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providing the full amount of information required by the local government for a housing development application. Upon submittal of a preliminary application and payment of a permit processing fee, a housing developer is allowed to “freeze” the applicable fees and development standards that apply to a project while the rest of the material necessary for a full application submittal is assembled. After an application is deemed complete, local agencies cannot “disapprove” an eligible housing development project or condition its approval at a “lower density,” as defined in Government Code Section 65589.5(g) if the project is consistent with objective standards. SB 330 also places additional limitations on an “affected” agency’s ability to limit development and requires the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop a list of “affected cities” and census-designated places (CDPs) within the unincorporated county (“affected counties”) that are prohibited from taking certain zoning-related actions, including, but not limited to the following: o Downzoning or actions resulting in lesser intensification,
o Imposing a moratorium on development, and/or o Imposing design standards that are not objective.
The law also requires jurisdiction-wide housing replacement when affordable housing to lower-income residents is demolished. The majority of these provisions sunset, or expire, on January 1, 2030, unless extended by the legislature and governor. Assembly Bill 2011 (AB 2011): The “Housing and High Roads Job Act” was passed in 2022 and sunsets in 2033. It creates a ministerial, CEQA-exempt, time-limited approval process for multi-family housing developments on commercially zoned property. Projects must pay prevailing wages to construction workers and meet specified Below Market Rate (BMR) affordable housing targets. The legislation provides two distinct options: one for 100% BMR projects and a second for mixed- income (typically 15% BMR) projects located specifically on “commercial corridors.” Eligibility is further limited by numerous site and project criteria requiring careful review. The streamlined review process relies on Objective Design Standards.
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