Density Bonus Law: incentives and concessions: green housing developments.

Assembly Member Fong's proposal to expand California's Density Bonus Law would create additional development incentives for housing projects that meet specific environmental sustainability standards. The measure adds provisions requiring cities and counties to offer three additional incentives or concessions to qualifying green housing developments between 2026 and 2031.

To qualify for these supplemental incentives, developments must exclude fossil fuel appliances and natural gas connections while meeting certification requirements from established green building programs like LEED Platinum, GreenPoint Rated Platinum, or Enterprise Green Communities Certification Plus. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) would evaluate the program's effectiveness every four years and adjust the number of incentives to target at least 2% of the state's regional housing needs. Local jurisdictions would be prohibited from imposing parking requirements on these developments.

The bill establishes reporting requirements for cities and counties to track green housing developments annually, including details on square footage, unit counts, affordability restrictions, and environmental certifications used. HCD must provide technical assistance to jurisdictions implementing the requirements, with an emphasis on supporting lower-resource communities. The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission would review and update the list of qualifying green building certifications every six years to maintain alignment with evolving sustainability standards.

Local agencies would fund implementation through existing fee authority rather than state reimbursement. The provisions aim to integrate environmental sustainability requirements into California's housing density bonus framework while maintaining local flexibility in administration.