california legislature—2023–24 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2560
Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez
(Coauthor: Senator Wiener)
February 14, 2024
An act to amend Section 65915 of the Government Code, relating to housing.
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 2560, as introduced, Alvarez. Density Bonus Law: California Coastal Act of 1976.
Existing law, referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development within the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions, as specified, if the developer agrees to construct specified percentages of units for lower income households or very low income households, and meets other requirements. Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976 (act), regulates development, as defined, in the coastal zone, as defined, and requires a new development to comply with specified requirements. The Density Bonus Law provides that its provisions do not supersede or in any way alter or lessen the effect or application of the act, and requires that any density bonus, concessions, incentives, waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios to which an applicant is entitled under the Density Bonus Law be permitted in a manner consistent with the act.
This bill would provide that any density bonus, concessions, incentives, waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios to which an applicant is entitled under the Density Bonus Law be permitted notwithstanding the act.
99 Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. Section 65915 of the Government Code is line 2 amended to read:
line 3 65915. (a) (1) When an applicant seeks a density bonus for line 4 a housing development within, or for the donation of land for line 5 housing within, the jurisdiction of a city, county, or city and county, line 6 that local government shall comply with this section. A city, line 7 county, or city and county shall adopt an ordinance that specifies line 8 how compliance with this section will be implemented. Except as line 9 otherwise provided in subdivision (s), failure to adopt an ordinance line 10 shall not relieve a city, county, or city and county from complying line 11 with this section.
line 12 (2) A local government shall not condition the submission, line 13 review, or approval of an application pursuant to this chapter on line 14 the preparation of an additional report or study that is not otherwise line 15 required by state law, including this section. This subdivision does line 16 not prohibit a local government from requiring an applicant to line 17 provide reasonable documentation to establish eligibility for a line 18 requested density bonus, as described in subdivision (b), and line 19 parking ratios, as described in subdivision (p). line 20 (3) In order to provide for the expeditious processing of a density line 21 bonus application, the local government shall do all of the line 22 following:
line 23 (A) Adopt procedures and timelines for processing a density line 24 bonus application.
line 25 (B) Provide a list of all documents and information required to line 26 be submitted with the density bonus application in order for the line 27 density bonus application to be deemed complete. This list shall line 28 be consistent with this chapter.
line 29 (C) Notify the applicant for a density bonus whether the line 30 application is complete in a manner consistent with the timelines line 31 specified in Section 65943.
line 32 (D) (i) If the local government notifies the applicant that the line 33 application is deemed complete pursuant to subparagraph (C), line 34 provide the applicant with a determination as to the following line 35 matters:
99 AB 2560 — 2 —
line 1 (I) The amount of density bonus, calculated pursuant to line 2 subdivision (f), for which the applicant is eligible. line 3 (II) If the applicant requests a parking ratio pursuant to line 4 subdivision (p), the parking ratio for which the applicant is eligible. line 5 (III) If the applicant requests incentives or concessions pursuant line 6 to subdivision (d) or waivers or reductions of development line 7 standards pursuant to subdivision (e), whether the applicant has line 8 provided adequate information for the local government to make line 9 a determination as to those incentives, concessions, waivers, or line 10 reductions of development standards.
line 11 (ii) Any determination required by this subparagraph shall be line 12 based on the development project at the time the application is line 13 deemed complete. The local government shall adjust the amount line 14 of density bonus and parking ratios awarded pursuant to this section line 15 based on any changes to the project during the course of line 16 development.
line 17 (b) (1) A city, county, or city and county shall grant one density line 18 bonus, the amount of which shall be as specified in subdivision line 19 (f), and, if requested by the applicant and consistent with the line 20 applicable requirements of this section, incentives or concessions, line 21 as described in subdivision (d), waivers or reductions of line 22 development standards, as described in subdivision (e), and parking line 23 ratios, as described in subdivision (p), if an applicant for a housing line 24 development seeks and agrees to construct a housing development, line 25 excluding any units permitted by the density bonus awarded line 26 pursuant to this section, that will contain at least any one of the line 27 following:
line 28 (A) Ten percent of the total units of a housing development, line 29 including a shared housing building development, for rental or line 30 sale to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 line 31 of the Health and Safety Code.
line 32 (B) Five percent of the total units of a housing development, line 33 including a shared housing building development, for rental or line 34 sale to very low income households, as defined in Section 50105 line 35 of the Health and Safety Code.
line 36 (C) A senior citizen housing development, as defined in Sections line 37 51.3 and 51.12 of the Civil Code, or a mobilehome park that limits line 38 residency based on age requirements for housing for older persons line 39 pursuant to Section 798.76 or 799.5 of the Civil Code. For purposes 99 — 3 — AB 2560
line 1 of this subparagraph, “development” includes a shared housing line 2 building development.
line 3 (D) Ten percent of the total dwelling units of a housing line 4 development are sold to persons and families of moderate income, line 5 as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, line 6 provided that all units in the development are offered to the public line 7 for purchase.
line 8 (E) Ten percent of the total units of a housing development for line 9 transitional foster youth, as defined in Section 66025.9 of the line 10 Education Code, disabled veterans, as defined in Section 18541, line 11 or homeless persons, as defined in the federal McKinney-Vento line 12 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.). The units line 13 described in this subparagraph are subject to a recorded line 14 affordability restriction of 55 years and shall be provided at the line 15 same affordability level as very low income units. line 16 (F) (i) Twenty percent of the total units for lower income line 17 students in a student housing development that meets the following line 18 requirements:
line 19 (I) All units in the student housing development shall be used line 20 exclusively for undergraduate, graduate, or professional students line 21 enrolled full time at an institution of higher education accredited line 22 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or the line 23 Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. In line 24 order to be eligible under this subclause, the developer shall, as a line 25 condition of receiving a certificate of occupancy, provide evidence line 26 to the city, county, or city and county that the developer has entered line 27 into an operating agreement or master lease with one or more line 28 institutions of higher education for the institution or institutions line 29 to occupy all units of the student housing development with line 30 students from that institution or institutions. An operating line 31 agreement or master lease entered into pursuant to this subclause line 32 is not violated or breached if, in any subsequent year, there are line 33 insufficient students enrolled in an institution of higher education line 34 to fill all units in the student housing development. line 35 (II) The applicable 20-percent units shall be used for lower line 36 income students.
line 37 (III) The rent provided in the applicable units of the development line 38 for lower income students shall be calculated at 30 percent of 65 line 39 percent of the area median income for a single-room occupancy line 40 unit type.
