Composting facilities: zoning.

Assembly Member Ransom's composting facility legislation directs the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to develop comprehensive siting guidelines while requiring local governments to incorporate composting considerations into their land use planning. The measure establishes a technical advisory framework to help municipalities identify suitable locations for composting operations as California pursues its organic waste reduction targets.

Under the bill's provisions, the Office must create and publish detailed siting recommendations by June 2027, developed in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The advisory will include sample general plan language, implementation measures, and a model ordinance that local jurisdictions can adopt or modify. The development process requires input from urban, suburban and rural local governments, composting facility operators, and waste service providers.

Starting in 2029, cities and counties conducting substantive revisions of their land use elements must evaluate the technical advisory's best practices and consider designating areas where composting facilities would be permitted uses. The requirements apply only after the Office publishes its guidelines, with local governments maintaining authority to determine appropriate facility types and sizes for different locations. While the bill creates new planning obligations for municipalities, it allows them to fund implementation through local fees and assessments rather than state reimbursement.