Single-family and multifamily housing units: preapproved plans.

Assembly Member Harabedian's housing legislation mandates local agencies across California to establish residential plan preapproval programs, creating a streamlined pathway for housing construction approvals. Under the new requirements, cities and counties must develop systems to evaluate and preapprove standardized plans for both single-family homes and small multifamily buildings containing up to 10 units.

The program introduces a 30-day approval timeline for housing applications that utilize preapproved plans, provided the proposed site meets specified conditions for soil, topography, flood zones, and zoning requirements. Local agencies must maintain public online repositories of approved plans along with applicant contact information, though plans can be removed upon request. The legislation excludes master-planned communities and similar large-scale developments from the preapproval process.

Implementation follows a tiered schedule, with larger jurisdictions required to launch their programs by July 2026 and smaller jurisdictions by January 2028. The bill defines large jurisdictions as counties and cities with populations over 25,000, while small jurisdictions include counties under 250,000 residents and cities under 25,000. Local agencies must report annually on the number of housing units approved through preapproved plans starting in April 2027 for large jurisdictions and April 2029 for smaller ones. While agencies can charge standard permitting fees for plan reviews, the state will not reimburse program costs.