RCRC, along with our local government partners, opposes AB 1294 unless amended. This measure, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), would direct the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to adopt a standardized development application form that all cities and counties would be required to use.
Specifically, AB 1294 would prohibit a local agency from requiring geotechnical information, stormwater management plans, phase I environmental assessments, mechanical plans, electrical plans, and other information that allows the local agency to determine whether the housing development complies with local objective standards in effect at the time the application is accepted and with the State Subdivision Map Act.
The Permit Streamlining Act requires each city and county to compile a list, and post it on their website, that specifies in detail the information that is required from an application for a housing development project. Within thirty calendar days of receiving an application, a city or county must determine whether the application is complete. An application is complete if it includes all of the items on the list. No new information can be required of the applicant after the application is deemed complete. AB 1294 places significant and serious limitations on the items that can be on a city or county’s list.
RCRC opposes AB 1294 unless amended to ensure that the application is required to include sufficient information – such as information that would allow a city or county to evaluate the proposed housing project for compliance with objective standards in its zoning code and with the design and improvement requirements of the Subdivision Map Act.
AB 1294 has been revived after stalling in the Senate Local Government Committee in 2025, and may be heard in that committee in June. RCRC’s most recent letter can be found HERE.
For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate Tracy Rhine.