requirements in clauses (ii) and (iii). A construction line 2 contractor is deemed in compliance with clauses (ii) and (iii) if it line 3 is signatory to a valid collective bargaining agreement that requires line 4 utilization of registered apprentices and expenditures on health line 5 care for employees and dependents.
line 6 (ii)  A contractor with construction craft employees shall either line 7 participate in an apprenticeship program approved by the California line 8 Division of Apprenticeship Standards pursuant to Section 3075 of line 9 the Labor Code, or request the dispatch of apprentices from a line 10 state-approved apprenticeship program under the terms and line 11 conditions set forth in Section 1777.5 of the Labor Code. A line 12 contractor without construction craft employees shall show a line 13 contractual obligation that its subcontractors comply with this line 14 clause.
line 15 (iii)  Each contractor with construction craft employees shall line 16 make health care expenditures for each employee in an amount line 17 per hour worked on the development equivalent to at least the line 18 hourly pro rata cost of a Covered California Platinum level plan line 19 for two adults 40 years of age and two dependents 0 to 14 years line 20 of age for the Covered California rating area in which the line 21 development is located. A contractor without construction craft line 22 employees shall show a contractual obligation that its line 23 subcontractors comply with this clause. Qualifying expenditures line 24 shall be credited toward compliance with prevailing wage payment line 25 requirements set forth in this paragraph.
line 26 (iv)  (I)  The development proponent shall provide to the local line 27 government, on a monthly basis while its construction contracts line 28 on the development are being performed, a report demonstrating line 29 compliance with clauses (ii) and (iii). The reports shall be line 30 considered public records under the California Public Records Act line 31 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1) and line 32 shall be open to public inspection.
line 33 (II)  A development proponent that fails to provide the monthly line 34 report shall be subject to a civil penalty for each month for which line 35 the report has not been provided, in the amount of 10 percent of line 36 the dollar value of construction work performed by that contractor line 37 on the development in the month in question, up to a maximum line 38 of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Any contractor or subcontractor line 39 that fails to comply with clauses (ii) and (iii) shall be subject to a 97 — 27 — SB 677

line 1 civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200) per day for each worker line 2 employed in contravention of clauses (ii) and (iii). line 3 (III)  Penalties may be assessed by the Labor Commissioner line 4 within 18 months of completion of the development using the line 5 procedures for issuance of civil wage and penalty assessments line 6 specified in Section 1741 of the Labor Code, and may be reviewed line 7 pursuant to Section 1742 of the Labor Code. Penalties shall be line 8 deposited in the State Public Works Enforcement Fund established line 9 pursuant to Section 1771.3 of the Labor Code.
line 10 (v)  Each construction contractor shall maintain and verify line 11 payroll records pursuant to Section 1776 of the Labor Code. Each line 12 construction contractor shall submit payroll records directly to the line 13 Labor Commissioner at least monthly in a format prescribed by line 14 the Labor Commissioner in accordance with subparagraph (A) of line 15 paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 1771.4 of the Labor line 16 Code. The records shall include a statement of fringe benefits. line 17 Upon request by a joint labor-management cooperation committee line 18 established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation line 19 Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a), the records shall be provided line 20 pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 1776 of the Labor Code. line 21 (vi)  All construction contractors shall report any change in line 22 apprenticeship program participation or health care expenditures line 23 to the local government within 10 business days, and shall reflect line 24 those changes on the monthly report. The reports shall be line 25 considered public records pursuant to the California Public Records line 26 Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1) line 27 and shall be open to public inspection.
line 28 (vii)  A joint labor-management cooperation committee line 29 established pursuant to the federal Labor Management Cooperation line 30 Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a) shall have standing to sue a line 31 construction contractor for failure to make health care expenditures line 32 pursuant to clause (iii) in accordance with Section 218.7 or 218.8 line 33 of the Labor Code.
line 34 (F)  For any project over 85 feet in height above grade, the line 35 following skilled and trained workforce provisions apply:
line 36 (i)  Except as provided in clause (ii), the developer shall enter line 37 into construction contracts with prime contractors only if all of the line 38 following are satisfied:
line 39 (I)  The contract contains an enforceable commitment that the line 40 prime contractor and subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled 97 SB 677 — 28 —

line 1 and trained workforce, as defined in Section 2601 of the Public line 2 Contract Code, to perform work on the project that falls within an line 3 apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades. line 4 However, this enforceable commitment requirement shall not apply line 5 to any scopes of work where new bids are accepted pursuant to line 6 subclause (I) of clause (ii).
line 7 (II)  The developer or prime contractor shall establish minimum line 8 bidding requirements for subcontractors that are objective to the line 9 maximum extent possible. The developer or prime contractor shall line 10 not impose any obstacles in the bid process for subcontractors that line 11 go beyond what is reasonable and commercially customary. The line 12 developer or prime contractor must accept bids submitted by any line 13 bidder that meets the minimum criteria set forth in the bid line 14 solicitation.
line 15 (III)  The prime contractor has provided an affidavit under line 16 penalty of perjury that, in compliance with this subparagraph, it line 17 will use a skilled and trained workforce and will obtain from its line 18 subcontractors an enforceable commitment to use a skilled and line 19 trained workforce for each scope of work in which it receives at line 20 least three bids attesting to satisfaction of the skilled and trained line 21 workforce requirements.
line 22 (IV)  When a prime contractor or subcontractor is required to line 23 provide an enforceable commitment that a skilled and trained line 24 workforce will be used to complete a contract or project, the line 25 commitment shall be made in an enforceable agreement with the line 26 developer that provides the following:
line 27 (ia)  The prime contractor and subcontractors at every tier will line 28 comply with this chapter.
line 29 (ib)  The prime contractor will provide the developer, on a line 30 monthly basis while the project or contract is being performed, a line 31 report demonstrating compliance by the prime contractor. line 32 (ic)  The prime contractor shall provide the developer, on a line 33 monthly basis while the project or contract is being performed, line 34 the monthly reports demonstrating compliance submitted to the line 35 prime contractor by the affected subcontractors. line 36 (ii)  (I)  If a prime contractor fails to receive at least three bids line 37 in a scope of construction work from subcontractors that attest to line 38 satisfying the skilled and trained workforce requirements as line 39 described in this subparagraph, the prime contractor may accept line 40 new bids for that scope of work. The prime contractor need not 97 — 29 — SB 677

line 1 require that a skilled and trained workforce be used by the line 2 subcontractors for that scope of work.
line 3 (II)  The requirements of this subparagraph shall not apply if all line 4 contractors, subcontractors, and craft unions performing work on line 5 the development are subject to a multicraft project labor agreement line 6 that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction line 7 workers employed in the execution of the development and line 8 provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration line 9 procedure. The multicraft project labor agreement shall include line 10 all construction crafts with applicable coverage determinations for line 11 the specified scopes of work on the project pursuant to Section line 12 1773 of the Labor Code and shall be executed by all applicable line 13 labor organizations regardless of affiliation. For purposes of this line 14 clause, “project labor agreement” means a prehire collective line 15 bargaining agreement that establishes terms and conditions of line 16 employment for a specific construction project or projects and is line 17 an agreement described in Section 158(f) of Title 29 of the United line 18 States Code.
line 19 (III)  Requirements set forth in this subparagraph shall not apply line 20 to projects where 100 percent of the units, exclusive of a manager’s line 21 unit or units, are dedicated to lower income households, as defined line 22 in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code. line 23 (iii)  If the skilled and trained workforce requirements of this line 24 subparagraph apply, the prime contractor shall require line 25 subcontractors to provide, and subcontractors on the project shall line 26 provide, the following to the prime contractor:
line 27 (I)  An affidavit signed under penalty of perjury that a skilled line 28 and trained workforce shall be employed on the project. line 29 (II)  Reports on a monthly basis, while the project or contract is line 30 being performed, demonstrating compliance with this chapter. line 31 (iv)  Upon issuing any invitation or bid solicitation for the line 32 project, but no less than seven days before the bid is due, the line 33 developer shall send a notice of the invitation or solicitation that line 34 describes the project to the following entities within the jurisdiction line 35 of the proposed project site:
line 36 (I)  Any bona fide labor organization representing workers in line 37 the building and construction trades who may perform work line 38 necessary to complete the project and the local building and line 39 construction trades council.
97 SB 677 — 30 —

