Plain English Breakdown
Section (6) regarding the timeline for approving exempt housing projects cuts off mid-sentence ('from the later of the conclusion of the above-specifi'), leaving one part of the deadline calculation unknown.
AB-158: Land Use and Housing Rules
This law requires a state committee to recommend improvements for housing loan administration, mandates that cities use standard forms from the Governor's Office for annual planning reports, defines terms for building projects under streamlining laws, expands environmental protections for certain lands, makes technical changes to farmworker housing rules, and sets new timing requirements for approving exempt housing projects.
What This Bill Does
- Requires the Housing Development and Finance Executive Committee to recommend improvements to loan administration at the Department of Housing and Community Development.
- Mandates that cities and counties use standards, forms, and definitions adopted by the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation when preparing annual planning reports.
- Adds a definition for 'housing development project' under the Permit Streamlining Act.
- Expands the CEQA definition of 'natural and protected lands' to include areas identified in adopted natural community conservation plans or other resource protection plans.
- Makes technical, nonsubstantive changes to sections exempting agricultural employee housing from environmental review requirements.
- Requires public agencies to approve or disapprove certain exempt housing projects within 30 days of the later of two specific events.
Who It Names or Affects
- The Housing Development and Finance Executive Committee
- City and county planning agencies preparing annual reports
- Public agencies reviewing development projects under the Permit Streamlining Act or CEQA exemptions
- California Native American tribes consulted on housing project sites
Terms To Know
- CEQA
- The California Environmental Quality Act, which requires agencies to study environmental impacts before approving projects.
- Permit Streamlining Act
- A law that sets rules and time limits for public agencies reviewing development project applications.
- Housing Development and Finance Executive Committee
- A state group created to centralize affordable housing finance policy and align funding sources.
Limits and Unknowns
- The official text is truncated, so the exact second event that triggers the new 30-day approval deadline for exempt projects cannot be fully confirmed.
- The effective date of this bill is not listed in the provided source material.