Summary
This California Attorney General opinion addresses whether local governments may impose affordable housing requirements on density-bonus units awarded under the state’s Density Bonus Law. The Office concludes that such local requirements are preempted because they would conflict with the state statutory formula for calculating bonus units based on affordable housing contributions. However, local jurisdictions retain the authority to award additional density bonuses under local ordinances and may apply affordability mandates to those locally granted units.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- May a city or county impose affordable‑housing requirements on density‑bonus units awarded under the Density Bonus Law?
Holdings
- No. A city or county may not impose affordable‑housing requirements on density‑bonus units that are awarded under the Density Bonus Law because such requirements would conflict with the state‑law formula for calculating bonus units.
Key quotations
“No. A city or county may not impose affordable housing requirements on density‑bonus units that are awarded under the Density Bonus Law because it would impermissibly conflict with the state law formula for calculating how many density‑bonus units are awarded per affordable unit under state law.” (at 1)
Factual background
The California Density Bonus Law provides developers who include a specified percentage of affordable housing units with additional density‑bonus units. The question presented is whether a city or county may impose its own affordable‑housing requirements on those bonus units.