Item 32 - Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SB 6

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Resolutions to Exempt Parcels from AB 2011 and SIB 6 June 20, 2023 Page 2 City Council consideration of this matter was continued from the meeting of May 16, 2023 as a result of a comment letter received from the State Attorney General's Office. Since the meeting, City staff has discussed the City's proposal with the State. Based on input from the discussions with State staff, City staff has refined the recommended scope of the proposed resolutions. DISCUSSION Recent Housing Bills Numerous housing bills have been signed into law during the past half -decade to address the state's housing crisis. In 2019, Governor Newsom signed a package of bills aimed at increasing housing supply and affordability. The package included bills that made it easier to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and increased funding for affordable housing. In 2020, the Governor signed Senate Bill 330, known as the "Housing Crisis Act of 2019," which streamlined the approval process for new housing developments and limited the ability of local governments to block or delay such projects. In 2022, the Governor signed a package of over 40 bills related to housing and homelessness, including AB 2011 and SIB 6. Overall, these bills represent a concerted effort by California's government to address the state's housing crisis by limiting local land use controls. Assembly Bill 2011 AB 2011, known as the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, was approved by the state legislature, signed into law by the Governor on September 28, 2022, and is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2023. The bill creates a streamlined, ministerial approval process for housing developments that meet specified objective standards, affordability, site criteria, and wage and labor standards. Specifically, the bill will allow residential development on sites currently zoned and designated for commercial or retail uses. The bill will also create a CEQA-exempt, ministerial approval process for qualifying development projects. The law provides different qualifying criteria for two categories of housing and they include 100-percent affordable projects and mixed -income projects. The provisions will sunset on January 1, 2033, unless extended through subsequent legislation. AB 2011 includes a provision that permits local governments to exempt parcels from the streamlining provisions permitted under the bill before a development proponent submits a development application on a parcel provided certain findings are made. A local government must identify one or more alternative sites for residential development and make findings that the alternative development would result in no net loss of the total potential residential density permitted by the bill in the jurisdiction, no net loss of the potential residential density of housing affordable to lower income households in the jurisdiction, and will affirmatively further fair housing.