California Code of Regulations › Title 25 - Housing and Community Development › Division 1 - Housing and Community Development › Chapter 6 - Department of Housing and Community Development Programs › Subchapter 6.6 - Prohousing Designation Program › Section 6601 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				  This subchapter is governed by the following definitions. All terms not defined
				  below shall, unless their context suggests otherwise, be interpreted in
				  accordance with the definitions and intent of Government Code section
				  65589.9.
(1) Acceleration of Housing Production.
				  Promoting housing production by streamlining approval processes or timelines,
				  reducing costs or financial barriers, removing or mitigating regulatory
				  barriers to development, or by implementing other measures that positively
				  impact the cost, supply, affordability, timing, and certainty of housing, in a
				  manner that is consistent with a Jurisdiction's duty to Affirmatively Further
				  Fair Housing.
(2) ADU. Accessory
				  Dwelling Unit as defined by Government Code section
				  65852.2.
(3) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing or
				  AFFH. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is defined in accordance with
				  Government Code sections
				  8899.50 and
				  65583, subdivisions (c)(1),
				  (c)(5), (c)(10).
(4) Annual
				  Progress Report. The annual report required to be submitted to the Department
				  pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
				  65400 of the Government
				  Code.
(5) CEQA. The California
				  Environmental Quality Act.
(6)
				  Compliant Housing Element. An adopted housing element that has been duly found
				  by the Department to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of
				  Housing Element Law (Article 10.6 of Gov. Code) in accordance with Government
				  Code section
				  65585, subdivision (h).
(7) Department. The California Department of
				  Housing and Community Development.
(8) Diligent Public Participation Process
				  That Included or Includes Outreach To Engage All Segments Of The Community
				  means a Jurisdiction's documented efforts to engage the public through a
				  process that includes:
(A) Outreach through a
				  variety of methods and languages to ensure access to the public process and
				  provide opportunity for public input;
(B) Specific effort to engage all segments of
				  the community, including individuals or representatives of lower-income and
				  special needs households, for-profit and non-profit developers and special
				  needs service providers;
(C)
				  Availability of the draft document to the public, including notification to
				  interested parties and all segments of the community for thirty (30) calendar
				  days and subsequent versions for seven (7) calendar days;
(D) Public hearings and informative meetings;
				  and
(E) Consideration of comments,
				  including incorporation of comments into a Jurisdiction's application and
				  Prohousing Policies, as appropriate.
(9) Enhanced Infrastructure Financing
				  District. An Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District is defined in
				  accordance with Government Code section
				  53398.51, subdivision
				  (f).
(10) Environmentally Sensitive
				  or Hazardous Areas. Environmentally Sensitive or Hazardous Areas means the
				  following:
(A) Sensitive areas of the coastal
				  zone, as defined in Division 20 (commencing with Section
				  30000 and including sections
				  30103 and
				  30107.5) of the Public Resources
				  Code, including any portion of the property that contains or is characterized
				  by any of the following:
(i) Wetlands within
				  the coastal zone, as defined in Section
				  30121 of the Public Resources Code
				  and Title 14, Section
				  13577 of the California Code of
				  Regulations.
(ii) Environmentally
				  sensitive habitat areas, as defined in Sections
				  30107.5 and
				  30240 of the Public Resources
				  Code.
(iii) Areas of current or
				  projected future high geologic, flood, and fire hazard, such as areas
				  vulnerable to sea level rise impacts and tsunami run-up zones.
(iv) Use of the site for public access,
				  recreation, or other visitor-serving uses, including coastal access
				  parking.
(B) Either
				  prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, as defined pursuant to
				  United States Department of Agriculture land inventory and monitoring criteria,
				  as modified for California, and designated on the maps prepared by the Farmland
				  Mapping and Monitoring Program of the Department of Conservation, or land zoned
				  or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by a local ballot
				  measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction.
(C) Wetlands outside the coastal zone, as
				  defined as in the California Water Board's State Policy for Water Quality
				  Control: State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or
				  Fill Material to Waters of the State (adopted April 2, 2019, revised April 6,
				  2021), hereby incorporated by reference.
(D) An area within a very high fire hazard
				  severity zone, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
				  pursuant to Section
				  51178 of the Government Code, or
				  within a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as indicated on maps
				  published by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section
				  4202 of the Public Resources
				  Code.
(E) A hazardous waste site
				  that is listed pursuant to Section
				  65962.5 of the Government Code, or
				  a hazardous waste site designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control
				  pursuant to Section
				  25356 of the Health and Safety
				  Code, unless the Department of Public Health, the State Water Resources Control
				  Board, or the Department of Toxic Substances Control has cleared the site for
				  residential use or residential mixed uses.
