SB1116 - Planning and zoning: housing development projects: subdivisions.

Enrolled August 28, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 26, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 25, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 20, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 18, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 17, 2026 Amended IN Assembly July 02, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 11, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 23, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 15, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 06, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 1116 Introduced by Senator Caballero February 17, 2026 An act to add Section 714.9 to the Civil Code, and to amend Section 65400 of, and to amend, repeal, and add Sections 65852.28 and 66499.41 of, the Government Code, relating to land use. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1116, Caballero. Planning and zoning: housing development projects: subdivisions. (1) Under the Planning and Zoning Law, the legislative body of a city or county may adopt ordinances that, among other things, regulate the use of buildings, structures, and land, as provided. The Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency’s processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps. Existing law authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a housing development project on a subdivided lot, as specified, that meets specified requirements, and requires a local agency to ministerially consider that application, as specified. Existing law prohibits a local agency from imposing on a housing development on a lot subdivided as specified an objective zoning standard, objective subdivision standard, or objective design standard that, among other things, physically precludes the development of a project built to specified densities. However, with respect to certain lots, existing law allows a local agency to impose a height limit of no less than the height allowed pursuant to the existing zoning designation applicable to the lot. This bill would require the height limits under these provisions to apply exclusively to the physical height of a building rather than the number of floors. The bill would additionally prohibit a local agency from imposing specified front or internal setbacks, except as specified. The bill would also modify prohibitions relating to density on the lot, among other things. The bill would require that the above-described provisions relating to ministerial approval of housing developments on certain subdivided lots be interpreted liberally in favor of producing the maximum number of total housing units. (2) Existing law requires a local agency to ministerially consider, without discretionary review or a hearing, a parcel map or a tentative and final map for a housing development project that meets specified requirements. Among these requirements, existing law requires that the lot be substantially surrounded by qualified urban uses, as defined, and not exceed specified size limits that vary based on the zoning of the lot and whether it is vacant. Existing law also requires that newly created parcels under these provisions be no smaller than 600 square feet, or in the case of parcels zoned for single-family use, 1,200 square feet, except as specified, and that the average total area of floorspace for specified units not exceed 1,750 net habitable square feet, defined to include stair space. Existing law also requires the lot to be zoned for multifamily residential dwelling use or to be vacant and zoned for single-family residential development (multifamily or vacancy requirement). This bill would modify these requirements, including by changing the density requirements for the lot. The bill would, instead of requiring that specified lots are substantially surrounded by qualified urban uses, require those lots meet one of several other requirements under specified law. The bill would allow a newly created parcel on a plot zoned for multifamily housing to be as small as 480 square feet or 960 square feet, if specified conditions are met. The bill would provide that, where lot size averaging is used to create smaller parcels, none of the newly created residential parcels shall be more than 50% of the size of the original parcel, except as specified. The bill would revise the definition of “net habitable square feet” for the above-described purposes to exclude stairs and enclosed bicycle parking and would revise, for purposes of the multifamily or vacancy requirement, the definition of “vacant” to mean having no permanent structure, unless the permanent structure is abandoned or untenantable, as defined. This bill would make these changes effective for applications received by local agencies on or after January 1, 2027. (3) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to, among other entities, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the Department of Housing and Community Development that contains specified information, including the number of units of housing demolished and new units of housing that have been issued a completed entitlement, a building permit, or a certificate of occupancy, thus far in the housing element cycle, and the income category, by area median income category, that each unit of housing satisfies. This bill would require, beginning with the report due April 1, 2028, a local agency to additionally include in its annual report specified information about housing development projects received pursuant to the above-described provisions relating to subdivisions and ministerial approval. Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. This bill would require a local agency to additionally include in its annual report specified information related to, among other things, the disposal of surplus land. (4) Existing law provides that specified recorded covenants, conditions, restrictions, or private limits on the use of land contained in specified instruments affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in real property are not enforceable against the owner of certain housing developments, as specified. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (act) governs the management and operation of common interest developments. The act sets forth provisions limiting the authority of an association managing such a development, or of the governing documents of such a development or association, to regulate the use of a member’s separate interest. The act provides that any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument, as described, that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential use that meets certain requirements is void and unenforceable. This bill would make unenforceable any covenant, condition, restriction, or other provision contained in any deed, declaration, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the use of real property if it prohibits or would physically preclude the development of a housing project on a subdivided lot, as specified, except for real property that is part of a common interest development. (5) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65400 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1567 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1567 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65852.28 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2601 and SB 1090 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 2601 and SB 1090 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 66499.41 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2601 and SB 1090 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 2601 and SB 1090 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (7) By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 714.9 is added to the Civil Code, to read: 714.9. (a) Any covenant, condition, restriction, or other provision contained in any deed, declaration, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the use of real property shall be void and unenforceable if it prohibits or would physically preclude the development of a housing development project that is permitted pursuant to Section 65852.28 or 66499.41 of the Government Code. (b) A covenant, condition, or restriction shall not be deemed to prohibit or physically preclude a housing development project solely because it imposes objective design standards, objective use restrictions, or requirements relating to public health and safety, provided that those standards or requirements are uniformly applied, do not conflict with Section 65852.28 or 66499.41 of the Government Code, and do not physically preclude the development of the housing project permitted by those sections. (c) This section shall operate solely to render unenforceable those covenants or restrictions described in subdivision (a) and shall not be construed to authorize any development that is not otherwise permitted by applicable state or local law, or to alter the manner in which any person or entity reviews or approves a development, except to the extent that a covenant or restriction is rendered unenforceable under this section. (d) Any provision of a governing document or other instrument that is inconsistent with this section is void and unenforceable. (e) This section does not apply to real property that is part of a common interest development, as defined in Section 4100. SEC. 2. Section 65400 of the Government Code is amended to read: 65400. (a) After the legislative body has adopted all or part of a general plan, the planning agency shall do both of the following: (1) Investigate and make recommendations to the legislative body regarding reasonable and practical means for implementing the general plan or element of the general plan so that it will serve as an effective guide for orderly growth and development, preservation and conservation of open-space land and natural resources, and the efficient expenditure of public funds relating to the subjects addressed in the general plan. (2) Provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to the legislative body, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, and the Department of Housing and Community Development that includes all of the following: (A) The status of the plan and progress in its implementation. (B) (i) (I) The progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs determined pursuant to Section 65584, including the need for extremely low income households, as determined pursuant to Section 65583, and local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583. (II) The annual report shall include the progress in meeting the city’s or county’s progress in meeting its share of regional housing need, as described in subclause (I), for the sixth and previous revisions of the housing element. (ii) The housing element portion of the annual report, as required by this paragraph, shall be prepared through the use of standards, forms, and definitions adopted by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The department may review, adopt, amend, and repeal the standards, forms, or definitions to implement this article. Any standards, forms, or definitions adopted to implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2. Before and after adoption of the forms, the housing element portion of the annual report shall include a section that describes the actions taken by the local government towards completion of the programs and status of the local government’s compliance with the deadlines in its housing element. The report shall be considered at an annual public meeting before the legislative body where members of the public shall be allowed to provide oral testimony and written comments. (iii) The report may include the number of units that have been completed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65583.1. For purposes of this paragraph, committed assistance may be executed throughout the planning period, and the program under paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.1 shall not be required. The report shall document how the units meet the standards set forth in that subdivision. (iv) The planning agency shall include the number of units in a student housing development for lower income students for which the developer of the student housing development was granted a density bonus pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65915. (v) The report may include the number of units of existing deed-restricted affordable housing with an average affordability no greater than 45 percent of area median income that are at least 15 years old and have been substantially rehabilitated with at least sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) per unit in funds awarded from the city or, for unincorporated areas, the county, inclusive of forgiveness of principal or interest on existing debt. Any units included in the report pursuant to this clause shall not be considered when determining affordability requirements for purposes of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4. (C) The number of housing development applications received in the prior year, including both of the following, when applicable: (i) Whether each housing development application is subject to a ministerial or discretionary approval process. (ii) Beginning with the report due by April 1, 2027, whether each application is subject to a replacemen [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]