99 AB 2560 — 4 —
line 1 (IV) The development shall provide priority for the applicable line 2 affordable units for lower income students experiencing line 3 homelessness. A homeless service provider, as defined in paragraph line 4 (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety line 5 Code, or institution of higher education that has knowledge of a line 6 person’s homeless status may verify a person’s status as homeless line 7 for purposes of this subclause.
line 8 (ii) For purposes of calculating a density bonus granted pursuant line 9 to this subparagraph, the term “unit” as used in this section means line 10 one rental bed and its pro rata share of associated common area line 11 facilities. The units described in this subparagraph are subject to line 12 a recorded affordability restriction of 55 years. line 13 (G) One hundred percent of all units in the development, line 14 including total units and density bonus units, but exclusive of a line 15 manager’s unit or units, are for lower income households, as line 16 defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, except line 17 that up to 20 percent of the units in the development, including line 18 total units and density bonus units, may be for moderate-income line 19 households, as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety line 20 Code. For purposes of this subparagraph, “development” includes line 21 a shared housing building development.
line 22 (2) For purposes of calculating the amount of the density bonus line 23 pursuant to subdivision (f), an applicant who requests a density line 24 bonus pursuant to this subdivision shall elect whether the bonus line 25 shall be awarded on the basis of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), line 26 (E), (F), or (G) of paragraph (1).
line 27 (c) (1) (A) An applicant shall agree to, and the city, county, line 28 or city and county shall ensure, the continued affordability of all line 29 very low and low-income rental units that qualified the applicant line 30 for the award of the density bonus for 55 years or a longer period line 31 of time if required by the construction or mortgage financing line 32 assistance program, mortgage insurance program, or rental subsidy line 33 program.
line 34 (B) (i) Except as otherwise provided in clause (ii), rents for the line 35 lower income density bonus units shall be set at an affordable rent, line 36 as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code. line 37 (ii) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 38 subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), rents for all line 39 units in the development, including both base density and density line 40 bonus units, shall be as follows:
99 — 5 — AB 2560
line 1 (I) The rent for at least 20 percent of the units in the line 2 development shall be set at an affordable rent, as defined in Section line 3 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.
line 4 (II) The rent for the remaining units in the development shall line 5 be set at an amount consistent with the maximum rent levels for line 6 lower income households, as those rents and incomes are line 7 determined by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. line 8 (2) (A) An applicant shall agree to ensure, and the city, county, line 9 or city and county shall ensure, that a for-sale unit that qualified line 10 the applicant for the award of the density bonus meets one of the line 11 following conditions:
line 12 (i) The unit is initially sold to and occupied by a person or family line 13 of very low, low, or moderate income, as required, and it is offered line 14 at an affordable housing cost, as that cost is defined in Section line 15 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code and is subject to an equity line 16 sharing agreement.
line 17 (ii) If the unit is not purchased by an income-qualified person line 18 or family within 180 days after the issuance of the certificate of line 19 occupancy, the unit is purchased by a qualified nonprofit housing line 20 corporation that meets all of the following requirements pursuant line 21 to a recorded contract that satisfies all of the requirements specified line 22 in paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of Section 402.1 of the line 23 Revenue and Taxation Code:
line 24 (I) The nonprofit corporation has a determination letter from line 25 the Internal Revenue Service affirming its tax-exempt status line 26 pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and line 27 is not a private foundation as that term is defined in Section 509 line 28 of the Internal Revenue Code.
line 29 (II) The nonprofit corporation is based in California. line 30 (III) All of the board members of the nonprofit corporation have line 31 their primary residence in California.
line 32 (IV) The primary activity of the nonprofit corporation is the line 33 development and preservation of affordable home ownership line 34 housing in California that incorporates within their contracts for line 35 initial purchase a repurchase option that requires a subsequent line 36 purchaser of the property that desires to resell or convey the line 37 property to offer the qualified nonprofit corporation the right to line 38 repurchase the property prior to selling or conveying that property line 39 to any other purchaser pursuant to an equity sharing agreement or line 40 affordability restrictions on the sale and conveyance of the property 99 AB 2560 — 6 —
line 1 that ensure that the property will be preserved for lower income line 2 housing for at least 45 years for owner-occupied housing units and line 3 will be sold or resold only to persons or families of very low, low, line 4 or moderate income, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health line 5 and Safety Code.
line 6 (B) For purposes of this paragraph, a “qualified nonprofit line 7 housing corporation” is a nonprofit housing corporation organized line 8 pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that line 9 has received a welfare exemption under Section 214.15 of the line 10 Revenue and Taxation Code for properties intended to be sold to line 11 low-income families who participate in a special no-interest loan line 12 program.
line 13 (C) The local government shall enforce an equity sharing line 14 agreement required pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph line 15 (A), unless it is in conflict with the requirements of another public line 16 funding source or law or may defer to the recapture provisions of line 17 the public funding source. The following apply to the equity line 18 sharing agreement:
line 19 (i) Upon resale, the seller of the unit shall retain the value of line 20 any improvements, the downpayment, and the seller’s proportionate line 21 share of appreciation.
line 22 (ii) Except as provided in clause (v), the local government shall line 23 recapture any initial subsidy, as defined in clause (iii), and its line 24 proportionate share of appreciation, as defined in clause (iv), which line 25 amount shall be used within five years for any of the purposes line 26 described in subdivision (e) of Section 33334.2 of the Health and line 27 Safety Code that promote homeownership.
line 28 (iii) For purposes of this subdivision, the local government’s line 29 initial subsidy shall be equal to the fair market value of the home line 30 at the time of initial sale minus the initial sale price to the line 31 moderate-income household, plus the amount of any downpayment line 32 assistance or mortgage assistance. If upon resale the market value line 33 is lower than the initial market value, then the value at the time of line 34 the resale shall be used as the initial market value. line 35 (iv) For purposes of this subdivision, the local government’s line 36 proportionate share of appreciation shall be equal to the ratio of line 37 the local government’s initial subsidy to the fair market value of line 38 the home at the time of initial sale.
line 39 (v) If the unit is purchased or developed by a qualified nonprofit line 40 housing corporation pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) 99 — 7 — AB 2560
line 1 the local government may enter into a contract with the qualified line 2 nonprofit housing corporation under which the qualified nonprofit line 3 housing corporation would recapture any initial subsidy and its line 4 proportionate share of appreciation if the qualified nonprofit line 5 housing corporation is required to use 100 percent of the proceeds line 6 to promote homeownership for lower income households as defined line 7 by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code within the line 8 jurisdiction of the local government.