line 1 (II)  Any organization representing contractors that may perform line 2 work necessary to complete the project, including any contractors’ line 3 association or regional builders’ exchange.
line 4 (v)  The developer or prime contractor shall, within three line 5 business days of a request by a joint labor-management cooperation line 6 committee established pursuant to the federal Labor Management line 7 Cooperation Act of 1978 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 175a), provide all of the line 8 following:
line 9 (I)  The names and Contractors State License Board numbers of line 10 the prime contractor and any subcontractors that submitted a line 11 proposal or bid for the development project.
line 12 (II)  The names and Contractors State License Board numbers line 13 of contractors and subcontractors that are under contract to perform line 14 construction work.
line 15 (vi)  (I)  For all projects subject to this subparagraph, the line 16 development proponent shall provide to the locality, on a monthly line 17 basis while the project or contract is being performed, a report line 18 demonstrating that the self-performing prime contractor and all line 19 subcontractors used a skilled and trained workforce, as defined in line 20 Section 2601 of the Public Contract Code, unless otherwise exempt line 21 under this subparagraph. A monthly report provided to the locality line 22 pursuant to this subclause shall be a public record under the line 23 California Public Records Act Division 10 (commencing with line 24 Section 7920.000) of Title 1 and shall be open to public inspection. line 25 A developer that fails to provide a complete monthly report shall line 26 be subject to a civil penalty of 10 percent of the dollar value of line 27 construction work performed by that contractor on the project in line 28 the month in question, up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars line 29 ($10,000) per month for each month for which the report has not line 30 been provided.
line 31 (II)  Any subcontractors or prime contractor self-performing line 32 work subject to the skilled and trained workforce requirements line 33 under this subparagraph that fail to use a skilled and trained line 34 workforce shall be subject to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars line 35 ($200) per day for each worker employed in contravention of the line 36 skilled and trained workforce requirement. Penalties may be line 37 assessed by the Labor Commissioner within 18 months of line 38 completion of the project using the same issuance of civil wage line 39 and penalty assessments pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor line 40 Code and may be reviewed pursuant to the same procedures in 97 — 31 — SB 677

line 1 Section 1742 of the Labor Code. Prime contractors shall not be line 2 jointly liable for violations of this subparagraph by subcontractors. line 3 Penalties shall be paid to the State Public Works Enforcement line 4 Fund or the locality or its labor standards enforcement agency, line 5 depending on the lead entity performing the enforcement work. line 6 (III)  Any provision of a contract or agreement of any kind line 7 between a developer and a prime contractor that purports to line 8 delegate, transfer, or assign to a prime contractor any obligations line 9 of or penalties incurred by a developer shall be deemed contrary line 10 to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable. line 11 (G)  A locality, and any labor standards enforcement agency the line 12 locality lawfully maintains, shall have standing to take line 13 administrative action or sue a construction contractor for failure line 14 to comply with this paragraph. A prevailing locality or labor line 15 standards enforcement agency shall distribute any wages and line 16 penalties to workers in accordance with law and retain any fees, line 17 additional penalties, or assessments.
line 18 (9)  Notwithstanding paragraph (8), a development that is subject line 19 to approval pursuant to this section is exempt from any requirement line 20 to pay prevailing wages, use a workforce participating in an line 21 apprenticeship, or provide health care expenditures if it satisfies line 22 both of the following:
line 23 (A)  The project consists of 10 or fewer units. line 24 (B)  The project is not a public work for purposes of Chapter 1 line 25 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the line 26 Labor Code.
line 27 (10)  The development shall not be upon an existing parcel of line 28 land or site that is governed under the Mobilehome Residency Law line 29 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 798) of Title 2 of Part 2 line 30 of Division 2 of the Civil Code), the Recreational Vehicle Park line 31 Occupancy Law (Chapter 2.6 (commencing with Section 799.20) line 32 of Title 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code), the line 33 Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) line 34 of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), or the Special line 35 Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) line 36 of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code).
line 37 (b)  (1)  (A)  (i)  Before submitting an application for a line 38 development subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval line 39 process described in subdivision (c), the development proponent line 40 shall submit to the local government a notice of its intent to submit 97 SB 677 — 32 —

line 1 an application. The notice of intent shall be in the form of a line 2 preliminary application that includes all of the information line 3 described in Section 65941.1, as that section read on January 1, line 4 2020.
line 5 (ii)  Upon receipt of a notice of intent to submit an application line 6 described in clause (i), the local government shall engage in a line 7 scoping consultation regarding the proposed development with line 8 any California Native American tribe that is traditionally and line 9 culturally affiliated with the geographic area, as described in line 10 Section 21080.3.1 of the Public Resources Code, of the proposed line 11 development. In order to expedite compliance with this subdivision, line 12 the local government shall contact the Native American Heritage line 13 Commission for assistance in identifying any California Native line 14 American tribe that is traditionally and culturally affiliated with line 15 the geographic area of the proposed development. line 16 (iii)  The timeline for noticing and commencing a scoping line 17 consultation in accordance with this subdivision shall be as follows:
line 18 (I)  The local government shall provide a formal notice of a line 19 development proponent’s notice of intent to submit an application line 20 described in clause (i) to each California Native American tribe line 21 that is traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic line 22 area of the proposed development within 30 days of receiving that line 23 notice of intent. The formal notice provided pursuant to this line 24 subclause shall include all of the following:
line 25 (ia)  A description of the proposed development. line 26 (ib)  The location of the proposed development. line 27 (ic)  An invitation to engage in a scoping consultation in line 28 accordance with this subdivision.
line 29 (II)  Each California Native American tribe that receives a formal line 30 notice pursuant to this clause shall have 30 days from the receipt line 31 of that notice to accept the invitation to engage in a scoping line 32 consultation.
line 33 (III)  If the local government receives a response accepting an line 34 invitation to engage in a scoping consultation pursuant to this line 35 subdivision, the local government shall commence the scoping line 36 consultation within 30 days of receiving that response. line 37 (B)  The scoping consultation shall recognize that California line 38 Native American tribes traditionally and culturally affiliated with line 39 a geographic area have knowledge and expertise concerning the line 40 resources at issue and shall take into account the cultural 97 — 33 — SB 677

line 1 significance of the resource to the culturally affiliated California line 2 Native American tribe.
line 3 (C)  The parties to a scoping consultation conducted pursuant line 4 to this subdivision shall be the local government and any California line 5 Native American tribe traditionally and culturally affiliated with line 6 the geographic area of the proposed development. More than one line 7 California Native American tribe traditionally and culturally line 8 affiliated with the geographic area of the proposed development line 9 may participate in the scoping consultation. However, the local line 10 government, upon the request of any California Native American line 11 tribe traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area line 12 of the proposed development, shall engage in a separate scoping line 13 consultation with that California Native American tribe. The line 14 development proponent and its consultants may participate in a line 15 scoping consultation process conducted pursuant to this subdivision line 16 if all of the following conditions are met:
line 17 (i)  The development proponent and its consultants agree to line 18 respect the principles set forth in this subdivision. line 19 (ii)  The development proponent and its consultants engage in line 20 the scoping consultation in good faith.
line 21 (iii)  The California Native American tribe participating in the line 22 scoping consultation approves the participation of the development line 23 proponent and its consultants. The California Native American line 24 tribe may rescind its approval at any time during the scoping line 25 consultation, either for the duration of the scoping consultation or line 26 with respect to any particular meeting or discussion held as part line 27 of the scoping consultation.
line 28 (D)  The participants to a scoping consultation pursuant to this line 29 subdivision shall comply with all of the following confidentiality line 30 requirements:
line 31 (i)  Section 7927.000.
line 32 (ii)  Section 7927.005.
line 33 (iii)  Subdivision (c) of Section 21082.3 of the Public Resources line 34 Code.
line 35 (iv)  Subdivision (d) of Section 15120 of Title 14 of the line 36 California Code of Regulations.
line 37 (v)  Any additional confidentiality standards adopted by the line 38 California Native American tribe participating in the scoping line 39 consultation.
97 SB 677 — 34 —

