AB 281

Planning and zoning: housing: postentitlement phase permits.Ch. 735, Stats. 2023 · chaptered 2023-10-11 · Current law

Key provisions · Claude summary of the digest, not bill text

Required special districts to give housing development applicants written notice of next steps within set deadlines after receiving service or postentitlement permit applications.

Next-steps notice. Required special districts receiving a housing project's application for service or for a postentitlement phase permit to notify the applicant in writing of next steps, including any additional information needed.
Deadlines. Required the notice within 30 business days for developments of 25 units or fewer and within 60 business days for 26 units or more.

Paraphrased from the Legislative Counsel’s Digest. Check the bill text before relying on it.

ClaudeGreen text is a summary heading written by Claude to help navigate. It is not statute text; the statute text is in black.

SEC. 1In the navigator:§ 65913.3.1 changes

Section 65913.3.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:

§ 65913.3.1Enacted by this bill: all text is new

(a) This section applies to both of the following:

(1) An application from a housing development project for service from a special district.

(2) An application from a housing development project for a postentitlement phase permit that a local agency deemed complete pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65913.3 that requires separate approval from a special district.

(b) A special district that receives an application pursuant to subdivision (a) shall provide written notice to the applicant, pursuant to the timelines specified in subdivision (c), of next steps in the review process, including, but not limited to, any additional information that may be required to begin to review the application for service or approval.

(c) (1) For a housing development with 25 units or fewer, a special district shall provide the written notice required by subdivision (b) within 30 business days of receipt of the application.

(2) For a housing development with 26 units or more, a special district shall provide the written notice required by subdivision (b) within 60 business days of receipt of the application.

(d) (1) After receiving notice that an application requires additional information pursuant to subdivision (b), an applicant may provide the requested information directly to the special district.

(2) A special district that receives additional information pursuant to paragraph (1) shall respond to the applicant with a notice that contains the information or next steps required by subdivision (b) in the applicable time period described by subdivision (c).

(3) A special district shall continue to review each submission by an applicant to determine additional relevant information and provide written notice of the next steps or additional information required in the applicable time periods described in subdivision (c) of each submission by the applicant.

(e) This section does not limit the amount of comments, feedback, revisions, or requests for additional information a special district may provide to an applicant or to a local agency.

(f) This section does not require the special district to approve the application or serve the housing development project within a specified time period.

(g) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Housing development project” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65905.5.

(2) “Local agency” means any city, county, or city and county.

(3) “Postentitlement phase permit” has the same meaning as defined in Section 65913.3.

(4) “Special district” has the same meaning as defined in Section 56036.

SEC. 2

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

Source: LegiScan API, chaptered text of AB 281 (2023-2024 Session).

Bill text is the chaptered version from LegiScan (California Legislature); spacing is normalized. Code section text in a bill is the text that bill chaptered, not necessarily the law in effect today. Not legal advice.

Legislative Counsel’s Digest, from the chaptered bill.

Existing law, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a local agency to compile a list of information needed to approve or deny a postentitlement phase permit, to post an example of a complete, approved application and an example of a complete set of postentitlement phase permits for at least 5 types of housing development projects in the jurisdiction, as specified, and to make those items available to all applicants for these permits no later than January 1, 2024. Existing law establishes time limits for completing reviews regarding whether an application for a postentitlement phase permit is complete and compliant and whether to approve or deny an application, as specified, and makes any failure to meet these time limits a violation of specified law. Existing law defines various terms for these purposes, including “local agency” to mean a city, county, or city and county, and “postentitlement phase permit,” among other things, to exclude a permit required and issued by a special district.

This bill would require a special district that receives an application from a housing development project for service from a special district or an application from a housing development project for a postentitlement phase permit, as specified, to provide written notice to the applicant of next steps in the review process, including, but not limited to, any additional information that may be required to begin to review the application for service or approval. The bill would require the special district to provide this notice within 30 business days of receipt of the application for a housing development with 25 units or fewer, and within 60 business days for a housing development with 26 units or more. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. By imposing additional duties on special districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Authors: Tim Grayson (D), Robert Rivas (D)

Bill on leginfo ↗ LegiScan ↗

Votes 7

Date	House	Motion	Yes	No	NV	Result
2023-09-05	Senate	Assembly 3rd Reading AB281 Grayson et al. By Caballero	39	0	0	Passed
2023-07-10	Senate	Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]	11	0	0	Passed
2023-06-21	Senate	Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Housing]	8	0	0	Passed
2023-05-04	Assembly	AB 281 Grayson Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session	75	0	0	Passed
2023-04-26	Assembly	Do pass. To Consent Calendar	16	0	0	Passed
2023-04-12	Assembly	Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]	8	0	0	Passed
2023-03-22	Assembly	Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Housing and Community Development]	7	0	0	Passed

Status history 24

Date	House	Action
2023-10-11		Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 735, Statutes of 2023.
2023-10-11		Approved by the Governor.
2023-09-12		Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
2023-09-05	Assembly	In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
2023-09-05	Senate	Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2369.).
2023-08-15	Senate	Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2023-08-14	Senate	From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
2023-07-11	Senate	From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2023-06-21	Senate	From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HOUSING. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 21). Re-referred to Com. on HOUSING.
2023-06-02	Senate	In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
2023-05-17	Senate	Referred to Coms. on GOV. & F. and HOUSING.
2023-05-04	Senate	In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2023-05-04	Assembly	Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 1461.)
2023-04-27	Assembly	Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
2023-04-26	Assembly	From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 26).
2023-04-17	Assembly	Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2023-04-13	Assembly	Read second time and amended.
2023-04-12	Assembly	From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 12).
2023-03-23	Assembly	From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 22). Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.
2023-03-13	Assembly	Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.
2023-03-09	Assembly	From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended.
2023-02-02	Assembly	Referred to Coms. on L. GOV. and H. & C.D.
2023-01-25	Assembly	From printer. May be heard in committee February 24.
2023-01-24	Assembly	Read first time. To print.

Versions

Introduced 2023-01-24 · Amended 2023-03-09 · Amended 2023-04-13 · Enrolled 2023-09-07 · Chaptered 2023-10-11