(F) An area within a delineated earthquake
				  fault zone as determined by the State Geologist in any official maps published
				  by the California Geological Survey.
(G) An area within a special flood hazard
				  area subject to inundation by the 1 percent annual chance flood (100-year
				  flood) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official
				  maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(H) An area within a regulatory floodway as
				  determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps
				  published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(I) Lands identified for conservation in an
				  adopted natural community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community
				  Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
				  2800) of Division 3 of the Fish
				  and Game Code), habitat conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered
				  Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. §
												1531 et seq.), or other adopted
				  natural resource protection plan.
(J) Habitat for protected species identified
				  as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal
				  agencies, fully protected species, or species or native plants protected by the
				  federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. §
												1531 et seq.), the California
				  Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
				  2050) of Division 3 of the Fish
				  and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with
				  Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish
				  and Game Code).
(K) Lands under
				  conservation easement.
(L) Areas
				  that are, or feature, or contain tribal cultural resources, per Section
				  21074 of the Public Resources
				  Code.
(11) Extremely
				  Low-Income Households. Extremely Low-Income Households is defined consistent
				  with Health and Safety Code section
				  50106.
(12) Formal Resolution for the Prohousing
				  Designation Program. The resolution adopted by a Jurisdiction's governing body
				  that authorizes and directs the Jurisdiction to submit the Application and
				  confirms its compliance with the Program's requirements and that conforms to
				  the template that the Department attaches to the Program Application, which
				  shall include the following text:
Formal Resolution for the PROHOUSING Designation
					 Program
RESOLUTION NO. [INSERT RESOLUTION NUMBER]
A RESOLUTION OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF [INSERT THE NAME OF
					 THE CITY OR COUNTY] AUTHORIZING APPLICATION TO AND PARTICIPATION IN THE
					 PROHOUSING DESIGNATION PROGRAM
WHEREAS, Government Code section
					 65589.9 established the Prohousing
					 Designation Program ("Program"), which creates incentives for jurisdictions
					 that are compliant with state housing element requirements and that have
					 enacted Prohousing local policies; and
WHEREAS, such jurisdictions will be designated Prohousing,
					 and, as such, will receive additional points or other preference during the
					 scoring of their competitive Applications for specified housing and
					 infrastructure funding; and
WHEREAS, the California Department of Housing and Community
					 Development ("Department") has adopted regulations (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 25,
					 §
												6600 et seq.) to implement the
					 Program ("Program Regulations"), as authorized by Government Code section
					 65589.9, subdivision (d);
					 and
WHEREAS, the [INSERT THE NAME OF THE CITY OR COUNTY]
					 ("Applicant") desires to submit an Application for a Prohousing Designation
					 ("Application").
THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED THAT:
1. Applicant is hereby authorized and
				  directed to submit an Application to the Department.
2. Applicant acknowledges and confirms that
				  it is currently in compliance with applicable state housing law.
3. Applicant acknowledges and confirms that
				  it will continue to comply with applicable housing laws and to refrain from
				  enacting laws, developing policies, or taking other local governmental actions
				  that may or do inhibit or constrain housing production. Examples of such local
				  laws, policies, and actions include moratoriums on development; local voter
				  approval requirements related to housing production; downzoning; and unduly
				  restrictive or onerous zoning regulations, development standards, or permit
				  procedures. Applicant further acknowledges and confirms that the Prohousing
				  Policies in its Application comply with its duty to Affirmatively Further Fair
				  Housing pursuant to Government Code sections
				  8899.50 and
				  65583. Applicant further
				  acknowledges and confirms that its general plan is in alignment with an adopted
				  sustainable communities strategy pursuant to Public Resources Code section
				  21155-21155.4. Applicant further
				  acknowledges and confirms that its policies for the treatment of homeless
				  encampments on public property comply with and will continue to comply with the
				  Constitution and that it has enacted best practices in its jurisdiction that
				  are consistent with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness' "7
				  Principles for Addressing Encampments" (June 17, 2022, update).
4. If the Application is approved, Applicant
				  is hereby authorized and directed to enter into, execute, and deliver all
				  documents required or deemed necessary or appropriate to participate in the
				  Program, and all amendments thereto (the "Program Documents").
5. Applicant acknowledges and agrees that it
				  shall be subject to the Application; the terms and conditions specified in the
				  Program Documents; the Program Regulations; and any and all other applicable
				  law.
