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AB-648 • 2026

Community colleges: housing: local zoning regulations: exemption.

Community colleges: housing: local zoning regulations: exemption.

Housing Land
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Zbur
Last action
Official status
Chaptered
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary uses the term 'university housing development project' in reference to community colleges, which may seem unusual given that these are community college districts.

Exempting Community College Housing from Local Zoning Rules

This law allows community college districts to build housing on their own land without following local zoning rules if they meet specific requirements.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the requirement for community colleges to follow city or county zoning laws when building a university housing development project on property owned or leased by the district, provided specific requirements are met.
  • Requires that if faculty and staff units are included in the project, some of those units must be offered at affordable rents to extremely low-income and lower-income faculty and staff.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Community college districts building university housing development projects on their own property.
  • Cities, counties, or city-counties whose zoning ordinances do not apply to these specific projects.
  • Extremely low-income and lower-income faculty and staff who may live in the affordable units.

Terms To Know

Zoning ordinances
Local rules that control how land can be used, such as where buildings can go or what they look like.
Charter cities
Cities with special powers to manage their own local affairs; this law applies to them because housing is considered a statewide concern.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The official summary states that specific requirements must be met for the zoning exemption but does not list what those requirements are.
  • The text requires 'a portion' of faculty and staff units to be affordable but does not specify the exact percentage.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Chaptered

Official Summary Text

Community colleges: housing: local zoning regulations: exemption.