line 1 (E)  The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 line 2 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) line 3 shall not apply to a scoping consultation conducted pursuant to line 4 this subdivision.
line 5 (2)  (A)  If, after concluding the scoping consultation, the parties line 6 find that no potential tribal cultural resource would be affected by line 7 the proposed development, the development proponent may submit line 8 an application for the proposed development that is subject to the line 9 streamlined, ministerial approval process described in subdivision line 10 (c).
line 11 (B)  If, after concluding the scoping consultation, the parties line 12 find that a potential tribal cultural resource could be affected by line 13 the proposed development and an enforceable agreement is line 14 documented between the California Native American tribe and the line 15 local government on methods, measures, and conditions for tribal line 16 cultural resource treatment, the development proponent may submit line 17 the application for a development subject to the streamlined, line 18 ministerial approval process described in subdivision (c). The local line 19 government shall ensure that the enforceable agreement is included line 20 in the requirements and conditions for the proposed development. line 21 (C)  If, after concluding the scoping consultation, the parties line 22 find that a potential tribal cultural resource could be affected by line 23 the proposed development and an enforceable agreement is not line 24 documented between the California Native American tribe and the line 25 local government regarding methods, measures, and conditions line 26 for tribal cultural resource treatment, the development shall not line 27 be eligible for the streamlined, ministerial approval process line 28 described in subdivision (c).
line 29 (D)  For purposes of this paragraph, a scoping consultation shall line 30 be deemed to be concluded if either of the following occur:
line 31 (i)  The parties to the scoping consultation document an line 32 enforceable agreement concerning methods, measures, and line 33 conditions to avoid or address potential impacts to tribal cultural line 34 resources that are or may be present.
line 35 (ii)  One or more parties to the scoping consultation, acting in line 36 good faith and after reasonable effort, conclude that a mutual line 37 agreement on methods, measures, and conditions to avoid or line 38 address impacts to tribal cultural resources that are or may be line 39 present cannot be reached.
97 — 35 — SB 677

line 1 (E)  If the development or environmental setting substantially line 2 changes after the completion of the scoping consultation, the local line 3 government shall notify the California Native American tribe of line 4 the changes and engage in a subsequent scoping consultation if line 5 requested by the California Native American tribe. line 6 (3)  A local government may only accept an application for line 7 streamlined, ministerial approval pursuant to this section if one of line 8 the following applies:
line 9 (A)  A California Native American tribe that received a formal line 10 notice of the development proponent’s notice of intent to submit line 11 an application pursuant to subclause (I) of clause (iii) of line 12 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) did not accept the invitation to line 13 engage in a scoping consultation.
line 14 (B)  The California Native American tribe accepted an invitation line 15 to engage in a scoping consultation pursuant to subclause (II) of line 16 clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) but substantially line 17 failed to engage in the scoping consultation after repeated line 18 documented attempts by the local government to engage the line 19 California Native American tribe.
line 20 (C)  The parties to a scoping consultation pursuant to this line 21 subdivision find that no potential tribal cultural resource will be line 22 affected by the proposed development pursuant to subparagraph line 23 (A) of paragraph (2).
line 24 (D)  A scoping consultation between a California Native line 25 American tribe and the local government has occurred in line 26 accordance with this subdivision and resulted in agreement line 27 pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2).
line 28 (4)  A project shall not be eligible for the streamlined, ministerial line 29 process described in subdivision (c) if any of the following apply:
line 30 (A)  There is a tribal cultural resource that is on a national, state, line 31 tribal, or local historic register list located on the site of the project. line 32 (B)  There is a potential tribal cultural resource that could be line 33 affected by the proposed development and the parties to a scoping line 34 consultation conducted pursuant to this subdivision do not line 35 document an enforceable agreement on methods, measures, and line 36 conditions for tribal cultural resource treatment, as described in line 37 subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2).
line 38 (C)  The parties to a scoping consultation conducted pursuant line 39 to this subdivision do not agree as to whether a potential tribal line 40 cultural resource will be affected by the proposed development. 97 SB 677 — 36 —

line 1 (5)  (A)  If, after a scoping consultation conducted pursuant to line 2 this subdivision, a project is not eligible for the streamlined, line 3 ministerial approval process described in subdivision (c) for any line 4 or all of the following reasons, the local government shall provide line 5 written documentation of that fact, and an explanation of the reason line 6 for which the project is not eligible, to the development proponent line 7 and to any California Native American tribe that is a party to that line 8 scoping consultation:
line 9 (i)  There is a tribal cultural resource that is on a national, state, line 10 tribal, or local historic register list located on the site of the project, line 11 as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4). line 12 (ii)  The parties to the scoping consultation have not documented line 13 an enforceable agreement on methods, measures, and conditions line 14 for tribal cultural resource treatment, as described in subparagraph line 15 (C) of paragraph (2) and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4). line 16 (iii)  The parties to the scoping consultation do not agree as to line 17 whether a potential tribal cultural resource will be affected by the line 18 proposed development, as described in subparagraph (C) of line 19 paragraph (4).
line 20 (B)  The written documentation provided to a development line 21 proponent pursuant to this paragraph shall include information on line 22 how the development proponent may seek a conditional use permit line 23 or other discretionary approval of the development from the local line 24 government.
line 25 (6)  This section is not intended, and shall not be construed, to line 26 limit consultation and discussion between a local government and line 27 a California Native American tribe pursuant to other applicable line 28 law, confidentiality provisions under other applicable law, the line 29 protection of religious exercise to the fullest extent permitted under line 30 state and federal law, or the ability of a California Native American line 31 tribe to submit information to the local government or participate line 32 in any process of the local government.
line 33 (7)  For purposes of this subdivision:
line 34 (A)  “Consultation” means the meaningful and timely process line 35 of seeking, discussing, and considering carefully the views of line 36 others, in a manner that is cognizant of all parties’ cultural values line 37 and, where feasible, seeking agreement. Consultation between line 38 local governments and Native American tribes shall be conducted line 39 in a way that is mutually respectful of each party’s sovereignty. line 40 Consultation shall also recognize the tribes’ potential needs for 97 — 37 — SB 677

line 1 confidentiality with respect to places that have traditional tribal line 2 cultural importance. A lead agency shall consult the tribal line 3 consultation best practices described in the “State of California line 4 Tribal Consultation Guidelines: Supplement to the General Plan line 5 Guidelines” prepared by the Office of Planning and Research. line 6 (B)  “Scoping” means the act of participating in early discussions line 7 or investigations between the local government and California line 8 Native American tribe, and the development proponent if line 9 authorized by the California Native American tribe, regarding the line 10 potential effects a proposed development could have on a potential line 11 tribal cultural resource, as defined in Section 21074 of the Public line 12 Resources Code, or California Native American tribe, as defined line 13 in Section 21073 of the Public Resources Code.
line 14 (8)  This subdivision shall not apply to any project that has been line 15 approved under the streamlined, ministerial approval process line 16 provided under this section before the effective date of the act line 17 adding this subdivision.
line 18 (c)  (1)  Notwithstanding any local law, if a local government’s line 19 planning director or equivalent position determines that a line 20 development submitted pursuant to this section is consistent with line 21 the objective planning standards specified in subdivision (a) and line 22 pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision, the local government line 23 shall approve the development. Upon a determination that a line 24 development submitted pursuant to this section is in conflict with line 25 any of the objective planning standards specified in subdivision line 26 (a), the local government staff or relevant local planning and line 27 permitting department that made the determination shall provide line 28 the development proponent written documentation of which line 29 standard or standards the development conflicts with, and an line 30 explanation for the reason or reasons the development conflicts line 31 with that standard or standards, as follows:
line 32 (A)  Within 60 days of submittal of the development to the local line 33 government pursuant to this section if the development contains line 34 150 or fewer housing units.
line 35 (B)  Within 90 days of submittal of the development to the local line 36 government pursuant to this section if the development contains line 37 more than 150 housing units.
line 38 (C)  Within 30 days of submittal of any development proposal line 39 that was resubmitted to address written feedback provided by the line 40 local government pursuant to this paragraph.
97 SB 677 — 38 —