line 9 (3) (A) An applicant shall be ineligible for a density bonus or line 10 any other incentives or concessions under this section if the housing line 11 development is proposed on any property that includes a parcel or line 12 parcels on which rental dwelling units are located or, if the dwelling line 13 units have been vacated or demolished in the five-year period line 14 preceding the application, have been subject to a recorded covenant, line 15 ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons line 16 and families of lower or very low income; subject to any other line 17 form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise line 18 of its police power; or occupied by lower or very low income line 19 households, unless the proposed housing development replaces line 20 those units, and either of the following applies:
line 21 (i) The proposed housing development, inclusive of the units line 22 replaced pursuant to this paragraph, contains affordable units at line 23 the percentages set forth in subdivision (b).
line 24 (ii) Each unit in the development, exclusive of a manager’s unit line 25 or units, is affordable to, and occupied by, either a lower or very line 26 low income household.
line 27 (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, “replace” shall mean line 28 either of the following:
line 29 (i) If any dwelling units described in subparagraph (A) are line 30 occupied on the date of application, the proposed housing line 31 development shall provide at least the same number of units of line 32 equivalent size to be made available at affordable rent or affordable line 33 housing cost to, and occupied by, persons and families in the same line 34 or lower income category as those households in occupancy. If line 35 the income category of the household in occupancy is not known, line 36 it shall be rebuttably presumed that lower income renter households line 37 occupied these units in the same proportion of lower income renter line 38 households to all renter households within the jurisdiction, as line 39 determined by the most recently available data from the United line 40 States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 99 AB 2560 — 8 —
line 1 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy database. For line 2 unoccupied dwelling units described in subparagraph (A) in a line 3 development with occupied units, the proposed housing line 4 development shall provide units of equivalent size to be made line 5 available at affordable rent or affordable housing cost to, and line 6 occupied by, persons and families in the same or lower income line 7 category as the last household in occupancy. If the income category line 8 of the last household in occupancy is not known, it shall be line 9 rebuttably presumed that lower income renter households occupied line 10 these units in the same proportion of lower income renter line 11 households to all renter households within the jurisdiction, as line 12 determined by the most recently available data from the United line 13 States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s line 14 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy database. All line 15 replacement calculations resulting in fractional units shall be line 16 rounded up to the next whole number. If the replacement units will line 17 be rental dwelling units, these units shall be subject to a recorded line 18 affordability restriction for at least 55 years. If the proposed line 19 development is for-sale units, the units replaced shall be subject line 20 to paragraph (2).
line 21 (ii) If all dwelling units described in subparagraph (A) have line 22 been vacated or demolished within the five-year period preceding line 23 the application, the proposed housing development shall provide line 24 at least the same number of units of equivalent size as existed at line 25 the highpoint of those units in the five-year period preceding the line 26 application to be made available at affordable rent or affordable line 27 housing cost to, and occupied by, persons and families in the same line 28 or lower income category as those persons and families in line 29 occupancy at that time, if known. If the incomes of the persons line 30 and families in occupancy at the highpoint is not known, it shall line 31 be rebuttably presumed that low-income and very low income line 32 renter households occupied these units in the same proportion of line 33 low-income and very low income renter households to all renter line 34 households within the jurisdiction, as determined by the most line 35 recently available data from the United States Department of line 36 Housing and Urban Development’s Comprehensive Housing line 37 Affordability Strategy database. All replacement calculations line 38 resulting in fractional units shall be rounded up to the next whole line 39 number. If the replacement units will be rental dwelling units, line 40 these units shall be subject to a recorded affordability restriction 99 — 9 — AB 2560
line 1 for at least 55 years. If the proposed development is for-sale units, line 2 the units replaced shall be subject to paragraph (2). line 3 (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), for any dwelling unit line 4 described in subparagraph (A) that is or was, within the five-year line 5 period preceding the application, subject to a form of rent or price line 6 control through a local government’s valid exercise of its police line 7 power and that is or was occupied by persons or families above line 8 lower income, the city, county, or city and county may do either line 9 of the following:
line 10 (i) Require that the replacement units be made available at line 11 affordable rent or affordable housing cost to, and occupied by, line 12 low-income persons or families. If the replacement units will be line 13 rental dwelling units, these units shall be subject to a recorded line 14 affordability restriction for at least 55 years. If the proposed line 15 development is for-sale units, the units replaced shall be subject line 16 to paragraph (2).
line 17 (ii) Require that the units be replaced in compliance with the line 18 jurisdiction’s rent or price control ordinance, provided that each line 19 unit described in subparagraph (A) is replaced. Unless otherwise line 20 required by the jurisdiction’s rent or price control ordinance, these line 21 units shall not be subject to a recorded affordability restriction. line 22 (D) For purposes of this paragraph, “equivalent size” means line 23 that the replacement units contain at least the same total number line 24 of bedrooms as the units being replaced.
line 25 (E) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to an applicant seeking a line 26 density bonus for a proposed housing development if the line 27 applicant’s application was submitted to, or processed by, a city, line 28 county, or city and county before January 1, 2015. line 29 (d) (1) An applicant for a density bonus pursuant to subdivision line 30 (b) may submit to a city, county, or city and county a proposal for line 31 the specific incentives or concessions that the applicant requests line 32 pursuant to this section, and may request a meeting with the city, line 33 county, or city and county. The city, county, or city and county line 34 shall grant the concession or incentive requested by the applicant line 35 unless the city, county, or city and county makes a written finding, line 36 based upon substantial evidence, of any of the following:
line 37 (A) The concession or incentive does not result in identifiable line 38 and actual cost reductions, consistent with subdivision (k), to line 39 provide for affordable housing costs, as defined in Section 50052.5 99 AB 2560 — 10 —
line 1 of the Health and Safety Code, or for rents for the targeted units line 2 to be set as specified in subdivision (c).
line 3 (B) The concession or incentive would have a specific, adverse line 4 impact, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section line 5 65589.5, upon public health and safety or on any real property that line 6 is listed in the California Register of Historical Resources and for line 7 which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid line 8 the specific, adverse impact without rendering the development line 9 unaffordable to low-income and moderate-income households. line 10 (C) The concession or incentive would be contrary to state or line 11 federal law.
