Hunton Retail Law Resource

Overview

Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 6 (“SB 6”) and California Assembly Bill 2011 (“AB 2011”) on September 28, 2022, with the goal of making it easier to develop new multifamily housing in areas currently zoned for office, retail, or parking uses. SB 6 and AB 2011 (collectively, the “Laws”) will allow developers whose projects meet certain criteria (related to affordability, workforce compensation, etc.) to bypass certain local restrictions (and in some cases, bypass CEQA). Given the ongoing housing shortage that has plagued California for decades, we would expect developers to give the Laws serious consideration.

While both Laws allow developers to develop residential projects in areas not zoned for residential uses (and both are generally focused on decreasing the transaction costs involved in developing new housing), the two Laws take decidedly different approaches.