line 1 (2)  If the local government’s planning director or equivalent line 2 position fails to provide the required documentation pursuant to line 3 paragraph (1), the development shall be deemed to satisfy the line 4 objective planning standards specified in subdivision (a). line 5 (3)  For purposes of this section, and except as provided in line 6 paragraph (4), a development is consistent with the objective line 7 planning standards specified in subdivision (a) if there is substantial line 8 evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that line 9 the development is consistent with the objective planning standards. line 10 The local government shall not determine that a development, line 11 including an application for a modification under subdivision (h), line 12 is in conflict with the objective planning standards on the basis line 13 that application materials are not included, if the application line 14 contains substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person line 15 to conclude that the development is consistent with the objective line 16 planning standards.
line 17 (4)  Notwithstanding paragraph (3), in any evaluation of a line 18 development under this section related to compliance with line 19 paragraph (6) of subdivision (a), the local government shall bear line 20 the burden of proof. It shall demonstrate, with a preponderance of line 21 the evidence, that the development does not comply with applicable line 22 environmental criteria established under state or federal law. This line 23 demonstration shall include detailed written findings that specify line 24 the environmental criteria the project fails to meet and provide a line 25 clear linkage to the empirical or scientific evidence supporting line 26 these written findings.
line 27 (5)  Upon submittal of an application for streamlined, ministerial line 28 approval pursuant to this section to the local government, all line 29 departments of the local government that are required to issue an line 30 approval of the development prior to the granting of an entitlement line 31 shall comply with the requirements of this section within the time line 32 periods specified in paragraph (1).
line 33 (d)  (1)  Any design review of the development may be conducted line 34 by the local government’s planning commission or any equivalent line 35 board or commission responsible for design review. That design line 36 review shall be objective and be strictly focused on assessing line 37 compliance with criteria required for streamlined projects, as well line 38 as any reasonable objective design standards published and adopted line 39 by ordinance or resolution by a local jurisdiction before submission line 40 of a development application, and shall be broadly applicable to 97 — 39 — SB 677

line 1 development within the jurisdiction. That design review shall be line 2 completed, and if the development is consistent with all objective line 3 standards, the local government shall approve the development as line 4 follows and shall not in any way inhibit, chill, or preclude the line 5 ministerial approval provided by this section or its effect, as line 6 applicable:
line 7 (A)  Within 90 days of submittal of the development to the local line 8 government pursuant to this section if the development contains line 9 150 or fewer housing units.
line 10 (B)  Within 180 days of submittal of the development to the line 11 local government pursuant to this section if the development line 12 contains more than 150 housing units.
line 13 (2)  An application for a subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision line 14 Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410)) shall be line 15 exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental line 16 Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of line 17 the Public Resources Code) and shall be subject to the public line 18 oversight timelines set forth in paragraph (1) if the development line 19 is consistent with the requirements of this section, including, but line 20 not limited to, paragraph (8) of subdivision (a), and all objective line 21 subdivision standards in the local subdivision ordinance, and meets line 22 at least one of the following requirements:
line 23 (A)  The development has received or will receive financing or line 24 funding by means of a low-income housing tax credit. line 25 (B)  The development is located on a legal parcel or parcels line 26 within either of the following:
line 27 (i)  An incorporated city, the boundaries of which include some line 28 portion of an urbanized area.
line 29 (ii)  An urbanized area or urban cluster in a county with a line 30 population greater than 250,000 based on the most recent United line 31 States Census Bureau data.
line 32 (iii)  For purposes of this subparagraph, the following definitions line 33 apply:
line 34 (I)  “Urbanized area” means an urbanized area designated by line 35 the United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal line 36 Register, Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012. line 37 (II)  “Urban cluster” means an urban cluster designated by the line 38 United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal Register, line 39 Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012.
97 SB 677 — 40 —

line 1 (3)  If a local government determines that a development line 2 submitted pursuant to this section is in conflict with any of the line 3 standards imposed pursuant to paragraph (1), it shall provide the line 4 development proponent written documentation of which objective line 5 standard or standards the development conflicts with, and an line 6 explanation for the reason or reasons the development conflicts line 7 with that objective standard or standards consistent with the line 8 timelines described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c). line 9 (e)  (1)  Notwithstanding any other law, a local government, line 10 whether or not it has adopted an ordinance governing automobile line 11 parking requirements in multifamily developments, shall not line 12 impose automobile parking standards for a streamlined line 13 development that was approved pursuant to this section in any of line 14 the following instances:
line 15 (A)  The development is located within one-half mile of public line 16 transit.
line 17 (B)  The development is located within an architecturally and line 18 historically significant historic district.
line 19 (C)  When on-street parking permits are required but not offered line 20 to the occupants of the development.
line 21 (D)  When there is a car share vehicle located within one block line 22 of the development.
line 23 (2)  If the development does not fall within any of the categories line 24 described in paragraph (1), the local government shall not impose line 25 automobile parking requirements for streamlined developments line 26 approved pursuant to this section that exceed one parking space line 27 per unit.
line 28 (f)  Notwithstanding any law, a local government shall not line 29 require any of the following prior to approving a development that line 30 meets the requirements of this section:
line 31 (1)  Studies, information, or other materials that do not pertain line 32 directly to determining whether the development is consistent with line 33 the objective planning standards applicable to the development. line 34 (2)  (A)  Compliance with any standards necessary to receive a line 35 postentitlement permit.
line 36 (B)  This paragraph does not prohibit a local agency from line 37 requiring compliance with any standards necessary to receive a line 38 postentitlement permit after a permit has been issued pursuant to line 39 this section.
97 — 41 — SB 677

line 1 (C)  For purposes of this paragraph, “postentitlement permit” line 2 has the same meaning as provided in subparagraph (A) of line 3 paragraph (3) of subdivision (j) of Section 65913.3. line 4 (g)  (1)  If a local government approves a development pursuant line 5 to this section, then, notwithstanding any other law, that approval line 6 shall not expire if the project satisfies both of the following line 7 requirements:
line 8 (A)  The project includes public investment in housing line 9 affordability, beyond tax credits.
line 10 (B)  At least 50 percent of the units are affordable to households line 11 making at or below 80 percent of the area median income. line 12 (2)  (A)  If a local government approves a development pursuant line 13 to this section, and the project does not satisfy the requirements line 14 of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), that approval shall line 15 remain valid for three years from the date of the final action line 16 establishing that approval, or if litigation is filed challenging that line 17 approval, from the date of the final judgment upholding that line 18 approval. Approval shall remain valid for a project provided line 19 construction activity, including demolition and grading activity, line 20 on the development site that has begun pursuant to a permit issued line 21 by the local jurisdiction and is in progress. For purposes of this line 22 subdivision, “in progress” means one of the following:
line 23 (i)  The construction has begun and has not ceased for more than line 24 180 days.
line 25 (ii)  If the development requires multiple building permits, an line 26 initial phase has been completed, and the project proponent has line 27 applied for and is diligently pursuing a building permit for a line 28 subsequent phase, provided that once it has been issued, the line 29 building permit for the subsequent phase does not lapse. line 30 (B)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a local government may line 31 grant a project a one-time, one-year extension if the project line 32 proponent can provide documentation that there has been line 33 significant progress toward getting the development construction line 34 ready, such as filing a building permit application. line 35 (3)  If the development proponent requests a modification line 36 pursuant to subdivision (h), then the time during which the approval line 37 shall remain valid shall be extended for the number of days line 38 between the submittal of a modification request and the date of its line 39 final approval, plus an additional 180 days to allow time to obtain line 40 a building permit. If litigation is filed relating to the modification 97 SB 677 — 42 —

line 1 request, the time shall be further extended during the pendency of line 2 the litigation. The extension required by this paragraph shall only line 3 apply to the first request for a modification submitted by the line 4 development proponent.
line 5 (4)  The amendments made to this subdivision by the act that line 6 added this paragraph shall also be retroactively applied to line 7 developments approved prior to January 1, 2022.
line 8 (h)  (1)  (A)  A development proponent may request a line 9 modification to a development that has been approved under the line 10 streamlined, ministerial approval process provided in subdivision line 11 (c) if that request is submitted to the local government before the line 12 issuance of the final building permit required for construction of line 13 the development.
line 14 (B)  Except as provided in paragraph (3), the local government line 15 shall approve a modification if it determines that the modification line 16 is consistent with the objective planning standards specified in line 17 subdivision (a) that were in effect when the original development line 18 application was first submitted.
line 19 (C)  The local government shall evaluate any modifications line 20 requested pursuant to this subdivision for consistency with the line 21 objective planning standards using the same assumptions and line 22 analytical methodology that the local government originally used line 23 to assess consistency for the development that was approved for line 24 streamlined, ministerial approval pursuant to subdivision (c). line 25 (D)  A guideline that was adopted or amended by the department line 26 pursuant to subdivision (n) after a development was approved line 27 through the streamlined, ministerial approval process described in line 28 subdivision (c) shall not be used as a basis to deny proposed line 29 modifications.
line 30 (2)  Upon receipt of the development proponent’s application line 31 requesting a modification, the local government shall determine line 32 if the requested modification is consistent with the objective line 33 planning standard and either approve or deny the modification line 34 request within 60 days after submission of the modification, or line 35 within 90 days if design review is required.
line 36 (3)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the local government may line 37 apply objective planning standards adopted after the development line 38 application was first submitted to the requested modification in line 39 any of the following instances:
97 — 43 — SB 677