line 12 (2) The applicant shall receive the following number of line 13 incentives or concessions:
line 14 (A) One incentive or concession for projects that include at least line 15 10 percent of the total units for lower income households, at least line 16 5 percent for very low income households, or at least 10 percent line 17 for persons and families of moderate income in a development in line 18 which the units are for sale.
line 19 (B) Two incentives or concessions for projects that include at line 20 least 17 percent of the total units for lower income households, at line 21 least 10 percent for very low income households, or at least 20 line 22 percent for persons and families of moderate income in a line 23 development in which the units are for sale.
line 24 (C) Three incentives or concessions for projects that include at line 25 least 24 percent of the total units for lower income households, at line 26 least 15 percent for very low income households, or at least 30 line 27 percent for persons and families of moderate income in a line 28 development in which the units are for sale.
line 29 (D) Five incentives or concessions for a project meeting the line 30 criteria of subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). line 31 If the project is located within one-half mile of a major transit stop line 32 or is located in a very low vehicle travel area in a designated line 33 county, the applicant shall also receive a height increase of up to line 34 three additional stories, or 33 feet.
line 35 (E) One incentive or concession for projects that include at least line 36 20 percent of the total units for lower income students in a student line 37 housing development.
line 38 (F) Four incentives or concessions for projects that include at line 39 least 16 percent of the units for very low income households or at 99 — 11 — AB 2560
line 1 least 45 percent for persons and families of moderate income in a line 2 development in which the units are for sale.
line 3 (3) The applicant may initiate judicial proceedings if the city, line 4 county, or city and county refuses to grant a requested density line 5 bonus, incentive, or concession. If a court finds that the refusal to line 6 grant a requested density bonus, incentive, or concession is in line 7 violation of this section, the court shall award the plaintiff line 8 reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of suit. This subdivision shall line 9 not be interpreted to require a local government to grant an line 10 incentive or concession that has a specific, adverse impact, as line 11 defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65589.5, line 12 upon health or safety, and for which there is no feasible method line 13 to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. line 14 This subdivision shall not be interpreted to require a local line 15 government to grant an incentive or concession that would have line 16 an adverse impact on any real property that is listed in the line 17 California Register of Historical Resources. The city, county, or line 18 city and county shall establish procedures for carrying out this line 19 section that shall include legislative body approval of the means line 20 of compliance with this section.
line 21 (4) The city, county, or city and county shall bear the burden line 22 of proof for the denial of a requested concession or incentive. line 23 (e) (1) In no case may a city, county, or city and county apply line 24 any development standard that will have the effect of physically line 25 precluding the construction of a development meeting the criteria line 26 of subdivision (b) at the densities or with the concessions or line 27 incentives permitted by this section. Subject to paragraph (3), an line 28 applicant may submit to a city, county, or city and county a line 29 proposal for the waiver or reduction of development standards that line 30 will have the effect of physically precluding the construction of a line 31 development meeting the criteria of subdivision (b) at the densities line 32 or with the concessions or incentives permitted under this section, line 33 and may request a meeting with the city, county, or city and county. line 34 If a court finds that the refusal to grant a waiver or reduction of line 35 development standards is in violation of this section, the court line 36 shall award the plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of line 37 suit. This subdivision shall not be interpreted to require a local line 38 government to waive or reduce development standards if the waiver line 39 or reduction would have a specific, adverse impact, as defined in line 40 paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 65589.5, upon health 99 AB 2560 — 12 —
line 1 or safety, and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily line 2 mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. This subdivision line 3 shall not be interpreted to require a local government to waive or line 4 reduce development standards that would have an adverse impact line 5 on any real property that is listed in the California Register of line 6 Historical Resources, or to grant any waiver or reduction that would line 7 be contrary to state or federal law.
line 8 (2) A proposal for the waiver or reduction of development line 9 standards pursuant to this subdivision shall neither reduce nor line 10 increase the number of incentives or concessions to which the line 11 applicant is entitled pursuant to subdivision (d). line 12 (3) A housing development that receives a waiver from any line 13 maximum controls on density pursuant to clause (ii) of line 14 subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) shall only be line 15 eligible for a waiver or reduction of development standards as line 16 provided in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) line 17 and clause (ii) of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of subdivision line 18 (f), unless the city, county, or city and county agrees to additional line 19 waivers or reductions of development standards. line 20 (f) For the purposes of this chapter, “density bonus” means a line 21 density increase over the otherwise maximum allowable gross line 22 residential density as of the date of application by the applicant to line 23 the city, county, or city and county, or, if elected by the applicant, line 24 a lesser percentage of density increase, including, but not limited line 25 to, no increase in density. The amount of density increase to which line 26 the applicant is entitled shall vary according to the amount by line 27 which the percentage of affordable housing units exceeds the line 28 percentage established in subdivision (b).
line 29 (1) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 30 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 31 bonus shall be calculated as follows:
line 32
line 33 Percentage Density
line 34 Bonus
Percentage Low-Income Units
line 35 10 20
line 36 11 21.5
line 37 12 23
line 38 13 24.5
line 39 14 26
line 40 15 27.5
99 — 13 — AB 2560
line 1 16 29
line 2 17 30.5
line 3 18 32
line 4 19 33.5
line 5 20 35
line 6 21 38.75
line 7 22 42.5
line 8 23 46.25
line 9 24 50
line 10
line 11 (2) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 12 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 13 bonus shall be calculated as follows:
line 14
line 15 Percentage Very Low Income Units Percentage Density Bonus line 16 5 20
line 17 6 22.5
line 18 7 25
line 19 8 27.5
line 20 9 30
line 21 10 32.5
line 22 11 35
line 23 12 38.75
line 24 13 42.5
line 25 14 46.25
line 26 15 50
line 27
line 28 (3) (A) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 29 subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 30 bonus shall be 20 percent of the number of senior housing units. line 31 (B) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 32 subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 33 bonus shall be 20 percent of the number of the type of units giving line 34 rise to a density bonus under that subparagraph. line 35 (C) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 36 subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 37 bonus shall be 35 percent of the student housing units. line 38 (D) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 39 subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the following line 40 shall apply:
99 AB 2560 — 14 —
line 1 (i) Except as otherwise provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the line 2 density bonus shall be 80 percent of the number of units for lower line 3 income households.
line 4 (ii) If the housing development is located within one-half mile line 5 of a major transit stop, the city, county, or city and county shall line 6 not impose any maximum controls on density.
