California law requires cities and counties to regularly plan for new housing development and to prepare and adopt housing elements that formalize these plans. For those cities and counties that fail to adopt housing elements...more
9/12/2024
/ Community Development ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
General Contractors ,
Governor Newsom ,
Housing Developers ,
Pending Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Remedies ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
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
One of the key problems contributing to California's housing crisis is that it is relatively easy for housing opponents to file litigation challenging housing approvals, and even a completely meritless lawsuit can cause years...more
O'Brien Land Company's more than a decade-long odyssey to build 315 zoning-compliant homes – chronicled in Conor Dougherty's book Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America – has become the stuff of housing law legend,...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
Recent decisions from two court cases – Schreiber v. City of Los Angeles1 and Bankers Hill 150 v. City of San Diego2 – make California's Density Bonus Law a powerful tool not just for accessing increased density, but also for...more
6/2/2022
/ Affordable Housing ,
Amended Legislation ,
Density Bonus ,
General Plan ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Incentives ,
Market Rate ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Waivers
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
Signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 20, 2021, and taking immediate effect as an "urgency statute," Senate Bill (SB) 7 revives and expands the previously enacted Environmental Leadership Development Project...more
6/1/2021
/ CEQA ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Housing Developers ,
HUD ,
LEED Certified ,
LEED Rules ,
Net Zero ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government
The California State Judicial Council amended California Rule of Court, Emergency Rule No. 9, on May 29, 2020, lifting its previously adopted indefinite tolling of the limitation period to bring civil lawsuits. The amended...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
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on Nov. 29, 2018, issued its final Guidelines for the implementation of Senate Bill 35 of 2017 (SB 35).
SB 35 requires most local governments to issue...more
• 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 Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law two bills that significantly reform California's Housing Accountability Act (HAA).
• Effective Jan. 1, 2018, these laws will significantly increase the ability of housing...more
10/2/2017
/ Administrative Fines ,
Affordable Housing ,
Approval Requirements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Governor Brown ,
Housing Developers ,
Housing Market ,
Low Income Housing ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
New Legislation ,
Objective Standard ,
Real Estate Development ,
Reformation ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Urban Planning & Development