line 1 (A)  The development is revised such that the total square footage line 2 of construction increases by 15 percent or more or the total number line 3 of residential units decreases by 15 percent or more. The calculation line 4 of the square footage of construction increases shall not include line 5 underground space.
line 6 (B)  The development is revised such that the total square footage line 7 of construction increases by 5 percent or more or the total number line 8 of residential units decreases by 5 percent or more and it is line 9 necessary to subject the development to an objective standard line 10 beyond those in effect when the development application was line 11 submitted in order to mitigate or avoid a specific, adverse impact, line 12 as that term is defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of line 13 subdivision (j) of Section 65589.5, upon the public health or safety line 14 and there is no feasible alternative method to satisfactorily mitigate line 15 or avoid the adverse impact. The calculation of the square footage line 16 of construction increases shall not include underground space. line 17 (C)  (i)  Objective building standards contained in the California line 18 Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of line 19 Regulations), including, but not limited to, building plumbing, line 20 electrical, fire, and grading codes, may be applied to all line 21 modification applications that are submitted prior to the first line 22 building permit application. Those standards may be applied to line 23 modification applications submitted after the first building permit line 24 application if agreed to by the development proponent. line 25 (ii)  The amendments made to clause (i) by the act that added line 26 clause (i) shall also be retroactively applied to modification line 27 applications submitted prior to January 1, 2022. line 28 (4)  The local government’s review of a modification request line 29 pursuant to this subdivision shall be strictly limited to determining line 30 whether the modification, including any modification to previously line 31 approved density bonus concessions or waivers, modify the line 32 development’s consistency with the objective planning standards line 33 and shall not reconsider prior determinations that are not affected line 34 by the modification.
line 35 (i)  (1)  A local government shall not adopt or impose any line 36 requirement, including, but not limited to, increased fees or line 37 inclusionary housing requirements, that applies to a project solely line 38 or partially on the basis that the project is eligible to receive line 39 ministerial or streamlined approval pursuant to this section. 97 SB 677 — 44 —

line 1 (2)  (A)  A local government shall issue a subsequent permit line 2 required for a development approved under this section if the line 3 application substantially complies with the development as it was line 4 approved pursuant to subdivision (c). Upon receipt of an line 5 application for a subsequent permit, the local government shall line 6 process the permit without unreasonable delay and shall not impose line 7 any procedure or requirement that is not imposed on projects that line 8 are not approved pursuant to this section. The local government line 9 shall consider the application for subsequent permits based upon line 10 the objective standards specified in any state or local laws that line 11 were in effect when the original development application was line 12 submitted, unless the development proponent agrees to a change line 13 in objective standards. Issuance of subsequent permits shall line 14 implement the approved development, and review of the permit line 15 application shall not inhibit, chill, or preclude the development. line 16 For purposes of this paragraph, a “subsequent permit” means a line 17 permit required subsequent to receiving approval under subdivision line 18 (c), and includes, but is not limited to, demolition, grading, line 19 encroachment, and building permits and final maps, if necessary. line 20 (B)  The amendments made to subparagraph (A) by the act that line 21 added this subparagraph shall also be retroactively applied to line 22 subsequent permit applications submitted prior to January 1, 2022. line 23 (3)  (A)  If a public improvement is necessary to implement a line 24 development that is subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval line 25 pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, a bicycle line 26 lane, sidewalk or walkway, public transit stop, driveway, street line 27 paving or overlay, a curb or gutter, a modified intersection, a street line 28 sign or street light, landscape or hardscape, an above-ground or line 29 underground utility connection, a water line, fire hydrant, storm line 30 or sanitary sewer connection, retaining wall, and any related work, line 31 and that public improvement is located on land owned by the local line 32 government, to the extent that the public improvement requires line 33 approval from the local government, the local government shall line 34 not exercise its discretion over any approval relating to the public line 35 improvement in a manner that would inhibit, chill, or preclude the line 36 development.
line 37 (B)  If an application for a public improvement described in line 38 subparagraph (A) is submitted to a local government, the local line 39 government shall do all of the following:
97 — 45 — SB 677

line 1 (i)  Consider the application based upon any objective standards line 2 specified in any state or local laws that were in effect when the line 3 original development application was submitted.
line 4 (ii)  Conduct its review and approval in the same manner as it line 5 would evaluate the public improvement if required by a project line 6 that is not eligible to receive ministerial or streamlined approval line 7 pursuant to this section.
line 8 (C)  If an application for a public improvement described in line 9 subparagraph (A) is submitted to a local government, the local line 10 government shall not do either of the following:
line 11 (i)  Adopt or impose any requirement that applies to a project line 12 solely or partially on the basis that the project is eligible to receive line 13 ministerial or streamlined approval pursuant to this section. line 14 (ii)  Unreasonably delay in its consideration, review, or approval line 15 of the application.
line 16 (j)  (1)  This section shall not affect a development proponent’s line 17 ability to use any alternative streamlined by right permit processing line 18 adopted by a local government, including the provisions of line 19 subdivision (i) of Section 65583.2.
line 20 (2)  This section shall not prevent a development from also line 21 qualifying as a housing development project entitled to the line 22 protections of Section 65589.5. This paragraph does not constitute line 23 a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law. line 24 (k)  The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 line 25 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) line 26 does not apply to actions taken by a state agency, local government, line 27 or the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District to:
line 28 (1)  Lease, convey, or encumber land owned by the local line 29 government or the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District line 30 or to facilitate the lease, conveyance, or encumbrance of land line 31 owned by the local government, or for the lease of land owned by line 32 the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District in association line 33 with an eligible TOD project, as defined pursuant to Section line 34 29010.1 of the Public Utilities Code, nor to any decisions line 35 associated with that lease, or to provide financial assistance to a line 36 development that receives streamlined approval pursuant to this line 37 section that is to be used for housing for persons and families of line 38 very low, low, or moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 line 39 of the Health and Safety Code.
97 SB 677 — 46 —

line 1 (2)  Approve improvements located on land owned by the local line 2 government or the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District line 3 that are necessary to implement a development that receives line 4 streamlined approval pursuant to this section that is to be used for line 5 housing for persons and families of very low, low, or moderate line 6 income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code. line 7 (l)  For purposes of establishing the total number of units in a line 8 development under this chapter, a development or development line 9 project includes both of the following:
line 10 (1)  All projects developed on a site, regardless of when those line 11 developments occur.
line 12 (2)  All projects developed on sites adjacent to a site developed line 13 pursuant to this chapter if, after January 1, 2023, the adjacent site line 14 had been subdivided from the site developed pursuant to this line 15 chapter.
line 16 (m)  For purposes of this section, the following terms have the line 17 following meanings:
line 18 (1)  “Affordable housing cost” has the same meaning as set forth line 19 in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code. line 20 (2)  (A)  Subject to the qualification provided by subparagraphs line 21 (B) and (C), “affordable rent” has the same meaning as set forth line 22 in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code. line 23 (B)  For a development for which an application pursuant to this line 24 section was submitted prior to January 1, 2019, that includes 500 line 25 units or more of housing, and that dedicates 20 percent of the total line 26 number of units, before calculating any density bonus, to housing line 27 affordable to households making at, or below, 80 percent of the line 28 area median income, affordable rent for at least 30 percent of these line 29 units shall be set at an affordable rent as defined in subparagraph line 30 (A) and “affordable rent” for the remainder of these units shall line 31 mean a rent that is consistent with the maximum rent levels for a line 32 housing development that receives an allocation of state or federal line 33 low-income housing tax credits from the California Tax Credit line 34 Allocation Committee.
line 35 (C)  For a development that dedicates 100 percent of units, line 36 exclusive of a manager’s unit or units, to lower income households, line 37 “affordable rent” shall mean a rent that is consistent with the line 38 maximum rent levels stipulated by the public program providing line 39 financing for the development.
97 — 47 — SB 677

