An act to amend Section 90018 of the Financial Code, relating to financial institutions. An act to add Section 65852.29 to the Government Code, relating to housing.
Summary
AB 748 would require every local agency in California to create a preapproval program for single-family and multifamily residential housing plans. Under the bill, cities and counties would have to accept plan submissions for preapproval, review them under applicable state and local housing standards, and post approved plans and applicant contact information on their websites. The bill sets staggered implementation deadlines: large jurisdictions would need a program by July 1, 2027, and small jurisdictions by January 1, 2029.
Once a plan is preapproved, a local agency would have to ministerially approve or deny a qualifying housing application within 30 days if the lot meets specified conditions and the application uses a preapproved plan or an identical plan previously approved during the current building code cycle. The bill also excludes certain large-scale developments, such as master-planned communities and planned unit developments, from the preapproval program. In addition, it requires large and small jurisdictions to report the number of units approved using preapproved plans in their annual housing reports beginning in 2028 and 2030, respectively.
Impact
The bill would add Section 65852.29 to the Government Code, expanding the state’s housing streamlining framework beyond accessory dwelling units to cover single-family and multifamily residential plans. It would impose new duties on local agencies to establish and administer preapproval programs, publish approved plans online, and track approvals in annual housing reports. The bill also declares that the measure addresses a matter of statewide concern and applies to charter cities, and it would exempt qualifying ministerial approvals from CEQA where applicable. A separate, nonsubstantive amendment to Financial Code Section 90018 would update the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation’s annual reporting provisions.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill. It advanced out of committee with unanimous or near-unanimous votes and passed Assembly third reading 75-0, indicating broad bipartisan or at least noncontroversial support in the Assembly. The bill’s framing around housing production, ministerial approval, and standardized plan review aligns with generally pro-housing sentiment in the Legislature.
Contention
The main policy tension is between state housing mandates and local control. The bill requires cities and counties, including charter cities, to create and operate a new preapproval process, which may be viewed by local governments as an intrusion into land-use discretion. Another possible point of contention is administrative burden, since local agencies must review submissions, post plans online, and add reporting requirements, although the bill states no reimbursement is required. The bill also limits the program’s reach by excluding master-planned communities and similar large-scale developments, which may reflect an effort to narrow concerns from developers or local planners about how broadly the new process should apply.
An act to add Chapter 22 (commencing with Section 1915) to Division 1.1 of, to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 16910) to Division 5 of, and to add Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 50710) to Division 20 of, the Financial Code, relating to financial institutions.