6. [INSERT THE TITLE OF THE
				  APPLICANT'S AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY] is authorized to execute and deliver the
				  Application and the Program Documents on behalf of the Applicant for
				  participation in the Program.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ day of __________, 20, by the
					 following vote:
AYES: [Insert #] NOES: [Insert #] ABSENT: [Insert #]
					 ABSTAIN: [Insert #]
The undersigned, [INSERT NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNATORY] of
					 Applicant, does hereby attest and certify that the foregoing is a true and full
					 copy of a resolution of the Applicant's governing body adopted at a duly
					 convened meeting on the date above-mentioned, and that the resolution has not
					 been altered, amended, or repealed.
SIGNATURE: ____________________ DATE:
					 ____________________
NAME: _________________________ TITLE:
					 ____________________
(13) HCD. The California Department of
				  Housing and Community Development.
(14) Housing. Any development that satisfies
				  both (A) and (B) below:
(A) At least
				  two-thirds of the square footage of the development must be designated for
				  residential use; and
(B) The
				  development includes a housing accommodation, as defined in Government Code
				  section 12927(d) and
				  California Code of Regulations, Title 2, section
				  12005(o).
(15) Housing Element or Element.
				  The housing element of a Jurisdiction's general plan, as required pursuant to
				  subdivision (c) of Section
				  65302 of the Government Code and
				  prepared in accordance with Housing Element Law.
(16) Housing Element Law. Article 10.6
				  (commencing with Section
				  65580) of Chapter 3 of Division 1
				  of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(17) Housing for Persons with Special Needs.
				  This term is defined consistent with the examples of housing for persons with
				  "special housing needs" in Government Code section
				  65583(a)(7).
(18) JADU. Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit as
				  defined by Government Code section
				  65852.22.
(19) Jurisdiction. Any city, including a
				  charter city; any county, including a charter county; or any city and county,
				  including a charter city and county.
(20) Local Public Entity. A local public
				  entity is defined in accordance with Health and Safety Code section
				  50079.
(21) Location Efficient Communities. Current
				  or future residential dwellings near multiple transportation options which have
				  short commutes to daily destinations, improve job and housing relationships,
				  and mitigate impacts on or from Environmentally Sensitive or Hazardous
				  Areas.
(22) Lower-Income
				  Households. Lower-Income Households is defined consistent with Health and
				  Safety Code section
				  50079.5.
(23) Ministerial. A process for development
				  approval involving no personal judgment by the public official as to the wisdom
				  or manner of carrying out the project. The public official merely ensures that
				  the proposed development meets all the "Objective Zoning Standards," "Objective
				  Subdivision Standards," or "Objective Design Review Standards" in effect at the
				  time that the application is submitted to the Jurisdiction but uses no special
				  discretion or judgment in reaching a decision. A ministerial decision involves
				  only the use of fixed standards or objective measurements, and the public
				  official cannot use personal, subjective judgment in deciding whether or how
				  the project should be carried out.
(24) Moderate-Income Households.
				  Moderate-Income Households is defined consistent with Health and Safety Code
				  section 50093.
(25) Objective Zoning Standard, Objective
				  Subdivision Standard, and Objective Design Review Standard. Standards that
				  involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and that 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 prior to submittal.
(26) Program. The Prohousing Designation
				  Program.
(27) Prohousing or
				  Prohousing Designation. The designation conferred on those applicants that meet
				  the requirements of the Prohousing Designation Program.
(28) Prohousing Policy. A course or basis of
				  action adopted or proposed by a Jurisdiction, which satisfies or purports to
				  satisfy Sections
				  6605 and
				  6606, and which, as such, is
				  reasonably likely to accelerate, streamline, or encourage housing production in
				  a manner consistent with the Jurisdiction's duty to Affirmatively Further Fair
				  Housing pursuant to Government Code sections
				  8899.50 and
				  65583. A Prohousing Policy may
				  include, but is not limited to, a law, regulatory rulemaking, or procedure. A
				  Prohousing Policy may be freestanding, or it may be integrated with other
				  Prohousing Policies as part of a larger Prohousing strategy.
(29) Regional Housing Needs Allocation or
				  RHNA. The existing and projected need for housing for each region, as
				  determined by the Department pursuant to Section
				  65584.01 of the Government
				  Code.
(30) State Planning
				  Priorities. Priorities which are intended to promote equity, strengthen the
				  economy, protect the environment, and promote public health and safety for all
				  communities in the state, and as pursuant to Government Code section
				  65041.1.
(31) Supportive Housing. Supportive Housing
				  is defined in accordance with Government Code section
				  65582(g).
(32) CTCAC. CTCAC is defined to mean the
				  California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
(33) CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Map. The CTCAC map
				  that identifies the areas in the state whose characteristics support positive
				  economic, educational, and health outcomes for Lower-Income Households, which
				  CTCAC publishes on its websites at
https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/opportunity.asp
.
(34) VMT. Vehicle Miles Traveled.