line 1 (3)  “Department” means the Department of Housing and line 2 Community Development.
line 3 (4)  “Development proponent” means the developer who submits line 4 a housing development project application to a local government line 5 under the streamlined ministerial review process pursuant to this line 6 section.
line 7 (5)  “Completed entitlements” means a housing development line 8 that has received all the required land use approvals or entitlements line 9 necessary for the issuance of a building permit. line 10 (6)  “Health care expenditures” include contributions under line 11 Section 401(a), 501(c), or 501(d) of the Internal Revenue Code line 12 and payments toward “medical care,” as defined in Section line 13 213(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
line 14 (7)  “Housing development project” has the same meaning as in line 15 Section 65589.5.
line 16 (8)  “Locality” or “local government” means a city, including a line 17 charter city, a county, including a charter county, or a city and line 18 county, including a charter city and county.
line 19 (9)  “Moderate-income housing units” means housing units with line 20 an affordable housing cost or affordable rent for persons and line 21 families of moderate income, as that term is defined in Section line 22 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
line 23 (10)  “Production report” means the information reported line 24 pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) line 25 of Section 65400.
line 26 (11)  “State agency” includes every state office, officer, line 27 department, division, bureau, board, and commission, but does not line 28 include the California State University or the University of line 29 California.
line 30 (12)  (A)  “Reporting period” means any of the following:
line 31 (i)  The first quarter of the regional housing needs assessment line 32 cycle.
line 33 (ii)  The second quarter of the regional housing needs assessment line 34 cycle.
line 35 (iii)  The third quarter of the regional housing needs assessment line 36 cycle.
line 37 (iv)  The last quarter of the regional housing needs assessment line 38 cycle.
line 39 (B)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), “reporting period” line 40 means annually for the City and County of San Francisco. 97 SB 677 — 48 —

line 1 (13)  “Urban uses” means any current or former residential, line 2 commercial, public institutional, public park that is surrounded by line 3 other urban uses, parking lot or structure, transit or transportation line 4 passenger facility, or retail use, or any combination of those uses. line 5 (n)  The department may review, adopt, amend, and repeal line 6 guidelines to implement uniform standards or criteria that line 7 supplement or clarify the terms, references, or standards set forth line 8 in this section. Any guidelines or terms adopted pursuant to this line 9 subdivision shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with line 10 Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government line 11 Code.
line 12 (o)  The determination of whether an application for a line 13 development is subject to the streamlined ministerial approval line 14 process provided by subdivision (c) is not a “project” as defined line 15 in Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.
line 16 (p)  Notwithstanding any other law, for purposes of this section line 17 and for development in compliance with the requirements of this line 18 section on property owned by or leased to the state, the Department line 19 of General Services may act in the place of a locality or local line 20 government, at the discretion of the department. line 21 (q)  (1)  For developments proposed in a census tract that is line 22 designated either as a moderate resource area, low resource area, line 23 or an area of high segregation and poverty on the most recent line 24 “CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Map” published by the California line 25 Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the Department of Housing line 26 and Community Development, within 45 days after receiving a line 27 notice of intent, as described in subdivision (b), and before the line 28 development proponent submits an application for the proposed line 29 development that is subject to the streamlined, ministerial approval line 30 process described in subdivision (c), the local government shall line 31 provide for a public meeting to be held by the city council or line 32 county board of supervisors to provide an opportunity for the public line 33 and the local government to comment on the development. line 34 (2)  The public meeting shall be held at a regular meeting and line 35 be subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing line 36 with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5). line 37 (3)  If the development proposal is located within a city with a line 38 population of greater than 250,000 or the unincorporated area of line 39 a county with a population of greater than 250,000, the public line 40 meeting shall be held by the jurisdiction’s planning commission. 97 — 49 — SB 677

line 1 (4)  Comments may be provided by testimony during the meeting line 2 or in writing at any time before the meeting concludes. line 3 (5)  The development proponent shall attest in writing that it line 4 attended the meeting described in paragraph (1) and reviewed the line 5 public testimony and written comments from the meeting in its line 6 application for the proposed development that is subject to the line 7 streamlined, ministerial approval process described in subdivision line 8 (c).
line 9 (6)  If the local government fails to hold the hearing described line 10 in paragraph (1) within 45 days after receiving the notice of intent, line 11 the development proponent shall hold a public meeting on the line 12 proposed development before submitting an application pursuant line 13 to this section.
line 14 (r)  (1)  This section shall not apply to applications for line 15 developments proposed on qualified sites that are submitted on or line 16 after January 1, 2024, but before July 1, 2025. line 17 (2)  For purposes of this subdivision, “qualified site” means a line 18 site that meets the following requirements:
line 19 (A)  The site is located within an equine or equestrian district line 20 designated by a general plan or specific or master plan, which may line 21 include a specific narrative reference to a geographically line 22 determined area or map of the same. Parcels adjoined and only line 23 separated by a street or highway shall be considered to be within line 24 an equestrian district.
line 25 (B)  As of January 1, 2024, the general plan applicable to the line 26 site contains, and has contained for five or more years, an equine line 27 or equestrian district designation where the site is located. line 28 (C)  As of January 1, 2024, the equine or equestrian district line 29 applicable to the site is not zoned to include residential uses, but line 30 authorizes residential uses with a conditional use permit. line 31 (D)  The applicable local government has an adopted housing line 32 element that is compliant with applicable law.
line 33 (3)  The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this line 34 subdivision is to allow local governments to conduct general plan line 35 updates to align their general plan with applicable zoning changes. line 36 (s)  The provisions of clause (iii) of subparagraph (E) of line 37 paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) relating to health care expenditures line 38 are distinct and severable from the remaining provisions of this line 39 section. However, the remaining portions of paragraph (8) of line 40 subdivision (a) are a material and integral part of this section and 97 SB 677 — 50 —

line 1 are not severable. If any provision or application of paragraph (8) line 2 of subdivision (a) is held invalid, this entire section shall be null line 3 and void.
line 4 (t)  (1)  The changes made to this section by the act adding this line 5 subdivision shall apply in a coastal zone, as defined in Division line 6 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources line 7 Code, on and after January 1, 2025.
line 8 (2)  In an area of the coastal zone not excluded under paragraph line 9 (6) of subdivision (a), a development that satisfies the requirements line 10 of subdivision (a) shall require a coastal development permit line 11 pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) of line 12 Division 20 of the Public Resources Code. A public agency with line 13 coastal development permitting authority shall approve a coastal line 14 development permit if it determines that the development is line 15 consistent with all objective standards of the local government’s line 16 certified local coastal program or, for areas that are not subject to line 17 a fully certified local coastal program, the certified land use plan line 18 of that area.
line 19 (3)  For purposes of this section, receipt of any density bonus, line 20 concessions, incentives, waivers or reductions of development line 21 standards, and parking ratios to which the applicant is entitled line 22 under Section 65915 shall not constitute a basis to find the project line 23 inconsistent with the local coastal program.
line 24 (u)  It is the policy of the state that this section be interpreted line 25 and implemented in a manner to afford the fullest possible weight line 26 to the interest of, and the approval and provision of, increased line 27 housing supply.
line 28 (v)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2036, line 29 and as of that date is repealed.
line 30 SEC. 4. Section 66411.7 of the Government Code is amended line 31 to read:
line 32 66411.7. (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this line 33 division and any local law, a local agency shall ministerially line 34 approve, as set forth in this section, a parcel map for an urban lot line 35 split only if the local agency determines that the parcel map for line 36 the urban lot split meets all the following requirements:
line 37 (1)  The parcel map subdivides an existing parcel to create no line 38 more than two new parcels.
line 39 (2)  (A)  Except as provided in subparagraph (B), both newly line 40 created parcels are no smaller than 1,200 square feet. 97 — 51 — SB 677

line 1 (B)  A local agency may by ordinance adopt a smaller minimum line 2 lot size subject to ministerial approval under this subdivision. line 3 (3)  Newly created lots subdivided pursuant to this section are line 4 not required to comply with any of the following requirements:
line 5 (A)  A minimum or maximum requirement on the size, width, line 6 depth, frontage, or dimensions of any individual parcel beyond line 7 the minimum parcel size specified in, or established pursuant to, line 8 paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of this section. line 9 (B)  The formation of an association.
line 10 (C)  A deed restriction or covenant that restricts rents to levels line 11 affordable to persons and families of moderate income, as defined line 12 in subdivision (m) of Section 65582, or lower income, as defined line 13 in subdivision (l) of Section 65582.
line 14 (4)  The parcel being subdivided meets all the following line 15 requirements:
line 16 (A)  The parcel is located within a residential zone. line 17 (B)  The parcel subject to the proposed urban lot split is located line 18 within a city, the boundaries of which include some portion of line 19 either an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the line 20 United States Census Bureau, or, for unincorporated areas, a legal line 21 parcel wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban line 22 cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau. line 23 (C)  The parcel satisfies the requirements specified in line 24 subparagraphs (B) to (K), inclusive, of paragraph (6) of subdivision line 25 (a) of Section 65913.4.
line 26 (D)  (i)  The proposed urban lot split would not require line 27 demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing:
line 28 (I)  Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, line 29 or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and line 30 families of moderate income, as defined in subdivision (m) of line 31 Section 65582, or lower income, as defined in subdivision (l) of line 32 Section 65582.
line 33 (II)  Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control line 34 through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power. line 35 (III)  A parcel or parcels on which an owner of residential real line 36 property has exercised the owner’s rights under Chapter 12.75 line 37 (commencing with Section 7060) of Division 7 of Title 1 to line 38 withdraw accommodations from rent or lease within 15 years line 39 before the date that the development proponent submits an line 40 application.
97 SB 677 — 52 —

