News & Insights
Legal Alert
As the State of California battles through a housing crisis, lawmakers are seeking creative ways to enable local governments to meet their long-term housing needs and produce housing more quickly. On September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed the following Senate bills into law: SB 10 (Senator Wiener), which allows cities and counties to up-zone certain properties for up to ten dwelling units without California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review; SB 9 (Senator Atkins), which allows for the approval of duplexes and two-lot parcel maps without CEQA review; and SB 8 (Senator Skinner), which extends the term of the Housing Crisis Act. While SB 9 and SB 10 will likely not result in a dramatic increase in housing production, they serve as incremental steps toward that goal.
SB 10 allows for the adoption of local ordinances through January 1, 2029, to up-zone certain parcels on urban infill sites and/or transit-rich areas for up to 10 dwelling units without CEQA review for either the zoning ordinance or a qualifying conforming project, which may be approved ministerially or by-right. Cities and counties are not required to up-zone any properties; this legislation simply makes it easier for cities and counties to do so. Specific requirements include:
SB 9 presents an effort by California lawmakers to address housing needs by incrementally expanding the supply of small-scale housing developments. SB 9 aims to accomplish this task by requiring ministerial approval of duplexes and lot splits on single-family zoned lots. The law would allow an existing qualified single-family zoned parcel to be subdivided into two lots and developed with four units, without CEQA review. Cities still retain certain power to deny such projects if they would create specific adverse impacts on health and safety or the physical environment. Parcels located in the coastal zone would remain subject to the requirements of the California Coastal Act of 1976, with the exception that local agencies would not be required to hold public hearings for coastal development permit applications for SB 9 projects.
Not all proposed projects will qualify:
Qualifying lot splits can only result in two parcels of approximately equal area (at most a 60/40 split), with each parcel being at least 1,200 square feet. In addition, applications for lot splits must include a signed affidavit noting that the applicant intends to occupy one of the housing units as a principal residence for a minimum of three years, unless the applicant is a community land trust or qualified non-profit.
The primary purpose of SB 8 is to extend the term of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) five years from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2030. As explained in our prior Alert, SB 330 created procedural and substantive protections for qualifying housing development projects in response to the housing crisis, but almost all of those provisions were set to expire in 2025. As author Senator Skinner noted, “California continues to face a severe housing shortage and affordability crisis,” hence the need to extend SB 330 for another five years.
Other amendments created by SB 8 include: (i) extending the vesting protections for a 100% affordable housing project by an additional year (from 2.5 to 3.5 years); (ii) expanding the definition of “housing development project” to include both ministerial and discretionary projects, as well as proposals to construct a single dwelling unit; (iii) clarifying that receipt of a density bonus is not a basis for finding a project out of compliance with existing zoning rules when determining if a project is subject to SB 330’s five-hearing limit; (iv) including appeals and density bonus meetings toward the five-hearing limit; and (v) revising the demolition and replacement provisions.
Authors
Partner
Associate
RELATED SERVICES
RELATED INDUSTRIES
News & Insights
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. All Rights Reserved.
This publication is made available by Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP for educational purposes only to convey general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website you acknowledge there is no attorney client relationship between you and Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. This publication should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney applied to your circumstances. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Full Disclaimer