Housing development: density bonuses.

Senator Blakespear, with Assembly colleagues Quirk-Silva and Ward, frames a measure that ties density bonuses more tightly to architectural and development standards by imposing a hard cap on the commercial floor area ratio permitted with incentives and by excluding the mandatory inclusion of transient lodging concessions in most housing developments, except as expressly provided. The proposal specifies that a concession or incentive shall not produce a project whose commercial floor area ratio exceeds two and a half times the site’s base allowed ratio, and it clarifies that certain provisions of the Density Bonus Law do not obligate approval, granting, or waivers for transient lodging as part of a housing project, with a date-specific exception for projects filed before January 1, 2026. The change is framed as part of an updated approach to density bonuses within local planning and permitting processes.

The bill preserves the core density bonus framework while expanding the set of affordable-housing outcomes that trigger incentives, and it adds new mechanisms intended to align density bonuses with project feasibility and affordability guarantees. It continues to confer one density bonus and potential incentives or concessions when a housing development commits to specified affordable-unit targets, and it delineates a menu of unit-creation pathways—such as lower income, very low income, moderate income, student housing, and other targeted categories—each associated with defined bonus calculations. In particular, the measure introduces additional incentives or concessions tied to childcare facilities located on or near a housing development, offering either an increase in usable residential space equivalent to or greater than the childcare footprint or a separate concession to support the facility’s financial viability, with conditions that the childcare operation remain in service for the same duration as the affordable units and that a portion of attending children come from households at or below defined income levels. The bill also expands parking flexibility near transit and in very low vehicle travel areas, providing pathways to reduce required spaces under specified proximity and access criteria, including a standard for unobstructed access to major transit stops.

Key provisions in the amendment package govern a range of affordability and replacement-unit requirements, including rules for for-sale and rental units that qualify for density bonuses. The measure stipulates that certain density-bonus units be sold or occupied by income-qualified households under long-term affordability arrangements, and it introduces equity-sharing and recapture provisions when units are sold or repurposed, with formulaic calculations tied to initial subsidies and appreciation shares. It also defines shared-housing concepts, including shared-housing buildings and units, and sets out related occupancy and affordability constraints, including special provisions for student housing and housing for seniors. Additional changes address replacement requirements when units are demolished or vacated and the conditions under which local governments may enforce deed restrictions or recapture subsidies, while preserving coastal compatibility and reinforcing a liberal interpretation intended to maximize overall housing production. The bill further clarifies that preexisting local density-bonus programs that exceed the current version’s incentives may remain in effect without mandatory amendment, barring conflicts with state law, and it specifies certain technical terms and standards to harmonize density calculations with local planning practices.