SECTIONS 65913-65914 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 65913-65914

65913. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there exists a
severe shortage of affordable housing, especially for persons and
families of low and moderate income, and that there is an immediate
need to encourage the development of new housing, not only through
the provision of financial assistance, but also through changes in
law designed to do all of the following:
(1) Expedite the local and state residential development process.
(2) Assure that local governments zone sufficient land at
densities high enough for production of affordable housing.
(3) Assure that local governments make a diligent effort through
the administration of land use and development controls and the
provision of regulatory concessions and incentives to significantly
reduce housing development costs and thereby facilitate the
development of affordable housing, including housing for elderly
persons and families, as defined by Section 50067 of the Health and
Safety Code.
These changes in the law are consistent with the responsibility of
local government to adopt the program required by subdivision (c) of
Section 65583.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the costs of
new housing developments have been increased, in part, by the
existing permit process and by existing land use regulations and that
vitally needed housing developments have been halted or rendered
infeasible despite the benefits to the public health, safety, and
welfare of those developments and despite the absence of adverse
environmental impacts. It is, therefore, necessary to enact this
chapter and to amend existing statutes which govern housing
development so as to provide greater encouragement for local and
state governments to approve needed and sound housing developments.

65913.1. (a) In exercising its authority to zone for land uses and
in revising its housing element pursuant to Article 10.6 (commencing
with Section 65580) of Chapter 3, a city, county, or city and county
shall designate and zone sufficient vacant land for residential use
with appropriate standards, in relation to zoning for nonresidential
use, and in relation to growth projections of the general plan to
meet housing needs for all income categories as identified in the
housing element of the general plan. For the purposes of this
section:
(1) "Appropriate standards" means densities and requirements with
respect to minimum floor areas, building setbacks, rear and side
yards, parking, the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a
structure, amenities, and other requirements imposed on residential
lots pursuant to the zoning authority which contribute significantly
to the economic feasibility of producing housing at the lowest
possible cost given economic and environmental factors, the public
health and safety, and the need to facilitate the development of
housing affordable to persons and families of low or moderate income,
as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, and to
persons and families of lower income, as defined in Section 50079.5
of the Health and Safety Code. However, nothing in this section shall
be construed to enlarge or diminish the authority of a city, county,
or city and county to require a developer to construct this housing.
(2) "Vacant land" does not include agricultural preserves pursuant
to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1
of Title 5.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a city,
county, or city and county in which less than 5 percent of the total
land area is undeveloped to zone a site within an urbanized area of
that city, county, or city and county for residential uses at
densities that exceed those on adjoining residential parcels by 100
percent. For the purposes of this section, "urbanized area" means a
central city or cities and surrounding closely settled territory, as
defined by the United States Department of Commerce Bureau of the
Census in the Federal Register, Volume 39, Number 85, for Wednesday,
May 1, 1974, at pages 15202-15203, and as periodically updated.

65913.2. In exercising its authority to regulate subdivisions under
Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410), a city, county, or city
and county shall:
(a) Refrain from imposing criteria for design, as defined in
Section 66418, or improvements, as defined in Section 66419, for the
purpose of rendering infeasible the development of housing for any
and all economic segments of the community. However, nothing in this
section shall be construed to enlarge or diminish the authority of a
city, county, or city and county under other provisions of law to
permit a developer to construct such housing.
(b) Consider the effect of ordinances adopted and actions taken by
it with respect to the housing needs of the region in which the
local jurisdiction is situated.
(c) Refrain from imposing standards and criteria for public
improvements including, but not limited to, streets, sewers, fire
stations, schools, or parks, which exceed the standards and criteria
being applied by the city, county, or city and county at that time to
its publicly financed improvements located in similarly zoned
districts within that city, county, or city and county.

65913.7. If a court finds that an action of a city, county, or city
and county is in violation of Section 65913.1 or 65913.2, the city,
county, or city and county shall bring its action into compliance
within 60 days. However, the court shall retain jurisdiction to
enforce its decision. Upon the court's determination that the 60-day
period for compliance would place an undue hardship on the city,
county, or city and county, the court may extend the time period for
compliance by an additional 60 days.

