Agenda #: 3.1
Meeting Date: March 26, 2024
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION REPORT
New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 1 of 6 SCOPE AND PURPOSE:
This study session will provide a summary of the land use, housing and development laws passed by the State Legislature, most of which became effective at the beginning of 2024, that will likely affect Diamond Bar and the types of land use decisions the City will face.
Many of the new laws will require the City to amend its zoning regulations, and staff has tentatively scheduled a Planning Commission hearing for May 14, 2024 to consider the proposed amendments, followed by a City Council hearing as early as June 4, 2024.
The primary goal of this presentation and discussion is to provide the Commission and Council with useful background information and context when each body considers the upcoming draft ordinances.
This report concludes with a summary of additional amendments that the Planning Commission and City Council will consider during the upcoming hearings to implement the Housing Programs established in the 2021-2029 Housing Element.
SUMMARY OF KEY ENVIRONMENTAL, LAND USE, HOUSING AND
DEVELOPMENT LAWS:
• Streamlined Ministerial Approval of For-Sale Housing Projects of up to 10 units (SB 684)
SB 684 requires cities and counties to permit the development of up to 10 small single-family homes or condominiums on an existing parcel zoned for multifamily housing under specified circumstances, requires cities to ministerially review and approve a subdivision map and related land use entitlements for qualifying projects within 60 days, and permits developers to proceed with construction prior to final subdivision map approval. The bill’s provisions do not take effect until July 1, 2024, to allow local agencies time to adopt implementing ordinances.
New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 2 of 6 • Housing Accountability Act Amendments (AB 1633)
The Housing Accountability Act limits the authority of cities and counties to disapprove or reduce the density of proposed housing development projects that comply with objective development standards and policies or that are intended for very low-, low-, or moderate-income households. “Objective” standards are those that involve no personal or subjective judgement and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external benchmark or criterion. Cities or counties found to have acted in violation of the Housing Accountability Act may be subject to certain enhanced remedies, including significant fines.
AB 1633 amends the Housing Accountability Act in two important ways. First, the bill makes a city or county’s application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to improperly delay or effectively deny approval of a housing project a violation of the Housing Accountability Act. Second, the statute makes it more difficult for a third party that successfully challenges a city or county’s approval of a housing development project in court to recover its attorney’s fees from the city/county and/or the developer.
• Amendments to SB 35 Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process (SB 423) In an effort to meet statewide affordable housing goals, SB 35 (2017) requires cities and counties to streamline the review and approval of certain qualifying affordable housing projects through a ministerial process, without CEQA review or public hearings. In addition, qualifying SB 35 projects are only subject to duly adopted objective design standards. Cities and counties that do not have objective design standards cannot deny affordable housing projects based on their architecture.
A sunset date of January 1, 2026 was written into SB 35. SB 423 extends this date by an additional ten years, and removes a number of constraints that were written into SB 35, including the elimination of a “skilled and trained workforce” requirement for projects that are less than 85 feet in height.
• Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 (SB 4) SB 4 makes a 100% affordable housing project meeting specified criteria and proposed to be developed on land owned on or before January 1, 2024, by an independent institution of higher education or a religious institution a “use by right” that is subject to a streamlined ministerial approval process similar to the one applicable to SB 35 projects. Where the replacement of existing uses or new ancillary ground floor uses are proposed in conjunction with an affordable housing project, they are also subject to streamlined ministerial approval under SB 4’s provisions. Because qualifying projects must be reviewed ministerially, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to them. • Adaptive Reuse of Existing Buildings to 100% Affordable Housing (AB 1490) AB 1490 makes the adaptive reuse of an existing residential or hotel/motel building to 100% affordable units an allowable use, even if it is inconsistent with a city’s New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 3 of 6 general plan or zoning. To qualify, the following criteria must be met:
o All units must be lower-income; at least 50% must be very low-income. o The residential units must be created within the existing building envelope; additional square footage cannot be constructed, and existing open space amenities cannot be removed.
o On-site management must be provided for projects with 50 or more units. • Density Bonus Law Amendments (AB 1287)
AB 1287 amends the State Density Bonus Law (SDBL) in several ways. The SDBL requires cities to grant increased density, incentives or concessions, development standard waivers, and reduced parking ratios to applicants for housing development projects that agree to set aside a specified percentage of the units in the development for very low-, low-, or moderate-income households, seniors, or students. Notable changes to the SDBL made by AB 1287 include the following:
o Housing developers are incentivized to set aside even more very low- or moderate-income units by requiring cities to grant an additional density bonus if an applicant agrees to include at least 5% additional very low- or moderateincome units on top of the maximum number of affordable units that currently must be provided to achieve the greatest density bonus. A developer that takes full advantage of this new provision would potentially be eligible for a total combined density bonus of up to 100%.
o The bill grants developers additional incentives and concessions for projects that (i) include at least 16% of units for very low-income households, (ii) include at least 45% of units for moderate income households in a development in which the units are for sale, and (iii) 100 affordable projects located within one-half mile of a major transit stop.
o The bill also eliminates language from the SDBL that authorized cities to require applicants to provide justification of their requests for incentives, concessions, or waivers.
