Planning and zoning: housing element: regional housing needs allocation

The law gives regions and local governments more lead time for most regional housing needs allocation steps while setting updated housing-element deadlines. It also requires earlier notice of transportation-plan schedules that trigger those deadlines.

What the law does ​

• Moves the deadline to form a subregional housing-allocation entity from 28 to 34 months before a housing-element update, and its regional assignment deadline from 25 to 31 months before the update.
• Requires regional councils or delegate subregions to develop allocation methods at least 2.5 years before an update and issue draft housing allocations at least two years before it.
• Exempts councils of governments with seventh-cycle housing-element deadlines in 2027, 2028, or 2029 from those revised allocation timelines.
• Bases most future housing-element deadlines on the estimated adoption date of every second regional transportation-plan update, generally subject to an eight-year cap.
• Sets June 30, 2032, as the eighth housing-element deadline for local governments previously on a five-year seventh-cycle schedule, then moves later revisions to the transportation-plan-based schedule.
• Requires regional transportation agencies with eight-year housing-element cycles to give the state 24 months’ notice, rather than 12 months, of estimated regional transportation-plan adoption dates.
• Applies the housing-element scheduling changes to charter cities as a matter of statewide concern.

Who it affects ​

• Cities, counties, and city and counties that must update housing elements and plan for their assigned housing needs.
• Councils of governments and delegate subregions that develop and adopt regional housing needs allocations.
• Metropolitan planning organizations and regional transportation planning agencies that set regional transportation-plan schedules.
• The Department of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Transportation, which receive notices and publish housing and transportation planning schedules.

Context ​

The revised allocation timelines do not apply to specified regions whose seventh-cycle housing elements are due in 2027, 2028, or 2029.

Breakdown ​

Subregional Housing Allocation Deadlines ​

AB 2296 gives cities and counties more time to create a subregional group that will divide housing targets among its members. In most housing-element cycles, the deadline moves from 28 months to 34 months before the scheduled update, and the deadline for the regional council to assign housing need to that subregion moves from 25 months to 31 months. These changes do not apply to seventh-cycle regional councils whose housing-element deadlines fall in 2027, 2028, or 2029.

Key takeaways

• Cities and counties may form a subregional entity to allocate housing need among themselves up to 34 months before their scheduled housing-element revision, rather than 28 months before it.
• A council of governments must determine the regional housing need assigned to a delegate subregion at least 31 months before the scheduled revision, rather than 25 months before it.
• The extended deadlines generally give local governments and regional bodies six additional months for the subregional allocation process.
• The deadline changes do not apply to seventh-cycle councils of governments with housing-element revision due dates in calendar years 2027, 2028, or 2029.

Earlier Regional Housing Allocation Deadlines ​

The bill moves up deadlines for regional housing planning. Most councils of governments and delegate subregions must develop their housing-needs distribution method at least two and a half years before local housing-element updates, and must send out draft housing allocations at least two years before those updates. These earlier deadlines do not apply to the seventh housing-element cycle for councils with revision due dates in 2027, 2028, or 2029.

Key takeaways

• The bill generally requires the regional housing allocation methodology to be developed at least two and a half years before a scheduled housing-element revision.
• The bill generally requires draft regional housing allocations to be distributed at least two years before a scheduled housing-element revision.
• The changes apply to councils of governments and, where applicable, delegate subregions.
• The earlier deadlines do not apply to the seventh housing-element cycle for councils of governments whose housing-element revision is due in 2027, 2028, or 2029.

Housing Element Update Deadlines ​

The bill changes when certain local governments must update their housing elements by tying more deadlines to the estimated or actual adoption dates of regional transportation plan updates. It sets June 30, 2032, as the deadline for the eighth housing-element revision for certain governments, changes later revision schedules, and gives state agencies earlier notice of estimated regional plan adoption dates.

Key takeaways

• Local governments in covered regional planning areas generally must update their housing elements 18 months after the estimated adoption date of every second regional transportation plan update.
• For certain local governments that had a five-year schedule for their seventh housing-element revision, the eighth revision must be completed by June 30, 2032.
• Those local governments must complete their ninth and later housing-element revisions 18 months after adoption of every second regional transportation plan update.
• For the eighth and later revisions, local governments in the Southern California Association of Governments region must adopt a revised housing element no more than eight years after the prior eight-year housing-element deadline.
• Regional planning agencies with an eight-year housing-element revision cycle must notify the state housing and transportation departments of an estimated regional transportation plan adoption date at least 24 months in advance, rather than 12 months in advance.

Statewide Application ​

The bill states that its proposed changes address a statewide concern, not a purely local municipal matter. As a result, the changes apply to every California city, including charter cities.

Key takeaways

• The bill declares that its changes concern a statewide issue.
• The bill states that the changes are not limited by a city’s authority over municipal affairs.
• The changes apply to all California cities, including charter cities.

State Reimbursement ​

The bill says the state does not have to reimburse local agencies or school districts for the costs of the new required services. Although the bill creates a state-mandated local program by requiring local officials to provide a higher level of service, it specifies that reimbursement is not required for the stated reason.

Key takeaways

• The bill imposes new duties on local officials that are treated as a state-mandated local program.
• The bill states that the state will not reimburse local agencies or school districts for costs caused by these duties.
• The bill overrides the usual reimbursement process for this act based on a specified reason.