line 1 (IV)  Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three line 2 years.
line 3 (ii)  This subparagraph shall not apply if a structure on the line 4 development site that includes at least one housing unit was line 5 involuntarily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake, catastrophic line 6 event, or the public enemy.
line 7 (E)  The parcel is not located within a historic district or property line 8 included on the State Historic Resources Inventory, as defined in line 9 Section 5020.1 of the Public Resources Code, or within a site that line 10 is designated or listed as a city or county landmark or historic line 11 property or district pursuant to a city or county ordinance. line 12 (F)  The parcel has not been established through prior exercise line 13 of an urban lot split as provided for in this section. line 14 (b)  An application for a parcel map for an urban lot split shall line 15 be approved in accordance with the following requirements:
line 16 (1)  (A)  A local agency shall approve or deny an application for line 17 a parcel map for an urban lot split ministerially without line 18 discretionary review.
line 19 (B)  An application for an urban lot split shall be considered and line 20 approved or denied within 60 days from the date the local agency line 21 receives a completed application. If the local agency has not line 22 approved or denied the completed application within 60 days, the line 23 application shall be deemed approved.
line 24 (C)  If a permitting agency denies an application for an urban line 25 lot split pursuant to subparagraph (B), the permitting agency shall, line 26 within the time period described in subparagraph (B), return in line 27 writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of items line 28 that are defective or deficient and a description of how the line 29 application can be remedied by the applicant.
line 30 (D)  Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, line 31 or annul the decision of a local agency concerning an urban lot line 32 split, or of any proceeding, act, or determination taken, done, or line 33 made prior to the decision, or to determine the reasonableness, line 34 legality, or validity of any condition attached to the decision, line 35 including, but not limited to, the approval of the urban lot split, line 36 shall not be maintained by any person unless the action or line 37 proceeding is commenced and service of summons effected in line 38 accordance with Section 66499.37. This subparagraph is line 39 declaratory of existing law.
97 — 53 — SB 677

line 1 (2)  A local agency shall approve an urban lot split only if it line 2 conforms to all applicable objective requirements of the line 3 Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section line 4 66410)), except as otherwise expressly provided in this section. line 5 (3)  Notwithstanding Section 66411.1, a local agency shall not line 6 impose regulations that require dedications of rights-of-way or the line 7 construction of offsite improvements for the parcels being created line 8 as a condition of issuing a parcel map for an urban lot split pursuant line 9 to this section.
line 10 (c)  (1)  Except as provided in this subdivision, notwithstanding line 11 any local law, a local agency may impose objective zoning line 12 standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design line 13 review standards that are related to the design or to improvements line 14 of a parcel, consistent with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) and line 15 with subdivision (e), and are applicable to a parcel created by an line 16 urban lot split that do not conflict with this section. line 17 (2)  A local agency shall not impose objective zoning standards, line 18 objective subdivision standards, objective design review standards, line 19 or permitting requirements that would have the effect of physically line 20 precluding an urban lot split from occurring or the construction of line 21 two units on either of the resulting parcels or that would result in line 22 a unit size of less than 1,750 net habitable square feet. line 23 (3)  (A)  Notwithstanding paragraph (2), no setback height line 24 limitation, lot coverage limitation, floor area ratio, or other standard line 25 that shall be required for an existing structure or a structure line 26 constructed in the same location and within the dimensions as an line 27 existing structure.
line 28 (B)  Notwithstanding paragraph (2), in all other circumstances line 29 not described in subparagraph (A), a local agency may require a line 30 setback from the original lot line of up to four feet from the side line 31 and rear lot lines.
line 32 (4)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a local agency may only line 33 impose a front setback with respect to the original lot line. line 34 (5)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a local agency shall not line 35 require a setback between the units, except as required in the line 36 California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California line 37 Code of Regulations).
line 38 (6)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a local agency shall not line 39 impose a driveway width requirement that exceeds a driveway line 40 width requirement applied uniformly to development within the 97 SB 677 — 54 —

line 1 underlying zone. If the underlying zone does not have a driveway line 2 width requirement, the local agency shall not impose a driveway line 3 width greater than 10 feet if serving one lot, or 14 feet if serving line 4 multiple lots. A driveway constructed pursuant to this paragraph line 5 shall be considered sufficient to provide access to multiple units line 6 either on a single lot, or multiple units that share an access line 7 easement.
line 8 (d)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a local agency may deny line 9 an urban lot split if the building official makes a written finding, line 10 based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed line 11 housing development project would have a specific, adverse line 12 impact, as defined and determined in paragraph (2) of subdivision line 13 (d) of Section 65589.5, upon public health and safety for which line 14 there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the line 15 specific, adverse impact.
line 16 (e)  A local agency may require any of the following conditions line 17 when considering an application for a parcel map for an urban lot line 18 split:
line 19 (1)  Easements required for the provision of public services and line 20 facilities.
line 21 (2)  A requirement that the parcels have access to, provide access line 22 to, or adjoin the public right-of-way. This paragraph should not line 23 be interpreted as to allow a local agency to impose an access line 24 method if it would physically preclude the lot split from occurring line 25 while the use of another method would facilitate the lot split. line 26 (3)  Offstreet parking of up to one space per unit, except that a line 27 local agency shall not impose parking requirements in any of the line 28 following instances:
line 29 (A)  The parcel is located within one-half mile walking distance line 30 of either a high-quality transit corridor as defined in subdivision line 31 (b) of Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code, or a major line 32 transit stop as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources line 33 Code.
line 34 (B)  There is a car share vehicle located within one block of the line 35 parcel.
line 36 (f)  A local agency shall require that the uses allowed on a lot line 37 created by this section be limited to residential uses. line 38 (g)  A local agency shall not use or impose any additional line 39 standards, other than those provided in this section, including any line 40 owner-occupant requirement.
97 — 55 — SB 677

line 1 (h)  A local agency shall require that a rental of any unit created line 2 pursuant to this section be for a term longer than 30 days. line 3 (i)  A local agency shall not require, as a condition for ministerial line 4 approval of a parcel map application for the creation of an urban line 5 lot split, the correction of nonconforming zoning or subdivision line 6 conditions.
line 7 (j)  (1)  Notwithstanding any provision of Section 65852.21, line 8 65915, Article 2 (commencing with Section 66314) or Article 3 line 9 (commencing with Section 66333) of Chapter 13 of Division 1, line 10 or this section, a local agency shall not be required to permit more line 11 than two units on a parcel created through the exercise of the line 12 authority contained within this section.
line 13 (2)  For the purposes of this section, “unit” means any dwelling line 14 unit, including, but not limited to, a unit or units created pursuant line 15 to Section 65852.21, a primary dwelling, an accessory dwelling line 16 unit as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 66313, or a junior line 17 accessory dwelling unit as defined in subdivision (d) of Section line 18 66313.
line 19 (k)  Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), an line 20 application shall not be rejected solely because it proposes adjacent line 21 or connected structures provided that the structures meet building line 22 code safety standards and are sufficient to allow separate line 23 conveyance.
line 24 (l)  Local agencies shall include the number of applications for line 25 parcel maps for urban lot splits pursuant to this section in the line 26 annual housing element report as required by subparagraph (I) of line 27 paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 65400. line 28 (m)  For purposes of this section, all of the following shall apply:
line 29 (1)  “Objective zoning standards,” “objective subdivision line 30 standards,” and “objective design review standards” mean standards line 31 that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official line 32 and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and line 33 uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both line 34 the development applicant or proponent and the public official line 35 prior to submittal. These standards may be embodied in alternative line 36 objective land use specifications adopted by a local agency, and line 37 may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay zones, specific line 38 plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density bonus line 39 ordinances.
97 SB 677 — 56 —

