2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 7 - PLANNING AND LAND USE › DIVISION 1 - PLANNING AND ZONING › CHAPTER 4.1 - Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 › ARTICLE 2 - Affordable Housing Developments in Commercial Zones › Section 65912.113.

65912.113. A development project shall not be subject to the streamlined, ministerial review process provided by Section 65912.114 unless the development proposal meets all of the following objective development standards:
(a) The development shall be a multifamily housing development project.
(b) The residential density for the development will meet or exceed the applicable density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households in that jurisdiction as specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2.
(c) (1) The development proponent shall complete a phase I environmental assessment, as defined in Section 78090 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) If a recognized environmental condition is found, the development proponent shall undertake a preliminary endangerment assessment, as defined in Section 78095 of the Health and Safety Code, prepared by an environmental assessor to determine the existence of any release of a hazardous substance on the site and to determine the potential for exposure of future occupants to significant health hazards from any nearby property or activity.
(A) If a release of a hazardous substance is found to exist on the site, the release shall be removed, or any significant effects of the release shall be mitigated to a level of insignificance in compliance with current state and federal requirements.
(B) If a potential for exposure to significant hazards from surrounding properties or activities is found to exist, the effects of the potential exposure shall be mitigated to a level of insignificance in compliance with current state and federal requirements.
(d) None of the housing on the site is located within 500 feet of a freeway, as defined in Section 332 of the Vehicle Code.
(e) None of the housing on the site is located within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas.
(f) The development will meet the following objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards:
(1) The applicable objective standards shall be those for the zone that allows residential use at a greater density between the following:
(A) The existing zoning designation for the parcel if existing zoning allows multifamily residential use.
(B) The zoning designation for the closest parcel that allows residential use at a density that meets the requirements of subdivision (b).
(2) The applicable objective standards shall be those in effect at the time that the development application is submitted to the local government pursuant to this article.
(g) For purposes of this section, “objective zoning standards,” “objective subdivision standards,” and “objective design review standards” mean standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official before submittal. These standards may be embodied in alternative objective land use specifications adopted by a city or county, and may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay zones, specific plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density bonus ordinances, subject to the following:
(1) A development shall be deemed consistent with the objective zoning standards related to housing density, as applicable, if the density proposed is compliant with the maximum density allowed within that land use designation, notwithstanding any specified maximum unit allocation that may result in fewer units of housing being permitted.
(2) In the event that objective zoning, general plan, subdivision, or design review standards are mutually inconsistent, a development shall be deemed consistent with the objective zoning and subdivision standards pursuant to this section if the development is consistent with the standards set forth in the general plan.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 97. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2033, pursuant to Sec. 65912.105.)