65913.8. A fee, charge, or other form of payment imposed by a
governing body of a local agency for a public capital facility
improvement related to a development project may not include an
amount for the maintenance or operation of an improvement when the
fee, charge, or other form of payment is required as a condition of
the approval of a development project, or required to fulfill a
condition of the approval. However, a fee, charge, or other form of
payment may be required for the maintenance and operation of an
improvement meeting the criteria of either subdivision (a) or (b), as
follows:
(a) The improvement is (1) designed and installed to serve only
the specific development project on which the fee, charge, or other
form of payment is imposed, (2) the improvement serves 19 or fewer
lots or units, and (3) the local agency makes a finding, based upon
substantial evidence, that it is infeasible or impractical to form a
public entity for maintenance of the improvement or to annex the
property served by the improvement to an entity as described in
subdivision (b).
(b) The improvement is within a water district, sewer maintenance
district, street lighting district, or drainage district. In these
circumstances, a payment for maintenance or operation may be required
for a period not to exceed 24 months when, subsequent to the
construction of the improvement, either the local agency forms a
public entity or assessment district to finance the maintenance or
operation, or the area containing the improvement is annexed to a
public entity that will finance the maintenance or operation,
whichever is earlier. The local agency may extend a fee, charge, or
other form of payment pursuant to this section once for whatever
duration it deems reasonable beyond the 24-month period upon making a
finding, based upon substantial evidence, that this time period is
insufficient for creation of, or annexation to, a public entity or an
assessment district that would finance the maintenance or operation.
As used in this section, "development project" and "local agency"
have the same meaning as provided in subdivisions (a) and (c) of
Section 66000.

65913.9. This chapter shall apply to all cities, including charter
cities, counties, and cities and counties.
The Legislature finds and declares that the development of a
sufficient supply of housing to meet the needs of all Californians is
a matter of statewide concern.

65914. (a) In any civil action or proceeding, including, but not
limited to, an action brought pursuant to Section 21167 of the Public
Resources Code, against a public entity that has issued planning,
subdivision, or other approvals for a housing development, to enjoin
the carrying out or approval of a housing development or to secure a
writ of mandate relative to the approval of, or a decision to carry
out the housing development, the court, after entry of final judgment
and the time to appeal has elapsed, and after notice to the
plaintiff or plaintiffs, may award all reasonably incurred costs of
suit, including attorney's fees, to the prevailing public entity or
nonprofit housing corporation that is the real party in interest and
the permit applicant of the low- and moderate-income housing if it
finds all of the following:
(1) The housing development meets or exceeds the requirements for
low- and moderate-income housing as set forth in Section 65915.
(2) The action was frivolous and undertaken with the primary
purpose of delaying or thwarting the low- or moderate-income nature
of the housing development or portions thereof.
(3) The public entity or nonprofit housing corporation that is the
real party in interest and the permit applicant of the low- and
moderate-income housing making application for costs under this
section has prevailed on all issues presented by the pleadings and
the public entity or nonprofit housing corporation that is the real
party in interest and the permit applicant of the low- and
moderate-income housing actively, through counsel or otherwise, took
part on a continuing basis in the defense of the lawsuit.
(4) A demand for a preliminary injunction was made by the
plaintiff and denied by a court of competent jurisdiction, or the
action or proceeding was dismissed as a result of a motion for
summary judgment by any defendant, and the denial or dismissal was
not reversed on appeal.
(b) In any appeal of any action described in subdivision (a), the
reviewing court may award all reasonably incurred costs of suit,
including attorney's fees, to the prevailing public entity or
nonprofit housing corporation that is the real party in interest and
the permit applicant of the low- and moderate-income housing if the
court reviews and upholds the trial court's findings with respect to
paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
application of any other remedies or rights provided under law.