Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or a local government, as provided. The act provides that a coastal development permit is not required for specified types of development in specified areas, as provided. Existing law provides that a coastal development permit is not required for any category of development, or any category of development within a specified geographic area, if the commission, after a public hearing, and by a 2 3 vote of its appointed members, finds that there is no potential for any significant adverse effect, as specified, on coastal resources or on public access to, or along, the coast and, where the exclusion precedes certification of the applicable local coastal program, that the exclusion will not impair the ability of local government to prepare a local coastal program.

Existing regulation, before a categorical exclusion becomes effective, requires specified things to occur, including that the public agency issuing the permit accepts and agrees to the terms and conditions to which the categorical exclusion has been made subject.

This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development, by July 1, 2027, to identify, based on specified considerations, infill areas within at least 3 local jurisdictions that do not have a certified local coastal program for a categorical exclusion from the coastal development permitting requirement. Specifically, until June 30, 2037, if a development in one of those identified infill areas is a residential housing project comprised only of units that are deed restricted for persons of very low, low, or moderate income, as specified, this bill would categorically exclude the development from that requirement. The bill would exempt the categorically excluded infill areas from the above-described regulation. The bill would require, before commencing development, a proponent of the development to request from the commission, and for the commission to issue, a notice of exclusion.

This bill would require the commission, on or before August 1, 2027, to post on its internet website clearly defined maps of the categorical exclusion areas. The bill would also require the commission, on or before January 1, 2035, to report to the Legislature the number of projects that were constructed or are currently under construction pursuant to this categorical exclusion.