Senate Bill No. 10
CHAPTER 163
An act to add Section 65913.5 to the Government Code, relating to land use.
[Approved by Governor September 16, 2021. Filed with
Secretary of State September 16, 2021.]
legislative counsel’s digest
SB 10, Wiener. Planning and zoning: housing development: density.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use de velopment within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law requires an attached housing development to be a permitted use, not subject to a conditional use permit, on any parcel zoned for multifamily housing if at least certain percentages of the units are a vailable at affordable housing costs to v ery low income, lower income, and moderate-income households for at least 30 years and if the project meets specified conditions relating to location and being subject to a discretionary decision other than a conditional use permit. Existing law provides for v arious incenti ves intended to f acilitate and e xpedite the construction of affordable housing.
This bill would, notwithstanding any local restrictions on adopting zoning ordinances, authorize a local government to adopt an ordinance to zone any parcel for up to 10 units of residential density per parcel, at a height specified in the ordinance, if the parcel is located in a transit-rich area or an urban infill site, as those terms are defined. The bill w ould prohibit a local government from adopting an ordinance pursuant to these provisions on or after January 1, 2029. The bill w ould specify that an ordinance adopted under these pro visions, and an y resolution to amend the jurisdiction’ s General Plan, ordinance, or other local regulation adopted to be consistent with that ordinance, is not a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill would prohibit an ordinance adopted under these pro visions from superceding a local restriction enacted or approved by a local initiati ve that designates publicly o wned land as open-space land or for park or recreational purposes.
The bill w ould impose specified requirements on a zoning ordinance adopted under these pro visions, including a requirement that the zoning ordinance clearly demarcate the areas that are subject to the ordinance and that the legislative body make a finding that the ordinance is consistent with the city or county’s obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. The bill would require an ordinance to be adopted by a 2⁄3 vote of the members of the le gislative body if the ordinance supersedes an y zoning restriction established by local initiative.
89 The bill would prohibit an ordinance adopted under these provisions from reducing the density of an y parcel subject to the ordinance and w ould prohibit a legislative body from subsequently reducing the density of an y parcel subject to the ordinance. The bill w ould prohibit a residential or mixed-use residential project consisting of 10 or more units that is located on a parcel zoned pursuant to these pro visions from being appro ved ministerially or by right or from being e xempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, except as specified.
This 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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 65913.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65913.5. (a) (1) Notwithstanding an y local restrictions on adopting zoning ordinances enacted by the jurisdiction that limit the legislative body’s ability to adopt zoning ordinances, including, subject to the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), restrictions enacted by local initiative, a local government may adopt an ordinance to zone a parcel for up to 10 units of residential density per parcel, at a height specified by the local government in the ordinance, if the parcel is located in one of the following:
(A) A transit-rich area.
(B) An urban infill site.
(2) A local go vernment shall not adopt an ordinance pursuant to this subdivision on or after January 1, 2029. However, the operative date of an ordinance adopted under this subdi vision may e xtend beyond January 1, 2029.
(3) An ordinance adopted in accordance with this subdi vision, and any resolution to amend the jurisdiction’s General Plan, ordinance, or other local regulation adopted to be consistent with that zoning ordinance, shall not constitute a “project” for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to either of the following:
(A) Parcels located within a v ery high fire hazard se verity zone, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section 51178, or within a high or v ery high fire hazard se verity zone as indicated on maps adopted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section 4202 of the Public Resources Code. This paragraph does not apply to sites that ha ve adopted fire hazard mitig ation measures pursuant to e xisting building standards or state fire mitig ation measures applicable to the development.
(B) Any local restriction enacted or appro ved by a local initiati ve that designates publicly owned land as open-space land, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 65560, or for park or recreational purposes. 89 — 2 — Ch. 163
(b) A le gislative body shall comply with all of the follo wing when adopting a zoning ordinance pursuant to subdivision (a):
(1) The zoning ordinance shall include a declaration that the zoning ordinance is adopted pursuant to this section.
(2) The zoning ordinance shall clearly demarcate the areas that are zoned pursuant to this section.
(3) The legislative body shall make a finding that the increased density authorized by the ordinance is consistent with the city or county’s obligation to affirmatively further fair housing pursuant to Section 8899.50. (4) If the ordinance supersedes an y zoning restriction established by a local initiative, the ordinance shall only take effect if adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other law that allows ministerial or by right approval of a development project or that grants an exemption from Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, a residential or mixed-use residential project consisting of more than 10 new residential units on one or more parcels that are zoned pursuant to an ordinance adopted under this section shall not be approved ministerially or by right and shall not be exempt from Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.
(2) This subdivision shall not apply to a project located on a parcel or parcels that are zoned pursuant to an ordinance adopted under this section, but subsequently rezoned without re gard to this section. A subsequent ordinance adopted to rezone the parcel or parcels shall not be exempt from Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. Any en vironmental re view conducted to adopt the subsequent ordinance shall consider the change in the zoning applicable to the parcel or parcels before the y were zoned or rezoned pursuant to the ordinance adopted under this section.
(3) The creation of up to tw o accessory dwelling units and tw o junior accessory dwelling units per parcel pursuant to Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22 of the Government Code shall not count towards the total number of units of a residential or mixed-use residential project when determining if the project may be appro ved ministerially or by right under paragraph (1).
(4) A project may not be divided into smaller projects in order to exclude the project from the prohibition in this subdivision.
(d) (1) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall not reduce the density of any parcel subject to the ordinance.
(2) A legislative body that adopts a zoning ordinance pursuant to this section shall not subsequently reduce the density of an y parcel subject to the ordinance.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) “High-quality bus corridor” means a corridor with fix ed route b us service that meets all of the following criteria:
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(A) It has average service intervals of no more than 15 minutes during the three peak hours between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., inclusive, and the three peak hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., inclusive, on Monday through Friday. (B) It has average service intervals of no more than 20 minutes during the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., inclusive, on Monday through Friday. (C) It has average intervals of no more than 30 minutes during the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., inclusive, on Saturday and Sunday. (2) “Transit-rich area” means a parcel within one-half mile of a major transit stop, as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code, or a parcel on a high-quality bus corridor.
(3) “Urban infill site” means a site that satisfies all of the following:
(A) A site that is a le gal parcel or parcels located in a city if, and only if, the city boundaries include some portion of either an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau, or , for unincorporated areas, a legal parcel or parcels wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster , as designated by the United States Census Bureau.
(B) A site in which at least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses. For the purposes of this section, parcels that are only separated by a street or highw ay shall be considered to be adjoined.
(C) A site that is zoned for residential use or residential mix ed-use development, or has a general plan designation that allo ws residential use or a mix of residential and nonresidential uses, with at least tw o-thirds of the square footage of the development designated for residential use. (f) The Legislature finds and declares that provision of adequate housing, in light of the severe shortage of housing at all income le vels in this state, is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section applies to all cities, including charter cities.
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