These 33 Zoning Codes Are Getting Suspended
/Happy Election Day. We can finally project a zoning holiday in 33 Bay Area jurisdictions that haven’t submitted a draft housing element to the State.
The Zoning Holiday Is Coming to These Bay Area Jurisdictions
February will kick off a zoning holiday in Bay Area cities that fail to adopt a compliant housing element. With less than 90 days to go, it’s too late for 33 cities and counties that haven’t filed a draft with the State. That’s because the builder’s remedy applies to cities that haven’t “adopted” a housing element, and the statutes further prohibit the “adoption” of a housing element before the State has had 90 days to review it. (Cal. Gov. Code §§ 65589.5(d)(5), 65585(b)(1).)
Homebuilders, take note: American Canyon, Belvedere, Burlingame, Cloverdale, Cotati, Cupertino, Daly City, Fairfax, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Larkspur, Martinez, Napa, Newark, Novato, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Piedmont, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, Rio Vista, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Vallejo, and unincorporated Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma Counties did not submit a draft housing element to the State by November 2. Unless the State dramatically expedites its review process when they do submit, these jurisdictions will not be able to enforce their zoning codes against affordable housing projects on February 1.
More places are likely to join these 33 in builder’s-remedy jeopardy as the State rejects some drafts that are currently under review. We encourage interested builders to watch the State’s compliance tracker as February 1 approaches.
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We’ll leave this exciting news here for today. Look for another post on Friday to begin our CEQA coverage.