California's legislature adopts legislation that affects development at the local level, and may affect application processing, including streamlining provisions. Key Senate Bills (SB) and Assembly Bills (AB) that affect development in unincorporated County are summarized below, with links to subpages with the intent to build applicant awareness and provide more information about how the County implements legislative provisions. Please review individual project pages to learn more and for additional questions, please contact our Planning staff by email or by scheduling an appointment.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

• AB 2533: Amnesty provisions for eligible ADUs created without permits prior to 2020. Amends Government Code Section 66323. 
• AB 462: Requires approval or denial of Coastal Development Permit for an ADU within 60 days of receiving a complete application. Amended Sections 66328 and 66329 of the Government Code. County Coastal Development Permit and Accessory Dwelling Unit webpages have been updated to reflect changes.

Housing Development, Subdivisions, and Lot Splits

• SB 9/SB 450: Ministerial approval of urban lot splits and two-unit residential projects in single-family residential zones when certain criteria are met. Amends Government Code Sections 66452.6 and adds Sections 65852.21 and 66411.7.
• SB 684/SB 1123: Streamlines approval for up to 10 or fewer residential units on small urban lots (less than 5 acres) and expands ministerial approval for qualifying developments. Added Sections 65852.28, 65913.4.5, and 66499.41 to the Government Code.
• SB 35: Streamlined approval process for qualifying multifamily affordable housing projects, including removing requirement for CEQA analysis and conditional use authorization, or other similar discretionary entitlements. Amended Sections 65400 and 65582.1 of, and to add and repeal Section 65913.4 of, the Government Code.
• SB 330: Preliminary Application
• AB 130: Reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, and additional changes to land use and housing law, including new exemptions for certain qualifying urban infill housing development projects. Key provisions amended Public Resources Code Section 21080.66.

Parking

• AB 2097: Removes mandatory parking minimums for certain projects within ½ mile of major transit stops to promote affordable housing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Amends Section 65585, and adds Section 65863.2 to the Government Code.
• AB 894: Allows qualifying sites to share parking spaces, including to meet minimum parking requirements. Adds Section 65863.1 to the Government Code.

Transportation

• AB 2553: Revises definition of “major transit stop” to decrease the transit frequency of service intervals to 20 minutes. This expands the potential locations that qualify as a “major transit stop,” and accordingly, the potential incentives and streamlining benefits predicated on proximity to a major transit stop, such as CEQA, Density Bonus Law, SB 9, SB 4, ADUs, and others.  Amends Section 66005.1 of the Government Code, and Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code.

Fees

• SB 358: Promotes housing development by requiring reduced vehicular impact fees due to traffic congestion (level of service) for residential development within ½ mile of a transit priority area and at least 3 other supportive uses. Amends Section 66005.1 of the Government Code.