The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law requires the housing element to include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. Existing law requires a city or county, based on that inventory of land, to determine whether each site in the inventory can accommodate the development of some portion of its share of the regional housing need by income level during the planning period, as provided.

Existing law, commonly referred to as the Housing Element Law, prescribes requirements for a city’s or county’s preparation of, and compliance with, its housing element, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and determine whether the housing element substantially complies with the Housing Element Law, as specified.

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to the use of residential overlay zones in housing element compliance determinations and to the finding of substantial compliance following decertification by a court.