2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 7 - PLANNING AND LAND USE › DIVISION 1 - PLANNING AND ZONING › CHAPTER 3 - Local Planning › ARTICLE 10.10 - Workforce Housing Opportunity Zone › Section 65623.

65623. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for a period of five years from the adoption of the specific plan pursuant to Section 65621, a local government shall approve a development that satisfies all of the criteria listed in paragraphs (3) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 65621 in effect at the time the application for the development is deemed complete.
(2) If the local government finds, based upon substantial evidence in the record of the public hearing on the project, that a physical condition of the site of the development that was not known at the time the specific plan was prepared would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, then the local government shall either: (A) approve the project subject to a condition that satisfactorily mitigates or avoids the impact, or (B) deny the project if the cost of complying with the condition renders the project unaffordable for the intended residents of low, moderate, or middle income and approval would cause more than 50 percent of the total units in the zone to be sold or rented to persons and families of above moderate income in violation of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c).
(b) As used in this subdivision, “specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
(c) After the adoption of the zone pursuant to Section 65621, a lead agency is not required to prepare an environmental impact report or negative environmental declaration for a housing development that satisfies all of the following criteria:
(1) The development is located on land within a Workforce Housing Opportunity Zone.
(2) The development is consistent with the plan adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 65621, including the density ranges established pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65621. If a development is not consistent with the elements and standards in the plan, then the provisions of this section does not apply and the city or county shall consider the application as it would an application for development that is not within the zone, including the preparation of an environmental impact report or a negative declaration for the housing development.
(3) (A) At least 30 percent of the total units constructed or substantially rehabilitated in the zone will be sold or rented to persons and families of moderate income, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, or persons and families of middle income, as defined in Section 65008; at least 15 percent of the total units constructed or substantially rehabilitated in the zone will be sold or rented to lower income households, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code; and at least 5 percent of the total units constructed or substantially rehabilitated in the zone will be restricted for a term of 55 years for very low income households, as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code. No more than 50 percent of the total units constructed or substantially rehabilitated in the zone shall be sold or rented to persons and families of above moderate income.
(B) The developer shall provide sufficient legal commitments to ensure continued availability of units for very low, low-, moderate-, or middle-income households in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision for 55 years for rental units and 45 years for owner-occupied units.
(4) The development has incorporated each of the mitigation measures adopted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 65621 and deemed applicable by the city, county, or city and county.
(5) The development has incorporated each of the uniformly applied development standards adopted pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 65621 and deemed applicable by the city, county, or city and county.
(6) The development complies with the design review standards adopted pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65621 and deemed applicable by the city, county, or city and county.
(7) The development has incorporated each of the mitigation measures adopted as part of the environmental impact report for the specific plan and deemed applicable by the city, county, or city and county.
(8) A development that is affordable to persons and families whose income exceeds the income limit for persons and families of moderate income shall include no less than 10 percent of the units for lower income households at affordable housing cost, as defined by Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, unless the locality has adopted a local ordinance that requires greater than 10 percent of the units, in which case that ordinance applies.
(9) The development proponent has certified that one of the following is true:
(A) The entirety of the project is a public work for purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(B) If the project is not in its entirety a public work, that all construction workers employed in the execution of the project will be paid at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code, except that apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the applicable apprentice prevailing rate. If the development is subject to this subparagraph, then for those portions of the project that are not public work all of the following shall apply:
(i) The development proponent shall ensure that the prevailing wage requirement is included in all contracts for the performance of the work.
(ii) Contractors and subcontractors shall pay to all construction workers employed in the execution of the work at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, except that apprentices registered in programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards may be paid at least the applicable apprentice rate.
(iii) Except as provided in clause (v), all contractors and subcontractors shall maintain and verify payroll records pursuant to Section 1776 of the Labor Code and make those records available for inspection and copying as provided in that section.
(iv) Except as provided in clause (v), the obligation of the contractors and subcontractors to pay prevailing wages may be enforced by the Labor Commissioner through the issuance of a civil wage and penalty assessment pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor Code, which may be reviewed pursuant to Section 1742 of the Labor Code, within 18 months after the completion of the project, or by an underpaid worker through an administrative complaint or civil action, or by a joint labor-management committee through a civil action under Section 1771.2 of the Labor Code. If a civil wage and penalty assessment is issued, the contractor, subcontractor, and surety on a bond or bonds issued to secure the payment of wages covered by the assessment shall be liable for liquidated damages pursuant to Section 1742.1 of the Labor Code.
(v) Clauses (iii) and (iv) shall not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the project are subject to a project labor agreement that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction workers employed in the execution of the project and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure. For purposes of this clause, “project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(vi) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 1773.1 of the Labor Code, the requirement that employer payments not reduce the obligation to pay the hourly straight time or overtime wages found to be prevailing shall not apply if otherwise provided in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement covering the worker. The requirement to pay at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages does not preclude the use of an alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511 or 514 of the Labor Code.
(d) (1) Notice that a local government has received an application for a housing development within a Workforce Housing Opportunity Zone shall be posted on the local government’s Internet Web site and mailed or delivered within 10 days of receiving the application to any person who has filed a written request for notice with either the clerk of the governing body or with any other person designated by the governing body to receive these requests.
(2) A local government shall approve a housing development proposed within the zone that is consistent with the plan and satisfies each of the criteria in subdivision (c) within 60 days of the date the application is deemed complete pursuant to the Permit Streamlining Act (Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 65920)).
(e) The approval of a development that does not include a majority of the units that will be sold or rented to persons and families of lower income, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, shall expire three years from the date of the approval, if construction has not begun on the housing units in the development. A local government may grant one extension for an additional three-year period upon a determination that good cause exists for the delay in commencing construction. A local government shall not consider the same or substantially similar project on the same parcel of property if the development expires pursuant to this subdivision.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 92, Sec. 116. (SB 1289) Effective January 1, 2019.)