Plain English Breakdown
The effective date is not provided in the official source material.
Missing Middle Townhome Ownership Act
This law requires local agencies to approve qualifying townhome projects using a streamlined process without public hearings, while exempting San Francisco from these rules.
What This Bill Does
- Requires local agencies to review and approve qualifying townhome development maps without holding public hearings or using discretionary judgment.
- Defines 'townhomes' as single-family units up to three stories tall that either share a wall or are separated by an air gap within specific fire safety limits.
- Sets rules for new land parcels, requiring them to be at least 600 square feet and meet specific density standards.
- Allows local agencies to reject projects only if they provide written proof based on evidence that the project harms public health or safety with no way to fix the problem.
- Exempts these townhome approval processes from environmental review laws because ministerial projects are not subject to those requirements.
Who It Names or Affects
- Local governments and city planning agencies in California, except San Francisco.
- Developers who want to build projects consisting entirely of qualifying townhomes.
- Residents living near proposed townhome developments subject to this law.
Terms To Know
- Ministerial approval
- A process where officials must approve a project if it meets written rules, without holding hearings or making personal judgments.
- Townhome development project
- A housing project made entirely of single-family units that are up to three stories tall and meet specific size and density limits defined by the bill.
- CEQA exemption
- An exception from the California Environmental Quality Act, meaning no environmental impact report is needed because ministerial projects do not require one under existing law.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not apply to the City and County of San Francisco.
- Local agencies can only deny a project if they provide written proof that it causes specific harm to public health or safety with no solution.
- The bill states that no state reimbursement is required for local costs related to this new program.