Program H-12 of the 2021-2029 Housing Element also requires the City to amend its density bonus regulations to conform to earlier SDBL legislation passed in 2020 (AB 2345). Staff is preparing a code amendment that will be in compliance with both AB 2345 and AB 1287 for the upcoming public hearings starting in May.
OTHER LEGISLATION OF NOTE:
• Expansion of HCD Authority to Enforce Housing Laws Against Cities (AB 434) AB 434 adds several laws to the list of state housing laws set forth in Government Code Section 65585(j) that the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is required to enforce against cities and counties. Following adoption of AB 434, HCD now enforces laws addressing the following:
New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 4 of 6 o The Housing Accountability Act (Gov’t Code §65589.5)
o The State Density Bonus Law (Gov’t Code §65915)
o The No Net Loss Law (Gov’t Code §65863)
o The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Gov’t Code §§ 65941.1, 65943, and 66300)) o Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (Gov’t Code §8899.50) o SB 35 / Streamlined Ministerial Approval of Affordable Housing Projects (Gov’t Code §65913.4)
o Supportive Housing (Gov’t Code §65650 et. seq.)
o Low-Barrier Navigation Centers (Gov’t Code §65660 et. seq.) o Housing development approvals for 3-10 unit housing projects in multifamily or mixed-use zones (Gov’t Code §65913.11)
o Administration of the General Plan (Gov’t Code §65400) o Prohibition on enforcement of minimum parking requirements on projects located within one-half mile of public transit (Gov’t Code §65863.2) o Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 (Gov’t Code §65912.100 et. seq.)
o 5 hearing limit for housing projects (Govt. Code §65905.5) o ADUs and JADUs (Govt. Code §§ 65852.2, 65852.22, 65852.23, and 6685.26) o SB 9 2-Unit Developments and Urban Lot Splits (Govt. Code §§ 65852.21 and 66411.7)
o SB 6 (Middle Class Housing Act of 2022) (Govt. Code §65852.24) o SB 4 (Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023) (Govt. Code §65913.6)
o AB 1218 (Demolition of housing units) (Govt. Code §§ 66300.5-66300.6) o SB 684 (Ministerial approval of housing projects with 10 units or less) (Govt.
Code §§ 65852.28, 65913.4.5, and 66499.41)
• Requirement to Provide Written Statement to Businesses About How to Comply with Disability Access Laws (SB 748)
Existing law requires a city or county to provide an applicant for a business license with a short statement about the applicant’s obligation to comply with disability access laws and an advisory that includes specified information and encourages the applicant to obtain a certified access specialist (CASp) inspection. SB 748 supplements these existing requirements by mandating that cities and counties also provide applicants with a separate document containing a more detailed statement describing the applicant’s obligation to make its property and website compliant with state and federal disability law, encouraging the applicant to obtain a CASp inspection, and describing how the applicant can obtain additional information about how to comply with disability laws.
• Proactive Inspections of Multi-unit Buildings (AB 548) AB 548 requires local agencies to develop policies and procedures by January 1, 2025 for inspecting multiple units in a building when an inspector or code enforcement officer determines that any unit in the building is substandard or in violation of state habitability standards. The bill also provides that, if, as a result of an inspection, it is determined that a substandard condition in a unit could reasonably affect other units, the building department must provide the building New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 5 of 6 owner with a notice or order to repair or abate within a reasonable time. • Special Motion to Strike Lawsuits Challenging Approval of Affordable Housing Projects (SB 439)
SB 439 establishes a new procedure giving local agencies the opportunity to obtain dismissal of likely non-meritorious CEQA actions and other lawsuits challenging the approval or permitting of 100% affordable housing projects early in the litigation.
Specifically, the bill creates a new special motion to strike a local agency can file within 60 days of being served with a lawsuit challenging a “priority housing development,” which stays discovery proceedings and may result in dismissal of the lawsuit and an award of attorney’s fees and costs if the plaintiff is unable to show a probability of prevailing on the claim.
CODE AMENDMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE HOUSING ELEMENT:
The 2021-2029 Housing Element establishes 15 housing programs for the City to implement during the current planning period (Attachment 1), some of which require the amendments to the Development Code.
• Program H-11 — Housing for Persons with Special Needs The City is currently processing a Development Code amendment to allow supportive housing and low barrier navigation centers consistent with State law and to replace or modify the CUP requirement to provide greater objectivity and development certainty for residential care facilities serving 7 or more persons in all residential zones.
• Program H-12 — Affordable Housing Incentives/Density Bonus As discussed above in regards to AB 1287, staff is updating the City’s density bonus regulations to conform to State Law, as well as implement Program H-12 of the Housing Element.
• Program H-15 — Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities Program H-15 requires the City to process a Development Code amendment updating its reasonable accommodation procedures to “revise the criteria for approval of requests for reasonable accommodations to provide greater objectivity and certainty.” The forthcoming code amendments will include updated reasonable accommodation review and approval standards to meet this obligation. .
New Housing and Land Use Laws | March 26, 2024 Page 6 of 6 Prepared by:
_________________________
Greg Gubman, AICP
Community Development Director
Attachments:
1. 3.1.a Diamond Bar 2021-2029 Housing Element Housing Programs