line 7 (iii) If the housing development is located in a very low vehicle line 8 travel area within a designated county, the city, county, or city and line 9 county shall not impose any maximum controls on density. line 10 (4) For housing developments meeting the criteria of line 11 subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the density line 12 bonus shall be calculated as follows:
line 13
line 14 Percentage Moderate-Income Units Percentage Density Bonus line 15 10 5
line 16 11 6
line 17 12 7
line 18 13 8
line 19 14 9
line 20 15 10
line 21 16 11
line 22 17 12
line 23 18 13
line 24 19 14
line 25 20 15
line 26 21 16
line 27 22 17
line 28 23 18
line 29 24 19
line 30 25 20
line 31 26 21
line 32 27 22
line 33 28 23
line 34 29 24
line 35 30 25
line 36 31 26
line 37 32 27
line 38 33 28
line 39 34 29
line 40 35 30
99 — 15 — AB 2560
line 1 36 31
line 2 37 32
line 3 38 33
line 4 39 34
line 5 40 35
line 6 41 38.75
line 7 42 42.5
line 8 43 46.25
line 9 44 50
line 10
line 11 (5) All density calculations resulting in fractional units shall be line 12 rounded up to the next whole number. The granting of a density line 13 bonus shall not require, or be interpreted, in and of itself, to require line 14 a general plan amendment, local coastal plan amendment, zoning line 15 change, or other discretionary approval.
line 16 (g) (1) When an applicant for a tentative subdivision map, line 17 parcel map, or other residential development approval donates line 18 land to a city, county, or city and county in accordance with this line 19 subdivision, the applicant shall be entitled to a 15-percent increase line 20 above the otherwise maximum allowable residential density for line 21 the entire development, as follows:
line 22
line 23 Percentage Very Low Income Percentage Density Bonus line 24 10 15
line 25 11 16
line 26 12 17
line 27 13 18
line 28 14 19
line 29 15 20
line 30 16 21
line 31 17 22
line 32 18 23
line 33 19 24
line 34 20 25
line 35 21 26
line 36 22 27
line 37 23 28
line 38 24 29
line 39 25 30
line 40 26 31
99 AB 2560 — 16 —
line 1 27 32
line 2 28 33
line 3 29 34
line 4 30 35
line 5
line 6 (2) This increase shall be in addition to any increase in density line 7 mandated by subdivision (b), up to a maximum combined mandated line 8 density increase of 35 percent if an applicant seeks an increase line 9 pursuant to both this subdivision and subdivision (b). All density line 10 calculations resulting in fractional units shall be rounded up to the line 11 next whole number. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed line 12 to enlarge or diminish the authority of a city, county, or city and line 13 county to require a developer to donate land as a condition of line 14 development. An applicant shall be eligible for the increased line 15 density bonus described in this subdivision if all of the following line 16 conditions are met:
line 17 (A) The applicant donates and transfers the land no later than line 18 the date of approval of the final subdivision map, parcel map, or line 19 residential development application.
line 20 (B) The developable acreage and zoning classification of the line 21 land being transferred are sufficient to permit construction of units line 22 affordable to very low income households in an amount not less line 23 than 10 percent of the number of residential units of the proposed line 24 development.
line 25 (C) The transferred land is at least one acre in size or of line 26 sufficient size to permit development of at least 40 units, has the line 27 appropriate general plan designation, is appropriately zoned with line 28 appropriate development standards for development at the density line 29 described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2, line 30 and is or will be served by adequate public facilities and line 31 infrastructure.
line 32 (D) The transferred land shall have all of the permits and line 33 approvals, other than building permits, necessary for the line 34 development of the very low income housing units on the line 35 transferred land, not later than the date of approval of the final line 36 subdivision map, parcel map, or residential development line 37 application, except that the local government may subject the line 38 proposed development to subsequent design review to the extent line 39 authorized by subdivision (i) of Section 65583.2 if the design is line 40 not reviewed by the local government before the time of transfer. 99 — 17 — AB 2560
line 1 (E) The transferred land and the affordable units shall be subject line 2 to a deed restriction ensuring continued affordability of the units line 3 consistent with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (c), which line 4 shall be recorded on the property at the time of the transfer. line 5 (F) The land is transferred to the local agency or to a housing line 6 developer approved by the local agency. The local agency may line 7 require the applicant to identify and transfer the land to the line 8 developer.
line 9 (G) The transferred land shall be within the boundary of the line 10 proposed development or, if the local agency agrees, within line 11 one-quarter mile of the boundary of the proposed development. line 12 (H) A proposed source of funding for the very low income units line 13 shall be identified not later than the date of approval of the final line 14 subdivision map, parcel map, or residential development line 15 application.
line 16 (h) (1) When an applicant proposes to construct a housing line 17 development that conforms to the requirements of subdivision (b) line 18 and includes a childcare facility that will be located on the premises line 19 of, as part of, or adjacent to, the project, the city, county, or city line 20 and county shall grant either of the following:
line 21 (A) An additional density bonus that is an amount of square line 22 feet of residential space that is equal to or greater than the amount line 23 of square feet in the childcare facility.
line 24 (B) An additional concession or incentive that contributes line 25 significantly to the economic feasibility of the construction of the line 26 childcare facility.
line 27 (2) The city, county, or city and county shall require, as a line 28 condition of approving the housing development, that the following line 29 occur:
line 30 (A) The childcare facility shall remain in operation for a period line 31 of time that is as long as or longer than the period of time during line 32 which the density bonus units are required to remain affordable line 33 pursuant to subdivision (c).
line 34 (B) Of the children who attend the childcare facility, the children line 35 of very low income households, lower income households, or line 36 families of moderate income shall equal a percentage that is equal line 37 to or greater than the percentage of dwelling units that are required line 38 for very low income households, lower income households, or line 39 families of moderate income pursuant to subdivision (b). 99 AB 2560 — 18 —
line 1 (3) Notwithstanding any requirement of this subdivision, a city, line 2 county, or city and county shall not be required to provide a density line 3 bonus or concession for a childcare facility if it finds, based upon line 4 substantial evidence, that the community has adequate childcare line 5 facilities.
line 6 (4) “Childcare facility,” as used in this section, means a child line 7 daycare facility other than a family daycare home, including, but line 8 not limited to, infant centers, preschools, extended daycare line 9 facilities, and schoolage childcare centers.
