SB 540

State Land Use Enacted Legislation

Bill #	State	Year	Party	Topic
SB 540	CA	2017	D	Affordable housing incentives and financing, By-right zoning, Deadlines, Density Increases, Environmental review, Inclusionary zoning, Streamline application, Technical assistance, Workforce Housing

Provided by Furman

Summary

A local government may designate a Workforce Housing Opportunity Zone by adopting a specific plan and certifying an environmental impact report (EIR) that evaluates full buildout of the zone. Public hearings are required, and the locality may seek state grants or loans to fund preparation of the specific plan and EIR. A zone must accommodate between 100 and 1,500 housing units and may not exceed 50 percent of the jurisdiction’s regional housing needs allocation.
For five years following adoption of the specific plan, housing developments within the zone that are consistent with the plan and meet statutory criteria must be approved. A local agency may deny or impose additional mitigation only upon finding, based on substantial evidence, that a physical condition within the zone—unknown at the time the zone EIR was certified—would result in a specific adverse impact on public health or safety.
Qualifying developments within a WHOZ are exempt from project-level environmental review if they comply with the specific plan, all mitigation measures identified in the zone EIR, applicable Planning and Zoning Law requirements related to development standards, design review, and mitigation measures, and specified labor and wage requirements for construction workers.
To qualify for streamlined approval, a development must comply with statutory density ranges and meet detailed affordability requirements: at least 30 percent of units must be affordable to moderate-income households, at least 15 percent to lower-income households, and at least 5 percent must be restricted for at least 55 years for very low-income households. No more than 50 percent of units may be sold or rented to above-moderate-income households. If a development includes units affordable to above-moderate-income households, at least 10 percent of total units must be set aside for lower-income households.
SB 540 requires qualifying projects to be approved within 60 days of application completeness and requires local agencies to include, in their annual reports to the state, the number of housing units approved within Workforce Housing Opportunity Zones.

Provided by lawmakers