(1) Existing law, known as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development in the city or county with a density bonus and other incentives or concessions for the production of lower income housing units, or for the donation of land within the development, if the developer agrees to, among other things, construct a specified percentage of units for very low income, low-income, or moderate-income households or qualifying residents, including lower income students. Existing law defines "housing development," for these purposes, to mean a development project for 5 or more residential units, as specified, and defines "incentives or concessions" to include, among other things, regulatory incentives or concessions proposed by the developer or the city or county that result in identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide for affordable housing costs, as specified.
This bill would instead define "housing development," for those purposes, to mean any residential development project for two or more units, as specified. The bill would revise that definition of "incentives or concessions" to include those proposed regulatory incentives or concessions that the developer determines result in identifiable and actual cost reductions to provide for affordable housing costs
(2) Existing law requires the amount of a density bonus and the number of incentives or concessions a qualifying developer receives to be based on the total number of units in the housing development, excluding the units added by a density bonus awarded pursuant to the Density Bonus Law or any local law granting a greater density bonus.
This bill would require a unit designated to satisfy the inclusionary zoning requirements of a city or county to be included in the total number of units on which a density bonus and the number of incentives or concessions are based.
This bill would require a city or county to grant one incentive or concession for a project that will contain a specified percentage of units for lower income students in a student housing development.
Existing law requires the planning agency of the city or county to provide to the department, the Office of Planning and Research, and the legislative body of the city or county, by April 1 of each year, an annual report that includes, among other things, the city or county's progress in meeting its share of the regional housing needs.
This bill would require the planning agency to include in that report the number of units in a student housing development for lower income students for which the developer was granted a density bonus.
(3) Existing law requires a city or county to grant a density bonus and certain incentives or concessions if the developer agrees to construct a common interest development that will contain a specified percentage of units for persons and families of moderate income, as specified, if all units in the development are offered to the public for purchase.
This bill instead would require a city or county to grant that density bonus and those incentives or concessions if the developer agrees to construct a housing development that will contain that specified percentage of units for persons and families of moderate income, as specified.
This bill additionally would require a city or county to grant a density bonus and certain incentives or concessions if the developer agrees to construct a housing development that will contain a specified percentage of units for households of low or moderate incomes and for which the rent is 20% percent below the market rate for that city or county.
(4) Existing law authorizes a city or county to refuse a concession or incentive if the city or county makes a written finding, based upon substantial evidence that the concession or incentive would have a specified adverse impact on public health and safety, the physical environment, or real property listed in the California Register of Historical Resources.
This bill would remove the specified adverse impact on the physical environment from the list of reasons for which a city or county is authorized to refuse a concession or incentive.
This bill would prohibit a city or county from disapproving a development application for a housing development that qualifies for a density bonus unless the city or county makes a written finding based on substantial evidence that approval of the development application would have a specified adverse impact on public health and safety.
Existing law prohibits a city or county from applying any development standard that will have the effect of physically precluding the construction of a development meeting the criteria for a density bonus at the densities or with the concessions or incentives permitted by certain provisions of the Density Bonus Law. Existing law authorizes an applicant to submit to a city or county a proposal for the waiver or reduction of such a development standard and to request a meeting with the city or county, and requires a court to award reasonable attorney's fees and costs of suit to the plaintiff if the court finds that the refusal to grant a waiver or reduction violates certain provisions of the Density Bonus Law. Existing law prohibits these provisions from being interpreted to require a local government to waive or reduce development standards if the waiver or reduction would have a specified adverse impact upon health, safety, or the physical environment, and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact.
This bill would remove the specified impact upon the physical environment from the limitations on the above-described requirement that a local government waive or reduce development standards.
This bill would prohibit fees relating to affordable housing, including inclusionary zoning fees, in-lieu fees, and public benefit fees, from being imposed on a housing development's affordable units or bonus units.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
SB 1085: 65400 GOV, 65915 GOV
02/19/20 - Introduced: 65400 GOV, 65915 GOV
03/24/20 - Amended Senate: 65400 GOV, 65915 GOV
SB1085: 65400 GOV, 65915 GOV