line 10 (i) “Housing development,” as used in this section, means a line 11 development project for five or more residential units, including line 12 mixed-use developments. For the purposes of this section, “housing line 13 development” also includes a subdivision or common interest line 14 development, as defined in Section 4100 of the Civil Code, line 15 approved by a city, county, or city and county and consists of line 16 residential units or unimproved residential lots and either a project line 17 to substantially rehabilitate and convert an existing commercial line 18 building to residential use or the substantial rehabilitation of an line 19 existing multifamily dwelling, as defined in subdivision (d) of line 20 Section 65863.4, where the result of the rehabilitation would be a line 21 net increase in available residential units. For the purpose of line 22 calculating a density bonus, the residential units shall be on line 23 contiguous sites that are the subject of one development line 24 application, but do not have to be based upon individual line 25 subdivision maps or parcels. The density bonus shall be permitted line 26 in geographic areas of the housing development other than the line 27 areas where the units for the lower income households are located. line 28 (j) (1) The granting of a concession or incentive shall not require line 29 or be interpreted, in and of itself, to require a general plan line 30 amendment, local coastal plan amendment, zoning change, study, line 31 or other discretionary approval. For purposes of this subdivision, line 32 “study” does not include reasonable documentation to establish line 33 eligibility for the concession or incentive or to demonstrate that line 34 the incentive or concession meets the definition set forth in line 35 subdivision (k). This provision is declaratory of existing law. line 36 (2) Except as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e), the granting line 37 of a density bonus shall not require or be interpreted to require the line 38 waiver of a local ordinance or provisions of a local ordinance line 39 unrelated to development standards.
99 — 19 — AB 2560
line 1 (k) For the purposes of this chapter, concession or incentive line 2 means any of the following:
line 3 (1) A reduction in site development standards or a modification line 4 of zoning code requirements or architectural design requirements line 5 that exceed the minimum building standards approved by the line 6 California Building Standards Commission as provided in Part 2.5 line 7 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health line 8 and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, a reduction in line 9 setback and square footage requirements and in the ratio of line 10 vehicular parking spaces that would otherwise be required that line 11 results in identifiable and actual cost reductions, to provide for line 12 affordable housing costs, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the line 13 Health and Safety Code, or for rents for the targeted units to be line 14 set as specified in subdivision (c).
line 15 (2) Approval of mixed-use zoning in conjunction with the line 16 housing project if commercial, office, industrial, or other land uses line 17 will reduce the cost of the housing development and if the line 18 commercial, office, industrial, or other land uses are compatible line 19 with the housing project and the existing or planned development line 20 in the area where the proposed housing project will be located. line 21 (3) Other regulatory incentives or concessions proposed by the line 22 developer or the city, county, or city and county that result in line 23 identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide for affordable line 24 housing costs, as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and line 25 Safety Code, or for rents for the targeted units to be set as specified line 26 in subdivision (c).
line 27 (l) Subdivision (k) does not limit or require the provision of line 28 direct financial incentives for the housing development, including line 29 the provision of publicly owned land, by the city, county, or city line 30 and county, or the waiver of fees or dedication requirements. line 31 (m) This section does not supersede or in any way alter or lessen line 32 the effect or application of the California Coastal Act of 1976 line 33 (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public line 34 Resources Code). Any density bonus, concessions, incentives, line 35 waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios line 36 to which the an applicant is entitled under this section shall be line 37 permitted in a manner that is consistent with this section and line 38 Division notwithstanding the California Coastal Act of 1976 line 39 (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public line 40 Resources Code. Code).
99 AB 2560 — 20 —
line 1 (n) If permitted by local ordinance, nothing in this section shall line 2 be construed to prohibit a city, county, or city and county from line 3 granting a density bonus greater than what is described in this line 4 section for a development that meets the requirements of this line 5 section or from granting a proportionately lower density bonus line 6 than what is required by this section for developments that do not line 7 meet the requirements of this section.
line 8 (o) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall line 9 apply:
line 10 (1) “Designated county” includes the Counties of Alameda, line 11 Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, Riverside, line 12 Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa line 13 Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and Ventura, and the City line 14 and County of San Francisco.
line 15 (2) “Development standard” includes a site or construction line 16 condition, including, but not limited to, a height limitation, a line 17 setback requirement, a floor area ratio, an onsite open-space line 18 requirement, a minimum lot area per unit requirement, or a parking line 19 ratio that applies to a residential development pursuant to any line 20 ordinance, general plan element, specific plan, charter, or other line 21 local condition, law, policy, resolution, or regulation that is adopted line 22 by the local government or that is enacted by the local line 23 government’s electorate exercising its local initiative or referendum line 24 power, whether that power is derived from the California line 25 Constitution, statute, or the charter or ordinances of the local line 26 government.
line 27 (3) “Located within one-half mile of a major transit stop” means line 28 that any point on a proposed development, for which an applicant line 29 seeks a density bonus, other incentives or concessions, waivers or line 30 reductions of development standards, or a vehicular parking ratio line 31 pursuant to this section, is within one-half mile of any point on line 32 the property on which a major transit stop is located, including line 33 any parking lot owned by the transit authority or other local agency line 34 operating the major transit stop.
line 35 (4) “Lower income student” means a student who has a line 36 household income and asset level that does not exceed the level line 37 for Cal Grant A or Cal Grant B award recipients as set forth in line 38 paragraph (1) of subdivision (k) of Section 69432.7 of the line 39 Education Code. The eligibility of a student to occupy a unit for line 40 lower income students under this section shall be verified by an 99 — 21 — AB 2560
line 1 affidavit, award letter, or letter of eligibility provided by the line 2 institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled or line 3 by the California Student Aid Commission that the student receives line 4 or is eligible for financial aid, including an institutional grant or line 5 fee waiver from the college or university, the California Student line 6 Aid Commission, or the federal government.
