We are very pleased to announce the San Joaquin Valley Guide to Recent California Housing Laws (“Guide”)! The Guide is provided to each Valley jurisdiction through the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Program.

The user-friendly Guide summarizes State laws adopted within the last five years that are most relevant to the San Joaquin Valley communities. The easy-to-navigate Guide will help with the understanding of the today’s legal framework for the planning of housing within the San Joaquin Valley.

Each law included in this Guide is referenced in two formats:  

• A brief form of the law, which provides an overview of the law and its general applicability across sub-topics relevant to the section’s topic area. 
• A detailed form of the law, which expands upon the overview of the brief form and provides a synopsis of the law and its intent, important considerations embedded in the law, and a link to the full legislative text.

The Topic Areas covered in the Guide include:

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU)
• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Density Bonus
• Fees/Funding
• Housing Elements/Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
• Parking
• Streamlining and Other Incentives
• Surplus Land Availability, and
• Other Miscellaneous laws related to land use planning

We hope that the Guide assists in your understanding of the rapidly evolving landscape of California land use and housing law.