Read: AB 2162
SUMMARY: Streamlines affordable housing developments that include a percentage of supportive housing units and onsite services. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires supportive housing to be a use by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, including in non-residential zones permitting multifamily uses, if the proposed housing development satisfies all of the following requirements:
a) Units within the development are subject to a recorded affordability restriction for 55 years;
b) One hundred percent of the units, excluding manager’s units, within the development are dedicated to lower-income households and are receiving public funding to ensure affordability of the housing to lower-income Californians;
c) At least 25% of the units in the development or 12 units, whichever is greater, are restricted to residents in supportive housing. Requires, if the development consists of fewer than 15 units, then 100% of the units, excluding managers’ units, in the development shall be restricted to residents in supportive housing;
d) The developer provides the planning agency with the information required in 4), below;
e) Nonresidential floor area shall be used for onsite supportive services in the following amounts:
i) For a development with 20 or fewer total units, at least 90 square feet shall be provided for onsite supportive services;
ii) For a development with more than 20 units, at least three percent of the total nonresidential floor area shall be provided for onsite supportive services that are limited to tenant use, including, but not limited to, community rooms, case management offices, computer rooms, and community kitchens;
f) The developer replaces any dwelling units on the site of the supportive housing development, as provided; and,
g) Units within the development, excluding managers’ units, include at least one bathroom and a kitchen or other cooking facilities, including, at minimum, a stovetop, a sink, and a refrigerator.
2) Provides that in a city or the unincorporated area of the county where the population is 200,000 or less and the homeless population based on the annual point-in-time count (PIT) is
1,500 or less, by right applies to developments of 50 units or less. A city or county meeting this description may adopt a policy to approve developments by right above 50 units.
3) Allows a local government to require a supportive housing development to comply with objective, written development standards and policies; provided, however, that the development shall only be subject to the objective standards and policies that apply to other multifamily development within the same zone.
4) Requires the local government to, at the request of the project owner, reduce the number of residents required to live in supportive housing if the project-based rental assistance or operating subsidy for a supportive housing project is terminated through no fault of the project owner, but only if all of the following conditions have been met:
a) The owner demonstrates that it has made good faith efforts to find other sources of financial support;
b) Any change in the number of supportive units is restricted to the minimum necessary to maintain project’s financial feasibility; and,
c) Any change to the occupancy of the supportive housing units is made in a manner that minimizes tenant disruption and only upon the vacancy of any supportive housing units.
5) Requires a developer of supportive housing to provide the planning agency with a plan for providing supportive services, with documentation demonstrating that supportive services will be provided onsite to residents in the project, and describing those services, which shall include the following:
a) The name of the proposed entity or entities that will provide supportive services;
b) The proposed funding source or sources for the provided onsite supportive services; and,
c) Proposed staffing levels.
6) Requires the local government to approve a supportive housing development that complies with the requirements of this bill.
7) Requires the local government to notify the developer whether the application is complete within 30 days of receipt of an application to develop supportive housing. Requires the local government to complete its review of the application within 60 days after the application is complete, for a project with 50 or fewer units, or within 120 days after the application is complete, for a project with more than 50 units.
8) Prohibits the local government from imposing any minimum parking requirements for the units occupied by supportive housing residents, if the supportive housing development is located within 0.5 miles of a public transit stop.
9) States that the bill’s provisions shall not be construed to do either of the following:
a) Preclude or limit the ability of a developer to seek a density bonus from the local government; or,
b) Expand or contract the authority of a local government to adopt or amend an ordinance, charter, general plan, specific plan, resolution, or other land use policy or regulation that promotes the development of supportive housing.
10) Adds provisions to housing element law to specify that supportive housing, as defined in this bill, shall be a use by right in all zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted.
11) Finds and declares that the provisions of adequate supportive housing to help alleviate the severe shortage of housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness in this state is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair, thereby applying the bill’s provisions to all cities, including charter cities.
12) States that no reimbursement is required by this act because a local agency has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act.
13) Defines the following terms:
a) “Target population” to mean persons, including persons with disabilities, and families who are “homeless,” as that term is defined by Section 11302 of Title 42 of the United States Code, or who are “homeless youth,” as that term is defined by Government Code Section 11139.3(e)(2).
b) “Supportive housing” to mean housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.
c) “Supportive services” to include, but are not limited to, a combination of subsidized, permanent housing, intensive case management, medical and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, employment services, and benefits advocacy.
d) “Use by right” to mean the local government’s review of the owner-occupied or multifamily residential use that may not require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary local government review or approval that would constitute a “project” for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as specified.
The Senate amendment:
1) Provides that in a city or the unincorporated area of the county where the population is 200,000 or less and the homeless population based on the annual point-in-time count (PIT) is 1,500 or less, by right applies to developments of 50 units or less. A city or county meeting this description may adopt a policy to approve developments by right above 50 units.
2) Add a definition of “target population.”
3) Make technical changes.
4) Add language to avoid chaptering issues with AB 686 (Santiago) of the current legislative session.