line 7 (5) “Major transit stop” has the same meaning as defined in line 8 subdivision (b) of Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code. line 9 (6) “Maximum allowable residential density” or “base density” line 10 means the greatest number of units allowed under the zoning line 11 ordinance, specific plan, or land use element of the general plan, line 12 or, if a range of density is permitted, means the greatest number line 13 of units allowed by the specific zoning range, specific plan, or land line 14 use element of the general plan applicable to the project. Density line 15 shall be determined using dwelling units per acre. However, if the line 16 applicable zoning ordinance, specific plan, or land use element of line 17 the general plan does not provide a dwelling-units-per-acre standard line 18 for density, then the local agency shall calculate the number of line 19 units by:
line 20 (A) Estimating the realistic development capacity of the site line 21 based on the objective development standards applicable to the line 22 project, including, but not limited to, floor area ratio, site coverage, line 23 maximum building height and number of stories, building setbacks line 24 and stepbacks, public and private open-space requirements, line 25 minimum percentage or square footage of any nonresidential line 26 component, and parking requirements, unless not required for the line 27 base project. Parking requirements shall include considerations line 28 regarding number of spaces, location, design, type, and circulation. line 29 A developer may provide a base density study and the local agency line 30 shall accept it, provided that it includes all applicable objective line 31 development standards.
line 32 (B) Maintaining the same average unit size and other project line 33 details relevant to the base density study, excepting those that may line 34 be modified by waiver or concession to accommodate the bonus line 35 units, in the proposed project as in the study. line 36 (7) (A) (i) “Shared housing building” means a residential or line 37 mixed-use structure, with five or more shared housing units and line 38 one or more common kitchens and dining areas designed for line 39 permanent residence of more than 30 days by its tenants. The line 40 kitchens and dining areas within the shared housing building shall 99 AB 2560 — 22 —
line 1 be able to adequately accommodate all residents. If a local line 2 ordinance further restricts the attributes of a shared housing line 3 building beyond the requirements established in this section, the line 4 local definition shall apply to the extent that it does not conflict line 5 with the requirements of this section.
line 6 (ii) A “shared housing building” may include other dwelling line 7 units that are not shared housing units, provided that those dwelling line 8 units do not occupy more than 25 percent of the floor area of the line 9 shared housing building. A shared housing building may include line 10 100 percent shared housing units.
line 11 (B) “Shared housing unit” means one or more habitable rooms, line 12 not within another dwelling unit, that includes a bathroom, sink, line 13 refrigerator, and microwave, is used for permanent residence, that line 14 meets the “minimum room area” specified in Section R304 of the line 15 California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California line 16 Code of Regulations), and complies with the definition of line 17 “guestroom” in Section R202 of the California Residential Code. line 18 If a local ordinance further restricts the attributes of a shared line 19 housing building beyond the requirements established in this line 20 section, the local definition shall apply to the extent that it does line 21 not conflict with the requirements of this section. line 22 (8) (A) “Total units” or “total dwelling units” means a line 23 calculation of the number of units that:
line 24 (i) Excludes a unit added by a density bonus awarded pursuant line 25 to this section or any local law granting a greater density bonus. line 26 (ii) Includes a unit designated to satisfy an inclusionary zoning line 27 requirement of a city, county, or city and county. line 28 (B) For purposes of calculating a density bonus granted pursuant line 29 to this section for a shared housing building, “unit” means one line 30 shared housing unit and its pro rata share of associated common line 31 area facilities.
line 32 (9) “Very low vehicle travel area” means an urbanized area, as line 33 designated by the United States Census Bureau, where the existing line 34 residential development generates vehicle miles traveled per capita line 35 that is below 85 percent of either regional vehicle miles traveled line 36 per capita or city vehicle miles traveled per capita. For purposes line 37 of this paragraph, “area” may include a travel analysis zone, line 38 hexagon, or grid. For the purposes of determining “regional vehicle line 39 miles traveled per capita” pursuant to this paragraph, a “region” line 40 is the entirety of incorporated and unincorporated areas governed 99 — 23 — AB 2560
line 1 by a multicounty or single-county metropolitan planning line 2 organization, or the entirety of the incorporated and unincorporated line 3 areas of an individual county that is not part of a metropolitan line 4 planning organization.
line 5 (p) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), upon line 6 the request of the developer, a city, county, or city and county shall line 7 not require a vehicular parking ratio, inclusive of parking for line 8 persons with a disability and guests, of a development meeting the line 9 criteria of subdivisions (b) and (c), that exceeds the following line 10 ratios:
line 11 (A) Zero to one bedroom: one onsite parking space. line 12 (B) Two to three bedrooms: one and one-half onsite parking line 13 spaces.
line 14 (C) Four and more bedrooms: two and one-half parking spaces. line 15 (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a development line 16 includes at least 20 percent low-income units for housing line 17 developments meeting the criteria of subparagraph (A) of paragraph line 18 (1) of subdivision (b) or at least 11 percent very low income units line 19 for housing developments meeting the criteria of subparagraph line 20 (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), is located within one-half line 21 mile of a major transit stop, and there is unobstructed access to line 22 the major transit stop from the development, then, upon the request line 23 of the developer, a city, county, or city and county shall not impose line 24 a vehicular parking ratio, inclusive of parking for persons with a line 25 disability and guests, that exceeds 0.5 spaces per unit. line 26 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a development includes at least line 27 40 percent moderate-income units for housing developments line 28 meeting the criteria of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of line 29 subdivision (b), is located within one-half mile of a major transit line 30 stop, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 21155 of the Public line 31 Resources Code, and the residents of the development have line 32 unobstructed access to the major transit stop from the development line 33 then, upon the request of the developer, a city, county, or city and line 34 county shall not impose a vehicular parking ratio, inclusive of line 35 parking for persons with a disability and guests, that exceeds 0.5 line 36 spaces per bedroom.
line 37 (B) For purposes of this subdivision, “unobstructed access to line 38 the major transit stop” means a resident is able to access the major line 39 transit stop without encountering natural or constructed line 40 impediments. For purposes of this subparagraph, “natural or 99 AB 2560 — 24 —
line 1 constructed impediments” includes, but is not limited to, freeways, line 2 rivers, mountains, and bodies of water, but does not include line 3 residential structures, shopping centers, parking lots, or rails used line 4 for transit.
line 5 (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a development meets the line 6 criteria of subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), line 7 then, upon the request of the developer, a city, county, or city and line 8 county shall not impose vehicular parking standards if the line 9 development meets any of the following criteria:
line 10 (A) The development is located within one-half mile of a major line 11 transit stop and there is unobstructed access to the major transit line 12 stop from the development.
line 13 (B) The development is a for-rent housing development for line 14 individuals who are 55 years of age or older that complies with line 15 Sections 51.2 and 51.3 of the Civil Code and the development has line 16 either paratransit service or unobstructed access, within one-half line 17 mile, to fixed bus route service that operates at least eight times line 18 per day.