line 1 (2)  “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county, line 2 whether general law or chartered.
line 3 (3)  “Association” has the same meaning as defined in Section line 4 4080 of the Civil Code.
line 5 (4)  “Urbanized area” means an urbanized area designated by line 6 the United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal line 7 Register, Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012. line 8 (5)  “Urban cluster” means an urbanized area designated by the line 9 United States Census Bureau, as published in the Federal Register, line 10 Volume 77, Number 59, on March 27, 2012.
line 11 (6)  “Net habitable square feet” means the finished and heated line 12 floor area fully enclosed by the inside surface of walls, windows, line 13 doors, and partitions, and having a headroom of at least six and line 14 one-half feet, including working, living, eating, cooking, sleeping, line 15 stair, hall, service, and storage areas, but excluding garages, line 16 carports, parking spaces, cellars, half-stories, and unfinished attics line 17 and basements.
line 18 (n)  A local agency may adopt an ordinance to implement the line 19 provisions of this section. An ordinance adopted to implement this line 20 section shall not be considered a project under Division 13 line 21 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. line 22 (o)  (1)  A local agency shall submit a copy of the ordinance line 23 adopted pursuant to this section to the department within 60 days line 24 after adoption. After adoption of an ordinance, the department may line 25 submit written findings to the local agency as to whether the line 26 ordinance complies with this section. The local agency shall submit line 27 a copy of any existing ordinance adopted pursuant to this section line 28 to the department within 60 days of the date this act becomes line 29 effective.
line 30 (2)  (A)  If the department finds that the local agency’s ordinance line 31 does not comply with this section, the department shall notify the line 32 local agency and shall provide the local agency with a reasonable line 33 time, no longer than 30 days, to respond to the findings before line 34 taking any other action authorized by this section. line 35 (B)  The local agency shall consider any findings made by the line 36 department pursuant to paragraph (1) and shall do one of the line 37 following:
line 38 (i)  Amend the ordinance to comply with this section. line 39 (ii)  Adopt the ordinance without changes. The local agency line 40 shall include findings in its resolution adopting the ordinance that 97 — 57 — SB 677

line 1 explain the reasons the local agency believes that the ordinance line 2 complies with this section despite the findings of the department. line 3 (3)  If the local agency does not amend its ordinance in response line 4 to the department’s findings or does not adopt a resolution with line 5 findings explaining the reason the ordinance complies with this line 6 section and addressing the department’s findings, the department line 7 shall notify the local agency and may notify the Attorney General line 8 that the local agency is in violation of state law. line 9 (p)  A local agency shall ministerially review a condominium line 10 map to subdivide a housing development built pursuant to Section line 11 65852.21, consistent with the standards set out for an urban lot line 12 split in this section.
line 13 (q)  A local agency shall provide applicants with a single line 14 application for an urban lot split pursuant to this section and any line 15 housing development pursuant to Section 65852.21. Both line 16 applications shall be reviewed concurrently.
line 17 (r)  For a project located in the coastal zone, as specified in the line 18 California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with line 19 Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code), this section does line 20 not relieve a project relying on the provisions of this section from line 21 the requirement to obtain a coastal development permit as required line 22 by Section 30600 of the Public Resources Code. Any standards to line 23 which the applicant is entitled under this section shall be permitted line 24 in a manner that is consistent with this section and does not result line 25 in significant adverse impacts to coastal resources and public line 26 coastal access pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section line 27 30200) of Division 20 of the Public Resources Code. line 28 (r)  (1)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede line 29 or in any way alter or lessen the effect or application of the line 30 California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with line 31 Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code), except that the line 32 local agency shall not be required to hold public hearings for line 33 coastal development permit applications for urban lot splits line 34 pursuant to this section.
line 35 (2)  It is the intent of the Legislature that urban lot splits line 36 proposed pursuant to this section on any lot that satisfies the line 37 requirements specified in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, and clause line 38 (v) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of line 39 Section 65913.4 enjoy streamlined permitting consistent with line 40 Section 65913.4 of the Government Code so as to achieve the goal 97 SB 677 — 58 —

line 1 of increasing the supply of housing in the coastal zone while also line 2 protecting coastal resources and public coastal access. line 3 (s)  (1)  A local agency, special district, or water corporation line 4 shall not impose any impact fee upon an urban lot split proposed line 5 pursuant to this section.
line 6 (2)  For purposes of this subdivision, “impact fee” has the same line 7 meaning as the term “fee” is defined in subdivision (b) of Section line 8 66000, except that it also includes fees specified in Section 66477. line 9 “Impact fee” does not include any connection fee or capacity line 10 charge charged by a local agency, special district, or water line 11 corporation.
line 12 SEC. 5. The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 2, 3, line 13 and 4 of this act amending Sections 65852.21, 65913.4, and line 14 66411.7 of the Government Code address a matter of statewide line 15 concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section line 16 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Sections line 17 2, 3, and 4 of this act apply to all cities, including charter cities. line 18 SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to line 19 Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because line 20 a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service line 21 charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or line 22 level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section line 23 17556 of the Government Code.

O
97 — 59 — SB 677

Town of Atherton
Office of the Mayor
80 Fair Oaks Lane
Atherton, California 94027
Phone (650) 752-0500
May 21, 2025
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Housing Law
Dear Governor Newsom,
On behalf of the residents and stakeholders of the Town of Atherton, I write to firmly oppose the relentless proliferation of state housing laws that have overridden local control without regard for local housing plans, effectively sidelining the voices of our community and undermining years of responsible local planning.

The Town of Atherton is a community of just over 7,000 people. Our progress has been shaped by our philosophy of small-town, semi-rural character. This has allowed us to retain the small-town feel that has defined our community for generations. Decades of dutiful local planning has crafted our community into one of the most desirable jurisdictions in San Mateo County.

While the Town respects the pursuit of housing production amid a statewide crisis, the way forward is to work with cities to allow for growth in ways that make sense for their communities. Instead, cities have been virtually shut out of the process, and these new laws have diminished general plans, stripped away authority over local development, and left community members demanding answers from their local elected officials.

The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), a distribution of housing units assigned to every California city, is an impossible number to attain that will not lead to the level of increased housing growth that it intends. The rigorous process of getting a housing element approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has left cities vulnerable to draconian penalties such as loss of grant funding and the Builder’s Remedy. Most importantly, the laws are not providing affordable housing as intended.

Local control continues to be undermined by a slew of new bills each year. These bills override general plans, ignore local zoning and land use plans, and steadily erode the ability of residents and their local representatives to shape the future of their communities. Despite Atherton’s opposition—as well as that of the League of California Cities and other municipalities statewide—we have been inundated with legislation that further limits our ability to plan for growth responsibly. SB 423 (Weiner, 2024), which significantly expanded ministerial approvals for affordable housing projects; SB 4 (Weiner, 2024), which requires a housing development project to be a “use by right” on land owned by an independent institution of higher education or a religious institution; and SB 9 (Atkins, 2021), which allows homeowners to

Housing Law
May 21, 2025

subdivide their lots and add up to two duplexes in most single-family neighborhoods, are just a small example of how the new laws diminish local control.

This year, many onerous bills have been introduced that will impose additional state housing dictates on issues of critical local significance. One such example, SB 79 (Wiener), defies cities’ general plans and grants transit agencies unlimited land use authority on property they own or on which they have a permanent easement, regardless of the distance from a transit stop. Transit agencies would have the power to determine all aspects of development, including height, density, and design, without regard to local zoning or planning regulations.

And yet, housing prices are still spiraling out of control. It is imperative that we raise the question of how the state plans to evaluate these housing policies when the intended outcomes are currently not being achieved.

As Mayor of the Town of Atherton, I have heard from my constituents, as well as local officials in neighboring cities, about the effects of these new housing laws. Our communities are suffering, and Sacramento has regrettably turned a blind eye to the effects these laws have had on cities across California.

The time to act is now. I ask that you meet with me and other jurisdictions in this region so we can work together on a sustainable, reasonable process that addresses this decades-in-the-making housing crisis while keeping cities in the conversation and allowing us to grow in ways that include local discretion and public engagement. Please contact City Manager George Rodericks at [email protected] or 650-752- 0504 to schedule a meeting. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lewis
Mayor
Town of Atherton
Cc: Senator Scott Weiner
Senator Josh Becker
Assemblyman Mark Berman
League of California Cities