REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Amend Title 18 (Zoning) of the Santa Clara City Code to Establish a Replacement Housing Unit Ordinance Implementing State Law
Report
SUMMARY
Three existing state laws: the Density Bonus Law (Government Code Sections 65915 - 65918); Housing Element Law (Government Code Section 65580 - 65589.11); and the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Government Code Sections 66300 - 66300.6.5) enacted as Senate Bill (SB) 330, established new replacement housing provisions to ensure that new housing developments do not reduce the total number of existing dwellings and do not reduce the number of dwellings affordable to lower income persons. The Housing Crisis Act (HCA) also established and expanded protections for existing residential tenants who are displaced due to new residential or non-residential developments otherwise known as anti-displacement objectives. City Council through a Study Session on September 13, 2025 directed staff to provide meaningful action and evaluate next steps for actions on displacement for the City's most vulnerable residents. This request is to apply State Law to City Ordinance for purposes of consistency.
The City's certified 2023-2031 Housing Element includes 21 Actions that support the City's anti-displacement objectives through measures designed to protect, preserve, and produce affordable housing. Specifically, Housing Plan Action 13: Residential Displacement, includes several discrete and ongoing objectives that commit the City to explore and/or adopt new anti-displacement measures.
The purpose of the proposed ordinance (Attachment #1) is to implement objectives from Housing Plan Action 13 by:
1. Codifying separate requirements from existing state law related to demolition and replacement of housing units and related tenant protections into one comprehensive ordinance;
2. Clarifying certain definitions from state law;
3. Clarifying and/or establishing basic procedures for implementi...
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