Gov. Code § 65913.16
Housing Development Approvals (incl. SB 35)

Gov. Code § 65913.16

Housing on faith and higher education lands (SB 4)TITLE 7. PLANNING AND LAND USE › DIVISION 1. PLANNING AND ZONING › CHAPTER 4.2. Housing Development Approvals

Key provisions · Claude summary, not statute text

The Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 makes a qualifying housing development on land owned by an independent institution of higher education or a religious institution a “use by right,” subject to site, affordability, labor, and environmental criteria, and sets density, height, parking, and review rules. The section is repealed January 1, 2036.

  • Short title. The section may be cited as the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023. (a)
  • Definitions. Defines “applicant,” “development proponent,” “health care expenditures,” “heavy industrial use,” “housing development project,” “independent institution of higher education,” “light industrial use,” “local government,” “qualified developer” (local public entities, certain nonprofit-controlled developers, developers contracting with § 214.15 nonprofits, and developers the institution has contracted with before), “religious institution,” “Title V industrial use,” and “use by right” (no CUP, PUD permit, or other discretionary review, and not a CEQA “project”). (b)
  • Use by right. Notwithstanding inconsistent local plans or zoning, at the applicant’s request a housing development project is a use by right if it is on land owned on or before January 1, 2024, by an independent institution of higher education or religious institution (including through an affiliated nonprofit public benefit corporation) and meets the parcel criteria of § 65913.4(a)(2)(A)–(B), (a)(6)(B)–(K), and (a)(7). (c)(1)–(4)
  • Industrial buffers. The site may not adjoin a site where more than one-third of the square footage is “dedicated to light industrial use” (parcels separated only by a street count as adjoined). Housing units may not be within 1,200 feet of a current or most recently permitted heavy industrial use, within 1,600 feet of a Title V industrial use, or, where multifamily housing is not an existing permitted use, within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas. (c)(5)–(8)
  • Affordability. 100% of total units, excluding manager units, must be for lower income households, except up to 20% may be for moderate-income households and 5% for staff of the owning institution. Units must be at affordable housing cost or TCAC-consistent affordable rent; moderate-income rent or price may not exceed 30% of income for a similar unit in the same ZIP Code. Deed restrictions last 55 years for rentals (or longer if required by local ordinance or financing) and 45 years for owner-occupied or equity-sharing units. (c)(9)
  • Other site requirements. The project must meet all non-conflicting objective development standards, comply with § 66300(d) where housing is demolished or was demolished within five years, complete Phase I (and Phase II if warranted) environmental assessments with remediation or mitigation of hazards, provide MERV 13 filtration within 500 feet of a freeway, and, on a vacant site, not contain unmitigable tribal cultural resources. (c)(10), (c)(11), (c)(13)–(15)
  • Prevailing wage. The applicant must certify the project is entirely a public work, or, for developments over 10 units approved under Chapter 4.1, Article 2 or 3, that construction workers will be paid prevailing wages, contracts include the requirement and are reported to DIR, and contractors keep certified payroll (unless under a qualifying project labor agreement) and are registered under Labor Code § 1725.6. (c)(12)
  • Wage enforcement. Prevailing wage obligations may be enforced by the Labor Commissioner (within 18 months after completion), an underpaid worker, or a joint labor-management committee; liquidated damages apply. This does not apply under a qualifying project labor agreement. Bona fide collective bargaining agreements and alternative workweek schedules are accommodated. (d)–(f)
  • 50+ unit labor standards. Developments of 50 or more units approved under Chapter 4.1, Article 2 or 3, must also require contractors (for subcontracts of at least 1,000 hours) to participate in or request apprentices from state-approved apprenticeship programs and make health care expenditures equal to a Covered California Platinum-level plan for a family of four. Monthly public compliance reports are required, with civil penalties (10% of monthly work value up to $10,000 for missed reports; $200 per worker per day for noncompliance), monthly payroll submission to the Labor Commissioner, 10-business-day reporting of changes, and standing for joint labor-management committees to sue. (g)
  • Ancillary uses. Ground-floor ancillary uses are allowed: in single-family zones, childcare centers and community-based organization facilities for recreational, social, or educational services; in other zones, those plus commercial uses permitted without a CUP or PUD permit. Existing religious institutional uses or previously legal uses may continue if nonresidential square footage does not exceed the prior amount and prior CUP operating conditions are followed. (h), (i)
  • Density and height. In zones allowing residential use (including single-family zones), density is the § 65583.2(c)(3)(B) lower income density, plus height of one story or 11 feet above the otherwise applicable maximum, or greater density/height allowed on the parcel or an adjoining parcel. In zones not allowing residential use, density is 40 units per acre with the same height allowance, and incentives, waivers, or concessions may not increase height beyond that. Projects are eligible for § 65915 density bonus, incentives, waivers, and parking ratios. (j)
  • Parking. Off-street parking may be required up to one space per unit unless a lower state or local standard applies. No parking may be required within one-half mile walking distance of a high-quality transit corridor or major transit stop, or where a car share vehicle is within one block. (k)
  • Review timelines. The local government must give written documentation of conflicts with objective planning standards within 60 days (150 or fewer units) or 90 days (more than 150 units), or the project is deemed consistent; consistency uses a reasonable-person substantial evidence standard and the determination is not a CEQA “project.” Objective design review must be completed within 90 or 180 days, respectively, and may not inhibit, chill, or preclude ministerial approval. (l)(1)–(5)
  • Approval rules. The local government must ensure § 66300(d) compliance; qualifying subdivision applications are CEQA-exempt; expiration, modifications, subsequent permits, and public improvements follow § 65913.4(f), (g), and (h)(2)–(3). The local government may not impose fees, inclusionary requirements, or other requirements because a project is eligible for streamlined review. (l)(6)–(12)
  • HAA, charter cities, severability. Projects may also receive Housing Accountability Act (§ 65589.5) protections. The section applies to charter cities as a matter of statewide concern. The health care expenditure provision in (g)(3) is severable, but other provisions of (g) are not; if they are held invalid, the whole section is invalid. (m)–(o)
  • Sunset. The section remains in effect only until January 1, 2036, and is then repealed. (p)

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§ 65913.1616 subdivisions

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History. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 774, Sec. 3. (SB 597) Effective January 1, 2026. Repealed as of January 1, 2036, by its own provisions.)

Cites, in this navigator. Gov. Code § 65583.2, Gov. Code § 65589.5, Gov. Code § 65912.110, Gov. Code § 65912.120, Gov. Code § 65912.130, Gov. Code § 65915, Gov. Code § 65913.4, Gov. Code § 66300, Health & Saf. Code § 50052.5, Health & Saf. Code § 50053, Health & Saf. Code § 50079.5, Pub. Resources Code § 21080.3.1, Pub. Resources Code § 21080.3.2

Cited by, in this navigator. Gov. Code § 65585, Gov. Code § 65400, Gov. Code § 65589.5, Gov. Code § 65863.10

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