Senate Bill 634 Streamlines the Approval of Opportunity Housing Projects
Providing new housing opportunities in California takes a long time and is very expensive to construct. Many local governments are working hard but face massive challenges to building sufficient amounts of housing, particularly for very low-income households. Existing Planning and Zoning Law requires that Low Barrier Navigation Center development be a use by right in areas zoned for mixed use and nonresidential zones, permitting multifamily uses if it meets prescribed requirements. This change has streamlined the entitlement process for new navigation centers so jurisdictions can take advantage of vacant land to build relocatable housing units.
Senate Bill 634 would expand these provisions to include Opportunity Housing Projects by right to include areas zoned for single-family use, medical use, or faith-based use. Making this type of housing easier and faster to scale statewide to serve those in our communities that are currently unhoused. The new bill will pave the way for additional housing units by asking public entities to make unused land available and convert these otherwise squandered assets into what California desperately needs – more low-income housing. The bill, by authorizing additional developments to be a use by right under certain circumstances, would expand the exemption for the ministerial approval of projects under CEQA.
Some of the biggest barriers to solving homelessness and our housing shortage in California are addressed by SB 634 because units are in place temporarily, "opportunity" housing does not have a permanent impact on zoning or environmental standards and can benefit from a wide range of process exemptions and massively streamlined approvals. A potential project could receive final permit approvals in less than 3 weeks – a remarkably short amount of time for a housing project of any kind in California. For more information on HomeAid Northern California and our project opportunities in the Bay Area please contact Crisand Giles.