On October 9, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (HCA) into law, commonly known as Senate Bill 330 (SB 330) to respond to the California housing crisis. 

To accelerate housing production, SB 330 makes changes to land use and zoning law to remove barriers and impediments to building new housing in urban areas of the state. To increase transparency and certainty in the development application process, SB 330 allows a housing developer to submit a “preliminary application” to a local agency for a housing development project. Submittal of a pre-application allows a developer to provide a specific subset of information on the proposed housing development ahead of providing the full amount of information required by the local government for a housing development application. Upon submittal of an application and a payment of the permit processing fee, a housing developer is allowed to “freeze” the applicable fees and development standards that apply to their project while they assemble the rest of the material necessary for a full application submittal. 

SB 330 is based on the idea that needed housing has largely already been planned for by local communities. The Housing Crisis Act aims to:

• Increase residential unit development;
• Protect existing housing inventory; and
• Expedite permit processing.

The project must be comprised of:

• Residential units;
• A mix of commercial and residential uses where two-thirds of total square footage is residential; OR
• Transitional or supportive housing.

The applicant shall be deemed to have submitted a preliminary application upon provision of all of the information listed in the preliminary application and payment of the fee to the City. The applicant must submit a full application within 180 days of submittal of a complete preliminary application, or the preliminary application will expire.

Please note:

• Submittal of all information requested in preliminary application and payment of the fee freezes fees and development standards as of the submittal date unless exceptions are triggered per Government Code § 65889.5(o).
• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) standards apply.
• After submittal of the required information, if the applicant revises the project to change a) the number of residential units or b) the square footage changes by 20 percent or more, excluding any increase resulting from Density Bonus Law, then the applicant must resubmit the required information so that it reflects the revisions.

What to submit.

• PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 65941.1.
• FEE. Planning Staff Services Pre-Submittal Review Fee.
• SITE PLAN. Draw to scale and show building footprints/location of the proposed building(s) and approximate square footage of each building that is to be occupied.
• ELEVATIONS. For each building that is to be occupied, provide elevations showing the design, color, material, massing, and height of each building.

How to submit. Please email the application package to smatinpour@herculesca.gov