line 19 (C) The development is either a special needs housing line 20 development, as defined in Section 51312 of the Health and Safety line 21 Code, or a supportive housing development, as defined in Section line 22 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code. A development that is a line 23 special needs housing development shall have either paratransit line 24 service or unobstructed access, within one-half mile, to fixed bus line 25 route service that operates at least eight times per day. line 26 (4) If the total number of parking spaces required for a line 27 development is other than a whole number, the number shall be line 28 rounded up to the next whole number. For purposes of this line 29 subdivision, a development may provide onsite parking through line 30 tandem parking or uncovered parking, but not through onstreet line 31 parking.
line 32 (5) This subdivision shall apply to a development that meets line 33 the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c), but only at the request line 34 of the applicant. An applicant may request parking incentives or line 35 concessions beyond those provided in this subdivision pursuant line 36 to subdivision (d).
line 37 (6) This subdivision does not preclude a city, county, or city line 38 and county from reducing or eliminating a parking requirement line 39 for development projects of any type in any location. 99 — 25 — AB 2560
line 1 (7) Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), if a city, county, line 2 city and county, or an independent consultant has conducted an line 3 areawide or jurisdictionwide parking study in the last seven years, line 4 then the city, county, or city and county may impose a higher line 5 vehicular parking ratio not to exceed the ratio described in line 6 paragraph (1), based upon substantial evidence found in the parking line 7 study, that includes, but is not limited to, an analysis of parking line 8 availability, differing levels of transit access, walkability access line 9 to transit services, the potential for shared parking, the effect of line 10 parking requirements on the cost of market-rate and subsidized line 11 developments, and the lower rates of car ownership for low-income line 12 and very low income individuals, including seniors and special line 13 needs individuals. The city, county, or city and county shall pay line 14 the costs of any new study. The city, county, or city and county line 15 shall make findings, based on a parking study completed in line 16 conformity with this paragraph, supporting the need for the higher line 17 parking ratio.
line 18 (8) A request pursuant to this subdivision shall neither reduce line 19 nor increase the number of incentives or concessions to which the line 20 applicant is entitled pursuant to subdivision (d). line 21 (q) Each component of any density calculation, including base line 22 density and bonus density, resulting in fractional units shall be line 23 separately rounded up to the next whole number. The Legislature line 24 finds and declares that this provision is declaratory of existing law. line 25 (r) This chapter shall be interpreted liberally in favor of line 26 producing the maximum number of total housing units. line 27 (s) Notwithstanding any other law, if a city, including a charter line 28 city, county, or city and county has adopted an ordinance or a line 29 housing program, or both an ordinance and a housing program, line 30 that incentivizes the development of affordable housing that allows line 31 for density bonuses that exceed the density bonuses required by line 32 the version of this section effective through December 31, 2020, line 33 that city, county, or city and county is not required to amend or line 34 otherwise update its ordinance or corresponding affordable housing line 35 incentive program to comply with the amendments made to this line 36 section by the act adding this subdivision, and is exempt from line 37 complying with the incentive and concession calculation line 38 amendments made to this section by the act adding this subdivision line 39 as set forth in subdivision (d), particularly subparagraphs (B) and 99 AB 2560 — 26 —
line 1 (C) of paragraph (2) of that subdivision, and the amendments made line 2 to the density tables under subdivision (f).
line 3 (t) When an applicant proposes to construct a housing line 4 development that conforms to the requirements of subparagraph line 5 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) that is a shared line 6 housing building, the city, county, or city and county shall not line 7 require any minimum unit size requirements or minimum bedroom line 8 requirements that are in conflict with paragraph (7) of subdivision line 9 (o).
line 10 (u) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the intent behind line 11 the Density Bonus Law is to allow public entities to reduce or even line 12 eliminate subsidies for a particular project by allowing a developer line 13 to include more total units in a project than would otherwise be line 14 allowed by the local zoning ordinance in exchange for affordable line 15 units. It further reaffirms that the intent is to cover at least some line 16 of the financing gap of affordable housing with regulatory line 17 incentives, rather than additional public subsidy. line 18 (2) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to make line 19 modifications to the Density Bonus Law by the act adding this line 20 subdivision to further incentivize the construction of very low, line 21 low-, and moderate-income housing units. It is further the intent line 22 of the Legislature in making these modifications to the Density line 23 Bonus Law to ensure that any additional benefits conferred upon line 24 a developer are balanced with the receipt of a public benefit in the line 25 form of adequate levels of affordable housing. The Legislature line 26 further intends that these modifications will ensure that the Density line 27 Bonus Law creates incentives for the construction of more housing line 28 across all areas of the state.
line 29 (v) (1) Provided that the resulting housing development would line 30 not restrict more than 50 percent of the total units to line 31 moderate-income, lower income, or very low income households, line 32 a city, county, or city and county shall grant an additional density line 33 bonus calculated pursuant to paragraph (2) when an applicant line 34 proposes to construct a housing development that conforms to the line 35 requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), agrees to include line 36 additional rental or for-sale units affordable to very low income line 37 households or moderate income households, and meets any of the line 38 following requirements:
99 — 27 — AB 2560
line 1 (A) The housing development conforms to the requirements of line 2 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) and provides line 3 24 percent of the total units to lower income households. line 4 (B) The housing development conforms to the requirements of line 5 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) and provides line 6 15 percent of the total units to very low income households. line 7 (C) The housing development conforms to the requirements of line 8 subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) and provides line 9 44 percent of the total units to moderate-income households. line 10 (2) A city, county, or city and county shall grant an additional line 11 density bonus for a housing development that meets the line 12 requirements of paragraph (1), calculated as follows:
line 13
line 14 Percentage Very Low Income Units Percentage Density Bonus line 15 5 20
line 16 6 23.75
line 17 7 27.5
line 18 8 31.25
line 19 9 35
line 20 10 38.75
line 21
line 22 Percentage Moderate-Income Units Percentage Density Bonus line 23 5 20
line 24 6 22.5
line 25 7 25
line 26 8 27.5
line 27 9 30
line 28 10 32.5
line 29 11 35
line 30 12 38.75
line 31 13 42.5
line 32 14 46.25
line 33 15 50
line 34
line 35 (3) The increase required by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be in line 36 addition to any increase in density granted by subdivision (b). 99 AB 2560 — 28 —
line 1 (4) The additional density bonus required under this subdivision line 2 shall be calculated using the number of units excluding any density line 3 bonus awarded by this section.
O
99 — 29 — AB 2560