The 2023 California Legislative session, like the last several, saw the enactment of a large number of significant new housing production laws. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the...more
11/6/2023
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Density Bonus ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
New Legislation ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development
California housing law requires every city and county in the state to update the Housing Element of that jurisdiction's General Plan every eight years. Among other things, each updated Housing Element must plan for the...more
The California Fifth District Court of Appeal's recent opinion in Martinez v. City of Clovis provides considerable guidance to local jurisdictions across the state as they wrestle with heightened housing element requirements...more
As in previous years, the California Legislature enacted a large volume of housing production laws in the 2022 session, some of which may have a significant effect on housing production in 2023. ...more
10/11/2022
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Colleges ,
Density Bonus ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
LEED Certified ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Parking Lots ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Student Housing ,
Universities ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
The California Legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 2011 (Wicks), the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, and Senate Bill (SB) 6 (Caballero), the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, on Aug. 29, 2022. Both pieces...more
As in previous years, the California Legislature passed a large volume of laws related to housing in the 2021 legislative session. (See Holland & Knight's previous annual recaps of California Housing Laws in the final section...more
10/13/2021
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
CC&Rs ,
CEQA ,
Density Bonus ,
Equity Sharing Agreements ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Market Rate ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Parking Lots ,
Single Family Housing ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was – somewhat surprisingly – a banner year for securing entitlement approvals. Holland & Knight's West Coast Land Use and Environmental Group secured approvals for approximately...more
For mixed-use multifamily/commercial buildings, ground floor retail is often sought by urban and city planners to serve the residential uses above and in the surrounding neighborhood, while endeavoring to activate the street...more
For mixed-use multifamily/commercial buildings, ground floor retail is often sought by urban and city planners to serve the residential uses above and in the surrounding neighborhood, while endeavoring to activate the street...more
As California's housing supply and homelessness crisis continues to worsen, the state Legislature has for the past several years passed numerous pieces of housing legislation in each legislative session. ...more
9/23/2020
/ Affordable Housing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mortgages ,
Real Estate Development ,
Residential Leases ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development
Affordable housing and infill developers can benefit from recently enacted housing laws and Brownfields law and policies. These new laws along with national-caliber land use and environmental help can deliver affordable...more
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced during his campaign that one of the ways in which he intended to deliver on his ambitious housing goals was to make state and local surplus properties more available for affordable...more
11/6/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
Amended Legislation ,
Community Development ,
Construction Industry ,
Databases ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
New Legislation ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Property ,
Request for Proposals ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Maps
A handful of important state laws related to housing have been passed by the California legislature, including the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330), which provides a set of limited reforms to the Housing Accountability Act...more
11/6/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
Amended Legislation ,
Density Bonus ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Rent Control ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
As California's housing supply and homelessness crisis continues, the State Legislature has for the past several years passed numerous pieces of housing legislation in each legislative session. This year was no exception,...more
10/21/2019
/ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) ,
Affordable Housing ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Building Permits ,
CEQA ,
Common-Interest Communities ,
Community Development ,
Governor Newsom ,
Homeowners Association (HOA) ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Land Trusts ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Rent Control ,
Residential Real Estate Contracts ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Wildfires ,
Zoning Laws
• After the California Legislature passed a high-profile package of 15 new housing laws in 2017, it has continued to focus on housing laws in 2018 to address the state's epic housing shortage.
• As Gov. Jerry Brown winds...more
10/8/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Bay Area ,
CEQA ,
CEQA Reform ,
Comment Period ,
Density Bonus ,
Governor Brown ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Public Comment ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
• One of the most notable laws in California's package of housing laws passed by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017 is SB 35, which requires most local governments to issue housing developers...more
2/16/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
Approval Requirements ,
CEQA ,
Construction Workers ,
Environmental Review ,
Governor Brown ,
Housing Developers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Local Ordinance ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Guidance ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Wage and Hour
California's Fourth District Court of Appeal has provided useful guidance on processing requirements for environmental review documents prepared under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when project modifications...more
This is the first edition in an ongoing series of "Corner Briefings" highlighting urban infill legal tools and opportunities. These updates will identify new legal cases, legislative updates, grant opportunities and other...more
In a highly anticipated case affecting residential development throughout California, the California Supreme Court unanimously rejected the California Building Industry Association’s (CBIA) challenge to the City of San Jose’s...more
The California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (Case No. S201116), overturning the Court of Appeal and charting a course for the future application of categorical...more
On August 6, 2014, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) issued proposed revisions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines implementing SB 743 – the Sacramento Kings arena bill – carried...more
On September 11, 2013, the California Supreme Court granted the California Building Industry Association's (CBIA) petition for review challenging a San Jose ordinance that imposed "inclusionary" housing obligations on housing...more
On March 2, 2013, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) released the Draft Plan Bay Area (Plan), the California Bay Area's first integrated land use, housing and...more
On March 21, 2012, the California Supreme Court denied the petition for review and requests for depublication of the Second District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Ballona Wetlands Land Trust et al. v. City of Los Angeles...more